Command Tabs

The five tabs across the top of the Command View — Command, Info, Maps, Comms, and Additional — and how to move between them.

Inside the Command View, a row of tabs runs across the top of the screen. The Command tab is the command board itself; the other four are the same Info, Maps, Comms, and Additional tabs you know from the standalone incident workspace, embedded here so you never have to leave the command screen. Each tab carries an unread badge so you can see where new activity has landed.

Overview

The tabs are always in the same order, left to right.

Position	Tab	What it shows
1	Command	The command board — the top row, left column, main columns, and unassigned units. The default view.
2	Info	The incident's core record: Current, ICS, History. See Info Tab.
3	Maps	The incident map: Directions, Overview, Tracks. See Maps Tab.
4	Comms	Radio, Messages, Phone. See Communications Tab.
5	Additional	Checklist, Personal, Notes. See Additional Tab.

Control	Description
Tab buttons	Tapping a tab switches the workspace to that view. Switching is instant — there is no slide or fade.
Unread badges	A number on Info, Comms, or Additional counts unread items in that tab. Hidden at zero.
Close	Each embedded tab panel has a close control that returns you to the Command board.
Back button	Leaves the command workspace entirely.

note

The tabs are arranged left to right as Command, Info, Maps, Comms, Additional. The Command tab is the default and shows the command board.

Two layouts, same tabs

The tab row behaves slightly differently depending on your device, but the order and the badges are the same.

Layout	How tabs open
Phone-width layout	Tapping Info, Maps, Comms, or Additional opens that tab as a panel over the board, with its name in the panel's title bar. Closing the panel returns you to Command.
Tablet layout	The five tabs work as a true tab bar, with the board as the first tab and each incident tab as its own full view.

note

The swipe-from-the-edge gesture that normally goes back a screen is switched off inside the command workspace, so a stray swipe while working the board cannot drop you out of the incident. Use the Back button when you actually want to leave.

Getting Here

1. Open an incident and open its Command View.
2. The tab row appears across the top of the screen.
3. Tap any tab to switch the workspace.

Switching Tabs

1. Tap Command to return to the command board at any time.
2. Tap Info, Maps, Comms, or Additional to jump straight to that part of the incident without leaving Command View.
3. The embedded tabs behave exactly like their standalone versions, including their own sub-tabs, swipe paging, and remembered positions.
4. Close the panel — or tap Command — to get back to the board.

Behavior	Detail
Board is preserved	The board is not reloaded when you visit another tab. Your left-column selection and scroll position are exactly where you left them.
Sub-tabs are remembered	Each embedded tab remembers its own last sub-tab, the same as the standalone version — and it is the same memory, so leaving Info on History here means it opens on History outside Command View too.
Sub-tab bar shifts	Inside Command View the sub-tab buttons move right so the command tools menu does not cover them.
Menu button	The command tools menu is reached from the header, not the tab row. See Incident Side Menu.

tip

Because the incident tabs are built into Command View, you can run the board and check messages, the map, or the record in a couple of taps — no need to back out of command.

Keeping Track of Activity

1. Watch the unread badges on Info, Comms, and Additional.
2. Open a tab to read its new items; the badge shrinks as you view each sub-tab.
3. Return to Command and keep working.

Tab	How its badge is counted
Info	The combined unread count across Current, ICS, and History.
Comms	The unread message count for the incident's conversations.
Additional	The combined unread count across Checklist, Personal, and Notes.
Command	No badge. The board shows changes directly rather than counting them.
Maps	No badge. Map changes appear on the map itself.

State	What you see
Nothing unread	No badge at all on the tab.
New activity arrives	The badge appears or its number goes up on its own, without you reopening anything.
Partly read	The number drops as you visit each sub-tab that had unread items.

tip

A badge on Info or Additional is the total across three sub-tabs. If it will not clear, one of the sub-tabs you have not opened still has something in it.

How This Connects

• Where the data comes from. All five tabs read the one incident record loaded when you opened the incident. The embedded tabs are literally the same screens as the standalone ones, not copies — which is why positions and read state are shared between them.
• What updates the badges. Incoming messages and form changes arrive over your live connection and update the counts in place. Opening a sub-tab marks its items read, and that read state applies everywhere: clearing a message thread here also clears it in the app's messaging area and on the Incident Overview tabs.
• Why it is arranged this way. Running an incident means flipping between the structure and the traffic. Embedding the tabs keeps the board loaded while you check a message or look at the map, so you never lose your place on the board.
• What the board reads. The board shares its data with the tools on the Incident Side Menu — units on the board are the units in PAR, and tasks can carry map objects from the Maps Tab.
• Offline. All five tabs open and show what was already loaded. Badges stop moving because no new activity can reach you, and anything you type in an embedded tab is held on the device.
• On reconnect. Badges catch up on their own and held changes are sent. Check the tabs you edited offline to confirm your changes landed.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
A tab's badge will not clear	Open the tab and visit each of its sub-tabs. The badge is the total across them.
Tapping a tab seems to do nothing	On the tablet layout the switch is instant with no animation, so the change can be easy to miss. Check which tab's label is highlighted.
The command board reloaded and lost your place	Return to the board with the panel's Close control or the Command tab rather than backing out of the incident.
An embedded tab opened on the wrong sub-tab	Each tab remembers the sub-tab you last used, here and outside Command View. Tap the one you want and it will be remembered.
The sub-tab buttons are hard to reach	They shift right to clear the tools menu. Slide the tools menu away with the header Menu button.
A swipe from the edge does not take you back	That gesture is disabled inside the command workspace on purpose. Use the Back button.
Badges are stuck at the same number	You have lost your connection. Reconnect and they will catch up.
There is no badge on Maps or Command	Those tabs do not use badges — changes appear directly on the map and on the board.

Related Pages

• Command View
• Incident Side Menu
• Info Tab
• Maps Tab
• Communications Tab
• Additional Tab

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