roro9stack/site/content/guide/basics.md

+++ 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" +++

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
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 lists the Apps. Move with the arrows, open one with Enter. Back inside an App returns here.

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
DBG	The Debug Console is switched on (Settings → 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 or saved Gemini pages. The Storage App shows what is on the card.

The firmware keeps its own folders at the top of the card (captures, gemini, gnss, irc, updates, wifi, plus notes). 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"]) }}