Controlling Your Vera System

Along the left side of the Vera UI7 Dashboard are the navigation tabs. Most of the time using your Vera system you may only need the top Dashboard tab and the bottom Logout tab.



Dashboard Tab
The top tab, which is the default whenever you login to your account, is simply called "Dashboard" to indicate it is the home or main screen. Most of the time you are using your system this Dashboard will include everything you need to monitor and control your system. It shows your Favorite Devices, lets you control which Mode you are in (Home, Night, Away or Vacation), offers quick Shortcuts to switch lights and door locks, and provides you with notices and status updates for your entire Vera system.  (More details about this can be found in an earlier section, "Vera UI7 Dashboard Basics.")
 

 
Logout / Login Tab
One important tab to know about initially is the bottom one, Logout. Click Logout when you are finished controlling your system to exit the Dashboard. To use the system again you will have to Login with your username and password. (When you are not logged into the system but leave the browser open, this tab will toggle from Logout to Login.)

Note: Your Vera system keeps working 24-hours a day regardless of whether you are logged in to the Dashboard. Whichever Mode you last set the system to, it will remain in that Mode until you Login again and make a change. Your system remembers all the Settings and Scenes you create in the Dashboard (explained later) and continues using these settings after you Logout.

Control Vera with a Mobile App
Before we dive deeper into the Dashboard, here's one last important "basic": You can also control your Vera system using your iPhone, iPad or Android phone or tablet. Using the Vera mobile app you can control Vera within your own home, or from anywhere in the world where you can connect to the Internet. For more info and complete download details for each platform, visit:

getvera.com/apps/




The Navigation Tabs
As explained in the next few sections, the other tabs below Dashboard include Devices, Cameras, Scenes, Energy, Apps and more. As your system expands to include more Devices you will probably find some of these tabs more useful, such as the Cameras tab which can quickly show you all the cameras in your system. These tabs are also useful for when you are adding new Devices or making other changes to your system. The Scenes tab enables you to unleash the full power of home automation by creating your own custom "scripts" in which one device can trigger other devices. In Apps you'll find additional apps and plug-ins that can enhance or control your system.
 
These tabs are each covered in more detail in the next few articles.
 
Next: Devices Tab (pt.1): View and Control Devices