App Defaults
Choose your startup screen, units, theme, app icon, date format, home widgets, and per-app notification behavior.
App Defaults holds the preferences that follow you rather than an agency: the screen the app opens to, your measurement units and theme, the date format used everywhere dates appear, your home widgets and icon shortcuts, and how alerts behave while you are actually using the app or driving with CarPlay. The screen's own header reads User Settings.
Overview
| Setting | What it controls | Where it takes effect |
|---|---|---|
| Default Agency | The agency the app opens in | At the next sign-in |
| Default Module | The tab the app opens to | At the next sign-in |
| System Units | Metric or Imperial | Everywhere a measurement is shown |
| Compass True North | True north instead of magnetic | The compass and bearings |
| Language | Which translation languages are downloaded for offline use | The translate tool |
| Theme | Light or Dark | Immediately, across the whole app |
| App Icon | Light or Dark home-screen icon | Immediately on the device home screen |
| Date Format | How dates are written | Everywhere a date is shown |
| Keep Screen Awake | Stops the device sleeping while the app is open | Immediately |
| Screensaver | Seconds of inactivity before the screensaver | Immediately, when Keep Screen Awake is on |
| Home Widgets | Which modules appear as widgets | The Home tab and the device widget |
| Icon Shortcuts | Which modules appear as app-icon shortcuts | The device home screen |
| In-app and CarPlay toggles | Sound and banner behavior for alerts | Immediately |
Getting Here
- Open the Account tab.
- Open App Settings.
- Choose App Defaults.
When an administrator opens this for another member, the header reads Account Settings instead and the settings are fetched for that person.
Setting Units, Theme and Compass
- Tap Metric or Imperial. The chosen one becomes selected; they are mutually exclusive.
- Tap Light or Dark. The screen you are on changes theme straight away so you can see the result, but the change is only stored when you save.
- Use the Compass True North switch to choose between true north and magnetic north.
Choosing an App Icon
- Tap App Icon and choose Light Icon or Dark Icon.
- The device's home-screen icon changes immediately — before you save.
| Situation | Message |
|---|---|
| The device does not support alternate icons | "Alternate icons are not supported on this device." |
| The change failed | "Error changing app icon:" followed by the reason |
Choosing a Date Format
- Tap the Date Format selector. A long list opens.
- Each entry shows today's date written in that format, with a plain-language description underneath — for example "Month-Day-Year with leading zeros with 12 hours format".
- Pick one. The label updates to show today's date in your new format.
Every pattern comes in a 12-hour and a 24-hour version. The families available include:
| Family | Examples of what you see |
|---|---|
| Numeric with leading zeros | Month-Day-Year, Day-Month-Year, Year-Month-Day |
| Numeric without leading zeros | The same three orders, shorter |
| No separators | MMddyy style |
| Month abbreviation | MMM-dd-yyyy, dd-MMM-yyyy, MMM dd, yyyy |
| Full month name | MMMM d, yyyy, d MMMM, yyyy |
| Day of year | Day counted consecutively from January 1 |
info
This format is used app-wide — notification dates, last-seen times on Devices, release dates on App Version and outage dates on Default Status all follow it.
Keep Screen Awake and the Screensaver
- Turn on Keep Screen Awake. The device stops sleeping while REDENES is open, immediately — before you save.
- The Screensaver row appears only while Keep Screen Awake is on. Turning the switch off hides it again.
- Tap Screensaver and choose a number of seconds from 0 to 20. 0 is shown as Off.
| Screensaver value | Effect |
|---|---|
| Off | No screensaver; any running inactivity timer is cancelled |
| 1 to 20 | The screensaver appears after that many seconds of inactivity, provided Keep Screen Awake is on |
note
The screensaver only runs when Keep Screen Awake is also on. Choosing a number with the switch off does nothing.
Translation Languages
- Tap Language and pick the languages you want available offline.
- The chosen language names are listed comma separated, or None.
- When you save with a connection, those language packs begin downloading in the background so the translate tool works without data.
Setting Home Widgets and Shortcuts
Both use the same module picker, with different limits.
| Row | Maximum | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Home Widgets | Nine modules | The Home tab and the device's REDENES widget |
| Icon Shortcuts | Four modules | Long-pressing the app icon on your home screen |
- Tap Home Widgets or the shortcut row. The picker opens, grouped by app section.
- Tap modules to select them. Selecting more than the limit shows You can select maximum 9 modules or You can select maximum 4 modules.
- Tap Done. The chosen module names are listed on the row, or None.
- Tap Save. The device widget is refreshed and the app-icon shortcuts are rebuilt.
caution
Widgets and shortcuts only update when you tap Save — choosing modules in the picker is not enough on its own.
