Guides
Home

Help & Guides

Phone & Tablet Mode

The console adapts to the device you're on. Phone mode gives you a streamlined, single-column interface with a bottom tab bar and a drawer sidebar. Tablet mode grows tap targets and inputs to a comfortable size and defaults the sidebar to closed so the working area gets full width. Both auto-detect, and both can be forced on or off from Settings → Display.

TL;DR

  • Phone mode turns on automatically under 640 px wide. Tablet mode turns on automatically on tablet-sized viewports.
  • Force either mode on or off from Settings → Display. Auto is the default.
  • In phone mode you get a bottom tab bar (Home, Active Net, Schedule, Chat, More), a drawer sidebar, a streamlined Active Net runner, full-bleed chat, and dense tables re-flow into stacked cards.
  • In tablet mode every button, input, and menu item meets a 44 px+ touch target and the sidebar starts closed.

When does each mode activate?

  • Phone: viewport width is under 640 px (Tailwind's sm breakpoint). Phone mode supersedes tablet mode — a 600 px-wide viewport is treated as a phone, not a tablet.
  • Tablet: tablet-sized viewports with a coarse pointer (touch). Tablet mode does not activate on a desktop with a mouse, even at the same width.
  • Override: open Settings → Display and set Phone or Tablet to On, Off, or Auto. The setting is per device and persists across sessions.

What changes in phone mode

  • Bottom tab bar. Replaces the sidebar for primary navigation: Home, Active Net (with a green LIVE pill when a net is on the air), Schedule, Chat (with the unread count badge), and More (opens the full sidebar drawer).
  • Drawer-only sidebar. Tap More in the bottom bar — or the panel toggle in the top bar — to slide the full sidebar over the page. Tap outside the drawer to dismiss.
  • Streamlined Active Net runner (PhoneNetRunner). One task at a time: the current preamble step or the check-in form fills the screen, the Right Rail tucks behind a button, and the check-in list is below the form so scrolling stays vertical and predictable.
  • N/C Chat goes full-bleed. The chat fills the viewport edge-to-edge and the composer sticks to the bottom above the tab bar. The floating in-net chat panel docks to the bottom of the screen instead of floating in the corner.
  • Tables become stacked cards. Net History, Op Roster, and Schedule re-flow each row into a card so call signs, dates, and badges stay readable without horizontal scrolling.
  • Listen mode header polish. The public /listen page keeps the title and the On/Off Air badge on a single line on phone widths.

What changes in tablet mode

  • Comfortable tap targets. Buttons, links rendered as buttons, tabs, and dropdown menu items grow to a 44 px+ minimum so they're easy to hit with a finger.
  • Larger inputs. Text inputs, selects, and textareas grow to match.
  • Looser table cells. Padding in the dense tables (Roster, History, Schedule) loosens so taps land on the right row.
  • Sidebar defaults to closed. The first time tablet mode activates, the sidebar collapses so the working area gets the full screen width. Open it from the panel toggle whenever you need it.
  • Sticky action bar safe area. When a screen mounts a bottom action bar, the page below reserves bottom padding so content never hides behind it.

Tips for running a net from a phone

  • Charge to 100% and plug in. A 30–45 minute net with the screen on, GPS off, and chat connected will burn through battery. Keep the device plugged in if you can.
  • Lock to portrait. The PhoneNetRunner is designed for portrait. Landscape works but loses some vertical room for check-ins.
  • Turn on Do Not Disturb. A call or a calendar notification mid-net can interrupt your concentration. The console is a web app, so silencing the OS is the cleanest way to focus.
  • Pin the tab. If you're in a desktop browser on a tablet, pin the tab so you don't accidentally close it.
  • Use the bottom tab bar to bounce. Active Net → Chat → Active Net is two taps. Don't open the drawer for that — the tab bar is faster.
  • RELAY fills work the same. If you're a backup on a phone, the RELAY button in chat sends a structured fill (callsign + name + location) to the active Primary just like on desktop.
  • App Relay tray is reachable. If you're Primary on a phone, the App Relay tray surfaces on the Group 6 (Late Check-ins) and Close steps just like desktop. The relay-count pill shows in earlier steps so you don't get distracted.
  • If the layout looks wrong, check the override. Settings → Display may have phone or tablet mode forced on or off from a previous session. Set it back to Auto.

Tips for following from a tablet

  • The public /listen page is the cleanest way to monitor — no operator chrome, full-width preamble, and announcements collapsed by default.
  • For backups: the floating in-net chat panel collapses to an unread badge so it stays out of the way until you need it. Tap to expand, tap the chevron to collapse.
  • For Net Managers/Co-Managers reviewing live: open the Active Net runner — the Right Rail (Glance / Chat tabs) gives at-a-glance situational awareness without scrolling, and the chat is docked inside it. On tablets it slides over from the right via the Rail button.

Known limitations

  • Some advanced editing screens (preamble editor with Live Preview, schedule generator, statistics dashboard) are designed primarily for desktop and remain usable but cramped on a phone. Use a tablet or laptop for those.
  • Bulk paste into the Backfill grid is awkward on phone keyboards — do backfills on a laptop.
  • Phone mode is a presentation layer. It doesn't change permissions, data, or what you're allowed to do — only how things are laid out.