References Tab
Quick access to reference material like maps and communications information.
The References tab holds the reference resources your organization makes available, such as maps and radio communications information. It uses the same tile-grid layout as the other tabs, with each tile opening a specific reference feature.
Overview
The References tab is a grid of reference tiles. Each tile shows its name and icon and may carry a red badge when it has unread chat messages.
| Tile | Opens | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maps | The reference map view | Waits for both offline map data and map layers to download |
| Communications | Your agency's radio channel list | Opens the codeplug list of radio configurations |
| Custom tiles | Your agency's own reference forms and documents | Named whatever your agency called them |
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Reference tile | A tappable card showing the feature's name and icon |
| Unread badge | A red bubble showing unread chat messages for that feature |
| Down arrow | Scrolls to the bottom of the grid; shown only when the grid can scroll |
| Up arrow | Scrolls back to the top; shown only once you have scrolled down |
The grid resizes to fit the space it has.
| Device and orientation | Columns |
|---|---|
| Phone held upright | 2 |
| Tablet held upright | 3 |
| Phone or tablet held sideways | 4 |
Available reference tiles are set by your organization. You may see additional reference tiles beyond Maps and Communications depending on your setup, and a tile in the disabled style does nothing when tapped.
Getting Here
- From anywhere in the app, tap the References tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Or set References as your default start screen in Settings so the app opens here.
Open a Reference
- Find the reference tile you need, such as Maps or Communications.
- Tap the tile to open it.
- Use the back control to return to the References grid.
The Maps tile only opens once both its offline map data and its map layers have finished downloading. Until then, tapping it shows a short message reading "Downloading progress". Let the download complete on a good connection, then try again.
Use the Reference Map
Once the download has finished, the map is built for use out of coverage.
- Tap Maps.
- The map opens with your agency's layers available.
- Everything inside the downloaded areas works with no signal.
| What downloads | Why |
|---|---|
| Offline map areas | The map tiles for the regions your agency works in |
| Map layers | Your agency's own overlays, such as boundaries and hazard areas |
| Map icons | The symbols used for points on the map |
Only the areas your agency chose are downloaded. Panning far outside them while offline shows empty map space, not an error. Plan ahead if you expect to work beyond your agency's usual boundaries.
Use the Communications Reference
- Tap Communications.
- The list of your agency's radio configurations opens.
- Choose a configuration to see its channels and details.
Radio configurations are large files and download alongside your other agency data. If one is still arriving, the app tells you it is downloading rather than opening a half-loaded list.
Find Unread Messages
- Look for tiles with a red number badge showing unread chat messages.
- If the tile with unread messages is off screen, the up or down scroll arrow turns red to point you toward it.
- Tap the arrow, then open the tile to read the messages; the badge clears once read.
| Arrow colour | What it means |
|---|---|
| White | Nothing unread is hidden in that direction |
| Red | A tile with unread messages is off screen in that direction |
Double-tap the References tab to jump the grid back to the top if you have scrolled down a long list.
Loading and Empty States
| State | What you see |
|---|---|
| Agency data has not finished downloading | Tiles appear, but map and radio tiles show the downloading message when tapped |
| A tile's icon has not downloaded yet | The tile shows its name, and the icon fills in later |
| Your agency has no reference features enabled | An empty grid with no tiles |
| The grid fits on one screen | Both scroll arrows are hidden |
How This Connects
The References tab is one slice of your agency's feature list, and the tab most dependent on downloads.
- The tiles are the features your agency assigned to the References screen, from the agency data downloaded at Sign In. The same list fills Home Tab, Logs Tab, the Alerts tab, and Account Tab.
- Map layers and offline map areas start downloading as soon as the dashboard opens, which is why the Maps tile can be unavailable for the first few minutes after a fresh sign-in. See Main Dashboard & Tab Bar.
- The GPS tile on the Home Tab uses the same map layers, so if one is waiting on a download the other usually is too.
- Switching organizations in the header rebuilds this grid and switches to the other agency's map layers and radio configurations.
- Badges are counted from messages stored on the device, so they stay accurate offline; the References tab badge at the bottom of the screen shows the same total.
- Losing signal is exactly what this tab is built for: downloaded maps, layers, and radio references keep working normally. What stops is any download still in progress, so a tile that was showing the downloading message keeps showing it until you reconnect. When you do, downloads resume where they left off and the tiles open as normal.
Troubleshooting
| If this happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| Tapping Maps shows "Downloading progress" | Both the offline map data and the map layers are still downloading. Stay on a good connection and try again shortly. |
| The map opens but areas are blank | You are outside the offline areas your agency downloaded. Ask your administrator to add the region. |
| The map has no overlays | Map layers have not finished downloading, or none are enabled for your agency. |
| Communications shows a downloading message | The radio configuration file is still arriving. Wait and try again. |
| A tile does nothing when tapped | It is disabled for your role. Ask your agency administrator. |
| A tile is missing | Check the organization in the header, then confirm the feature is enabled for your role. |
| The grid is empty | No reference features are enabled for this organization. |
| A badge will not clear | Open the tile and read the waiting messages. |
| A scroll arrow is red but you cannot see the tile | Tap the arrow to scroll straight to it. |
| Downloads never seem to finish | Move to a stronger connection; large map files can take several minutes. |
Related Pages
⬅️ Previous: Account Tab | Next: Logs Tab ➡️