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Add sensor status lights to a saved view

A status light is a small labeled rectangle that changes color when a selected sensor meets a condition. Use it to keep a pump, switch, operating state, or measurement visible without adding another gauge. When no condition qualifies, the rectangle stays clear.

Add a status light​

You need administrator access to edit the view and a sensor in BoatKit's sensor catalog. The sensor must have supplied a typed reading before you can add a condition.

  1. Open a saved view and enter edit mode.
  2. Select Add view item, then Status Light in Gauges.
  3. Open the item's settings and enter its Label. Leave the label blank to use the sensor's name.
  4. Choose one Sensor. If the sensor has several sources, choose Source to lock the light to a particular input or use Auto where available.
  5. Select Add status condition and choose Green · Auto, Yellow · Auto, Red · Auto, or Custom. Custom provides a hue slider and a hue value; automatic colors adapt to the display theme.
  6. Choose a comparator and a condition value. Numeric values use your preferred units. Boolean and equipment states offer named choices such as On, Off, Forward, or Neutral. Text and position conditions support equality and inequality only; text comparisons are exact and case-sensitive. Date/time values identify a particular local date and time, and direction values retain their true or magnetic reference.
  7. Optionally enable either time filter described below.
  8. Add further conditions, then use the up/down controls to put them in priority order. The first condition that passes wins.
  9. Position and resize the rectangle, then select Save view.

Changing the sensor clears its conditions so thresholds from one kind of reading are not applied to another.

Filter brief changes or repeated activity​

Must match continuously requires the comparison to remain true for the configured number of seconds. For example, compare a bilge-pump state to On, choose red, and require 10 seconds to ignore shorter runs. A false or unavailable reading restarts that continuous duration.

Must match for a percentage of time measures the fraction of elapsed time for which the comparison was true over the configured rolling window. To indicate a bilge pump running at least 3% of the last minute, compare its state to On, set At least to 3%, and set the window to 60 seconds. Two seconds of running in that minute qualifies, even when the pump is currently off.

When both checkboxes are enabled, both filters must pass. Durations and windows can extend to 86,400 seconds, and each light supports up to 32 conditions.

Confirm it is working​

Save the view and observe a normal sensor change. An immediate condition should change color promptly. A continuous condition waits for its duration; a percentage condition waits until BoatKit has observed a complete window. Use several conditions to show an immediate yellow running state below a higher-priority red duration or percentage condition.

Warming up means that a percentage window is incomplete. No data means that the selected sensor is unavailable, and the rectangle uses a dashed outline. These states are distinct from a clear light with a known reading and no matching condition. Check conditions means the configured value or reference no longer matches the sensor.

Monitoring and offline behavior​

BoatKit evaluates saved status lights continuously on the vessel, including while their dashboard is closed and while no display is connected. All displays receive the same result. Onboard monitoring continues without internet access; a remote display still needs a connection through BoatKit Cloud.

A vessel-runtime restart, a comparison/source change, or a gap in sensor availability restarts monitoring history. Percentage filters then wait for another complete window. Editing only a label or color preserves the current monitoring history. Status-light configuration is included in portable saved-view backups; the temporary timing history is not.

Status lights are visual indicators. They do not create alarm sounds, notifications, or equipment controls.

If the expected color does not appear​

Check that the view was saved, the selected sensor is sending data, and the threshold uses the intended value and units. For multiple conditions, check their order and remember that the first qualified condition takes priority. Allow a complete rolling window after a restart or an unavailable reading. If a direction condition reports Check conditions, select the same true or magnetic reference as the sensor.