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Before you take your first call, spend a few minutes getting oriented in Dispatch CAD — confirm the environment you are signed into, understand how your organization and agency context shapes what you see, and practice the keyboard shortcuts that will carry you through every shift. The steps below walk you through everything from the sign-in screen to your first dispatched unit.

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Sign In

1

Launch the application

Open the Cadmus Dispatch CAD application in your browser or from your workstation shortcut.
2

Enter your agency credentials

Sign in with the username and password provided by your agency administrator. If you do not have credentials, contact your supervisor before proceeding.
3

Confirm the dashboard loads

After sign-in, the dashboard appears with call boards in the center and the units sidebar on the side. If the boards are empty, verify your agency filter (see Organization and Agency Context below).
Pin the Dispatch CAD window full-screen on your workstation. Resizing the window can shift board layouts and obscure call cards during busy periods.

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Sandbox vs. Live Environment

Before creating or closing any real calls, confirm which environment you are in. The header displays either SANDBOX MODE or LIVE MODE. Creating calls in a sandbox org has no effect on live CAD — and vice versa. Follow your agency’s SOP before dispatching in either environment for the first time.
If your deployment includes a training organization, you may be able to switch between environments:
  • SANDBOX MODE — safe for training and testing; calls do not affect live dispatch
  • LIVE MODE — production environment; all actions are real and audited
Always verify the header badge at the start of every session, especially on shared workstations.

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Organization and Agency Context

Your organization determines which calls, units, incident types, and settings you see. If you dispatch for multiple agencies within one organization, use the Select Agencies filter in the header to focus your boards. The footer count shows how many agencies are checked (for example 0 of 12 after Clear, or 12 of 12 when All is selected).
If a board looks unexpectedly empty, open Select Agencies and confirm agencies are checked. Clear leaves zero agencies selected, which empties the boards on purpose. Tap All to restore the full organization view.

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Shared Workstation Sign-Out

When dispatchers share the same Windows login, each person must sign out of Cadmus before the next dispatcher begins work. Open the user menu and select Sign Out between dispatchers, not only at the end of a shift. Signing out protects the prior dispatcher’s session and prevents the next dispatcher from inheriting the prior user’s agency filter. Before signing out, clear any agency filter that should not carry into the next shift, or leave it set to All Agencies when that matches your agency’s normal console setup.
Do not leave Dispatch CAD signed in for the next person. A shared Windows login does not create a separate Cadmus session.

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Main Screen Layout

Familiarize yourself with the five major areas of the Dispatch CAD workspace before taking your first call:

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Essential First Actions

Use this table as a quick-reference until the actions become muscle memory. Every item is covered in a dedicated guide linked from the table.

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Communication Center

The message icon with an exclamation mark near the right side of the header (next to Settings) opens the Communication Center. Use it to:
  • Read Cadmus product updates, release notes, and alerts (a red count badge appears when you have unread items)
  • Check system status
  • Report a problem or request a feature
  • Review My Reports for tickets you have already submitted
Report Problem and Request Feature live inside the Communication Center side navigation and footer — you do not need a separate header control for feedback.
Master F1 through F5 before relying on mouse navigation. Keyboard shortcuts are significantly faster during high-call-volume periods. Type HELP in the command line to see your agency’s configured aliases.

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Header F-Key Reference

Function keys are inactive while the New CFS dialog is open so they do not interrupt call entry. With the command line focused, F1 opens command HELP instead of New CFS — type HELP or ? anytime, or blur the command line and press F1 for New CFS. RapidSOS (when shown in training builds) is click-only and does not share F4 with Map.

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Reload Data and Recovery Tools

If incident types, quick-call templates, or units appear stale or missing after your agency admin makes changes in Web Admin:
1

Open Settings & Tools

Click the gear icon in the header to open the Settings & tools menu.
2

Reload data

Select Reload Units & Dashboard Data. This refreshes boards and picks up the latest configuration while keeping you signed in.
Use Settings Recovery only when directed by Cadmus support or when the normal reload does not resolve the issue. Both Force Reload and Clear All Caches under Settings Recovery sign you out; sign back in after running either action. See Troubleshooting for recovery steps and live-board status messages.

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Windows CAD application updates

On Windows CAD builds, Settings & tools also includes application update controls:
  • Automatically download updates is off by default. Cadmus still checks for updates, then asks before downloading and installing.
  • Turn the toggle on if you want quiet background downloads; Cadmus still asks before installing and restarting.
  • Choose Later to postpone for 24 hours. While postponed, Settings & tools shows Install pending update so you can install before the reminder returns.
  • Install pending update clears the postpone and downloads or installs the update you already deferred.
Sign out using Sign Out in the user menu at the end of every shift on shared workstations, and between dispatchers who share the same Windows login. Leaving a session open can expose call and unit data to the next user.

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Application updates (Windows)

Production Dispatch CAD checks for signed updates when you start the app and about every four hours while it stays open and online. Updates download from Cadmus release infrastructure (Cloudflare). The app verifies each update with a cryptographic signature before staging it. An update is not installed until you restart and the verified installer runs. If auto-update is unavailable, use Download update in the notice to open the manual installer from your administrator.