Room Controls for Zoom Rooms

The Room Controls feature allows you to control third-party, IP-capable equipment so that the equipment can be controlled by the user through the Zoom Room controller. Admins can create a configuration profile to add outgoing IP control messages from Zoom Room.

This article covers: 

• How to enable Room Controls
• How to write a Room Controls profile
  • Getting Started
  • Adapters
  • Styles
  • Rules
  • Response Filters
• How to use Room Controls
• Troubleshooting
  • Room Control Errors 
  • Sample Files

Prerequisites for using Room Controls 

Third-party devices controllable by LAN or WLAN

• Zoom Rooms:
  • PC: global minimum version or higher
  • macOS: global minimum version or higher
  • Appliances: global minimum version or higher
• Zoom Rooms for Touch version 5.16.0 or higher
• iTach network adapter (IP2SL/IP2CC or wifi equivalent), if the device does not have LAN or WLAN access

USB-Serial Adapters

• Zoom Rooms:
  • PC: version 5.15.0 or higher
  • macOS: version 5.15.0 or higher
• Devices based on the Prolific PL2303 chipset, such as Startech or Sabrent

How to enable Room Controls

Before you can upload a JSON configuration profile, the setting will need to be enabled for a Zoom Room.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Click Room Management, then select Zoom Rooms.
3. Click Edit to the right of the Zoom Room name.
4. Under Devices, toggle Enable Room Controls to on (blue). 
5. Click Create Profile.
6. Enter the JSON configuration for this room. 

How to write a Room Controls profile

Getting Started

Before writing a Room Controls Profile, some working knowledge of JSON is needed. The key items to note are that JSON is a key:value pair-based system and that syntax is important to correctly lay out the file. For additional information on the basics of JSON, consult an online intro course.

In any coding language, some courtesy should be extended to the next person that handles your file. While there is no specific requirement around this for Room Controls, it is recommended. To leave a record of the author, version, or other history, the 'about' object can be used and placed above 'adapters'. This is not parsed by Room Controls, but will persist in the portal.  An example of how this could be leveraged is below.

{
"about": {
"type": "Medium Conference A",
"version": "v1.2.4",
"design_ref": "\\files\MediumConfA",
"created": "Mon, 21 Oct 2020 16:35:52 GMT"
},

Adapters

Setting up the adapters connects Room Controls to devices. This section is the primary section for configuration. Individual devices inside the nested JSON format should follow a similar format (this example is nested to parallel the code example below):

• Adapters: Adapters defined the individual device connections
  • Model: Models can be "GenericNetworkAdapter", "IP2CC", and "IP2SL".  More details below.
  • IP: This is the IP Address + Port of the network device
    • NOTE: Room Controls now also supports hostname rather than IP address in current software versions
  • UUID: This is only required with Global Caché devices and would follow "GlobalCache_[MAC]"
  • Ports: Ports define the device attached to the connection
    • ID: This is the name of the device in code.  Should follow JSON variable formatting
    • Name: This is the friendly name that your users will see on the Interface
    • Methods: Methods define the individual UI section
      • ID: This is the control type ID that is called in code (specific to the control type)
      • Name: This is the user-accessible name shown on the Zoom Rooms Interface
      • Command: This is either the full command or the shared parts of the command string depending on the action type
        • NOTE: When the action type is 'actions' a % should be placed in the command string as a placeholder for the inserted elements inside of 'params'
      • Params: This section is only used with 'actions' type and contains the elements that can roll up to the parent command.
        • ID: This is the programming ID that is called in code
        • Name: This will be the user-accessible text on the Room Controls Button
        • Value: This is the command section that is inserted in the parent command.  An example of this would be using 'POWR000%\\x0D' as the parent command, '0' for Off or '1' for On could be inserted for some Sharp Displays

