# Navigation basics

## Overview

Navigation basics is the task of choosing the PAMS work area that matches what you need to do.
A work area is a PAMS starting place for a kind of work: one area provides summary information,
while the personal work area provides work lists and linked work. For shared screen conventions, see
[Understanding the interface](understanding-the-interface.md).
For summary details, see [Summary overview](dashboard-overview.md). For detailed My Desk work,
see [My Desk workspace](my-desk-workspace.md).

| If you need to… | Go to… |
| --- | --- |
| Review summary information | [Summary overview](dashboard-overview.md) |
| Open personal work lists and linked work | [Workspace guidance](my-desk-workspace.md) |
| Change the layout of your workspace | [Personalizing your workspace](personalizing-your-workspace.md) |
| Work with tasks | [My Desk tasks](my-desk-tasks.md) |
| Work with activities | [My Desk activities](my-desk-activities.md) |
| Read reports | [Reports hub](reports-hub.md) |

Start with the prerequisites below, then choose the area that matches your work.

## Before you start

**Prerequisites**

- Sign in before opening the summary area. The summary area displays only when the signed-in condition is
  true.
- Expect the available personal-work areas to depend on your role and subscription. Task,
  activity, and calendar areas are available only when their corresponding features are included.
- Your available areas and columns depend on your role, subscription, and company layout.
- Use the labels and headers visible on your screen to choose a view and read its contents.

> **Note:** A principal-user setup follows a different My Desk branch. In that branch, the **Tasks**,
> **Activities**, and **Calendar** tabs are shown as disabled rather than as selectable tabs.

After checking these conditions, choose and open a work area.

## Choose and open a work area

Choose the area that matches the question you are answering. Home and My Desk are separate work
areas.

**Prerequisites**

- You are signed in.
- You know whether you need summary information or personal work lists.

**Steps**

1. Choose one route from the table.

   | If you need to… | Open |
   | --- | --- |
| Review summary information and page text | the summary area |
| Open current or archived work lists and related views | the personal work area |

2. Open the route you chose.

3. Check the address bar for the route you opened.

**Result:** The selected area opens with its summary or work-list content.
After opening a work area, identify its visible areas and controls.

![Summary area with the three visible sorting controls](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/48a474559dad410770fcdeb81cb1cba9.png)

## Understand the visible work area

The summary area lists `Principals Report`,
`Today`, `Next 10 days`, `Last 10 days`, `Business development`, `Sales Pipeline`, `Potentials`,
`Inquiries`, `Budget offers`, `Firm offers`, `Orders`, `Booking This Year`, `Equivalent`, `Target`,
`Achieved`, and `Forecast`.

The summary area also shows three named controls: **Sort by Booking**,
**Sort by Target**, and **Sort by Achievement**. None carries a required marker.
The summary area has no visible data columns and no
buttons.

On My Desk, the main choices are `Current`, `Archived`, `Graphs`, **Tasks**, **Activities**,
and **Calendar**. The views show the following headers and choices.

| View | Headers or calendar days | Other visible choices |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Tasks** | `Title`, `Owner`, `Start date`, `Due date`, `Status`, `Importance` | **All** |
| **Activities** | `Title`, `Visitors`, `Activity purpose`, `Company`, `Startdate`, `Status`, `Importance` | **All**, **Visits**, **Email**, **Meetings**, **Call** |
| **Calendar** | `Sun`, `Mon`, `Tue`, `Wed`, `Thu`, `Fri`, `Sat` | **Today**, **September 2026**, **Day**, **Week**, **Month**, **Task** |

The **Tasks** view shows six data columns. **Activities** shows its listed columns and
controls.
Use these visible choices to select the view for your next task.

## Select a view and navigate

The personal work area groups work by status and by the kind of work you need to review. **Current** is
the starting group; **Archived** groups the archived work. The other tabs select
the work view in the centre of the screen.

**Prerequisites**

- You have opened the personal work area.
- The required feature is included if you need **Tasks**, **Activities**, or scheduled work.

