From f7d120e39c2705ce20665134a27ff5727b588e6d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Dirk Hohndel
Users of Subsurface-mobile typically use the mobile app as a companion to the laptop/desktop version of Subsurface, sharing dive information between the mobile and the desktop versions. However Subsurface-mobile can -also be used independently of the desktop version and is not dependent on the use of +also be used independently of the desktop version and does not require the use of cloud storage.
Subsurface-mobile allows:
Find Subsurface-mobile in the Google Play Store or the iTunes Store -and install it.
Upon starting Subsurface-mobile for the first time, a Subsurface +
When you start Subsurface-mobile for the first time, a Subsurface splash screen is shown while the program loads. On some devices this may take several seconds. After loading, the Cloud Credentials screen appears (see image below on left).
A free Internet cloud storage account is created for -storing dive log information in future. One can create a new cloud storage account -using a mobile device: there is no need to have credentials created -using the Subsurface desktop application in order to use cloud storage and one can -do full maintenance of a dive log from Subsurface-mobile. On the other hand, if one -shares credentials between Subsurface-mobile and Subsurface for desktop, one’s dive +
A free Internet cloud storage account can be used for +storing dive log information. This cloud storage account can be created either from Subsurface on the desktop or Subsurface-mobile +using a mobile device; in fact, you can +do full maintenance of a dive log from Subsurface-mobile alone. On the other hand, if you +share credentials between Subsurface-mobile and Subsurface for desktop, through the Subsurface cloud storage your dive log can be shared by both devices.
The dive data are cached both on the mobile device as well as on the desktop - it is easy to create backups of the data (for example in XML format) on the desktop, and both mobile device and desktop keep a local copy of the data so that the dive log is always accessible, even without Internet connection. The Subsurface team never accesses a user’s dive data without explicit permission to do so, the data are not used for any purpose other than providing them to the user who created them. There are no ads and no harvesting / analysis of the data stored in the Subsurface cloud storage.
1) Enter an e-mail address and a password in the fields indicated on the screen. The e-mail address should be in lower case and the password should contain a combination of letters from the alphabet (upper and lower case) and/or numbers. Tap the "Sign-in or Register" button. If you have already set up an account from the Subsurface desktop application, enter the same credentials here. Once the dive -list has been downloaded from the cloud, Subsurface-mobile keeps a local -copy on the mobile device. This means that even if there is no Internet connection -at a dive site, one can still access the local copy and view and manipulate -dive information.
3) If this is a new account, a PIN screen will open (see image on right, above). A PIN is e-mailed to the email address entered in the previous step. Enter this PIN into the field indicated and tap the Register button. The user information is stored on the cloud server and access to the cloud is enabled. In this case the dive list is initially empty. Start entering dives in the dive -log or download dive information from either a Subsurface cloud -storage account or from a dive computer.
The dive log can be updated automatically. If there is Internet connectivity, Subsurface-mobile accesses the cloud-based dive log to verify that the local copy of the dive log is still the same as the log in the cloud server. If not, the local copy and the copy on -the server are synchronised.
The login credentials can be changed, for example to work with +
The login credentials can be changed, for an example in order to work with multiple accounts. See the section on Changing to a different Subsurface cloud account.
At the bottom of many Subsurface-mobile screens is a round button that provides for -several actions (see image below). The most appropriate choice is indicated in a round blue action button (in the case below, edit a dive). Alternative actions are indicated in a white action bar. +several actions (see image below). The most common choice is indicated in a round colored action button (in the case below, edit a dive). Alternative actions are indicated in a white action bar. On Android devices, use the Android Back button for "cancel", "discard" or "back" actions. For example, when editing dive information, tapping the action button saves the changes while the @@ -588,7 +585,7 @@ Drag the action button visible on most screens to
The image above indicates some of the important features of the menu system. @@ -628,13 +625,15 @@ on iOS; tap the GPS icon on the Action Bar.).
At the bottom of the dive details screen the action button is a pencil (image on right, above). -Tapping the pencil button brings up a panel with edit boxes that allows -changing the existing dive information, e.g. adding text to the dive notes +Tapping the pencil button changes the page and enables edit boxes that allow +modifying the existing dive information, e.g. adding text to the dive notes or changing the names or values of some of the information (see image below). It may be necessary to scroll the window to access all the information. At the bottom of the edit screen is a Save action button. Tap this to save the new information, after which the dive list screen is updated and shown. To cancel any edits, tap the Android Back Button.
When the virtual keyboard is shown, to avoid screen clutter, the action button is hidden. +Once you close the keyboard it is drawn again.
Download of dives is possible from dive computers with a FTDI USB interface, or with a Bluetooth/BTLE interface.
First, establish a link between the dive computer and the mobile device.
For USB dive computers, USB cables "normally" used -for uploading dives to a desktop/laptop computer do NOT work: these cables often have a full-sized male USB plug +for uploading dives to a desktop/laptop computer do NOT work: these cables usually have a full-sized ("Type A") male USB plug on one end which plugs into the USB port of a desktop/laptop computer. For downloads to a mobile device one needs a USB OTG (USB On-The-Go) cable. In most cases it is required to plug the USB -cable "normally" used with the dive computer into a USB OTG cable which, in turn, plugs into the mini-USB +cable "normally" used with the dive computer into a USB OTG cable which, in turn, plugs into the mini-USB (or sometimes a USB "Type C") receptacle of the mobile device. The -OTG cable often has a full-size female receptacle at one end which accommodates the full-sized male plug +OTG cable usually has a full-size ("Type A") female receptacle at one end which accommodates the full-sized male plug of the USB cable "normally" used (see image below). This means that two cables are used to connect the dive computer to the mobile device.
