spothole/templates/help/usage/web.html

{% extends "../help_page.html" %}
{% block help_content %}

<h2 class="mt-4 mb-4">Using the Web Interface</h2>
<p>Although Spothole is designed "API first" and designed so that more technical users to write their own clients, the
    majority of Spothole users use it via its web interface. This page describes that interface and how to use it.</p>
<h3>Menu Bar</h3>
<p>Across the top of the page, or hidden behind the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-bars"></i> hamburger menu
    button</strong> on
    mobile, is the main menu which
    provides access to all of Spothole's features. These are:</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-tower-cell"></i> Spots</strong>, the main DX cluster type display showing live
        spots in a table
    </li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-map"></i> Map</strong>, which displays spots with a known location on a map</li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-ruler-vertical"></i> Bands</strong>, which displays spots with a known frequency
        on radio band displays
    </li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-clock"></i> Upcoming</strong>, the list of upcoming activations, DXpeditions and
        contests
    </li>
    {% if options["spot_allowed"] %}
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-comment"></i> Add Spot</strong>, which allows users to add new spots to the system
    </li>
    {% end %}
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-sun"></i> Conditions</strong>, displaying solar and geomagnetic conditions and DX
        performance predictions
    </li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-chart-simple"></i> Status</strong>, which shows the status of the server itself
    </li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-circle-question"></i> Help</strong>, which opens up the help pages (like this one)
    </li>
    <li><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-gear"></i> API</strong>, which shows the OpenAPI specification by which clients
        can use Spothole's data.
    </li>
</ul>

<p><strong><i class="fa-solid fa-sun"></i> Conditions</strong>, <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-chart-simple"></i> Status</strong>,
    <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-circle-question"></i> Help</strong> and <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-gear"></i>
        API</strong> are stanalone pages, while the others have many more options as discussed below.</p>

<h3><i class="fa-solid fa-tower-cell"></i> Spots</h3>

<p>The spots page displays the traditional web-based "DX cluster" view, with a table of spots. The latest will appear at
    the top of the table, and old ones will fall off the bottom. The list keeps itself up to date automatically, but if
    you need to temporarily pause it, you can use the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-play"></i> Run</strong> and
    <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-stop"></i> Stop</strong> buttons.</p>
<p>On small screens such as mobile phones, the table will reflow into multiple lines per spot, keeping the alternating
    background shading so you can tell spots apart.</p>
<p>A Search box is provided; this filters the spots so that only DX callsigns or comments that match your entry will be
    shown. You can use this to look for specific callsign prefixes, or activities that aren't covered in the main
    filters.</p>
<p>Three buttons at the top of the table provide the means for you to customise what you see and what data is used.
    They are common to all the spot/alert pages, and are labelled <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-filter"></i>
        Filters</strong>, <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-desktop"></i> Display</strong> and <strong><i
            class="fa-solid fa-database"></i> Your data</strong>. Clicking each one will expand a menu of further
    options.</p>

<h5><i class="fa-solid fa-filter"></i> Filters</h5>

<p>The Filters panel allows to to adjust what spots and alerts you will see. You can filter by band, mode, DX continent,
    DE (spotter) continent, activity, and/or data source.</p>
<p>Activities include traditional amateur radio activities like DXpeditions and Contests, "adventure" activities like
    POTA and SOTA, regional activities specific to a certain country, and event-based activities that only happen at
    certain times of year.</p>
<p>Any of these filter options can be turned on and off as you like.</p>

<h5><i class="fa-solid fa-desktop"></i> Display</h5>

<p>The Display panel allows to to adjust other aspects of the spots you see. You can configure how many spots you get
    on the page, whether UTC or local time is used, what colour scheme is used for pages and frequency bands, which
    columns are shown in the table, and whether an audio sound effect is played when new spots pop up.</p>
<p>In the list of columns, three are disabled by default: Distance, Bearing, and "Worked?". Distance and bearing can
    be enabled if you enter your grid locator under <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-database"></i> Your data</strong>.
    "Worked?" adds a checkbox next to each row so you can tick off stations you've worked. There's currently no logger
    integration; this is just for a quick check when you're using Spothole standalone.</p>

<h5><i class="fa-solid fa-database"></i> Your data</h5>

<p>The Your Data panel allows you to enter information specific to you. You can enter your QRZ.com and/or HamQTH
    credentials, which will allow Spothole to fetch better data for the spots. You can set your grid locator, and clear
    the list of calls you've worked, supporting the features discussed under "Display". You can also enter a list of
    "Wanted Calls" (including partial calls), which will cause matching spots to have a gold highlight to catch your
    eye.</p>

<h3><i class="fa-solid fa-map"></i> Map</h3>

<p>The map display shows spots visually on a map of the world. The location chosen can be based on various sources,
    such as POTA park locations, QRZ.com lookup of an operator's home location, grids in the spot comments, and so on.
    They are not guaranteed to be accurate, but should give a rough guide to where in the world each operator is.
    You can click on the markers for more information about each spot.</p>
<p>The <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-desktop"></i> Display</strong> menu on the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-map"></i>
    Map</strong> page has a few differences to the one on the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-tower-cell"></i>
    Spots</strong> page:</p>
<ul>
    <li>"Number of spots" is replaced by "Spot age"</li>
    <li>"Time Zone", "Columns" and "Audio" are replaced by "Map Features" and "Map Style", allowing you to change the
        look and feel of the map, display various grids and zones, and display a geodesic line between the DX spot and
        the spotter, to give a better indication of where contacts are being made.
    </li>
</ul>

<h3><i class="fa-solid fa-ruler-vertical"></i> Bands</h3>

<p>The bands display shows each amateur radio band that has active spots as a column, from lowest frequency at the top
    to highest frequency at the bottom. Within it, markers indcate the callsign of the operator spotted on that
    frequency.
</p>
<p>By hovering your mouse over the callsign, you can see the mode and the exact frequency.</p>

<h3><i class="fa-solid fa-clock"></i> Upcoming</h3>

<p>The upcoming page shows future park and summit activations, satellite operations, DXpeditions and contests from
    various sources, in a table.</p>
<p>The table differs slightly from the table on the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-tower-cell"></i> Spots</strong> page.
    Here, the entries are in the opposite order, with "now" at the top, going further into the future as you scroll
    down. The table is also split into three sections: "On Now", "Starting in the next 24 hours", and "Starting later".
    Because upcoming alerts don't pop up as often as spots, there is no automatic refresh on this page.</p>
<p>This page has a unique card in the <strong><i class="fa-solid fa-filter"></i> Filters</strong> settings, "Duration
    Limit". This allows you to hide long-running activations that hang around in the list for a long time, allowing you
    to see the more time-limited ones. Because this is usually only a problem with POTA (where some people add an alert
    several weeks long to say they'll be activating at some point during their holiday), you can choose to exclude
    DXpeditions and Contests from this filter, because there will almost always be someone on the air during the whole
    time the event is live.</p>
<p>Some upcoming alerts, such as DXpeditions and Contests, have links where you can learn more about them.</p>

<h3><i class="fa-solid fa-comment"></i> Add Spot</h3>

<p>The Add Spot page allows you to add a new spot into the Spothole system directly. If the server allows it, a "Send
    spot to..." checkbox will also appear, allowing you to send your spot "upstream" to the DX cluster that Spothole
    receives spots from. Spothole will log in to the cluster using the callsign you entered in "Your Call", so if you
    are already connected to the same cluster node with that callsign, you may need to use a different SSID. Sending
    spots upstream to POTA, SOTA etc. is not yet supported.</p>

{% end %}