Tablet basics: the Android buttons and settings you need

You don't need to know Android to run Ditch Assist®. You need about a dozen moves: the three buttons at the bottom, closing and reopening the app, the Settings app, Wi-Fi, the pull-down panel, and typing. This page shows each one on a real Samsung Galaxy tablet, one step at a time.

Other tablets have the same buttons and settings. The names and colours can differ a little.

Before you start

• The tablet is charged, or plugged in
• The Ditch Assist app is installed (Install the app)
• About 15 minutes to try each move once. Nothing on this page can damage the tablet or your saved work.

Show the bottom bar inside the app

The Ditch Assist app fills the whole screen. It hides Android's bar at the bottom and the bar with the time at the top, so you get the biggest possible map. The buttons are still there. You bring them back with one swipe.

1. Swipe up from the very bottom edge

   Put one finger on the bottom edge of the screen, right where the glass meets the frame. Slide it up about 2 cm (an inch) and lift it.

   A grey bar appears along the bottom. A thin bar with the time and battery appears along the top. They stay for a few seconds, then hide again. If they hide before you tap, swipe up again.

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The Back button

Back takes you one step back: it closes the window that is open, or returns to the screen you were on before. It never deletes anything.

1. Tap Back

   Swipe up from the bottom edge to show the bar. Back is the last button on the right: an arrow pointing left, like <. Tap it once.

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   When the keyboard is open, the same button turns into a down arrow (⌄). Tapping it hides the keyboard. See Typing.

   In Android Settings there is also a small < arrow at the top left of each page. It does the same as Back.

The Home button

Home takes you to the tablet's home screen, the screen with the app icons. Home does not close the Ditch Assist app. The app keeps running behind, and opens again exactly where you left it.

1. Tap Home

   Swipe up from the bottom edge to show the bar. Home is the circle (○), second from the right. Tap it.

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   You should see your home screen. Yours has your own picture and icons; this is an example.

   

2. Open the Apps screen to find Ditch Assist

   On the home screen, put your finger in the middle of the screen and slide it up. The Apps screen opens with every app on the tablet.

   Tap the Ditch Assist icon: a black square with a white triangle-shaped logo. The app comes back exactly where you left it.

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Recent apps

The Recent apps button shows a window for every app you used lately. You use it to switch between apps, and to close an app fully.

1. Tap Recent apps

   Swipe up from the bottom edge to show the bar. Recent apps is the button with three upright lines (|||), the first of the three buttons on the right. Tap it.

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   You should see small windows of your recent apps, each with the app's icon on top. The app you used last is at the top right. Tap a window to go to that app.

Close the app fully and reopen it

Support may ask you to "close the app fully" or "restart the app". That means stopping it completely and starting it again, which clears a stuck screen or a connection that won't come back. Home and Back are not enough: the app keeps running behind them.

1. Tap Recent apps

   Swipe up from the bottom edge, then tap the three upright lines (|||). See Recent apps.

2. Find the Ditch Assist window

   Look for the window with the Ditch Assist logo (black circle, white logo) sitting on its top edge. If you used it last, it is at the top right. You may see more than one Ditch Assist window: close each one.

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3. Slide the Ditch Assist window up and off the screen

   Put your finger on the Ditch Assist window. Slide it straight up, past the top of the screen, and let go. The window fades and disappears. The app is now closed.

   Or tap Close all, the wide grey button under the windows. It closes every app in the list.

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4. Open the app again

   Tap Home (the circle), slide up on the home screen to open the Apps screen, and tap the Ditch Assist icon. See Home.

   You should see the red SAFETY WARNING. It shows every time the app starts fresh, so seeing it tells you the app really did restart. Tap I Accept All Risk & Liability at the bottom of it. Then connect again from a workflow card or Pre-Flight Checks.

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Open the Android Settings app

Android has its own Settings app, with a grey gear icon. It controls the tablet: Wi-Fi, brightness, permissions, updates. It is not the Settings button in the Ditch Assist sidebar, which only changes the Ditch Assist app.

There are two ways in. Use whichever you find easier.

1. Way 1: the gear in the pull-down panel

   Open the pull-down panel (how). At the top right of the panel are four small round icons. Tap the last one, the gear.

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2. Way 2: the Settings icon on the Apps screen

   Tap Home, slide up on the home screen, and tap Settings: a grey gear in a dark circle.

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3. Find your way around Settings

   On a tablet, Settings has two halves. The left column lists the sections (Connections, Display, Apps…). Tap one, and its page opens on the right. Slide the left column up to see more sections (scrolling).

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   To leave Settings, tap Home, or tap the Ditch Assist icon in the bar at the bottom.

Wi-Fi: join the machine's network

The tablet talks to your kit over Wi-Fi. Each kit makes its own network:

• Control module (Full Automation or Guidance Only Kit): the name starts with DitchAssist. Password 12345678.
• DIG™ module: the name starts with MECU_Ditch_Dig. Password 12345678.
• Ditch Assist Lite: the Emlid Reach's own hotspot, usually Reach:XX:XX or the receiver's name. Password usually emlidreach.