In-App and CarPlay Notification Behavior
Four switches decide what happens when an alert arrives while you are already looking at the app or connected to CarPlay.
| Toggle | Effect |
|---|---|
| Play sound when app open | Plays a sound for alerts arriving while the app is open |
| Show banner when app open | Shows a banner for alerts arriving while the app is open |
| Play sound on CarPlay | Plays a sound while connected to CarPlay |
| Show banner on CarPlay | Shows a banner while connected to CarPlay |
The pairs are linked. Turning on an in-app switch turns its CarPlay partner on and locks it, because an alert that sounds in the app also sounds on CarPlay. Turning the in-app switch off unlocks the CarPlay switch and restores whatever you had set there before.
| In-app switch | Matching CarPlay switch |
|---|---|
| On | Forced on and untappable |
| Off | Tappable, restored to your own choice |
When a CarPlay screen is actually attached, both CarPlay switches become tappable regardless.
Saving Your Changes
- Tap back after making changes. A prompt appears: Settings Updated — "Do you want to save changes?"
- Choose Save to store them and leave, or Cancel to leave without saving.
- With no changes made, back leaves immediately.
| Connection | What Save does |
|---|---|
| Online | Stores everything on the device, sends it to the server, and begins downloading any newly chosen translation languages |
| Offline | Stores everything on the device and flags it to sync when you next connect |
| Setting | Takes effect |
|---|---|
| Theme, app icon, Keep Screen Awake | Immediately, as you tap — before saving |
| Units, compass, date format, widgets, shortcuts, screensaver, notification toggles | On Save |
| Default agency and default module | At your next sign-in |
note
For an administrator editing another member's settings, saving requires a connection and the app shows its "internet not available" message rather than storing anything.
How This Connects
- Where the data comes from. Every one of these values is loaded when you sign in, from the user settings block the server returns: units, theme, date format, keep-screen-awake, default start screen, default agency, icon shortcuts, widget selection, screensaver timeout, offline translation languages, compass setting and the four notification toggles. They are then kept on the device, which is why this screen opens instantly and works offline.
- What updates it. This screen, and your next sign-in. Because the server holds the same values, saving here means a new device picks up your preferences as soon as you sign in on it.
- Widgets. Your selection drives the widget row on the Home Tab and the device's own REDENES widget, which is refreshed on save. The picker itself is documented on Home Widgets.
- Units and compass. Units apply to distances and weights everywhere, including the Bearing & Distance tool. Compass True North applies to the Compass and bearing readings.
- Language. The languages chosen here are downloaded for offline use by Translate.
- Date format. Applied app-wide wherever a date appears.
- Notification behavior. These four toggles decide only what happens while the app is open or on CarPlay. Whether an alert arrives at all, and how loudly, is set on Notification Settings with sounds from Notification Sounds.
- Not per agency. These are your settings across every agency. Calendar, weather, audio and map preferences are per agency and live on General Settings.
- Offline and reconnect. Fully usable offline. Changes are saved locally and flagged, then sent on your next connection. Language downloads wait for a connection.
Troubleshooting
| If this happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| A setting did not stick | You probably tapped Cancel on the "Do you want to save changes?" prompt. Make the change again and tap Save. |
| The app still opens to the old screen or agency | Default Agency and Default Module apply at your next sign-in, not immediately. |
| The theme changed but reverted | Theme applies visually as you tap, but is only stored on Save. Leaving without saving reverts it. |
| "Alternate icons are not supported on this device." | Your device cannot change the app icon. Every other setting still works. |
| The screensaver row is missing | Turn on Keep Screen Awake; the row only appears while it is on. |
| The screensaver never appears | Confirm Keep Screen Awake is on and the value is not Off. |
| Your widgets did not change | Choosing modules in the picker is not enough. Tap Save afterwards. |
| "You can select maximum 9 modules" | Widgets are capped at nine. Deselect one before adding another. |
| "You can select maximum 4 modules" | Icon shortcuts are capped at four. |
| A CarPlay switch is greyed out | Its matching in-app switch is on, which forces it on. Turn the in-app switch off to unlock it. |
| Alerts are silent in the app but fine on the lock screen | Turn on Play sound when app open. |
| Translate has no offline languages | Choose them under Language and save with a connection so the packs can download. |
| Dates look wrong across the app | Change Date Format here; every screen follows it. |
| Preferences are different on your other device | They sync through the server. Sign out and back in on the other device to pick them up. |
Related Pages
⬅️ Previous: General Settings | Next: Home Widgets ➡️