# Basic terminology

## What these terms mean

Conduit uses these terms for the main places where you browse, publish, and manage your account.

| Term | What you use it for |
| --- | --- |
| Feed | The article list on Home |
| Article | Published content that you read, edit, comment on, and remove |
| Profile | A person's posts and account identity |
| Favorites | Articles saved to a profile's favorites list |
| Editor | The form where you enter or revise an Article |
| Settings | The account form for profile details |
| Login | The form for using an existing account |
| Register | The form for creating an account |

| If you need to… | Go to |
| --- | --- |
| Choose your account branch | [Before you start](#before-you-start) |
| Recognize a feed or tag state | [Find and recognize the feeds](#find-and-recognize-the-feeds) |
| Understand an Article or Editor | [Understand Article and Editor screens](#understand-article-and-editor-screens) |
| Use a Profile, Favorites, or Settings | [Use Profile, Favorites, and Settings](#use-profile-favorites-and-settings) |
| Read an error message | [When a message appears](#when-a-message-appears) |
| See articles from everyone | [Find articles in feeds](doc:find-articles-in-feeds) |
| See articles from followed profiles | [Find articles in feeds](doc:find-articles-in-feeds) |
| Open an article by its tag | [Browse articles by tag](doc:browse-articles-by-tag) |
| Write or revise an article | [Create and edit an article](doc:create-and-edit-an-article) |
| Read an article and its comments | [Read an article](doc:read-an-article) |
| Add a comment | [Comment on an article](doc:comment-on-an-article) |
| Save an article to your favorites | [Favorite articles](doc:favorite-articles) |
| View a profile | [View a profile](doc:view-a-profile) |
| See your posts or favorited posts | [View my posts and favorited posts](doc:view-my-posts-and-favorited-posts) |
| Change profile or account details | [Update settings](doc:update-settings) |
| Leave the account | [Sign out](doc:sign-out) |

Start with [Before you start](#before-you-start) to choose the account branch that applies to
you.

## Before you start

**Prerequisites**

- Know whether you are signing in to an existing account or registering a new one.
- For Login, have the account's **Email** and **Password** ready.
- For Register, have a **Username**, **Email**, and **Password** ready.
- To use **Your Feed**, be signed in.
- To open Settings, be signed in.

The account form uses **Email** and **Password** on both Login and Register. **Username** appears
on Register. A form submission control is disabled while its form is invalid.

After you know the account branch, continue to Home to identify the feed you need.

## Find and recognize the feeds

**Prerequisites**

- Open Home.

**Steps**

1. Select **Global Feed** to browse the general article list.
2. If you are signed in, select **Your Feed** to browse the feed for profiles you follow.
3. Look under **Popular Tags** for links that open articles filtered by a tag.
4. While tags are loading, look for `Loading tags...`.
5. If loading finishes without tags, look for `No tags are here... yet.`.

**Result:** Home displays the selected feed, and the sidebar identifies the tag-list state.

From a feed, open an Article when you need to read or act on its content.

## Understand Article and Editor screens

The Editor contains these fields:

| You are entering… | Use |
| --- | --- |
| The article heading | **Article Title** |
| The short description | **What's this article about?** |
| The article body | **Write your article (in markdown)** |
| Tags for the article | **Enter tags** |

**Prerequisites**

- Open the Editor to create an article, or open an article you can modify to revise it.
- To comment, open an Article while signed in.

**Steps**

1. Enter the article heading in **Article Title**.
2. Enter its short description in **What's this article about?**.
3. Enter the content in **Write your article (in markdown)**.
4. Enter a tag in **Enter tags**.
5. Press Enter in **Enter tags** to add the tag to the tag list.
6. Select the close icon next to a tag to remove that tag.
7. Select **Publish Article** to create or update the Article.
8. On an Article you can modify, select **Edit Article** to open its Editor.
9. On an Article you can modify, select **Delete Article** to remove it.
10. In the signed-in comment form, enter text in **Write a comment...**.
11. Select **Post Comment** to add the comment.

**Result:** The Editor sends the article data, and a successful save opens the Article route.
The Article page shows the owner actions when you can modify that Article; other viewers receive
follow and favorite controls instead.

## Sign in or register

**Prerequisites**

- Open **Login** for an existing account or **Register** for a new account.

**Steps**

1. Choose the form that matches your task:

   | If you need to… | Choose |
   | --- | --- |
   | Use an existing account | [Login](doc:sign-in) |
   | Create an account | [Register](doc:create-an-account) |

2. Complete the fields and submit the selected form:

   | Form | Fields | Submit |
   | --- | --- | --- |
   | Login | **Email** and **Password** | **Sign in** |
   | Register | **Username**, **Email**, and **Password** | **Sign up** |

3. Switch forms when your task changes:

   | If you are on… | Select |
   | --- | --- |
   | Register | **Have an account?** |
   | Login | **Need an account?** |

**Result:** The selected account form submits only when its required fields are valid.

## Use Profile, Favorites, and Settings

**Prerequisites**

- Open a Profile.
- To change profile details, open the signed-in profile.

**Steps**

1. Select **My Posts** to view the profile's articles.
2. Select **Favorited Posts** to view the profile's favorites.
3. On your own profile, select **Edit Profile Settings**.
4. Enter a profile-picture address in **URL of profile picture**.
5. Enter the account name in **Username**.
6. Enter a short biography in **Short bio about you**.
7. Enter the account email in **Email**.
8. Enter a new password in **New Password** when you are changing it.
9. Select **Update Settings**.
10. Select **Or click here to logout.** when you need to leave the account.

**Result:** Settings sends the profile form; after a successful update, the application opens the
updated profile. Logging out uses the account's logout action.

## When a message appears

The application displays returned error entries in the error area for the screen. Each entry uses
the returned key followed by its value.

Error text is rendered as `<key> <value>` for each returned error entry.

| What you see | What it concerns | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `Failed to load article` | The Article could not be loaded. | Return to the Article route later. |
| `Failed to load profile` | The Profile could not be loaded. | Return to the Profile route later. |
| `<key> <value>` | A returned error entry. | Read the key and value shown in the error area. |

## Continue with a related task

Use [What is Conduit](doc:what-is-conduit) for orientation, [Who uses Conduit](doc:who-uses-conduit)
for audience information, and [What can you do with Conduit](doc:what-can-you-do-with-conduit)
for the product's capabilities. Use [System requirements](doc:system-requirements) before access
setup and [Getting help](doc:getting-help) when you need assistance.

For navigation and setup, continue with [Understanding the interface](doc:understanding-the-interface),
[Navigation basics](doc:navigation-basics), [Personalizing your workspace](doc:personalizing-your-workspace),
or [Your first day](doc:your-first-day). For loading and error handling, use
[Authentication and loading messages](doc:authentication-and-loading-messages),
[Loading and unavailable states](doc:loading-and-unavailable-states), [FAQ](doc:faq),
[General error messages](doc:general-error-messages), or
[Common issues and solutions](doc:common-issues-and-solutions).