What is If This Then That (ifttt.com)?

IFTTT is a free web service that uses simple tools to create automated tasks, called “recipes,”  for the websites, computers, apps, smartphones and other devices that you use. The best way to explain what IFTTT does is with some examples of how other people use it and these are some popular recipes others have created, and they are free for you to use as well:

• Saving a picture to Dropbox when you post it to Instagram.
• Reminding yourself with a notification on your smartphone to put sunscreen on if the UV index is too high.
• Receive a daily email digest with the top headlines from NPR (National Public Radio). 
• Once you register for your free account at the IFTTT website, you can create and use recipes to make your technical life simpler.

Connections

IFTTT is a connector between software, websites, and apps. The IFTTT organization has built over 300 connections, called “Channels,” between IFTTT and many popular applications and software applications. Using IFTTT as the connector, it's possible to get two websites, software apps, or devices to communicate with each other and perform automated tasks. Let's look at an example of how this connection can help you with a recipe for a task that would connect your Facebook account to your smartphone photos app.

An IFTTT connector for Facebook is available on the IFTTT for you to use in a recipe. If there was a way for you to connect your smartphone to your Facebook account, you could use that connection to perform tasks, like saving a photo you're tagged in on Facebook to your smartphone, so it's saved to an album on your phone.

Your photo app is another type of application, and IFTTT has a channel built to connect to the iOS Photos app on iPhones and the Android Photos app on Android phones. By using IFTTT, it's possible to connect your Facebook account and your photo app together, so when something happens on Facebook (in this case you're tagged in a photo), the photo is automatically added to your local app in an album. 

If a channel exists for a website, app or device, it's possible to use IFTTT to connect the two together to create either a “Do” or an “IF” recipe task. Let's take a look at each type of recipe and how they work. 

Recipes

IFTTT has two types of recipes, a “Do Recipe” and an “If Recipe.” Let's look a the Do type first.

A “Do” recipe makes something happen with a tap on your smartphone using an IFTTT button. Do apps are downloaded to your smartphone from the app stores for iOS and Android? A Do Recipe might upload a photo from your smartphone to your Facebook album, add an event to a calendar, or set your Internet-connected thermostat at home to a temperature you enter on your smartphone. With all Do Recipes, you are required to do something. The recipe makes it happen by connecting your smartphone IFTTT button to the recipe in your IFTTT account. 

The other type of recipe is the “If” recipe “If” recipes run automatically with no action required by you and perform an action. You want the recipe to perform a task “if” something happens, which is called a trigger. When a triggered happens, the “then” does something, which is whatever action is supposed to take place in a recipe. Here's an example of a recipe that sends a weather report notification to your smartphone at a time of the day.

The recipe uses the time you specify to send the weather report, so the time of day is the “trigger” event. The recipe specifies that “If” the time of day is 7:00 am (as an example), “then” send weather information from the weather app to your smartphone. The time is the trigger and IFTTT uses a channel to the weather app and your smartphone to connect the two together to display an alert. 

IF Recipes can be turned on or off, so if want to stop receiving alerts, you only need to login to your account and change a recipe setting. Since Do Recipes require a tap, they don't run unless you ask them.

By using these two types of recipes, it's possible to perform many actions that connect apps, websites, and devices that would otherwise have required software programming. If Recipes have one more thing that needs explaining, something called the Trigger, which starts the If Recipe.

Triggers

The “If” part of an IF Recipe is the trigger that starts the recipe and the resulting action. Triggers use a piece of information that's called an Ingredient. In the example if the recipe that sends a weather report described previously. The time of day is the ingredient in the trigger. If the trigger occurs, then the action takes place. And there are many possible ingredients for triggers besides a specific time of day. 

All If Recipes check to see when there is a trigger at a certain interval called a Polling Period. According to the IFTTT website, most IF Recipes check for a trigger every 15 minutes but some check more frequently. IFTTT isn't meant for extremely time-critical applications where minutes matter, so keep this in mind if you were thinking of this.

Using your account

The first step is to register for your free account at the IFTTT website. You can browse existing recipes or create your own. If someone else has already created a recipe and shared it, you're free to use it. There are thousands of existing recipes available that perform useful tasks, so it's worth browsing them to start, just use click the Browse button to find one that will help you perform a task. 

Whether you select an existing recipe or create one on your own, you'll need to connect to the Channel, for example, Facebook or Fitbit. You need to have an active account with any Channel, so if you wanted to connect to Facebook, you would select the Facebook Channel, then enter your username and password for your Facebook account. If you use an existing recipe, you'll be prompted to connect the Channel that's part of the recipe. If you didn't have a Fitbit account on Fitbit's website, you would need to create one to connect to that Channel.

Browsing recipes will display a list of popular recipes, a directory of Do Recipes, and a directory of If Recipes. A search box on the site makes it convenient to search for a recipe by entering the website, app, or device name you want to connect.

The My Recipes link is where you create your own. 

Clicking on the Create Recipe button starts the process. You'll see the words ifthisthenthat with the “this” like highlighted. Click on the link and choose your trigger channel. You then connect the trigger channel by entering your username and password for that website, app, or device. Once you've connected a Channel, IFTTT remembers it, so you only have to do it once for any Channel. You'll then see the available triggers for that Channel. Select the trigger you want to use. Your ifthisthenthat recipe will display your selected Channel and Trigger where the word “this” appeared. Then the work “that” is highlighted.

Choose the Action Channel, enter your username and password for that Channel, select from the available Actions and options and your recipe is completed with a title that helps you remember what the recipe does. You can publish your recipe to make it available to others (none of your account information is shared), turn it off, test it, or delete it. 

You've used IFTTT to create a simple program that connects two applications you use without needing to know any programming.

Automation without programming

If This Then That gives you tools that can automate repetitive tasks and perform actions using your smartphone. You can base your recipes on things to do and activate them by tapping a button on your phone, or you can create ‘IF' tasks that take actions based on your location or the actions occurring on social media, a website, or in an app.

Have you ever wanted to automate your life, but you didn't want to learn how to write code? If so, If This Then That (IFTTT) has terrific opportunities for you.

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