Command Notes

Add or update a short note attached to a unit or a command task.

The Command Notes popup is a quick, focused screen for jotting down one line of information about a resource on the command board. Whether you are recording a unit's status, a special instruction, or a reminder tied to a task, you type it here and tap Done. The note is written back onto that unit or task, so anyone else viewing the board sees the same text.

Overview

Control	What it does	Default
Note field	A single-line text box holding the note for the selected unit or task	Pre-filled with the note already on the item, or blank if there is none
Done button	Saves whatever is in the field back to the unit or task, closes the keyboard, and dismisses the popup	The only button on the screen

There is nothing else on this screen. No title bar controls, no cancel button, no character counter, and no second line.

What the popup is attached to

The popup looks identical in both cases, but it writes to a different place depending on how you opened it.

Opened from	What it edits	Where the note shows afterward
A unit (a resource card on the command board)	That unit's note	On the unit's card and in the unit's detail popup
A task item	That task item's note	On the task card on the board

note

The note is plain text and is meant to be short. The field is a single line, so long paragraphs scroll sideways out of view instead of wrapping. Use the incident timeline or an incident form when you need to record more than a few words.

Getting Here

1. Open an incident and switch to the Command view.
2. Find the unit or task item you want to annotate on the board.
3. Tap the card to open its options, then choose the note action.
4. The Command Notes popup slides up with the current note already loaded in the field.

info

The note action only appears on a card when your role is allowed to edit the command board. If you are viewing the incident read-only, the card opens without the note option and you can read existing notes but not change them.

Add or Edit a Note

1. Tap inside the Note field to bring up the keyboard. If a note already exists it appears in full, so you can review it before changing anything.
2. Type the new text. Keep it to recognizable shorthand rather than a sentence.
3. Tap Done. The keyboard closes, the text is written onto the unit or task, and the popup dismisses. You land back on the command board with the card showing the updated note.

tip

Agree on shorthand across the agency so the board reads at a glance: Rehab, Staging, RIT, Air 1, PAR complete. Consistent terms are far easier to scan during a fast-moving incident than free-form sentences.

Clear a Note

1. Tap inside the Note field.
2. Select the existing text and delete it so the field is completely empty.
3. Tap Done. The empty value is saved, which removes the note from the card.

caution

There is no cancel on this popup. Whatever is in the field when you tap Done is saved, including an empty field, which erases the note that was there before. If you opened the popup by mistake and do not want to change anything, leave the text exactly as you found it before tapping Done.

Loading and Empty States

State	What you see
Item has no note yet	The field is empty and the keyboard is ready for you to type
Item already has a note	The existing text is loaded so you can edit rather than retype it
Note longer than the field	Text scrolls horizontally; tap and drag the cursor to read the rest

How This Connects

The text you save here is stored on the unit or task item itself inside the incident's command board, not as a separate record. That means the note follows the item everywhere it appears:

• The note shows on the card on the command board and in the unit's own detail popup, so it is visible to anyone viewing the same incident.
• Because the note belongs to the unit, splitting a unit carries the note across. A new unit created in Split a Unit starts with the same name, code, and note as the unit it came from, so review the note on both halves afterward.
• Notes are not shown in Command Resources, which lists units by their board position and head count. Use the board itself, or the unit card, when you need to read notes.
• Moving a unit around the board, attaching it to another unit in Tasks & Units, or reassigning it to a different task does not change its note. The note only changes when someone edits it here.

Because the note is part of the command board, it saves with the board. If your device drops off the network, your edit is held on the device with the rest of your board changes and goes out when the connection returns. Until then, other responders still see the previous note, so do not rely on a note alone to pass along time-critical direction. Use radio or the incident comms tab for that.

Troubleshooting

If this happens	What to do
The note action is missing from the card	Your role cannot edit the command board for this incident. Ask the incident commander or an administrator to grant edit access.
The note you typed disappeared	An empty field saves as an empty note. Reopen the popup and type the text again, then tap Done with the text still in the field.
The note did not change on the card	The card refreshes when the popup closes. If it still looks stale, leave the Command view and come back to force the board to redraw.
Your note is not visible to other responders	Check your connection. Board changes made offline stay on your device until it can reach the server.
Your text runs off the end of the field	The field is a single line. Shorten the note, or record the detail on the incident timeline instead.
The keyboard covers the Done button	Tap the return key or tap outside the field to dismiss the keyboard, then tap Done.

Related Pages

• Tasks & Units
• Unit Overview
• Command Resources
• Command Timeline

---

⬅️ Previous: Command Timers | Next: Command Resources ➡️