Are a device and a widget the same thing?

Yes. Both refer to one controllable or readable item in the app. A communication object is an individual value behind it, such as a dimmer’s level.

How do scenarios, automations and functions differ?

A scenario runs saved device states as one action. An automation is a WHEN/IF/THEN rule. A function is a configured instance of a Logic block.

What is the difference between a protocol and a connection?

A protocol is the way devices communicate. A connection is one configured link under that protocol, such as a Modbus device or MQTT broker.

What does the KNX bridge do?

It exposes non-KNX widgets on the KNX bus using their own group addresses.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Access level	The number (1–5) on a user account that decides what the user may do (see “Users & Access Levels”).
Action target	What a Logic function output can trigger besides writing a device: a scenario, an automation, a global command, a notification or an e-mail — fired on a transition of a boolean output, with a cooldown (see “Function Setup & Outputs”).
Automation	A WHEN / IF / THEN rule that reacts to events (see “Automations”).
Bidding zone	The electricity market area your energy prices are fetched for (see “Energy Price Service”).
Block	One building element of the Logic engine (a gate, a timer, a thermostat…); a configured instance of a block is a function (see “Logic Engine — Concepts & Canvas”).
Boost	A temporary override. A thermostat Boost sets Comfort mode at 25 °C for a chosen time (30 min–3 h); when it ends, the previous mode and setpoint return — or, with a weekly program, the scheduled mode is applied and the setpoint stays at 25 °C. A ventilation Boost runs at maximum speed until it is switched off (see “Thermostats, Air Conditioning & Ventilation”).
BACnet object	One addressable point of a BACnet device — an analog input, a binary value, a multi-state value — named by type and instance (`AV:12`); binding BACnet means naming the object and, usually, its present-value (see “BACnet/IP Integration”).
Broker (MQTT)	The server all MQTT clients connect to; devices publish their state to it and HyperVisu subscribes there. It can be one you already run, or the one HyperVisu can run itself (see “MQTT Integration”, “The Built-in MQTT Broker”).
Listener (MQTT broker)	One port the built-in broker accepts connections on — MQTT or websockets — each with its own bind address (see “The Built-in MQTT Broker”).
Topic rule (ACL)	A per-account permission on the built-in broker: an account, a permission (read / write / readwrite / deny) and a topic filter. With rules in place, anything not allowed is refused — except for HyperVisu's own account, which always keeps full access (see “The Built-in MQTT Broker”).
State topic / command topic	On the built-in broker, where HyperVisu publishes a device's value (`…/state`) and where a third party may write one back (`…/set`, only when commands are enabled) (see “The Built-in MQTT Broker”).
Bus monitor	The admin page showing live, decoded KNX telegrams (see “KNX Bus Monitor”).
Cloud connection	Reaching the server through the Elausys Cloud Service from anywhere; local connection is the direct LAN link. The app picks automatically (see “Connecting & Signing In”).
Communication object	One value behind a widget (e.g. a dimmer's level); objects are what get bound to a protocol (see “The Devices Workspace”).
Connection	One configured link to an external system under a protocol — e.g. one Modbus device, one MQTT broker, one BACnet device (see “Connections”).
COV (change of value)	A BACnet subscription by which the device reports a point as it changes instead of being polled; HyperVisu subscribes automatically and polls where a device refuses (see “BACnet/IP Integration”).
Device / Widget	The same thing: "device" is the resident word, "widget" the technical one — one controllable or readable item in the app.
Devices Library	The catalog of ready-made device templates (inverters, meters, chargers, relays, speakers). Picking one and giving it an address creates the widgets with their objects already bound (see “Devices Library & Sonos Binding”).
Sonos household	A whole Sonos system as its app shows it. HyperVisu takes one connection per household, reached through a seed speaker, and every zone is discovered from it (see “Sonos Integration”).
Sonos zone	One controllable Sonos player — a single speaker, a stereo pair or a bonded home-theatre set. One zone is one audio device in HyperVisu (see “Audio Zones”).
Device group	A widget that drives several member devices at once and reports their combined state (see “Device Groups”).
Device instance	The number that identifies a BACnet device on the network (0–4194302), shown by the network scan (see “BACnet/IP Integration”).
Door station	The unit at the door — camera, bell button, speaker and lock relay — that HyperVisu shows as a videophone (see “Cameras & Videophone Setup”).
DPT (datapoint type)	The KNX standard describing how a value is encoded (e.g. DPT 5.001 = percentage).
