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Buttons & Menus

This page is the quick reference for the controls across the top of the ALB window.

Use these pages for the full operational meaning behind the controls:

Top buttons

  • EAT or PLT: changes what the compact combi field shows in the aircraft rows. It is a local display toggle and does not change the shared sequence logic.
  • 2 EAT, 2 GL, 2 SW, or 2 ---: local hold-display setup for the compact glEatCombi field while an aircraft is still in hold and more than the threshold away from EAT.
  • TXE* or TXE-: controls whether EAT-related policy is transmitted when you are the manual FMR. In normal operations, only the manual FMR can change this.
  • EAT:AR, EAT:LT, and sometimes EAT:TF: selects the planning basis used for EAT.
  • EAT:LT is the recommended modern operating mode
  • EAT:AR is the rougher fallback method
  • EAT:TF is a separate target-fix mode when present
  • ETA:ES or ETA:ALB: selects whether the ETA basis follows EuroScope or the ALB calculation.
  • HLW* or HLW-: is the active local permission for this ALB instance to write accepted hold timing back to the TopSky holding list.

Current UI note:

  • recent ALB builds hide the visible FPC top-row button even though the underlying FPC state, peer sync, and logging behavior still exist

Local display buttons

The compact display buttons are local to your client. They do not change shared planning policy.

For the hold-display button:

  • the number is the minutes before EAT where the display switches to countdown
  • EAT means show EAT before that threshold
  • GL means show gain or lose before that threshold
  • SW means alternate gain or lose and EAT before that threshold
  • --- means stay blank before that threshold

Mouse actions:

  • left-click decreases the threshold by 1 minute
  • right-click increases the threshold by 1 minute
  • double-click cycles the pre-threshold display mode

Example:

  • 2 GL means show gain or lose while the aircraft is in hold and more than 2 minutes from EAT, then switch to countdown inside 2 minutes

Hold / EAT controls

  • HLW is the active operator-facing local write gate for HOLD_EAT.
  • HLS is retained only as legacy or compatibility state and is no longer a normal visible top-row control.
  • In backend-primary healthy operation, canonical per-aircraft EAT comes from backend SEQ/SET2+AC.
  • The final /HOLD_EAT/HHMM/ write is only the aircraft-visible local side effect of that canonical authority path.
  • SEAT remains available only as legacy, fallback, or compatibility hold-EAT handling. It is not the normal backend-primary transport.

Who can change these buttons

  • EAT or PLT is local display only
  • the hold-display button such as 2 EAT or 2 GL is local display only
  • TXE is restricted to the manual FMR
  • Layout, Timelines, and via-fix visibility are local display controls
  • EAT:AR / EAT:LT / EAT:TF, ETA:ES / ETA:ALB, legacy HLS preference state, and underlying FPC shared state are shared-planning controls and should normally be changed by the controller currently responsible for the shared plan
  • HLW is the active local write permission for the final local HOLD_EAT publication side effect
  • PLR is a shared planning control
  • AR is a shared planning control when the older EAT:AR method is being used

When a manual FMR is active, ALB now enforces that more directly for several shared controls. Non-FMR peers should expect shared PLR, AR, and scenario edits to be ignored locally instead of quietly creating a competing plan.

See Collaboration & FMR for the authority rules behind that.

ETA and ELT naming

The top button uses ETA:ES and ETA:ALB, while some layouts may show row fields called ELT, ELT-ES, or ELT-ALB.

  • ETA:ES or ELT-ES means the EuroScope or live estimate branch
  • ETA:ALB or ELT-ALB means the ALB-calculated or corrected estimate branch

When ETA:ALB or ELT-ALB is selected, the ALB branch may use the configured orange timing model before terminal or post-via phases. Orange timing is ALB's configured route or STAR track-mile estimate toward touchdown. It is part of the ALB scheduling estimate, not a separate controller action.

Operator-facing rule of thumb:

  • before the aircraft is deep into terminal or post-via handling, ALB can use its own corrected branch to give a more useful planning estimate
  • that branch is built from the via-fix timing anchor plus configured orange distance-to-land, then turned into seconds using an ALB descent-speed model
  • the current model uses a rough higher segment, a TMA segment, and a final segment; when flight-plan performance and upper-wind data are available, ALB can refine that estimate further
  • once the aircraft is in terminal or post-via phases, ALB stops forcing a separate corrected landing estimate and follows the live EuroScope branch where appropriate
  • peers should normally follow the FMR's selected ETA policy

For the detailed configuration side of that timing model, see Config File Reference.

Timelines

Chooses which timeline definitions are active.

  • You can select one or more timelines
  • Timelines come from the ALB config
  • They define destination airport coverage, streams, retained legacy scenario definitions, and default layout behavior

ALB Dropdown Timeline

Via-fixes

Lets you focus on the streams you care about.

  • In some layouts, deselected streams remain visible but are dimmed
  • In other layouts, deselected streams are hidden entirely
  • The exact behavior depends on the selected layout and its hideDeselectedViaFixes setting

See Feeder View vs Runway View for what that means operationally.

ALB Dropdown ViaFixes

Scenarios

Recent ALB builds hide the visible Scenarios menu from the normal control bar.

Operationally:

  • It exists for compatibility and history
  • It is not part of the recommended current operating method
  • internal scenario config and apply logic still exist for compatibility
  • In normal modern ALB use, the FMR works mainly through EAT:LT monitoring and correction instead of scenario switching

ALB Dropdown Scenarios

See Retired: Scenarios.

Peers

Shows an informational list of ALB peers for the active airport or airports.

  • This menu is for awareness, not for actions
  • It is the quick way to see whether another ALB instance is already coordinating the plan
  • in current simplified control-bar layouts, Peers appears immediately after Layout
  • It can also show the peer's current EAT policy and ETA branch context in a compact form

Layout

Changes how each aircraft row is displayed.

  • Layouts come from config
  • A layout can make ALB feel feeder-oriented or runway-oriented
  • That view choice is independent of EAT:AR versus EAT:LT
  • The available choices depend on the loaded config

See Feeder View vs Runway View for how layout changes the meaning of ordering and sequence actions.

ALB Dropdown Layout

Stats-area click actions

  • PLR: left-click decreases planned landing rate by 1. Right-click increases it by 1.
  • AR: left-click decreases the stream interval by 1 minute. Right-click increases it by 1.

In EAT:LT, AR is not the active planning driver. Visible AR values are legacy/context information, and AR adjustment is not the normal control method.

For the operational difference between PLR and AR, see EAT:LT Landing Timeline Planning and EAT:AR Arrival Rate Fallback Planning.