# Vacation-timer questions

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [29 September 2019 21:11 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068 "2019-09-29T21:11:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![hepcat72](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/hepcat72/32/8078_2.png) [@hepcat72](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/hepcat72)\
**Post date:** [29 September 2019 21:11 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068/1 "2019-09-29T21:11:54Z")

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I just finished tweaking my vacation-timer setup. When I last used it, I remember seeing a little status message appear below each vacation-timer node. However, now that I've set up a mechanism to automatically activate and deactivate the vacation timer nodes, there's no visible indication that its active or inactive. I know it's working because when I turn it on, it turns on the lights. So since I'm not able to see that little status message below each vacation-timer node, how can I tell if it's actually on of off?

Also, the vacation-timer settings mention a setting called "topic". What is that and do I need to set it?

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**Author:** ![bakman2](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/bakman2/32/6207_2.png) [@bakman2](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/bakman2)\
**Post date:** [30 September 2019 04:10 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068/2 "2019-09-30T04:10:30Z")

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> how can I tell if it's actually on of off?

It depends on the node and how it handles the node status.

The 'topic' property is usually used to distinguish different input sources, meaning you could have a schedule per topic. The vacation-timer node has not been updated for 2+ years (not necessarily a bad thing if it works).

Did you take a look a "[light-scheduler](https://faulty.cloud/projects/node-red-contrib-light-scheduler)" ? You can setup the schedule visually and the node status is updated when on/off.

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**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [30 September 2019 06:51 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068/3 "2019-09-30T06:51:43Z")

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Node-RED version? (there is a problem with node statuses in latest beta)  
What node are you using?  
Print screen/sample flow?

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**Author:** ![hepcat72](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/hepcat72/32/8078_2.png) [@hepcat72](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/hepcat72)\
**Post date:** [30 September 2019 18:44 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/vacation-timer-questions/16068/4 "2019-09-30T18:44:25Z")

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- Node Red 0.20.5
- vacation-timer

I didn't want to share what devices I'm controlling, but here's a screenshot of the vacation-timer nodes. When I first worked with them a few weeks ago, they all had a little status message below them, but after I moved them into a subflow and connected their inputs, there is no message. I can't remember whether I had connected their inputs before.

 ![vacation_timer](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/uploads/nodered/original/2X/3/3f00581b9a4646ac832cef21b504404b96871a31.jpeg)