# Arcweave interface

Source: https://docs.arcweave.com/introduction/quick-tour/ui
Section: Introduction > Quick tour
Description: Quick tour of the Arcweave interface, including the Projects section, board area, left sidebar, top menu, and bottom menu

Arcweave's interface is clean and intuitive. This section provides a quick tour of the main areas you'll interact with while working on your projects.

## Projects section

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Projects section

![The Projects section of the Arcweave workspace environment, showing the thumbnail of the default, sample project.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/projects-page-free.D570iK2y.png)

After logging in, you'll land on the **Projects** section of your first (free) **workspace**. You'll see a sample project titled _The Castle._ This is Arcweave's _Interactive Fiction Example,_ one of its built-in project templates.

Click on the project thumbnail to open it.

> ✅ Arcweave provides a handful of project templates you can study and expand. Just click **+ New Project** to explore them!

> 🔍 Revisit previous sections on [projects](https://docs.arcweave.com/introduction/what-is-arcweave#projects) and [workspaces](https://docs.arcweave.com/introduction/what-is-arcweave#workspaces) if you need a reminder of what they are and what they enable you to do.

## Inside the project

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Inside the project

![The Arcweave project environment.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/castle-intro.bAzTbsFV.png)

Once inside _The Castle,_ you can see the main parts of Arcweave's interface:

## Current board area

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Current board area

![The Arcweave project environment with an orange rectangle highlighting the current board area.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/castle-open-board.CBDsR0ZS.png)

The largest area of the window is taken up by the **current board**, where a portion of its **flowchart** is visible.

To explore more of the flowchart do one of the following:

- **Zoom in and out**:
  - On touch devices: Pinch in and out.
  - On desktop: Use your mouse scroll wheel, or pinch on your trackpad.
- **Pan**:
  - On touch devices: Drag empty board space with one finger.
  - On desktop: Hold SPACE and drag with your mouse, drag with your mouse's middle button, or scroll with two fingers on your trackpad.
- Click the **Fit to screen** icon (bottom right): This automatically scales the board to fit your window.

> ℹ️ How Arcweave interprets scrolling depends on the [Input device](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/settings#input-device) setting in **Project Settings**.

## Left sidebar

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Left sidebar

![The Arcweave project environment with an orange rectangle highlighting the left sidebar.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/castle-sidebar.DNtBNczK.png)

The sidebar on the left side of your window provides access to important items of your project:

- **Components** (top half, tab): Define reusable story objects like characters, items, or locations.
- **Assets** (top half, tab): Upload and manage image, audio, and video files.
- **Boards** (bottom half): Organize your narrative into separate canvases for different scenes or sections. This is where you'll find the current board as well, titled _Main Board._
- **Global variables** (bottom): Set variables to use across your project and drive logic and conditions.

Feel free to explore each sidebar section to get a sense of how you can manage your project and its content.

## Top menu

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Top menu

![The Arcweave project environment with an orange rectangle highlighting the top menu.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/castle-top-menu.DQtyWvSz.png)

The top menu provides access to key [project tools](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/overview). On the left, you'll find [Play Mode](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/play-mode/overview), [Project Settings](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/settings), [Export](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/export), and [Share](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/share). On the right, you can see active collaborators and access the [Design Assistant](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/ai-features/design-assistant), [History](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/history), [Localization](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/localization), [Comments](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-items/comments), and [Search](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-tools/search), depending on your plan and permissions.

On narrow screens, these actions are grouped into dropdown menus on the left and right. Play Mode and your profile remain directly accessible in the top bar.

## Bottom menu

Context: Arcweave docs > Introduction > Quick tour > Arcweave interface > Bottom menu

![The Arcweave project environment with an orange rectangle highlighting the bottom menu.](https://docs.arcweave.com/assets/castle-bottom-menu.Cjn8g9lw.png)

The bottom menu contains tools for creating [project items](https://docs.arcweave.com/project-items/overview) (on the left) and adjusting your board view with zooming and panning (on the right). On narrow screens, use the **+** button to expand the creation tools and the bottom-right chevron to expand the zoom and help tools.