The following guide details the settings available in Zello's legacy PC app, which is the predecessor to Dispatch Hub. We recommend all users migrate to Dispatch Hub as soon as possible to ensure you and your team receive the best support and most current Zello features.
On Startup:
Menus
Status
Sign in - Duplicated action of sign-in button
Sign out (unavailable)
Edit - Closes application
View
History (unavailable)
Show conversations (unavailable)
Display search tool (unavailable) (ctrl + F)
Normal - No change on this view, applies view changes upon login
Compact - No change on this view, applies view changes upon login
Tools
Change status message (unavailable)
Change password (unavailable)
Create Adhoc channel (unavailable)
Options - Sends to Options views
Backups
Export Options… - Provides the ability to save a ptt.config file that can be imported elsewhere/later. Opens Windows navigation window.
Import Options… - Provides the ability to load a ptt.config file to import options. Opens windows navigation window.
Help
Help - Opens a new browser tab to go to https://support.zellowork.com/hc/en-us
Report Problem - Opens a new Zello Work window on top of the open ZelloWork app to submit a log, with a free text field to provide contact, a button to Submit and a button to Cancel.
About ZelloWork - Opens a new ZelloWork window displaying network name information, ZelloWork app version, copyright and credits. An "OK" button to close.
Username - Free text field, also provides a pulldown menu to populate the field with previously used usernames. Automatically populated with last used, if applicable.
Password - Automatically populated with last used, if applicable.
Forgot your password - Opens a new browser tab to the link https://<networkname>.zellowork.com/?forgot_password=1#modal-forgot-password which allows the user to enter the email address for password reset procedure.
Sign in when ZelloWork starts - Checkbox.
Run on computer startup - Checkbox.
Sign in - Button to initiate sign-in.
Network - No option. This displays the Zello Work network as "<networkname>.zellowork.com" and this option is automatically set when downloading the app from the management console.This cannot be changed within the application. It is possible to change this through manipulating the servers.config file in the Zello Work root folder on the PC, however this requires significant changes to permissions on the PC or folders. As such, if this information is incorrect, the easiest fix is to have the user download and install the PC app from the admin console, or have the admin provide the installer to the user after downloading it from the console themselves.
User Status - Selecting an available user status will trigger the sign-in process.
On Sign-in
Menus
Status
Sign in (Unavailable)
Sign out - Signs out of Zello and returns user to the Startup view.
Exit - Signs out of Zello and closes application.
View
History - Sends to History view
Search field - Able to search by username or channel name. Auto updates history display as you type.
Back button (left-pointing arrow) - Returns to main app view.
Message display window - Shows a list of messages in local history. Arrow to left of each message indicates incoming (arrow pointing down and left) or outgoing (arrow pointing up and right), followed by the channel or user name that the message is associated with, with a timestamp displayed below that and a duration for audio messages. To the far right of the display, if it is an audio message, it will display a red icon for outgoing messages and a green icon for incoming messages. It will show a thumbnail of picture messages. Can also right-click individual messages to be given the option of marking read, marking unread, deleting the message or deleting all messages in history. Double-clicking a message will begin playback for audio messages (double-clicking again will being playback at the beginning for the selected message without pause), or will bring up a view window for images or text messages.
Previous message (double left arrow) - Selects previous message. If messages are playing when pressed, will auto play as it goes back - does not go to beginning of the current message. If messages are not playing, will select the previous message without starting playback. If no message is selected, this button does nothing.
Play (Play button arrow) - Begins playback of selected message. If playback is in progress, will change to a pause button with appropriate icon, and will pause current playback. If no message is selected, will select the most recent message.
Next message (Double right arrow) - Selects next message. If massages are playing when pressed, will auto play next message. If messages are not playing, will select the previous message. If no message is selected, does nothing.
Show Conversations - Brings up the conversations view of message history.
Display Search tool (Ctrl+F) - Adds a free-text field at the top of the display to allow for the user to search the displayed view for particular users/channels/etc.
