Navigate ATOM, search, and get help

Move between the dashboard, lists, detail pages, and account using the sidebar, command palette, in-app help, feedback, and changelog.

This guide shows you how to move around ATOM, find records with global search and the command palette, and use the in-app help, feedback, and changelog surfaces.

Read it before you start the specialised guides. It covers the app shell that every other guide assumes, so you can sign in and reach any record without losing context.

The examples use the docs-demo tenant H&R Maintenance Docs Demo so your screens match the records named below.

#The app shell

After you sign in, ATOM shows the same shell on every page:

A left sidebar for primary navigation.
A top bar with Search, a workspace switcher, and your account menu (your initials).
The page itself in the centre, with a PageHeader that includes a question-mark help button on most screens.

Use this shell as your map. You do not need to memorise routes. Every important destination is in the sidebar, the account menu, or one step away through search.

The sidebar groups destinations by purpose:

Top section: Search and Home. Search opens the command palette. Home opens the dashboard at /dashboard.
Work section: Inbox, Schedule, Invoices, and Team. These are the day-to-day work surfaces.
Directory section: Agencies and Properties. Use these for record maintenance.
Recent Threads: the most recently active inbox threads in the workspace, shown only when the sidebar is expanded.
Bottom section: Settings, Help (opens these docs in a new tab), Share feedback, and Changelog.
Footer: your name and avatar with the account menu.

Collapse the sidebar with the double-chevron button next to the workspace name when you need more horizontal room. Expand it again with the workspace avatar at the top of the rail.

Open the account menu from your initials in the top bar or your name at the bottom of the sidebar. The menu contains:

My account — opens /settings?tab=profile for your own profile.
Settings — opens /settings for the workspace settings tabs.
Help — opens these docs in a new tab.
Share feedback — opens the in-app feedback launcher described below.
Sign out — signs you out and returns to the login screen.

The standalone account page at /account shows the same profile editor. Use either entry point.

#Move between records without losing context

ATOM keeps a stable URL for every record. Use the sidebar, lists, and related-record links rather than guessed routes.

Lists: Inbox, Schedule, Invoices, Team, Agencies, and Properties open the canonical list for that record type. Use the list filters and the page header to narrow what you see.
Detail pages: open a record from any list to reach its detail page. The current routes are /work-orders/:id, /properties/:id, /agencies/:id, /technicians/:id, /invoices/:id, and the inbox thread route.
Related records: detail pages show Service Lifecycle, Records, and related-record cards. Use those links to move between a work order, its quote, booking, invoice, property, and agency.
Back to the list: select the same sidebar entry to return to the list. The list keeps the last view and filters until you refresh.

Tenant records do not have their own list or route. Open the owning property and use Current Tenant and Tenant History. See Find and maintain records for the maintenance flow.

#Read the dashboard

Home shows a dashboard tailored to your role. The persona controls which cards and quick actions you see first.

Owner dashboard: scan delivery pressure, schedule risk, and revenue follow-up across the business. Quick actions: Review work orders, Open schedule, Check invoices.
Finance dashboard: focus on cash flow and billing follow-through. Quick actions: Review invoices, Review quotes, Open work orders.
Ops dashboard: clear the work-order queue before it turns into schedule pain. Quick actions: Triage work orders, Open schedule, Review work orders.
Technician dashboard: keep the next booking and the rest of the week in view. Quick actions: Open schedule, Open work orders.

Each persona shows the same kinds of cards (Business pulse, Recent invoices, Work orders needing action, etc.) but reorders them and changes the quick-action buttons. Read the Watch list and Best route text on the quick-actions card to confirm what the page expects you to do first.

The dashboard search bar opens the command palette from Home without leaving the keyboard. The finance and ops dashboards pre-filter it to invoices and work orders respectively; the owner and technician dashboards open the palette with no filter applied so you can choose any record type.

#Loading, empty, and error states

The dashboard cards show three states:

Loading: skeletons until the underlying data finishes loading. Wait for them to disappear before deciding a list is empty.
Empty: an EmptyHint message with the next action, such as No invoices to review. Empty is a valid state in the docs-demo tenant when no record matches the card.
Error: a QueryError block. Use the Retry action; if the error stays, open the related list directly from the sidebar.

Treat these states the same way across the app. Most lists and detail pages use the same skeleton, empty-hint, and error patterns.

#Global search and the command palette

ATOM has one global search experience: the command palette. Open it from any screen.

#Open the palette

Use any of these to open the palette:

Select Search in the sidebar.
Select Search in the top bar (it shows a ⌘K hint on desktop).
Press Ctrl+K on Windows or Linux, or ⌘K on macOS.
Select the dashboard search field. It opens the palette pre-filtered to invoices on the finance dashboard and work orders on the ops dashboard; the owner and technician dashboards open it without a filter.