ElauPro	The Elausys project cloud used by installers. Linking a server to an ElauPro project is optional: it centralizes project information and documentation, pushes the prepared visualization to the server, and gives central remote access to every installation (see “Integration with ElauPro”).
Elausys Cloud Service	The remote-access service; the server keeps an outbound tunnel to it, so no router ports need opening (see “Solution Components & Architecture”).
Entity	Home Assistant's word for one device or sensor; entities are what you bind to widgets (see “Home Assistant Integration”).
ETS	The KNX configuration tool. HyperVisu can import its `.knxproj` project files (see “ETS Project Import”).
Frame (TCP/UDP)	One command or status message of a raw-socket device — a line ended by the delimiter, or one UDP datagram. Outgoing frames come from a command template, incoming ones are read with a match pattern (see “TCP/UDP Integration”).
Function	One configured, running instance of a Logic block — what residents see in the Functions list (see “Functions in the App”, “Logic Engine — Concepts & Canvas”).
Global command	A one-tap command over a whole scope: house, room, or category (all off, shutters up/down) (see “Global Commands”).
Group address	The KNX "channel" a telegram is sent to; binding an object means giving it group addresses (see “KNX Integration”).
History logging	Per-object recording of values into the history database, feeding trends, charts and exports (see “History & Data Logging”).
Key (TCP/UDP)	The short text of a TCP/UDP object that an incoming frame must contain to be considered for it. It does not have to be unique — two objects may share one — and it cannot contain `:` (see “TCP/UDP Integration”).
KNX bridge	The feature exposing non-KNX widgets back onto the KNX bus with their own group addresses (see “KNX Bridge & Triggers”).
Logic engine	The subsystem that runs functions built from blocks on the canvas (see “Logic Engine — Concepts & Canvas”).
Match pattern	The TCP/UDP rule that extracts a value from an incoming frame, written with tokens such as `\v` (a number) and `\iText\i` (jump past Text) (see “TCP/UDP Integration”).
Materialized widget	A real widget created from a function's output, usable like any device — in views, logging, the KNX bridge (see “Function Setup & Outputs”).
mDNS	The standard by which devices announce themselves by name on a local network, with no server to configure. It is how the HyperVisu server is reachable as `hypervisu-<serial>.local` (see “Unboxing & First Power-Up”).
Protocol	A way of speaking to devices: KNX, Modbus TCP, Home Assistant, HTTP, MQTT, BACnet/IP, TCP/UDP, Sonos, or Virtual (“Services & Protocols”–“Connections”).
QoS (MQTT)	The delivery guarantee of a published message: 0 at most once, 1 at least once, 2 exactly once (see “MQTT Integration”).
Register	Modbus's addressable value cell; binding Modbus means naming register type, address and data type (see “Modbus TCP Integration”).
Retained message	An MQTT message the broker keeps and replays to every new subscriber — how widgets show a device's state right after a restart (see “MQTT Integration”).
Ring group	The number a door station dials when the bell is pressed (`6000`); it rings every HyperVisu app that is running (see “Cameras & Videophone Setup”).
Scenario (scene)	A saved set of device states run as one action (see “Scenarios”).
Serial number	The unique identity of your server, printed on the appliance and shown in the app (see “App Settings & Personalization”).
Server token	The secret shown on the System page that pairs the server with ElauPro (see “System Page”, “Integration with ElauPro”).
Sheet	One page of the Logic canvas; large installations split functions across sheets (see “Logic Engine — Concepts & Canvas”).
SIP Server	The optional service that carries videophone calls between door stations and the apps (see “Services & Protocols”, “Cameras & Videophone Setup”).
Simulation (test-fire)	Temporarily forcing one input of a function from the admin panel. Not a dry run: the function's device outputs are written and downstream functions run; it auto-reverts (see “Logic Validation, Monitoring & Safety”).
Topic (MQTT)	The hierarchical name a message is published under (`zigbee2mqtt/lamp`); objects subscribe to state topics and publish to command topics. `+` and `#` are wildcards for subscriptions (see “MQTT Integration”).
View	A custom dashboard page built from cards; personal views belong to one user, system views are shared with every user (see “Custom Views”).
Watchdog	The guard that marks a function input stale when its source stops reporting, putting the function in error instead of acting on old data. Present on four inputs, with a fixed time; a switch turns it on or off (see “Logic Engine — Concepts & Canvas”, “Logic Validation, Monitoring & Safety”).
Weekly schedule	The per-widget weekly program of change points for thermostats and air conditioning (see “Weekly Schedules”).
Virtual (protocol)	The built-in protocol for widgets with no physical device behind them — groups, Node-RED points, materialized outputs (see “Virtual Devices & Node-RED”).

Glossary

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