None of these networks has internet. That is normal. Full details per kit: Connect the tablet and Connect Ditch Assist Lite.

1. Open Settings, then tap Connections

   Open the Android Settings app (how). Tap Connections, the first item in the left column, with a blue Wi-Fi icon.

2. Tap the word Wi-Fi

   On the right, the top row says Wi-Fi, with the network you're on in blue under it. Tap the word Wi-Fi, not the switch.

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3. Check Wi-Fi is On

   The Wi-Fi page opens. The top bar should read On with a blue switch. If it reads Off, tap the switch.

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4. Tap the machine's network

   Under Available networks, find the name from the list above (DitchAssist…, MECU_Ditch_Dig… or the Reach name) and tap it. The machine must be powered on for its network to show. Not there? Wait 30 seconds; the list refreshes by itself.

   A network you joined before connects straight away. A new one opens a password page.

5. Type the password and tap Connect

   The password page shows the network name at the top, a Password box, and the keyboard. Type the password (typing). Each letter turns into a dot; tap the crossed-out eye at the right end of the box to see what you typed.

   Leave Auto reconnect on, so the tablet rejoins by itself next time. Tap the blue Connect button. It stays pale until the password is long enough (8 characters).

6. "Internet may not be available": tap Always connect

   Because the machine's network has no internet, the tablet asks Internet may not be available. Tap Always connect. (Other choices may read Connect only this time or Disconnect; the wording varies between Android versions.)

7. Check it's connected

   You should see the machine's network at the top under Current network, with Connected without internet under it (see the picture above). That message is normal for every Ditch Assist kit. Go back to the app (tap its icon in the bottom bar) and connect.

8. Tablet with a SIM card: tap the three dots

   Samsung tablets can leave a Wi-Fi network that has no internet. You turn that off once, in a menu called Intelligent Wi-Fi. On the Wi-Fi page, tap the three dots (⋮) in the top right corner. A short menu opens.

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9. Tap Intelligent Wi-Fi

   Tap Intelligent Wi-Fi in the menu. It's the second of four lines, under Wi-Fi Direct. A page of switches opens. A switch is on when it's blue.

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10. Turn off Switch to mobile data

    Tap the Switch to mobile data switch so it turns grey. Some tablets also have Switch to better Wi-Fi networks: if yours does, turn that off too. Many newer tablets don't have it; that's fine.

    Or turn Mobile data off in the pull-down panel while you work on the machine, and back on at home (pull-down panel). More: Set up the tablet, Wi-Fi keeps dropping.

The pull-down panel

Swiping down from the top of the screen opens a panel of quick switches: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile data, location and the brightness slider. You can open it without leaving the Ditch Assist app.

1. Swipe down from the top edge, twice

   Put your finger on the very top edge of the screen, on the right half, and slide it down. Inside the Ditch Assist app the first swipe only shows the thin bar with the time. Swipe down from the top again straight away: the panel slides in on the right.

   If you see a list of notifications instead, you started on the left half. Swipe up to close it and try again further right.

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2. See the names of the switches

   The round switches have no names at first. Tap the short grey line under them to show the names and more switches. A switch is on when its circle is white.

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3. Tap the word Wi-Fi to see the networks

   Tap the words on the Wi-Fi tile (not the round icon). A window lists the networks. Details opens the full Wi-Fi page in Settings; Done closes the window.

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4. Close the panel

   Tap Back, or swipe up on the panel. You're back in the app.

Typing

When you tap a box you can type in (a password, a job name, a blade height), the keyboard slides up from the bottom of the screen.

• Letters: tap the keys. The arrow-up key (⇧) at the left makes the next letter a capital.
• Numbers: on Samsung's keyboard the numbers are on the top row. If yours has no number row, tap !#1 at the bottom left for numbers and symbols, and ABC to get the letters back.
• Mistakes: the key with an arrow and a cross (⌫) deletes one character.
• Number boxes in the app (blade height, grade, offsets) open a number keypad instead.

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Hide the keyboard

The keyboard can cover the button you need, such as Save or Connect. To hide it, tap Back: while the keyboard is open, the Back button at the right end of the bottom bar shows a down arrow (⌄). One tap hides the keyboard and keeps what you typed. Tap the box again to bring the keyboard back.

Long-press (press and hold)

A long-press is a tap where you keep your finger down for about one second, until something happens. It opens extra choices. In the Ditch Assist app you use it, for example, to clear a marked cell in the excavation completion grid and to tick several files when importing an overlay.

1. Try it on the Ditch Assist icon

   On the Apps screen, put your finger on the Ditch Assist icon and keep it there for about a second. Lift your finger when a small menu pops up.

