Now that you're familiar with the main controls of the Vera Dashboard for quickly operating your system (My Modes, My Favorites and My Shortcuts) let's look at some more features of your Vera Dashboard.
Weather Widget
The weather widget displays the temperature and current weather from the selected location (use Settings to change.) It also displays the local time in 12 or 24-hour time format.
Notification Bar
The notification bar will show the most recent events that happened on your system. In the example below, the notification says the 4-in-1 sensor detected motion about one hour ago.
And in this second example below, a Door/Window Sensor just tripped 4 seconds ago.
Dashboard Cards
Vera Dashboard Cards provide a quick overview of the current state of your entire system. After setup is complete, the left card will show the status of your Devices, and the right card will show the status of your security sensors and if any of them have been tripped.
During the initial setup the cards will appear grayed out, as there are not yet any devices added to the system:
Once you’ve paired your devices you’ll see the card colors changing to Green or Red. Green means that the status of your devices is OK, and red indicates something requiring your attention, as shown below.
Dashboard Card Status Indicators
The first Dashboard Card shows the status of all Devices in your Vera system, with green indicating all OK:
Red indicates one or more problems, and the Card will provide suggestions to resolve the problem::
The second Dashboard Card shows the status of the security sensors in your system, appearing green when all is OK:
The Security Status Card will appear red when a sensor has been tripped:
The status indicators will appear gray if there are no Devices to report the status of.
Energy is the third Dashboard Card. The Energy card will only display information if your system includes Devices that measure energy consumption, such as smart switches and meter readers. (On smaller screens you may need to move the view to the right to see beyond the first two Dashboard Cards.)
Click the buttons just below the Dashboard Cards to navigate through the Cards.
Status Bar
The Vera System Status Bar will display at the top of the Dashboard when Vera is in the process of doing something or if a Device is in need of configuration. In the example below, the Controller is waiting to "pair" with a new Device in the middle of the Add New Device setup. (The Status Bar says it's time to Add new devices now.)
Yes, It's That Easy!
This completes the tour of all the Dashboard basics. Between the Dashboard Cards and other quick notifications, the My Modes and My Shortcuts methods of quickly changing settings, and the My Favorites display of your Devices, you should have everything you need to get started.
If you're completely new to Vera, we suggest at this point you start trying out these controls for your Vera system (if you haven't done so already.) The My Modes settings, in particular, provide a great starting point. (This is where you quickly switch from being Home to being Away.)
Of course, there's still much more to Vera than what we've already covered.
The next set of articles provide more detail about using the Dashboard and the various options offered in the Navigation Menu on the left side of the Dashboard. Here you can explore the full power of home automation by learning how to create your own custom Scenes, monitor Energy use in more detail, view all your Cameras and Devices, add more Devices, install plug-in apps, add more users to your system, and change settings.
Next:Meet the Navigation Menu: Dashboard
Weather Widget
The weather widget displays the temperature and current weather from the selected location (use Settings to change.) It also displays the local time in 12 or 24-hour time format.
Notification Bar
The notification bar will show the most recent events that happened on your system. In the example below, the notification says the 4-in-1 sensor detected motion about one hour ago.
And in this second example below, a Door/Window Sensor just tripped 4 seconds ago.
Dashboard Cards
Vera Dashboard Cards provide a quick overview of the current state of your entire system. After setup is complete, the left card will show the status of your Devices, and the right card will show the status of your security sensors and if any of them have been tripped.
During the initial setup the cards will appear grayed out, as there are not yet any devices added to the system:
Once you’ve paired your devices you’ll see the card colors changing to Green or Red. Green means that the status of your devices is OK, and red indicates something requiring your attention, as shown below.
Dashboard Card Status Indicators
The first Dashboard Card shows the status of all Devices in your Vera system, with green indicating all OK:
Red indicates one or more problems, and the Card will provide suggestions to resolve the problem::
The second Dashboard Card shows the status of the security sensors in your system, appearing green when all is OK:
The Security Status Card will appear red when a sensor has been tripped:
The status indicators will appear gray if there are no Devices to report the status of.
Energy is the third Dashboard Card. The Energy card will only display information if your system includes Devices that measure energy consumption, such as smart switches and meter readers. (On smaller screens you may need to move the view to the right to see beyond the first two Dashboard Cards.)
Click the buttons just below the Dashboard Cards to navigate through the Cards.
Status Bar
The Vera System Status Bar will display at the top of the Dashboard when Vera is in the process of doing something or if a Device is in need of configuration. In the example below, the Controller is waiting to "pair" with a new Device in the middle of the Add New Device setup. (The Status Bar says it's time to Add new devices now.)
Yes, It's That Easy!
This completes the tour of all the Dashboard basics. Between the Dashboard Cards and other quick notifications, the My Modes and My Shortcuts methods of quickly changing settings, and the My Favorites display of your Devices, you should have everything you need to get started.
If you're completely new to Vera, we suggest at this point you start trying out these controls for your Vera system (if you haven't done so already.) The My Modes settings, in particular, provide a great starting point. (This is where you quickly switch from being Home to being Away.)
Of course, there's still much more to Vera than what we've already covered.
The next set of articles provide more detail about using the Dashboard and the various options offered in the Navigation Menu on the left side of the Dashboard. Here you can explore the full power of home automation by learning how to create your own custom Scenes, monitor Energy use in more detail, view all your Cameras and Devices, add more Devices, install plug-in apps, add more users to your system, and change settings.
Next:Meet the Navigation Menu: Dashboard
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