Normal - Returns to “Normal” view with expanded descriptions if Compact view is currently selected.
Compact - Changes to “Compact” view with fewer descriptions if the Normal view is currently selected. Does not change the size of the viewing window.
Normal view:
Compact view:
Tools
Change Status Message - Allows the user to set a status message that will display if the user is in status “Available.” Brings up a window with a free text field. Limited to 64 characters. This status message will appear to other users under the user name. The status message is also viewable at the bottom of the window next to the user status. The status message will only display when in “Available” status, and will be retained when changing to other statuses so that the message will return when the user goes back to “Available” status.
Change Password - Brings up a dialog box to change the password for the logged in user. Requires current password. Once the old password is entered and the new password is entered and confirmed, the user can click “Next” and the password will be changed. Once complete, click “Finish” to close.
Create adhoc channel - Brings up a dialog to create a new group channel. The user will be able to select users to add to the channel by selecting the user and using the “>>” button in the middle of the screen. There is also a free-text field to create a name for the adhoc channel. This channel will then appear in the “Recents” view and can be used to have a group conversation.
Options - Sends to Options views.
Backups
Export Options… - Provides the ability to save a ptt.config file that can be imported elsewhere/later. Opens Windows navigation window.
Import Options… - Provides the ability to load a ptt.config file to import options. Opens windows navigation window.
Help
Help - Opens a new browser tab to go to https://support.zellowork.com/hc/en-us
Report Problem - Opens a new Zello Work window on top of the open ZelloWork app to submit a log, with a free text field to provide contact, a button to Submit and a button to Cancel.
About ZelloWork - Opens a new ZelloWork window displaying network name information, ZelloWork app version, copyright and credits. an "OK" button to close
Tabs
Contacts - This will display all online contacts, as well as channels that the user is a part of. Channels will appear in green or blue depending on the channel type, and contacts will appear in green or orange depending on their status.
Left-Click - Selects the channel or user. Broadcasting voice with a channel or user selected will send the broadcast to that channel or user. You can also Ctrl+left click to select multiple users or channels, and broadcasting with multiple channels and/or users selected will broadcast to all selected channels/users.
Double click - Double clicking will open the Conversations window. From the Conversations window, the user can send a text message, an image, or a call alert. Other opened conversations will also appear in this window, and the user can switch between these tabs of conversations or close individual conversations, as well.
Right-click channel
Disconnect - Disconnects from the channel. The channel will remain in the Contacts list, and can be rejoined at any time by right-clicking the channel and selecting “Connect.”
Show online users - Changes the Contacts view to only show the users in that channel.
Send Call Alert - Brings up a window to allow the user to send a call alert, providing a free-text field for the alert, and a pull-down menu to choose if the alert should go only to online users connected to the channel or to alert online and offline users connected or disconnected to the channel. Click OK to send the alert or Cancel to cancel.
Turn on Solo mode - Switches to Solo Mode for the channel, so that only messages in this channel will be automatically played. When Solo Mode is on, this option changes to Turn Off Solo Mode.
Show Contact History - Sends to History View. See above for more information on History View.
Share Image - Bring up a Windows Navigator window to select an image file to send to the channel.
Send Text Message - Brings up the Conversations window, allowing the user to send a text message to the channel, as well as sending Images or Call Alerts.
Mute - Changes the channel to be muted so that no broadcasts from that channel are played automatically. This option changes to “unmute” when the channel is muted.
Add to Favorites - Adds the channel to the Favorites tab.
Right-click user
Send Call Alert - Brings up the Conversations window, allowing the user to send a Call Alert to the user, as well as sending a text message or image to the user.
Turn on Solo mode - Switches to Solo Mode for the user, so that only messages from this user will be automatically played. When Solo Mode is on, this option changes to Turn Off Solo Mode.
Show Contact History - If there is history with the user, will bring up a history view of communication with the contact. If there is no history, nothing will happen when this option is selected.
Share Image - Bring up a Windows Navigator window to select an image file to send to the channel.
