# Profiles overview Use a profile to connect a person's basic information with the articles they authored, the articles they favorited, and the relationship between your profile and theirs. ## What a profile is A profile is the place to view basic user information and the article lists associated with that person. The authored list contains articles created by the profile owner; the favorited list contains articles that person has favorited. | If you need to… | Go to | | --- | --- | | Understand the profile and its article lists | [Read profile information and articles](#read-profile-information-and-articles) | | Open a person's basic information | [View a profile](doc:view-a-profile) | | Follow or stop following another person | [Follow other users](doc:follow-other-users) | | View articles a person has favorited | [View favorited articles](doc:view-favorited-articles) | | Choose an authored or favorited article list | [Choose authored or favorited articles](#choose-authored-or-favorited-articles) | ## Before you start Before choosing a profile action, identify the profile username and whether the profile belongs to you or to another person. **Prerequisites** | Before you begin | What you need | | --- | --- | | Profile username | The username in the profile address or the author's username or image in an article preview | | Profile ownership | Whether the profile is yours or belongs to another person | | Article purpose | Whether you want to inspect authored articles or favorited articles | The profile address uses the username you want to view. Your own profile has **Edit Profile Settings**; another person's profile can show a control for the relationship between your profiles. ## Find a profile Use the profile address or an article preview to open a person's basic information and related article lists. **Prerequisites** - You have the username for the profile or an article preview for that person. **Steps** 1. Choose how to open the profile. | If you are starting from… | Use… | | --- | --- | | A known username | Open the profile address for the username | | An article preview | Select the author's username or image in the article preview | **Result:** The person's profile opens with their basic information and an article list. ## Read profile information and articles A profile screen presents the person's image, username, bio, and the article list you selected. Article lists can contain previews and pagination; while the list is loading, the article area displays `Loading...`. When the list contains no articles, it displays `No articles are here... yet.` | Profile area | What you can read or use | | --- | --- | | Profile header | The profile image, username, and bio | | Authored list | Article previews for the person's created articles | | Favorited list | Article previews for the person's favorited articles | | Article list navigation | Pagination for the current list | | Article preview | The article title, description, author information, date, tags, favorite count, and **Read more...** | To change the article relationship you are viewing, continue with the profile tabs. ## Choose authored or favorited articles Use the profile tabs when you want to change which article relationship you are viewing. **Prerequisites** - You have opened a profile. - You know whether you want the person's authored articles or favorited articles. **Steps** 1. Select the tab that matches the article list you want. | If you want to… | Select… | | --- | --- | | View articles created by the profile owner | **My Articles** | | View articles the profile owner has favorited | **Favorited Articles** | 2. Review the article list that opens. **Result:** The selected article list is active: **My Articles** in the profile's authored-articles view, or **Favorited Articles** in the profile's favorited-articles view. To change the relationship with the profile owner, use the relationship control in the profile header. ## Follow another user Following connects your profile with another person's profile. The relationship control appears on another person's profile and changes between **Follow** and **Unfollow**. | Profile situation | Control shown | | --- | --- | | You do not follow the person | **Follow** followed by the profile username | | You already follow the person | **Unfollow** followed by the profile username | | You opened your own profile | No follow relationship control | **Prerequisites** - You have opened another person's profile. - You can see the relationship control in the profile header. **Steps** 1. Select the control that matches the relationship you want to set. | If the profile shows… | Select… | | --- | --- | | You do not follow the person | **Follow** | | You already follow the person | **Unfollow** | 2. Check the profile information. **Result:** The profile reflects the relationship action you selected. If the article list is loading or empty, use the messages in the next section to identify its state. ## When profile content is loading or empty The article area uses short messages to distinguish a list that is still loading from a list that has no articles. | Message | Meaning | | --- | --- | | `Loading...` | The article list has not arrived yet. | | `No articles are here... yet.` | The current article list contains no articles. | After choosing the article list, use the next section to open an article or move to a related profile view. ## Continue from a profile After you identify the profile and choose an article list, continue with the related task that matches what you want to do next. **Prerequisites** - You have opened a profile. - You have selected an article list. **Steps** 1. Choose the next destination. | If you want to… | Select or use… | | --- | --- | | Open an article | **Read more...** in the article preview | | Return to the profile owner's authored articles | **My Articles** | | Open the profile owner's favorited articles | **Favorited Articles** | | Read profile details | [View a profile](doc:view-a-profile) | | Change the following relationship | [Follow other users](doc:follow-other-users) | | Read the favorites list | [View favorited articles](doc:view-favorited-articles) | **Result:** You are on the article, profile, following, or favorited-article view that matches your next task.