{
"adapters": [
            {
            "model": "iTachIP2SL",
            "ip": "[IP_ADDRESS]",
            "uuid": "GlobalCache_[UNIT_MAC_ADDRESS]",
            "ports": [
                     {
                     "id": "sl_sharp_tv",
                     "name": "Sharp Display",
                     "settings": {
                     "baud_rate": "38400",
                     "flow_control": "FLOW_NONE",
                     "parity": "PARITY_NO"
                     },
                     "methods": [
                                {
                                "id": "power",
                                "name": "Power",
                                "command": "POWR000%\\x0D",
                                "params": [
                                          {
                                          "id": "displayOn",
                                          "name": "On",
                                          "value": "0001"
                                          },
                                          {
                                          "id": "displayOff",
                                          "name": "Off",
                                          "value": "0000"
                                          }
                                          ],
                                "type": "actions" 
                                },
...

Below 'methods', an additional section can be used: "response_filter". The Response Filter is a beacon that allows the Response Filters defined below to understand which connection to listen for. There are no functions defined in this area. How a Response Filter fits into other sections will be covered inside of those sections.

Styles

Styles control the visual styling of your interface elements. The adjustments aren't extremely extensive, so it isn't very hard to learn. 

There are many icons available in the interface. They span everything from air conditioners to speakerphones. The icons below are the current list, but this list is regularly expanding.

Device	Name	Image
air conditioner	icon_air_conditioner
cable TV	icon_cable_tv
ceiling mic	icon_ceiling_mic
curtain	icon_curtain
DVD Player	icon_dvd_player
Xbox/PS4 System	icon_game_console
HDMI	icon_hdmi
laptop	icon_laptop
light	icon_light
projector	icon_projector
rack equipment	icon_rack_equipment
satellite dish	icon_satellite_dish
speaker	icon_speaker
speakerphone	icon_speakerphone
TV	icon_tv
power	icon_power
up	icon_up
down	icon_down
cold	icon_cold
hot	icon_hot
dry	icon_dry
wind	icon_wind

There are three primary modifiers within styles: icons (as we discussed above), Main Methods, and Visibility. 

Icons are the visualizations of the system. You can use them either to mark a device or to replace the text tied to a button. In the below example, we've defined a device called 'example'.

{
"adapters": [
            {
            "model": "ExternalControlSystem",
            "ip": "tcp://[USER_IP_ADDRESS]:[USER_PORT]",
            "ports": [
                     {
                     "id": "example",
                     "name": "Example Device",
                     "methods": [
...

Once 'example' is defined as a device, we can use this ID inside of styles.  For example, setting the main icon for our example device to be a light is easily done. 

"styles": [
          "example.icon=icon_light",
          "example.main_method=power"
          ]

Zoom also supports Material Design Icons (MDI) which can be found on Google's official MDI site.

To specify one of these icons, follow this format:

• mdi: use this prefix to identify icon as Google MDI icon
• icon_name: customer can search icon from Google Material Icons official site and use '_' to replace '(space)' in the icon name
• style_name: support "outlined", "filled", "rounded", "sharp" and "two_tone"

"example.icon=mdi:local_airport:two_tone"

Please note that that this should be in all lower case. Use an underscore (_) instead of a space in the icon name. If the icon is unable to be downloaded, the default icon will be displayed.

You may also notice that within a single line, we've also defined the Main Method for the device.  The Main Method pulls the referenced command that you've defined into the title bar of the device giving it a prominent billing like so:

We've defined the power command as the main method, and so it is shown in the upper bar separate from the other commands.

The third style type is Visibility. Visibility allows the programmer to define a function, but hide that function from the User's Interface completely.  It can be defined just as easily:

"example.power.invisible=true"

Following the format of "device.command.invisible=true" allows this command to be completely hidden from the Rooms User.  

Rules

Rules are the automation engine of Room Controls. This is the area where things that happen on their own are defined. For example, if I wanted my display to only be active when a meeting is active, I could leverage "meeting_started" and "meeting_ended" (stock Zoom events) to make this occur.  

"rules": {
          "meeting_started": [
                             "display.power.on",
                             "camera.power.wake"
                             ]
          ),
          "meeting_ended": [
                           "display.power.off"
                           ]
          }

This example can be used to reduce power consumption for your system.