Press Esc to close the palette without choosing a result.

#Type a query

The palette needs at least three characters before it searches the live data. Until you type the first character it shows only the Actions and Recent groups (quick links and the five most recently created work orders). The seed records for other types load in the background and become matchable as soon as your query is non-empty.

Type freely to match record titles, IDs, addresses, names, or related context. Example queries:

Kitchen sink finds the Kitchen sink leak assessment work order, its quote, and its invoice.
Sarah finds the tenant Sarah Mitchell and any work order that mentions her.
18 George finds the property 18 George Street, Unit 4B, Sydney NSW 2000.
INV-DOC-002 jumps to the overdue docs-demo invoice.
Harbour finds Harbour & Ridge Property Group.

The palette also lists quick actions (Create new quote, Open Inbox, View Schedule, Settings) and a Recent group with the five most recently created work orders in the tenant.

#Filter by record type

Start the query with a single character to restrict the results to one category:

# — Work Orders. Example: #kitchen or #WO-DOC-1001.
@ — Properties. Example: @18 George or @GEO-018.
$ — Quotes. Example: $kitchen sink.
% — Invoices. Example: %INV-DOC-002.
& — Technicians. Example: &Emma. The & filter only matches users who have a linked technician profile; office-only Team members do not appear under this prefix.

Use one prefix at a time. The palette removes the prefix while it searches, so #kitchen is treated as kitchen against the Work Orders category only.

Type ? on its own to swap the result list for a short help panel that lists the filter prefixes. Clear the ? to return to the seed records and recent results.

#Choose a result

Use the arrow keys to highlight a result, then press Enter to open it. Mouse and touch users can select the row directly.

Most results open the canonical detail page (/work-orders/:id, /invoices/:id, etc.). Technician results open the technician profile at /technicians/:id directly. Office-only Team members (no linked technician profile) open Settings so you can manage the user from there.

#Known limitations

The palette searches the records loaded in the current tenant. Records in other workspaces never appear; switch workspaces from the top bar first.
Tenant search returns the tenant inside its property. There is no standalone tenant detail page yet.
The palette does not search bookings by date. Use Schedule to find a booking by day.
The palette does not list settings panels, agency tenant accounting, or changelog entries. Use the sidebar for those.

#In-app help

Most screens show a question-mark HelpButton in the page header. Selecting it opens a drawer with two parts:

Guides for this screen: up to five docs links chosen for the screen you are on (for example, the work order detail page links to the inbox-to-work-order guide, the quote build guide, and the booking guide).
Search docs: a search field that submits to https://docs.atomworks.app in a new tab.

If a screen does not have curated guides yet, the drawer shows a Docs coming soon panel with links to all guides and a pre-filled email to support.

Use these entry points to reach help:

The ? icon in any page header opens the in-app help drawer for the current screen. Page headers expose it on the dashboard, work order, quote, invoice, property, agency, technician, schedule, inbox, settings, and changelog pages.
The Help entry in the sidebar bottom section and the Help entry in the account menu open these docs in a new tab. They go straight to the docs site; they do not open the in-app drawer.

All docs links open in a new tab. Closing the docs tab keeps your ATOM session intact.

#Feedback and support

Use the Share feedback entry in the sidebar bottom section or the account menu to open the in-app feedback launcher. Use it for:

New ideas that do not match anything in the changelog.
Bugs that block a documented flow.
Docs that are wrong, missing, or out of date for your tenant.

When a screen has no curated docs yet, the HelpButton drawer shows a contact support link that opens your email client to support@atomworks.app. Use that link for direct support questions; use Share feedback for anything you want logged inside ATOM.

#Changelog

Open Changelog in the sidebar bottom section to see what is new and improved. Each entry shows:

The version and title.
The release date.
A list of changes, each tagged New, Improved, or Fixed.

Use the changelog when you want to confirm whether a behaviour change shipped before you reach for support. The changelog page also exposes its own HelpButton, which links back to the start tutorial when you need a refresher on the end-to-end flow.

#Where to go next

After you understand the shell, search, help, and changelog:

Follow the start tutorial end-to-end to schedule a job and send an invoice from the dashboard.
Use Find and maintain records when you need to keep property, tenant, agency, or technician records correct.
Use Turn an inbox email into a clean work order for inbox-driven work.
Use Book and manage technician visits for schedule changes.
Use Build, approve, and send a quote before invoicing.
Use Track invoices, payments, and Xero status for billing follow-up.