# View a profile

After reading this page, you can open an author's profile, identify the author's public
information, and choose **Follow**, **Unfollow**, or **Edit Profile Settings**, as applicable.

## View a profile

A profile is an author's public information on the Profile route. Open it when you need to
read the author's username and bio or choose whether to follow the author.

| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Open an author's profile | [Open a profile](#open-a-profile) |
| Read the author's image, username, and bio | [Read the profile information](#read-the-profile-information) |
| Follow or unfollow another author | [Follow or unfollow the author](#follow-or-unfollow-the-author) |
| Change your own profile settings | [Update your settings](doc:update-your-settings) |
| View articles an author has favorited | [View favorited articles](doc:view-favorited-articles) |
| Follow an author as a separate task | [Follow an author](doc:follow-an-author) |

## Before you start

You need the author's username or an author link that opens the Profile route. The profile must
load before its image, username, bio, and available action appear.

| Before you start | What to have or expect |
|---|---|
| Profile route | A route for the author's username. |
| Profile request | The profile request starts when the page opens and when the route changes. |
| Loaded profile | The profile information appears after the profile loads without an error. |
| Profile error | The profile page can show a load-error message instead of the profile information. |

Continue with [Open a profile](#open-a-profile).

## Open a profile

Use this procedure when you have an author link or a Profile route for a username. The profile
information appears after the profile loads.

Prerequisites

- You have an author link or the author's username.

Steps

1. Open the author's Profile route.
2. Read the profile information when it appears.

**Result:** The author's profile information is on screen. Continue with [Read the profile
information](#read-the-profile-information).

## Read the profile information

The profile information identifies the author without offering profile fields for editing on this
route.

| What you see | When it appears | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Profile image | After the profile loads | The author's profile image, or the default avatar when no image is available. |
| Username | After the profile loads | The author represented by the profile. |
| Bio | After the profile loads | The author's profile description. |

Profile editing belongs in [Update your settings](doc:update-your-settings). The Profile route
provides the **Edit Profile Settings** link for the current user's profile rather than editable
profile fields.

Use the profile information to choose the applicable action.

## Follow or unfollow the author

The available action depends on whether the profile is your own and whether you already follow the
author. Use the branch that matches the profile you opened.

| If the profile is… | Select… | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Your own profile | **Edit Profile Settings** | The settings route opens. |
| Another author's profile that you follow | **Unfollow** | The profile's unfollow action runs. |
| Another author's profile that you do not follow | **Follow** | The profile's follow action runs. |

Prerequisites

- You have opened the profile and can see the profile information.

Steps

1. Check the username on the profile to decide whether it is your own profile.
2. Select the control shown in the table above for the current profile and follow state.

**Result:** Your own profile opens the settings route, or the other author's profile shows the
follow action that applies to its current follow state.

## When the profile does not load

The profile page uses one message while it waits for the profile request and another when the
profile cannot be loaded.

| What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `Loading profile...` | The profile information has not loaded yet. | Wait for the profile information or the load-error message. |
| `This profile could not be loaded. Please try again later.` | The profile information is unavailable. | Open the Profile route again later. |

The profile view does not provide profile-specific validation or confirmation messages. Follow
and unfollow actions use the profile action rather than a profile form.

When the profile information is available, continue with [Continue from a profile](#continue-from-a-profile).

## Continue from a profile

After you read a profile, continue with the task that matches what you want to do.

1. To follow or unfollow the author, open [Follow an author](doc:follow-an-author).
2. To view the author's favorited articles, open [View favorited articles](doc:view-favorited-articles).
3. To change your own profile information, open [Update your settings](doc:update-your-settings).

**Result:** You are at the page for the next profile task.