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DecoderPro 3 presents a list of your locomotives (the Roster) and provides access to tools for programming decoder configuration variables (CV's).
The DecoderPro 3 Window is divided into five main sections from top to bottom.
DecoderPro 3 is designed for the management of DCC decoders fitted to locomotives. The locomotives known to DecoderPro 3 are displayed in the Roster Table. The anticipated main tasks are: creating a new locomotive and changing the settings in an existing locomotive (programming).
To add a new locomotive (or first locomotive), click on the "New Loco" button on the Tool Bar. This will open a "Create New Loco" window, where the decoder can be either identified or selected from the list. To create the locomotive, having selected (or identified) a decoder, select the Programmer format (Basic or Comprehensive) and click "Open Programmer". A Programming window for the new locomotive will open, with the "Roster Entry" tab foremost. It is recommended to give the locomotive a name in the "ID:" field, and then click "Save to Roster". You can also proceed to program the decoder, giving it a DCC address (in the "Basic" tab), and set other values. On closing the Programming window, if prompted, save the results into the Roster.
If a locomotive is placed on the Programming Track, the "Identify" button will read
details from the decoder and try to match it to an entry in the Roster Table. Some decoders
only work with a limited range of programming modes, and it may be necessary to change the
programming mode with the "Programming Mode" drop down list.
If a locomotive is correctly identified, it will be highlighted in the Roster Table, and its
details will appear in the lower Decoder Information Area.
Once a locomotive has been selected, either by manually finding it within the Roster Table, or through the "Identify" button, a summary of its details will appear in the lower Decoder Information Area. Buttons to open the programmer are to the right of the Decoder Information Area.
Select the type of programming required with the radio buttons, choose between the Programming Track, Programming on the Main Line or Edit the file only (no programming of a locomotive). Having selected the type of programming, you can open either the Basic Programmer (which allows change of locomotive address) or the Comprehensive Programmer (which allows changing of all locomotive decoder features known to DecoderPro).
Throttle Labels are used by the JMRI on-screen Throttles and by the smart-phone throttles through the WiThrottle interface. They allow Function keys to have meaningful names such as "Horn", "Whistle", rather than "F2" and "F4". Their use is optional.
Roster Media is where pictures of locomotives can be loaded into JMRI. These are displayed in the Roster, and can be used within Throttles. Their use is optional.
Roster Groups are a means of filtering your entries in the Roster. For example, you might have "diesel locos", "steam locos", but also "Burlington Locos" and "Canadian Pacific Locos". Thus a single locomotive in the Roster could be a member of several groups. Roster Groups are used to filter the Roster View in DecoderPro 3, and select the locomotives offered in an on-screen Throttle.
To create your first Roster Group, use the "Create Roster Group" command on the "Settings" menu. When you have created a Roster Group, a new drop-list is added to the Tool Bar in DecoderPro 3. Having created a group, it is initially empty. The next step is to add locomotives to the group. This is done with the "Roster Group Table Association" command on the "Settings" menu. With the "Roster Group Table" window, select the Roster Group in the drop-menu, and then place a tick alongside all locomotives requires in that group. Repeat for any other groups, and when finished close the window with the close-box in the upper right-hand corner.
A menu will appear for the command station connected to JMRI. The command station is set in the Preferences. The content of this menu will be specific to your command station.
Lists the windows that are currently active.
Window Help opens this page.
Opens this page.
Opens Service Mode Programmer Decoder selection Screen.
Attempts to identify the loco on the Programming track.
Opens the selection of programming modes.
The Roster Group Pane only appears if a Roster Group has been defined. It appears to the left of the Roster Table (if not hidden using the Settings menu). Further groups can be added using the "+" button, and groups can be removed with the "-" button. Locos can be dragged from the Roster Table to the Roster Group Pane. The Roster Group Pane can be hidden with a menu option (under Settings), or with the triangular shrink/expand keys in the frame border. Removing a loco from a Roster Group can be done using the "Roster Group Table Associations" pane, accessible from the "Settings" menu.