Send Text Message - Brings up the Conversations window, allowing the user to send a text message to the channel, as well as sending Images or Call Alerts.
Mute - Changes the user to be muted so that no broadcasts from thatuser are played automatically. This option changes to “unmute” when the user is muted.
Add to Favorites - Adds the user to the Favorites tab.
Adjust Volume - Brings up a dialog box to change the playback volume of the specific user, allowing you to lower or raise the volume for their messages. Note that there is a “Test” button that has no function. Click OK to save the volumen change or Cancel to close the window without saving changes.
Favorites tab - Identical to the Contacts tab, but only with channels and users that have been added to Favorites using the right-click menu. All other functions are the same, with the exception of “Add to Favorites” is changed to “Remove from Favorites” in the right-click menu.
Recents tab - Displays conversations between users or within channels. When a conversation is selected, the user can use right-click menus in the same way as in the Contacts tab, with the only change being the addition of an option to “Remove from Recents.”
Broadcast button - Click and hold to push to talk. The green indicator will turn red when broadcasting.
Lock button - Press to toggle a lock on broadcasts. When this is pressed, the button will turn red. The user will still be able to broadcast, but they will need to press and hold the Broadcast button for two seconds before the broadcast will begin.
User Status - Opens a pull-down menu allowing the user to select a different status.
Options Menu
Interface
Display notification while sending a message (checkbox) - when enabled, sending a message will trigger a notification in Windows (typically in the bottom right corner of the main display) indicating the broadcast. Option is on by default.
Display notification while receiving message (checkbox) - when enabled, receiving a message will trigger a notification in Windows (typically in the bottom right corner of the main display) indicating that a message is being received. Option is on by default.
Change status to Away when idle - When selected, will automatically change the user status to “Away” if there has been no user activity in a set period of time. Selecting this option will allow the user to change the Idle timeout interval, which is set to 10 minutes by default. Option is off by default.
Allow multiple instances of the program - When selected, the program will allow itself to run if there is already another instance of Zello Work running on the computer. This can be useful in specific scenarios where a user may need to be part of multiple Zello Work networks, or in some unique gateway use cases. Off by default.
Sign in when ZelloWork starts - When selected, Zello Work will automatically sign in with the last known sign in username and password as soon as the app opens. Can also be selected on the sign-in screen. Off by default.
Receive images from contacts and channels - when selected, allows the user to be able to see and receive images that are broadcast from users either directly or through a channel. On by default.
Enable ad-Hoc channels - Allows the user to create an ad-hoc channel, which will act as a group conversation with users that are selected when creating the channel. See above for more information on ad-hoc channels. On by default.
Open conversations view for each new incoming text message - When selected, text messages will automatically open the conversations view to see the message when it is received. On by default.
Language - a pull-down menu that allows you to select which supported language you would like the app to display. English by default. All available options here shown here:
Updates - Allows the user to automatically download and install updates when they become available from Zello. Options are “Automatically download updates”, “Notify Only,” or “Disable.”
Highlight unanswered call - Pull-down menu that changes the display behavior for when a call comes in. Options are “Disabled,” “Strict,” and “Balanced.” Calls that have not been acknowledged will be highlighted in the display if Strict or Balanced are selected.Strict highlights all recent conversations that have not been responded to. Balanced will selectively highlight recent conversations, but will not highlight conversations unless the user has been idle.
Sound Alerts
These settings will allow a user to set custom sounds for individual alert types, as well as to enable or disable sound alerts for different activities in the app. By default, all alerts are enabled except for Incoming message ended alert and Outgoing message ended alert. Clicking on “Change…” will open a Windows navigator window that will allow the user to browse their computer to find and select any recognizable audio file. The Test button will play the selected audio file.
Control
These settings allow a user to set custom keybinds to different actions within the application. Clicking the “Set” button will change the option for the keybind, allowing the user to press their desired keybind. For example, if the user wanted to change a keybind to “Ctrl+Space,” they would click the “Set” button - this will change the display of the previous keybind to say “Press new hotkey” and change the “Set” button to a “Cancel” button. The user would press and hold the Ctrl key, and then press the spacebar while holding the Ctrl key. The display will then show “Ctrl + Space” and the button will change back to “Set” from “Cancel”. The user can hit Cancel at any time to revert to the current keybind without making changes. A keybind can be completely disabled by unchecking the box.
