+++
title = "The basics"
description = "The keys, the Launcher, the Status Bar and what happens the first time you switch the device on."
weight = 1
[extra]
tag = "Start here"
screens = ["help.png"]
+++
## One key to remember
**Fn + h, on any screen, lists the keys that work there.** No screen names its keys: that key does. It works everywhere, in a text field too, and ? does the same whenever you are not typing. The arrows scroll the list; any other key closes it.
The list is for *the screen you are on*: in Storage it is the file keys, in a dialog it is the dialog's, in a text field it is the editing keys. Each list ends with the keys that work everywhere.
If you only read one paragraph of this guide, this was it.
## The keys
The Cardputer's keyboard has no arrow keys and no Escape, so the firmware gives a few keys a second job:
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| Enter | Opens or confirms the selected item |
| ` | **Back**: one step out of a screen, and out of an App |
| Fn + ` | **Home**: back to the Launcher |
| Fn + ; . , / | The arrows: up, down, left, right |
| ; . , / alone | The same arrows, as long as you are **not** typing text |
| Fn + h, or ? when not typing | **Help:** the keys of the screen you are on |
| Fn + p | **A screenshot:** the screen as it is, saved as a picture in `/screenshots` on the SD card |
| Tab | Switches view in an App that has more than one |
| Del | Deletes backwards when you type |
| opt then an accent, then a letter | Types an accented letter: opt ' e gives é |
While you type text (a note, an IRC line, a setting), `;` `.` `,` `/` type their own characters and you need Fn for the arrows. The Status Bar shows `opt` while a compose is waiting for its letter.
## The Launcher
The home screen shows the Apps as a grid of icons, four to a row, with the name of the selected one written under the grid. Move with the four arrows, open an App with Enter. Back inside an App returns here.
Left and right go through every App and wrap around; up and down stay in the column.
**An orange dot on an icon** says something is going on in that App: unread messages in IRC, a Track being recorded in GNSS, a Capture running in the LoRa Scanner, a session open in SSH.
If you prefer the list of names the Launcher used to be, **Settings → Display → Launcher** switches between **Grid** and **List**. In the list, a `*` on the right stands for the dot.
## The Status Bar
A strip at the top of every screen: the name of the App on the left, and on the right, from the edge inwards:
| Shows | Means |
|---|---|
| the time | The clock, once Wi-Fi or a GNSS fix has set it |
| `[3]` | Unread IRC messages that mention you, or private ones |
| `97%` | The battery (in the warning colour at 15% and under) |
| `SD` | A card is in; the warning colour at 80% full |
| bars and `W` | Wi-Fi connected, with its signal; `W?` is searching; `MON` is the Wi-Fi radio in its monitoring mode, which pauses IRC |
| `SSH` | An [SSH session](/guide/ssh/) is open, whatever App is in front |
| `VPN` | The [WireGuard tunnel](/guide/vpn/) is wanted; brighter once the server has answered |
| `DBG` | The Debug Console is switched on (Settings → System → Debug Console); brighter while a PC is connected to it |
| `REC` | A GNSS Track is being recorded |
| `CAP` | A LoRa capture is being recorded |
| `L` | The radio is listening; it lights up for a moment on each packet. `SW` while a Sweep runs |
| `G` or `G12` | The GNSS receiver is searching (`G`, dim), has a 2D fix (`G`), or has a 3D fix with that many satellites (`G12`) |
## Toasts
News from a background service (an IRC mention, a Storage warning, an update that is out) shows as a short message over whatever App is open, and can beep and flash the LED. **Sound & LED** in Settings turns that off.
## The first start
On a new device a short Setup asks four things, then never appears again. It also tells you about Fn + h, twice, and it is the only part of the firmware that names keys on the screen:
1. **Long name**, up to 39 bytes.
2. **Short name**, up to 4 characters.
3. **Radio region.** Nothing will transmit until you confirm yours. EU868 is the supported region.
4. **Timezone.**
## The SD card
Put a microSD card in the Cardputer. Without one the radio, GNSS, Wi-Fi and IRC still work, but nothing can be saved: no notes, IRC logs, Wi-Fi scan logs, GPX tracks, LoRa captures, screenshots or saved Gemini pages. The [Storage App](/guide/storage/) shows what is on the card.
The firmware keeps its own folders at the top of the card (`captures`, `gemini`, `gnss`, `irc`, `notes`, `screenshots`, `updates`, `wifi`). You can use the card in a computer too, but those names are the firmware's.
## The keys, as the device lists them
What Fn + h shows on these screens. These tables are generated from the firmware's own lists, so they are always the current ones.
{{ keys(scopes=["launcher", "everywhere", "dialog", "text"]) }}