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Scrolling

Long lists, like the app's Settings, don't fit on one screen. To see more, put your finger on the list and slide it up: the list moves up and new rows appear from the bottom. Slide down to go back toward the top. Slide slowly: a quick flick sends the list a long way.

Start the slide on the list itself, not on a button or a switch, or you may tap it instead.

Pinch to zoom the map

• Zoom in (see more detail): put two fingers on the map close together, then spread them apart.
• Zoom out (see more of the field): put two fingers on the map apart, then slide them together, like a pinch.
• Move the map: one finger, slide it the way you want the map to go.

Once you move the map yourself, it stops following the machine. The round target button at the bottom right of the map brings it back to your position. See App tour.

Take a screenshot for support

A screenshot is a picture of exactly what's on the screen. It's the quickest way to show support a message or a setting.

1. Press Power and Volume down together

   Both keys are on the edge of the tablet. The Power key is the short single key; the Volume key is the long one. Press Power and the "down" end of the Volume key at the same moment, then let go.

   Not sure which end is down? Press one end of the Volume key on its own: if the volume bar on screen goes down, that's it.

   You should see the screen flash and a small bar of buttons appear at the bottom for a few seconds. The picture is saved.

2. Find it and send it

   Open the Gallery app (a pink flower icon) and look in the Screenshots album. In My Files the folder is DCIM/Screenshots. Open the picture, tap Share, and send it by email to support@ditchassist.com or by text message.

   For problems inside the app, sending logs helps support even more: Send logs.

Allow installing the Ditch Assist app

The Ditch Assist app comes from the Ditch Assist website, not the Play Store, so Android asks you once to allow installs from your browser (or from My Files, if you open the file there).

1. Open the downloaded file

   Android stops and shows a message that it isn't allowed to install unknown apps from this source. Tap Settings in that message.

2. Turn on Allow from this source

   A page opens for your browser (or My Files) with one switch. Tap it so it turns blue.

3. Tap Back, then Install

   Back returns you to the install screen. Tap Install, then Open.

To check the switch later: Android Settings, Apps, the three dots (⋮) at the top right, Special access, Install unknown apps, then your browser.

If a Samsung message says Auto Blocker stopped the install, Auto Blocker is on. Turn it off in Settings, Security and privacy, Auto Blocker, install the app, then turn it back on if you want. Only install a file that came from ditchassist.com or from Ditch Assist support. Full guide: Install the app.

App permissions (All files access)

Permissions are what Android lets the app do. Ditch Assist needs All files access to keep your surveys, designs, jobs and LiDAR fields in Documents/DitchAssist/, and Location to read the Wi-Fi name. Without file access, saved work can look missing.

1. Open the app's Android page

   Either long-press the Ditch Assist icon and tap the little i (see Long-press), or open Android Settings, tap Apps in the left column, and tap Ditch Assist in the list.

2. Tap Permissions

   The page lists what the app is allowed. Tap Files and media (on some tablets: Special access, then All files access).

3. Turn on Allow access to manage all files

   The switch must be blue. Then close the app fully and reopen it (how).

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More on why: Set up the tablet.

Screen timeout

While the Ditch Assist app is on screen, it keeps the screen on by itself. You don't need to change anything for work. Android's own timeout only applies in other apps and on the home screen. To change it: Android Settings, Display, Screen timeout, then pick a time. A few minutes saves battery.

If the screen goes dark and locked, press the Power key once and swipe up on the lock screen.

Brightness

In the cab, turn the screen up. Open the pull-down panel and slide the bar with the sun icon to the right (picture). If the screen keeps dimming by itself in the sun, turn off Adaptive brightness in Android Settings, Display.

The app also has a bright high-contrast look for daylight: in the app, Settings, DISPLAY, Display Mode, Sunlight.

Keep it charged in the cab

A bright screen and GPS all day empty the battery before the shift ends. Keep the tablet plugged into a cab charger strong enough to keep up. Inside the app the battery level is hidden: swipe up from the bottom edge (or down from the top) to see it at the top right corner. A lightning bolt beside the number means it's charging.

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If the percentage still falls while plugged in, the charger or cable is too weak. More: Power in the cab.

Android updates: at home, not mid-job

An Android update can take 20 minutes or more and restarts the tablet. Don't start one in the field.

• When the tablet offers an update, choose to do it later, and install it at home on Wi-Fi with the tablet plugged in.
• To stop it downloading by itself: Android Settings, Software update, turn off Auto download over Wi-Fi.
• After an update, open Ditch Assist at home once and check it starts normally and still has All files access.

The Ditch Assist app itself only changes when you install a new version: Update the app.

If something goes wrong

• The app is stuck or won't reconnect: close it fully and reopen it.
• The tablet keeps leaving the machine's Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi drops.
• The app can't find the module although Wi-Fi shows it's connected: Can't connect.
• Still stuck? Take a screenshot and call Ditch Assist support at 1-833-DITCH-AS (Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Central).