Favorites push to talk hotkeys - This pulldown menu allows the user to set a certain set of hotkeys to open broadcast to the channels and users listed in their Favorites tab. By default, this is set to not use hotkeys. The pulldown menu can be used to select different combinations of keystrokes using number keys, function keys and Ctrl and/or Alt keys which will open the push-to-talk broadcast by using those hotkeys. The keybinds will apply in the order that the favorites are listed in the Favorites tab. You can click and drag within the favorites tab to move them up and down. There can be no more than 10 keybindings assigned to favorites.
Audio
Playback Device - This pull-down menu will provide the user with a list of available devices that Windows recognizes as audio output/speakers. The user may select any of the available options.
Playback volume - This is the master volume slider for volume specific to receiving messages, on a scale of 0-100, where 0 will mute all incoming messages. Notifications will still come in if this is set to 0, and the app will attempt audio playback, but with no volume those messages will not produce audio.
Recording Device - This pull-down menu will provide the user with a list of available devices that Windows recognizes as audio input/microphones. The user may select any of the available options.
Recording volume - This is the master volume slider for volume specific to sending messages through the app, on a scale of 0-100, where 0 will effectively mute the user. If the user cannot be heard by other users, this scale should be increased. If the user is coming in too loud by other users, this scale should be decreased. If the slider is set to 0 and the user attempts to send a message, the app will still “queue up” for the user to speak, but no audio will be transmitted.
Playback Amplifier - This is a slider which will slightly increase or decrease the volume of messages received. By default, this is set to 0. The slider can be moved lower than zero to reduce the volume of messages being played, or moved above zero to increase the volume of messages being played. This may result in audio distortion.
Recording Amplifier - This is a slider which will slightly increase or decrease the volume of messages as they are sent from the user. By default, this is set to 0. The slider can be moved lower than zero to reduce the volume of the messages being sent to other users or channels, or moved above zero to increase the volume of messages being sent. This may result in audio distortion.
Noise Suppression - This checkbox can be selected to turn the Noise Suppression feature on or off (selected/on by default). The Noise Suppression feature will attempt to eliminate background noise when sending a message to other users or channels. If other users state that the user’s messages are sometimes cutting in and out, unchecking this option may help.
Force HQ voice recording (disables bitrate autotuning) - By default, this setting is turned off, allowing for the bitrate autotuning feature to sample the audio at lower quality depending on network performance. This allows for consistent transmission of audio in various network situations. This can be turned on to force all audio to be transmitted at the highest quality, which will ensure high audio quality at the possible expense of slow transmission to users and significantly higher network bandwidth usage regardless of transmission speed.
Use compatible voice recording format - By default, this setting is turned off, allowing for the format of the recorded audio to be compatible with all processing steps during transmission. When this feature is turned on, all audio will be recorded at 44100Hz frequency, which may be useful when diagnosing a potentially bad audio driver on the PC. This feature should only be enabled if/when instructed by support or engineering for diagnostic purposes.
Connection
Incoming UDP port - By default, this is set to “Auto”, but can be changed to a numeric value corresponding to a specific port that the network should use for receiving incoming transmissions. This should only be changed in very specific circumstances, such as a local firewall requiring special port handling or for on on-premise enterprise server configuration that requires a particular port to be used.
Enable TLS - Enabled by default. TLS stands for “Transport Layer Security,” which is the encryption protocol used by Zello for secure message transmission. This should only be disabled for specific troubleshooting purposes to confirm if an issue with message delivery is related to some incompatibility between TLS and the local network.
Use only TCP connection - Disabled by default. TCP stands for “Transmission Control Protocol.” Enabling this option will force the application to only use TCP connections for message delivery. This may be useful for diagnosing messaging issues that may be caused by the local network or firewall. The option should only be enabled for troubleshooting purposes.
