# Understanding the interface ## What the interface contains This page covers **Home**, Article, and Profile, along with the shared header that connects them. | If you need to… | Go to | | --- | --- | | Choose an article list or browse tags | [Find articles in Your Feed and Global Feed](doc:find-articles-in-feeds) or [Browse articles by tag](doc:browse-articles-by-tag) | | Read, comment on, or favorite an article | [Read an article](doc:read-an-article), [Comment on an article](doc:comment-on-an-article), or [Favorite articles](doc:favorite-articles) | | Create or change an article | [Create and edit an article](doc:create-and-edit-an-article) | | View a person's posts or favorites | [View a profile](doc:view-a-profile) or [View My Posts and Favorited Posts](doc:view-my-posts-and-favorited-posts) | | Follow a person | [Follow a user](doc:follow-a-user) | | Find a route or tab | [Navigation basics](doc:navigation-basics) | | Change account or workspace details | [Personalizing your workspace](doc:personalizing-your-workspace) | ## Before you start The interface changes according to whether you are signed in and whether the Article or Profile belongs to you. On **Home**, signed-in readers see **Your Feed** as well as **Global Feed**. The public view has the banner and public header links instead. On an Article, the owner sees **Edit Article** and **Delete Article**. Another reader sees the available follow and favorite actions. On a Profile, the owner sees **Edit Profile Settings**; another profile shows the available follow and favorite actions. These branches determine which action to choose. The Article comment area follows the same access rule. A signed-in reader gets the comment field and **Post Comment**. A signed-out reader gets **Sign in** or **sign up** instead. **Prerequisites** - Know whether you are signed in. - For an Article, know whether you are viewing your own article. - For a Profile, know whether it is your profile or another person's profile. - Have the Article or Profile route you want to open. ## Choose a destination from the shared header The shared header is the navigation strip at the top of each surface. Use it to move to a destination without first returning to a list. **Steps** 1. Choose the destination that matches your task: | If you need to… | Select | | --- | --- | | Open the Home surface | **Home** | | Sign in | **Sign in** | | Create an account | **Sign up** | | Start a new article | **New Article** | | Change account settings | **Settings** | | Open your profile | Your username in the header | **Result:** The selected destination opens, and its own surface becomes available. ## Recognize the Home surface **Home** is the article-discovery surface. Its feed selector, article list, and tag area help you choose which articles to read. Select **Your Feed** for the following feed when you are signed in. Select **Global Feed** for the all-articles feed. When a tag filter is active, Home adds the selected tag as an active feed item. The tag area is headed **Popular Tags**. The article list can display these states: | What you see | What it means | | --- | --- | | `Loading articles...` | The article list is loading. | | `Your feed is empty. Follow some users to see their articles here, or check out the Global Feed!` | The following feed has no articles. | | `No articles are here... yet.` | The loaded article list is empty. | | `Loading tags...` | The tag list is loading. | | `No tags are here... yet.` | No tags are available in the tag area. | ## Recognize the Article surface An Article is the surface where you read an article and work with its related actions. The page contains the article body and tags, followed by the comment area. On an article preview, `Read more...` opens the full article. Use the ownership branch at the top of the page: | If you are viewing… | The page provides | | --- | --- | | Your own article | **Edit Article** and **Delete Article** | | Another reader's article | the available follow and favorite actions | When you are signed in, enter text in the comment field and select **Post Comment**. The comment field is a textarea and is not marked as required. When you are signed out, the comment form is replaced by **Sign in** or **sign up**. If the article cannot load, the page can show `Failed to load article`. ## Recognize the Profile surface A Profile is the surface for a person's identity and article lists. It shows the profile image, username, biography, and the list selected by the profile tabs. | If you are viewing… | The page provides | | --- | --- | | Your own profile | **Edit Profile Settings** | | Another person's profile | the available follow and favorite actions plus the person's username | | Authored articles | **My Posts** | | Favorited articles | **Favorited Posts** | Select **My Posts** to view the profile's authored articles, or select **Favorited Posts** to view the profile's favorited articles. If the profile cannot load, the page can show `Failed to load profile`. ## Interpret a message on these surfaces Returned error entries use the format ` ` and appear as list items. Use the message text to identify which action needs attention, then follow the task page for that surface. Article and Profile load messages identify which surface could not load. | Message or situation | Continue with | | --- | --- | | A returned error in the ` ` format | [General error messages](doc:general-error-messages) | ## Continue to the task you need Identify the surface, then continue with the page that owns the work: - From Home, continue to [Find articles in Your Feed and Global Feed](doc:find-articles-in-feeds), [Browse articles by tag](doc:browse-articles-by-tag), or [Loading and unavailable states](doc:loading-and-unavailable-states). - From Article, continue to [Article workspace](doc:article-workspace), [Read an article](doc:read-an-article), [Create and edit an article](doc:create-and-edit-an-article), [Comment on an article](doc:comment-on-an-article), [Favorite articles](doc:favorite-articles), or [Article actions reference](doc:article-actions-reference). - From Profile, continue to [View a profile](doc:view-a-profile), [View My Posts and Favorited Posts](doc:view-my-posts-and-favorited-posts), or [Follow a user](doc:follow-a-user). - For account entry, continue to [Sign in](doc:sign-in) or [Create an account](doc:create-an-account). - For account and workspace changes, continue to [Personalizing your workspace](doc:personalizing-your-workspace). - For authentication messages, continue to [Authentication and loading messages](doc:authentication-and-loading-messages). - For common problems, continue to [Common issues and solutions](doc:common-issues-and-solutions).