Navigation Basics

The main areas most people use #

The main rail navigation is built around a small set of core areas:

• Home for dashboard-style summaries
• Budget for assigning money, reviewing categories, and managing targets
• Accounts for accounts, payees, labels, and the full transaction list
• Reports for deeper review and analysis

If you are brand new, you will spend most of your time in Home, Budget, and Accounts.

Use the File Menu for file-level actions #

The File menu in the top bar is where you manage the current Common Cents file.

Use it when you need to:

• create or open a file
• save changes
• use Save As to write the current data to a new file
• create a backup copy
• export transaction or category-balance data
• manage whether the current file auto-loads when the app starts

If the app is working from recovered local data instead of a bound file, the File Menu is also where you can use Save As or Create Backup to write that data back out to a .cents file.

Use the Combo Palette for speed #

The fastest way to move around Common Cents is the Combo Palette.

Open it with Command + K on macOS or Control + K on Windows and Linux.

From there you can:

• run actions
• jump into transaction search
• search documentation and find help
• use the calculator

That makes it useful both for navigation and for getting work done without hunting for a button or through menus.

What the Combo Palette is good at #

Use it when you want to do something quickly, such as:

• add an account
• add a category
• add a transaction
• save your file
• open settings
• search the docs

You can also set a default Combo Palette mode later if you end up using one mode more than the others.

Use the Add Button for common create tasks #

If the Combo Palette is the fastest keyboard-first tool, the Add Button is the fastest on-screen tool for creating something new.

The main button opens your current default add action (ether single or bulk transaction entry). The menu attached to it lets you choose from common create flows such as:

• add a transaction
• add or import multiple transactions
• add a transfer
• add an account
• add a category
• add a payee

Depending on which features are enabled, you may also see options like labels or income sources.

Use the Add Button when you know you need to create something, but you do not want to stop and search for the right form first.

Look for Related Actions when you already found the item #

Around the app, many rows and lists include a Related Actions button or menu.

This is one of the main places to look when you already found the thing you want to work with, but you are not sure which action is available.

Use it to find context-specific actions for that row, such as:

• edit
• move
• archive
• match
• refund

The exact options change depending on what the row represents and what state it is in.

If you are looking at a transaction, category, payee, label, or planning row and wondering what you can do next, check Related Actions first.

A simple way to stay oriented #

If you are not sure where to go next, use this shortcut:

• go to Budget when you are deciding what money is for
• go to Accounts or Transactions when you are recording what happened
• go to Home when you want a quick current-month summary
• open the Combo Palette when you know the action you want but not the screen

That is enough to stay productive while the rest of the app becomes familiar.

Next in Getting Started: Create an Account.