Disable UPnP port forwarding - Disabled by default. UPnP stands for “Universal Plug-and-Play.” By default, the app will work with the local PC to automatically set a working port for transmission and reception of messages. Checking this option will disable the apps ability to automatically establish the correct port and may cause issues with message delivery. Only check this option for very specific troubleshooting scenarios or where local IT policy does not allow UPnP port forwarding for security reasons.
Use proxy server - Disabled by default. There may be unique and specific situations where local network conditions require the use of a proxy server for message delivery. The vast majority of use cases do not require a proxy server, and enabling proxy server use may add lag to message delivery. If a proxy server is required, local IT should have the information required for the following fields, which are only enabled when “Use proxy server” is selected. The Proxy type, Host, Port, and proxy authentication options should be provided by the user’s local IT resources.
VOX
Turn on VOX for handsfree - VOX stands for “Voice Operated Exchange” and is used to enable handsfree detection of audio transmission. When enabled, the application will always listen to the selected output device/microphone for audio to transmit, and will open communication to the selected user/channel automatically when it detects sound from that device. The options below will only become available when this setting is selected. VOX can be helpful in situations where the operator may not have the ability to use a transmit hotkey or use the transmit button in the app, and/or when the operator may be speaking freely and would otherwise be inconvenienced by using a transmit button or hotkey.
Activation threshold - This slider adjusts the sensitivity of the VOX feature. The lower the value is set by moving the slider to the left, the transmission will begin with softer noises. Moving the slider to the right will require louder noise to trigger transmission. This slider should be set so that the user can speak freely and trigger the VOX transmission, while still being set high enough that background noises or the user casually breathing into the microphone will not open transmission.
De-activation threshold - This slider adjusts the sensitivity of the VOX feature much like the Activation threshold, except that this is when to end transmission. Generally speaking, this should be set to the same value as the Activation threshold, but may need to be adjusted due to particular situations where transmissions are extending after the user is done speaking, or if the messages are being cut off prematurely.
Trigger time (ms) - This sets a small delay between the Activation threshold being reached and when the transmission of audio actually begins. Set to 200 by default. This value can be increased in order to avoid quick, loud noises from triggering open communication using the VOX feature. In rare situations, it may be necessary to decrease this value if the beginning of a voice transmission is not coming through to other users or channels.
Relaxation time (ms) - This sets a small delay between the time that a user stops speaking and when the transmission of a message ends. Set to 700 by default. This value should be set high enough so that the user is able to speak freely, with natural pauses in their speech, without being set so high that transmission may extend for too long after the user is done speaking.
Local history
Keep message history for each contact (hrs) - Set to 10 by default. This setting will set a limit for how long a message is stored locally on the PC in the message history. Setting this too high could cause the PC’s memory to become filled with old messages. Note that this only applies to local storage and does not affect network storage within Zello Work. Message Vault or other message history available through the Admin console is not affected by this setting.
Show advanced local history options - This link will display additional options for storing message history on the P.C.
Stored records count - This displays the number of messages currently stored in local history. This is not a setting and cannot be changed.
Stored data - This displays the approximate length of audio messages currently stored in local history. This is not a setting and cannot be changed.
Previous defragmentation date - This shows the date that the application last attempted to defragment the memory on the local hard drive specific to the storage of message history. This is not a setting and cannot be changed.
Local database status - This shows if the local history database is in an “ok” state. If this is not in an “ok” state, then the user will have seen an error message on application startup with a more descriptive error message. If there is an error message, attempting to defragment the local database may help, but it is likely that any error message that appears here or on startup will indicate that the database may have errors that are unrecoverable.
Defragment local database - This button will run a process to defragment the local history storage on the hard drive of the PC. This should only be necessary on extremely large local history records. In the situation where there is an extremely large amount of data stored for local history, the hard drive on the PC may be slow to retrieve messages in history. It should be extremely rare for this to be required.