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No-go zones that open and close on their own

A no-go zone normally stays on until you turn it off. Yardstick can turn one on and off for you: by time of day, or after it rains and until the ground has dried.

Two different rules, same idea A zone schedule works on the clock: closed between these hours, on these days. A weather rule works on the weather: closed after this much rain, for a number of hours after the rain. Both act on no-go zones you have already drawn in the map editor.

Where they live

On Schedule, open the No-go zones or Weather rules section. They are in the right column on wide screens. (The screenshots show them below Programs in the classic Scheduler layout.)

Closing a zone by the clock

The No-go zones section of the Scheduler, with a New zone schedule button.
No-go zones. Empty until you add your first schedule.

  • Press New zone schedule

    Give it a name you will recognize: Driveway while the car’s out.

  • Choose the days

    Any combination. Weekdays only, weekends only, every day.

  • Set the active window

    On at and Off at. Inside that window the zone is closed; outside it the zone turns itself back off. A window can run past midnight, like 4:30 PM to 7:30 AM: the hours after midnight belong to the evening it started, so Monday to Friday closes Friday evening and opens Saturday morning.

  • Pick the zones

    Search by name and tick as many as you like. The list shows whether each one is on or off right now, so you can see what you are changing.

The New zone schedule dialog: name, day buttons, an on-at and off-at time, and a searchable list of no-go zones with checkboxes.
New zone schedule. The on now and off now labels on the right are the live state of each zone.

Where each schedule stands

Each zone schedule shows, under its days and times, what it is doing right now:

  • Closed now · until 7:00 PM

    Inside its window. The zones are closed and reopen at the time shown.

  • Open · closes Mon 7:00 AM

    Outside its window, with the next time it closes.

  • Held closed by another rule

    If a weather rule or another schedule is keeping one of its zones closed while this one is open, it says so and names that rule.

  • Schedule is off

    You have switched it off, so it changes nothing.

Skip next

Each zone schedule has Skip next, like your programs do. The next scheduled change does not happen, and the zones stay as they are until the change after it: the day the car is still in the driveway, for example. The status line says Skipping the change at and when. Press Don’t skip to put it back on schedule.

Checked against the robot The status is compared with the zones as the robot actually has them. If a zone should be closed but the robot still has it open, or the other way round, the schedule says so in orange, naming the zone. It holds off for the first few minutes after a window opens or closes, while the robot catches up. If the warning stays, check that zone in the Yarbo app.

Closing a zone after rain

A low corner that turns to mud is the usual reason. The rule closes the zone once enough rain has fallen and reopens it once the ground has had time to dry. The same rule can also hold your scheduled programs: see Rainy days in the Scheduler.

The Weather rules section of the Scheduler, with a New weather rule button.
Weather rules. These need a weather source turned on in Settings.

  • Press New weather rule

    Name it for the place, not the weather: Swampy corner.

  • Set the trigger

    After this much rain, in inches, keep this rule in force for a number of hours after the rain: 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 or 72 hours, or 4, 5 or 7 days. The count starts the moment the rain reaches your trigger, and more rain while the rule is in force starts it again.

  • Pick the zones

    Under No-go zones to close, the same list as a zone schedule. Tick programs under Scheduled programs to hold as well if you want the rule to keep them home too.

The Edit weather rule dialog: a name, a rain trigger of 0.2 inches kept in force for 48 hours after the rain, scheduled programs to hold, and a searchable list of no-go zones to close.
Edit weather rule. The summary at the bottom says what the rule will do and for how long. Rainfall comes from the weather source you chose in Settings.
Rules you made before keep their length A rule set to stay 1 day is now 24 hours, and 2 days is 48 hours. The Rain hold on alert says the time the hold ends.
You need weather turned on Weather rules read rainfall from the weather source chosen in Settings → Weather: your own Tempest or Weather Underground station, the National Weather Service or MET Norway. Without one the section tells you so and the rules do not run. Each rule shows whether it is closing its zones now, or if the weather can’t be read, that it is holding the zones as they are.

How the two rules interact

  • Anything that says close, wins

    If either a schedule or a weather rule wants a zone closed, it is closed. They are combined, not ranked.

  • Zones nothing names are never touched

    Yardstick only ever changes zones you have named in a rule. The rest are yours.

  • A deleted zone switches its rule off

    If you delete a no-go zone that a rule depends on, Yardstick turns that rule off and tells you which zone is missing.

📅

The Scheduler

Programs, quiet hours and the activity log.
🗺

Map editor

Drawing the zones these rules act on.
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Weather

Picking a weather source for rainfall.
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