Please note that not all Android devices support OTG cables. And even on some devices that do support those cables in general, Subsurface-mobile still in some cases cannot access a dive computer through a serial port.
Now tap the button labled Download. The downloaded dives appear in the bottom part of the screen, the +
Now tap the button labeled Download. The downloaded dives appear in the bottom part of the screen, the most recent dive at the top (see image on right, below). Be patient because the download can take a few minutes. -Each dive has a check-box on the left hand side, used for selecting which dives need to be added to the +As a matter of fact, a complete first download from some dive computers has been shown to take 45 minutes and longer.
After the download, each dive has a check-box on the left hand side, used for selecting which dives you want to be added to the Subsurface-mobile dive list: dives that are not checked are ignored. With the appropriate downloaded dives -having been checked, tap the button at the bottom left labled Accept. All the selected dives appear on +having been checked, tap the button at the bottom left labeled Accept. All the selected dives appear on the Subsurface-mobile dive list. The downloaded dive information can now be edited as described in the section above Edit a dive.
Alternatively, the Details View has a button at the top right hand marked Map it. Tap this button to open Google Maps showing the dive site (image below). -Afterwards, use the Adroid Back button to return to Subsurface-mobile.
This is described above under the section dealing with Manually adding a new dive to the dive list.
This is described above under the section dealing with Download dives from a dive computer.
By default Subsurface-mobile runs offline and only syncs the dive list -with cloud storage when explicily told to do so (see above). +with cloud storage when explicitly told to do so (see above). You can choose to always sync with the cloud servers after every modification of the dive list. This is not recommended unless you are in an area with fast and reliable internet connection, as otherwise Subsurface-mobile might appear to hang between operations as it tries to connect to the cloud server. Selecting Enable cloud auto sync causes -the local dive log to be synchronised with the copy in the cloud every time that +the local dive log to be synchronized with the copy in the cloud every time that Subsurface-mobile is closed. This option is a switch that allows auto sync to be either activated or to be switched off.
Download the GPS data that have been saved on the cloud (possibly by a different device) by -selecting Download GPS Data from the GPS subpanel.
Assuming that all the dives have been entered into the dive log or have been downloaded from the Subsurface cloud, apply the GPS positions to these dives. GPS positions can therefore only be applied to dives in the dive list. -From the Dive management subpanel, tap Apply GPS fixes. The dive list contains the start +From the Dive management sub-panel, tap Apply GPS fixes. The dive list contains the start and end times of each dive. Now, Subsurface-mobile applies the first GPS position that falls within the dive period of each dive. This results in a GPS position for each dive that is saved as part of the dive log.
The Settings screen allows the customisation of Subsurface-mobile. Many of the settings involve dragging a slider switch to activate or deactivate a particular setting.
The Settings screen allows the customization of Subsurface-mobile. Many of the settings involve dragging a slider switch to activate or deactivate a particular setting.
Some users have more than one Subsurface cloud account and with a need to switch between accounts. Tap Settings on the Main menu and scroll to the section titled Cloud status (see image below). @@ -888,12 +889,12 @@ change the credential information, then tap the button Sign-in or register
Subsurface-mobile has three colour schemes to please users with different -tastes. This user manual shows the default colour scheme, comprising blue -colours. Change to a pink or a dark colour scheme by opening the main menu, +
Subsurface-mobile has three color schemes to please users with different +tastes. This user manual shows the default color scheme, comprising blue +colors. Change to a pink or a dark color scheme by opening the main menu, tap Settings, and scroll to the section with heading Theme (see image above). -Select the appropriate colour theme by dragging the appropriate slider on the righthand.
The Settings screen has a section with heading Dive computer, containing a switch to save a detailed log each time dives are downloaded from a dive computer. This is important for solving problems in downloading dives from the dive computer.
Under the heading Dive computer, you will find a switch to save a detailed log each time dives are downloaded from a dive computer. This is important for solving problems in downloading dives from the dive computer. When contacting the developers with download problems, you will usually be asked to provide the information in this log, which can be found in the root folder of your local storage device as libdivecomputer.log
. In the same location you can also find a subsurfacel.log
which is always created and which include more information which can be helpful when debugging problems with Subsurface-mobile.
Information is available useful for understanding the screen rendering of dive information as well as the way in which Subsurface-mobile processed information during a specific occasion while running the app (see section below). Activate (or deactivate) this menu item on the Main Menu by dragging the slider switch in the Settings screen.
The information in subsurface.log plus some additional information for understanding the screen rendering of dive information as well as the way in which Subsurface-mobile processed information during a specific occasion while running the app (see section below) is available through a Developer menu at run time. Activate (or deactivate) this menu item on the Main Menu by dragging the slider switch in the Settings screen.
This option shows the messages that Subsurface-mobile generates while running. While most users are not aware of these messages, they are often crucial in detecting any -abnormal behaviour of the app. The App log can be found in the root directory of the local storage of the mobile device.