**Steps**

1. Select the view that matches your next task.

   | If you need to… | Select |
   | --- | --- |
   | Review current work | **Current** |
   | Review archived work | **Archived** |
   | Review summary graphs | **Graphs** |
   | Review tasks | **Tasks** |
   | Review activities | **Activities** |
   | Review scheduled work | **Calendar** |

**Result:** The selected view appears in the centre of the personal work area, with its headers or calendar
controls.
If an area or tab differs, compare the role, subscription, and layout conditions before continuing.

![Current view](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/c114668cdf58284a04efb5f85879a2d0.png)

![Archived view](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/f6282c7d326720e516428f3c32cb348a.png)

![Graphs view](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/bf3c88bd8f706e9be71f9d52c88c51bd.png)

![Tasks view](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/fb5410c5ba55b1ca98770f784222ab79.png)

![Activities view with its filters and columns](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/65e00b920c5b8394381f2d7cbf327ee1.png)

![Calendar view with weekday columns and calendar controls](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/67ec67008b8664a95d9d02acd427645f.png)

The left column can also provide **View**, **Close view**, **Filter by**, and **Clear filter** when
the corresponding group and filter conditions are active. The calendar can provide **Timeline**
and **Tasks** when its activity feature is included. The tab editor can provide **New Tab**,
and the principal report area can provide **Report**.

## Handle role, subscription, and layout differences

Your role, subscription, and company layout determine which work areas and tabs appear. The summary
area appears under its configuration and subscription conditions. The personal work area uses a
separate principal-user branch and checks the subscription for its task, activity, and calendar tabs.

| What changes | What to expect |
| --- | --- |
| Summary-area condition | The summary area shows its configured content when the condition and tabs are present. |
| Subscription | **Tasks**, **Activities**, and `Calendar` appear when their corresponding features are included. |
| Principal-user branch | This branch shows these tabs as disabled. The personal-work branch shows them as selectable when available. |
| Company layout | The available columns and left-column contents follow the saved company layout. |
| Task filter options | **Following** is not available in the current task template. |

**Result:** The tabs and columns on your screen reflect the role, subscription, and saved layout
that apply to your work area.
If one of these left-column controls is unavailable, review the role, subscription, and
company-layout conditions above before continuing.

## When navigation does not match

Use the message text and the visible work area to decide what to do next. **Sort by Booking** is
visible on **Home**, but selecting it does not activate the control. Continue with the other visible
controls.

The following messages can appear while you work in **Home** or **My Desk**. Match the message on screen
before you choose what to do next.

| Message | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Your request was completed successfully** | Continue from the updated screen. |
| **An error occurred while processing your request** | Review the action and try it again. |
| **Forbidden characters detected. Please remove them and try again.** | Remove the disallowed characters and retry. |
| **Action not allowed** | Stop and use the available action for your role or current screen. |

The principal-report message belongs to the report area rather than navigation orientation.

### Out of scope

| Message | Owning area |
| --- | --- |
| **Please choose one or more principals** | Principal report |

After reading the message or resolving **Sort by Booking**, continue to the destination for the work.

The `Current`, **Archived**, `Graphs`, and **Tasks** views showed no visible controls at the
time of checking. **Activities** and **Calendar** showed their controls. No dialog or message appeared.

Some work-area content depends on company setup. Use the labels and headers visible on your
screen rather than assuming that every possible widget, data column, or tab appears in every work
area.

## Continue from the work area

Navigation ends when you have opened the work area and selected the view that matches your next
job. Continue to the destination that covers that work:

- Use [Summary guidance](dashboard-overview.md) for summary areas and widgets.
- Use [Workspace guidance](my-desk-workspace.md) for linked records and workspace navigation.
- Use [Task guidance](my-desk-tasks.md) for task-list work.
- Use [Activity guidance](my-desk-activities.md) for activity-list work.
- Use [Workspace-layout guidance](personalizing-your-workspace.md) for layout changes.
- Use [Reporting guidance](principal-report.md) or [Reports guidance](reports-hub.md) for reporting.
- Use [Help guidance](getting-help.md) when a route or surface remains unavailable.

**Result:** You are in the work area and view that match the work you need to continue.