---
title: "First steps"
weight: 10
description: "Getting started with MV-Plan: interface, navigation, choosing a language and walking through a first dive."
source_hash: e6c3c3ae1832
---

# First steps

This page introduces the MV-Plan interface and the usual run through a first plan.

## Opening the application

MV-Plan opens straight in your browser. No account, no login. You can also install it:

- **On a phone**: use the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) buttons inside the application.
- **On a computer**: a desktop version is available.

On the very first launch, a dialog offers to pick your language. You can change it at any time in the [Settings](/mvplan/reglages).

![First launch of MV-Plan with the language choice](screenshots/premier-lancement-langue.webp)

## The interface

The layout depends on the size of your device.

### On a computer

On a wide screen, MV-Plan shows a dashboard of three columns side by side:

- **Gases** (left): your mixes.
- **Plan** (centre): the dive segments and the calculation.
- **Profile** (right): the chart and the tissue saturation.

You can resize each column by dragging the vertical separators; the widths are remembered. A sidebar on the left reaches the Plan, the saved plans, the settings and the theme switch.

![Three-column dashboard on a computer with Gases, Plan and Profile](screenshots/tableau-de-bord-desktop.webp)

### On a phone

On phones and tablets, one view shows at a time. A tab bar at the bottom of the screen moves between the pages: Gases, Plan, Profile and Saved. The cogwheel button opens the settings.

![Tab navigation at the bottom of the screen on a phone](screenshots/navigation-mobile.webp)

## The pages of the application

| Page | Purpose |
|------|---------|
| Plan | Build the dive (segments), run the calculation, read the stops and export. |
| Gases | Declare your mixes (OC), your diluents (CCR) and the configuration of your cylinders. |
| Profile | Look at the dive chart and the saturation of the compartments. |
| Saved | Save, reload, import and export your plans. |
| Settings | Set the algorithm, the rates, the consumption, the environment, and so on. |

## Light or dark theme

A button switches between the dark and the light theme, to suit you and the light around you. The choice is kept for your next visits.

## Walking through a first dive

1. **Set your parameters** once in the [Settings](/mvplan/reglages): algorithm, gradient factors, ascent rates, consumption (RMV / SAC), units. These are remembered and serve every dive.
2. **Declare your mixes** on the [Gases](/mvplan/gaz) page: composition, ppO2 max, and the configuration of your cylinders (volume and pressure).
3. **Build the dive** on the [Plan](/mvplan/planification) page by adding one or more segments (depth and time).
4. **Run the calculation** with the Calculate Decompression button.
5. **Read the results**: stops, total runtime, TTS, gas consumption per cylinder, and the [profile](/mvplan/profil) chart.
6. **Export or save**: produce a printable PDF or store the plan in your [saved plans](/mvplan/plans-favoris).

See the dedicated pages for the detail of each step.