Event Triggers Overview

While Screen Conditions inspect visual display pixels using computer vision, Event Triggers (TriggerCondition / TriggerEvent) evaluate internal application state, time intervals, and external Android system events.

Triggers operate independently of screen contents, requiring zero GPU rendering or OpenCV image processing.

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Screen Conditions vs. Event Triggers

Understanding when to use a visual condition versus an event trigger is fundamental to designing clean, battery-efficient automations:

Dimension	Screen Conditions (ScreenCondition)	Event Triggers (TriggerCondition)
Inspection Target	Display frame buffers, pixels, textures, and text.	System clock timestamps, internal variables, and Android Intents.
Hardware Resources	Requires MediaProjection, CPU/GPU for OpenCV & neural OCR.	Pure state comparisons in memory ($< 0.1$ ms evaluation).
Screen Dependency	Requires the target app to be open and rendering on screen.	Can fire regardless of what app or screen is currently active.
Primary Use Cases	Reacting to buttons, health bars, dialogue, and popups.	Loop counters, periodic heartbeats, wait timers, and Tasker IPC.

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The TriggerEvent Architecture

In Macrion's domain model, an automation routine is organized into Events:

• Screen Events (ScreenEvent): Contain one or more visual conditions (Image, Color, Text, Number).
• Trigger Events (TriggerEvent): Contain one or more trigger conditions (Timer, Counter, Broadcast).

Shared Event Capabilities

Trigger Events inherit the full capabilities of Macrion's event pipeline:

• Initial State (enabledOnStart): Can be active immediately when the scenario launches, or start in a disabled state until activated dynamically by a ToggleEvent action.
• Boolean Operators (AND / OR): Combine multiple triggers within a single event (e.g. fire when Timer Reached AND Counter > 5).
• Execution Priority: Dictates execution order relative to other events.
• Event Cooldowns: Set minimum elapsed time before the trigger can execute again, preventing accidental re-triggering.

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Performance & Battery Benefits

Because Trigger Events do not capture or process video frames:

1. Idle Efficiency: Scenarios waiting on a timer or external broadcast consume negligible CPU cycles and preserve battery life during long standby sessions.
2. Deterministic Speed: Evaluating a counter or timer comparison takes less than a microsecond, eliminating frame-capture latency.

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Available Trigger Types

Explore the detailed specifications for each trigger condition:

1. Timer Triggers — Fixed delays, one-shot startup timers, and auto-restarting interval loops.
2. Counter Triggers — Evaluating internal variables against numeric constants or other counters (=, ≠, >, <, ≥, ≤).
3. Broadcast Intent Triggers — Listening for incoming system broadcasts dispatched by Tasker, Automate, or ADB.