# Read an article ## Read an article An article is a published post whose body is written in markdown and presented with its title, metadata—the author and publication date—tags, comments, and reader actions. Use this page to open an article, read its content and metadata, and choose the next action. | If you need to… | Go to | | --- | --- | | Find an existing article | [Find and open the article](#find-and-open-the-article) | | Find articles in a feed | [Find articles in feeds](doc:find-articles-in-feeds) | | Browse articles by tag | [Browse articles by tag](doc:browse-articles-by-tag) | | Recognize the article screen | [Understand the article screen](#understand-the-article-screen) | | Read the body and check its author or date | [Read the article and its metadata](#read-the-article-and-its-metadata) | | Add a comment | [Comment on an article](doc:comment-on-an-article) | | Favorite or unfavorite the article | [Favorite articles](doc:favorite-articles) | | Use author-only article actions | [Article actions reference](doc:article-actions-reference) | ## Before you start The article page displays a saved article when its article data is available. Your account state changes which controls appear: authenticated readers get the comment form, while unauthenticated readers get links to sign in or create an account. **Prerequisites** - Know which article to select from the article list, feed, or tag view. - If you want to comment, select **Sign in** before opening the article. ## Find and open the article Use this procedure to open an existing article from an article list or a tag view. **Prerequisites** - Have an article list, feed, or tag view open. **Steps** 1. Choose the view that contains the article, then select the article you want to read. | If you are… | Select the article from… | | --- | --- | | Reading a feed or article list | The article list or feed. | | Browsing by subject | The tag view. | The article page opens for the selected article. **Result:** The selected article page is on screen. ## Understand the article screen The article screen is the reading surface for one article: the title and metadata identify the post, the markdown body contains its content, tags describe its subject, and the lower area contains comments and reader actions. | Area | What you find there | | --- | --- | | Article heading | The article title. | | Article metadata | The author and publication date. | | Article body | The article text formatted from markdown. | | Tags | The article's tags below the body. | | Article actions | Author actions, or follow and favorite controls for other readers. | | Comment area | Existing comments and, for authenticated readers, the comment form. | The page does not provide article-editing fields, a grid, or a configurable surface. Editing is handled in the article workspace, while this page is for reading the article and its associated activity. ## Read the article and its metadata Read the article body first, then use the metadata to identify who published it and when. **Prerequisites** - Have the article page open. **Steps** 1. Read the article title at the top of the page. 2. Read the article body below the title. 3. In the article metadata, read the author's name and publication date. The author's name is a link to that author's profile. **Result:** The article content, author, and publication date are on screen. ## Use the reading controls The controls on the article page depend on whether you own the article or a comment, whether you are signed in, and whether the article is already in your favorites. **Prerequisites** - Have the article page open. **Steps** 1. Choose the action that matches your situation. | Your situation or goal | Select | | --- | --- | | You own the article and want to edit it | **Edit Article** | | You own the article and want to delete it | **Delete Article** | | You want to follow the author | **Follow** | | You want to stop following the author | **Unfollow** | | You want to save the article as a favorite | **Favorite Article** | | You want to remove the article from your favorites | **Unfavorite Article** | | You want to add a comment | Enter text in **Write a comment...**, then select **Post Comment**. | | You need to sign in | **Sign in** | | You need to create an account | **sign up** | 2. Use the handling shown for the action you selected. | Action | Handling | | --- | --- | | **Edit Article** | [Article workspace](doc:article-workspace) | | **Sign in** | [Sign in](doc:sign-in) | | **sign up** | [Create an account](doc:create-an-account) | | **Delete Article** | Select the control for the direct delete action. | | **Follow** or **Unfollow** | Select the control for the direct follow action. | | **Favorite Article** or **Unfavorite Article** | Select the control for the direct favorite action. | | **Post Comment** | Enter text in **Write a comment...**, then select the direct **Post Comment** action. | **Result:** **Edit Article**, **Sign in**, and **sign up** take you to their linked pages. The other controls start direct actions on the article page; **Delete Article** leads away after the delete action, while follow, favorite, and comment actions remain on this page. ## Handle errors and continue The article page displays loading and server-response errors in its error area. **Prerequisites** - Have the article page open. **Steps** 1. Read the message in the error area. | What you see | What to do | | --- | --- | | `Failed to load article` | Return to the article list and open the article again. | | Returned errors show a key followed by its value. | Read the entry and use the matching next step in this table. | | **Sign in** and **sign up** instead of the comment form | Select **Sign in** or **sign up** before trying to comment. | | **Edit Article** and **Delete Article** | Use [Article actions reference](doc:article-actions-reference) for author-only actions. | | **Write a comment...** and **Post Comment** | Use [Comment on an article](doc:comment-on-an-article) to add a comment. | | **Favorite Article** or **Unfavorite Article** | Use [Favorite articles](doc:favorite-articles) to manage favorites. | 2. Select the next task from the message's matching row. **Result:** You are back at the article list to retry loading, or you have continued to the procedure or page that addresses the message.