Keys and Navigation

Each key does the same kind of thing on every screen.

The five rules

1. OK opens or chooses the thing with the focus. Holding OK does the lasting version, such as save or make permanent.
2. Back goes back one level. On Home it undoes one temporary change per press. Holding Back returns to Home from anywhere.
3. * opens quick settings for what you are doing. Holding * locks or unlocks the keys.
4. # opens the actions for the thing with the focus, such as a person, a talkgroup, a message or the last caller. Holding # opens Recent.
5. PTT talks to the person or talkgroup with the focus in any list, once. With nothing focused, it talks to the channel's talk target.

The bottom line of most screens is the hint row. It shows what the nearest keys do there. What Back does is at its right end, above the Back key.

Key reference

The keys are named by their job (Conventions). Key roles lists which physical key does each job on your radio. It also lists what replaces a key the radio doesn't have.

The side keys (Monitor, Talk target and Power level on most radios) can do other jobs. Set them in Settings > Keys (Settings) or in the codeplug.

Each key press gives a short key beep unless Settings > Sound > Key tones is off.

While the keys are locked (hold *), PTT still works. When Settings > Privacy > PTT when locked is off, PTT gives an error beep and "PTT is off while locked: hold * to unlock".

Moving around

The Home screen is the base. Every other screen is at most three levels away from it.

Home
 |-- *            Quick settings
 |-- OK           Hub: 1 Contacts, 2 Messages, 3 Recent, 4 Zones, 5 Channels, 6 Tools, 7 Settings
 |                    (a radio without # gets 0 Last caller at the top)
 |-- #            Actions for the last caller
 |-- hold #       Talk target picker (DMR)
 |-- 0-9          Find
 '-- Talk target  Talk target picker

In numbered lists (the hub, Tools, Settings, actions, quick settings) a number key picks the row with that number directly. For example, OK, 6 opens Tools.

In long lists (Contacts, Channels, a zone's channels) the number keys filter the list by name, the way a phone keypad spells words. 2 is ABC, 3 is DEF, and so on to 9 (WXYZ). Each key narrows the list to names with a word that starts with those letters. Back deletes the last key typed, then leaves the list.

Find

On Home (not in the VFO), a number key opens Find. Find searches everything at once. Type digits. Find lists, in this order:

1. The channel at that position in the current zone. "12" lists channel 12.
2. Channels in the zone, contacts and talkgroups, zones, places (Contacts, Messages and so on) and settings whose names match the keys as letters.
3. Contacts whose DMR ID starts with the number, from three digits on.
4. The number itself, as a talkgroup ("Talk to TG 3100", "not saved") and as a private call ("Private call 3100").

Then:

Settings also answer to other names. For example, "promiscuous" finds Digital monitor and "TOT" finds TX timeout.

Temporary and permanent changes

Changes you make while operating (power, squelch, tone, timeslot, color code, mode, talk target) are temporary. They last until you change the channel or press Back on Home. Home marks the changed fields. To keep a change in the channel, hold OK on Home or in quick settings. The radio shows "Saved to channel".

Back on Home clears one thing per press, in this order:

1. a frequency being typed
2. a banner
3. the scan
4. the reply window
5. digital monitor
6. all temporary changes together ("Changes undone")

Key lock

On Home, hold * to lock the keys. The screen shows "Keys locked: hold * to unlock" and an "L" in the status line. While locked, PTT and Monitor still work. Any other key shows the unlock hint. Hold * again to unlock. In menus holding * doesn't lock, so a slow press can't lock the keys in the middle of a task.

Settings > Privacy > Auto lock locks the keys by itself after a time without a key press.

Toasts and banners

Short messages ("toasts") appear in the hint row for about two seconds. A toast shows the result of an action, or why something isn't available. A long toast takes a second line above the hint row and isn't cut short. Banners announce events (a message, a call alert, a radio check result) for eight seconds. While a banner about a message or a call alert is up, # opens what it is about. Back on Home hides it.

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