Content aware Tasker fingerprint reader

Fingerprint readers are pretty much useless in the default state. You can unlock the phone, or authorize a purchase, but other than this the usage of this extra hardware is limited. It always felt to me like a missed opportunity.
Until now!

Meet the content-aware Tasker fingerprint reader

This very simple project will assign multiple functionalities to the fingerprint reader depending on what you are doing or where you are. In this example, I will show you how instantly cast the current website to the big screen (PC).  This way you will be able to add additional functions to the reader depending on windows opened, or your location. Imagination is your limit.

How does it work

Bear in mind that the Fingerprint scanner tools app is new and under active development. The Tasker support is limited, however, this is OK. We are going to use Tasker to assign more than one profile to the fingerprint scanner. When the fingerprint is activated, Tasker will check what else you have been doing (or where you are) and will execute the correct profile accordingly. If your fingerprint scanner is in front of the device, consider using a swipe action instead, to share your URL.

EDIT (May 2020): Since LogCat, you don’t have to use any plugins to pull it off. You can assign custom fingers to your actions – see this post for more details.

Fingerprint scan

Scanned Finger 
	A1: Variable Set [ Name:%FingerScanned To:1 Do Maths:Off Append:Off ] 
	A2: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:2 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ] 
	A3: Variable Set [ Name:%FingerScanned To:0 Do Maths:Off Append:Off ]

We need to get the reader to act as a universal trigger for our conditions. We will need a task Scanned finger that will trigger other profiles for us. We can link this to a variable %FingerScanned. The profile will change the value of this variable from 0 to 1 for 2 seconds. This should be sufficient for Tasker to notice the change, and respond to it. If you have any issues with Tasker responding tho the variable change, try increasing the wait action to 3 sec. Open the Fingerprint scanner tools and assign this task.

Cast the current Chrome window

Profile: Cast Chrome 
	Application: Chrome
	State: Variable Value [ %FingerScanned eq 1 ]
Enter: Chrome 
	A1: AutoInput UI Query [ Configuration:Only Visible: true
		Only Clickable: false
		App Package: com.android.chrome
		Check Screen State: false
		Text: ((?<=https:\/\/|https:\/\/|https:\/\/www.|https:\/\/www.|www.))?.*
		Regex: true
		Variables: address Timeout (Seconds):20 ] 
	A2: Join Send Push [ Configuration:Device: Chrome@work
		Url: %address Timeout (Seconds):60 ] 

When the chrome is opened and the variable %FingerScanned changes to 1, our profile will share the current URL via Join to a device of our choice. You can prompt a device selection if you wish, but for super fast sharing, I designated a single device for doing so.
I’m using the Autoinput UI Query to get the value of the URL in the browser. In most of the cases, the web address will start with www or http(s) and the combination of thereof.
To capture the URL we will need a regex:

((?<=https:\/\/|https:\/\/|https:\/\/www.|https:\/\/www.|www.))?.*

If you have any issues configuring the Query – use Variable Setup to return to the Chrome and select the address bar. This will set up the URL capture automatically. I have also set up a custom variable %address which will contain the address from the chrome tab.
Joao has promised me to update this in the next Join patch so quite possibly actions 2-4 won’t be needed anymore.
The last action is the Join Push.  Go to the URL and enter %address . This way the URL will be pushed correctly to the PC and will open the website automatically.

Conclusion

As you can see, this way we can assign multiple actions to our reader despite imposed limitations. I have a whole collection of additional Fingerprint Actions for you.  I reached out to the dev Daniel Huber, and more Tasker functionality is planned. Now that you know how to use the fingerprint reader without bonding it with a single task permanently, nothing should stop you from adding extra actions to other apps.
Perhaps, casting a YouTube video with a single tap (no Chromecast needed) should be the next tutorial?  Let me know what do you think and how you going to use the reader in your profiles.
Happy Tasking!

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