If one command per rule isn't enough, these commands can easily be stacked. While they technically fire sequentially, they process quickly enough that we'll consider these events simultaneous. In my above example "camera.power.wake" is added beneath "display.power.on" to activate my camera when my display wakes.

Note: The available stock Zoom commands inside of rules have been expanded as of Zoom Rooms version 5.13.0. Meeting start/end events also now apply to 3rd-party interop meetings, including Microsoft Teams Direct Guest Join Meetings.  Other events do not apply to 3rd-party interop meetings in this release.

Note: Operating Hours for Operation Time events are set in the Zoom Rooms settings page. 

It is also simple to add your own for Response Filters. Within the rules section, you can also use the Trigger Events discussed below to drive your own automation with outside inputs.

"rules":{
        "operation_time_started":[
                                "light.power.on"
                                ],
        "user_customized_event1":[
                                "light.power.off"
                                 ]
         }

In this example, our "user_customized_event1" is turning our controlled light off. This could be driven by an input from a button or maybe a motion sensor going inactive or maybe even a third-party system like a booking system sending the room an update that no users checked in for the meeting. How you can use this feature is primarily limited by your imagination.

Scenes

New in Zoom Rooms 5.13.0, the Scenes function allows Room Controls devotees to finally add Macros (multiple stacked commands on a single button) to their user experiences.  This can be helpful for scene recall or dependant devices such as lowering a projector screen as well as powering the projector on.

Like Rules or Adapters, Scenes is a top-tier section in the JSON file.  Today, a maximum of 20 scenes can be configured.  Within those scenes, a maximum of 50 independent commands are supported.

Once configured, these new scene buttons are available at the top of the room controls window.

To configure scenes, you can reference the code sample below. 

Before copying this content, please be aware that '//text' sections are notes for your reference and cannot be included in the final JSON file.

"scenes":[
     {
          "id":"scene_1",                     //required
          "name":"Turn on all lights",        //optional, shown if name and icon are empty
          "icon":"icon_light",                //optional, see icon list
          "commands": [                       //required
               "light1.power.on",
               "light2.power.on"
                ]
     },
     {
          "id":"scene 2",
          "name":"Turn off all lights"
          "icon":"icon_light"
          "commands": [
               "light1.power.off",
               "light2.power.off"
          ]
      }
  ]

Response Filters

Response Filters are a powerful advancement in Room Controls functionality. These filters read messages coming back from defined devices and instantaneously scan for a phrase to match. When this phrase (or expression) is identified on that connection, the Rules Trigger Event (described above) fires.

Each Response Filter is comprised of three elements:

• "name": The name is used in the "ports" section of "methods".  When the response filter matches this name in the "ports" area, this begins to span the defined connection
• "filter_regex": The regex (or Regular Expression) is the set of characters that the Response Filter is attempting to match. When the match occurs, the "trigger_event" will activate
• "trigger_event": The Trigger Event is used within the rules section. When the "filter_regex" activates, the automation defined within this Trigger Event in Rules will occur

How to use Room Controls

On the Zoom Rooms controller, simply tap the Room Controls icon to access these added functions. 

When not in a meeting, the Room Controls icon can be found in the main menus.

During a meeting, tapping the icon at the top right of the controller window will display the same Room Controls.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting is an important part in any custom configuration. While Room Controls can be simple, it is also flexible enough to be complex when needed. The below sections should help to resolve possible roadblocks.

Room Control Errors

Sample Files

These files have been compiled from various sources and should be used as a starting point only. Some modification is likely required to fit your application.

• Generic Files
  • Zoom Room Control JSON Profile
  • Zoom Room control JSON profile with additional comments
  • Generic Lighting JSON Profile (Relay)
  • Generic Lighting JSON Profile (Serial)
• Avocor
  • JSON Profile (IP)
• Middle Atlantic
  • Racklink JSON Profile (IP)
• Shure
  • MXA910 JSON Profile (IP)