Space bar menu's.
You may have them turned off.
From the "enter next command line", simply hit the space bar. it should take you to this wonderful menu. If you hit it again, it will take you to another wonderful menu.
It can be turned off in the parameters.
To turn them on, which will make your life infinitely easier.
From the "enter next command" line. Type "SETP" and hit enter. That means "set parameters". Read the directions at the bottom of the screen for how to navigate the menus. Its on the second page, in the right hand column, 4th one down. "CMD menu" switch it to #3 "toggle on with space bar". Power down and then power back up. Set it to Format 2 while you are in there.
You don't actually need to remember many commands. TA,1 is handy for loading a program(you can do that from the space bar menus also), CS for cold starting it(and it tells you to do that). That's really about all you have to remember, the rest is menu driven.
MU, for menu, that's basically documentation. If you don't remember how to program a G4 (is 1000.. 1 second or 10 seconds?) or a drill cycle (what the hell does R do?) and the manual is 5 layers deep on your desk, you can go to the machine, and the syntax for all that stuff is in the machine, under MU. If you need to look up an error code, its in MU,
and i dont really want home to be at cold start because you have to lean real far in.
but the warmup program i have was apparently incremental because it limits out if i run it from a table forward position.
Its really easiest to leave your home at the CS position, it's one less thing to screw up, and one less thing to do when firing the machine up. At the end of your program, just have it come back to the travel limit closest to you(I have it come just shy). G0 E0 X0 Y9.9 for a 4020, Y7.9 for a 16 inch machine.