Control area

1. Basic information

• The control area is the main working interface of the NET Genium application. It serves as the starting point for the user's work and provides an overview of the available applications, data and functions. It consists of three basic parts:
  • Header – a thematically toned coloured strip with an optional logo. Near the right edge it contains the current date with the number of currently signed-in users, the avatar of the signed-in user with the personal menu, and the icons for signing out and for opening NET Genium on a new tab; the lower strip contains the bar of available application groups.
  • Navigation area – the navigation area is used for moving around the application. It consists of the list of available applications and the list of favorite items, which allow quick access to frequently used parts of the system.
  • Main window – the main window shows the actual content of the application and can contain three basic types of pages:
    • Portlets, that is the main page of the application (dashboard)
    • View pages
    • Edit forms

2. Main page and signing in to NET Genium

2.1. Personal computer

• Before signing in, the main window contains only the sign-in form with a user name and password. At this stage the header has no user part – it shows only the logo and the current date – and the navigation area is empty. The user name field offers the names previously used in this browser to sign in with a user name and password and pre-fills the most recently used one; the browser remembers the list for a month from its last change.
• After signing in to admin mode, the main window shows a start page offering the creation of a new application, switching to user mode, and links to the knowledge base. If the administrator has portlets in their layout or the background image of the application group is displayed on the main page, the main window shows the portlets or the image, and the start page is collapsed under the “more” link. The navigation area shows the structure of the selected application (the “Edit forms” and “View pages” sections).
• After switching to user mode, the main window shows the main page with portlets and the navigation area shows the operational view pages of the individual applications.

2.2. Mobile device

• The sign-in window makes it possible to select the display size, which affects how portlets and edit forms are shown.
  • Small screen – a small screen is recommended for mobile phones
    • Portlets are shown in a single column below one another, regardless of whether they are intended for the first, second or third portlet column
    • Edit forms do not use snapping of controls next to each other and the controls are shown below one another in a single column, in admin mode as well. Only pairs with a button stay next to each other: a button snapped to the previous control, a control snapped to a button and buttons directly following each other
  • Big screen – a big screen is recommended for tablets with a high resolution
    • Portlets and edit forms are shown identically to a personal computer
• Admin mode is shown on a mobile device identically to a personal computer – the control area consists of the header, the navigation area and the main window.
• User mode does not show the header or the navigation area separately; their controls are part of the mobile menu.
• The display size choice is stored in the session when signing in. Switching the browser to mobile view for an already signed-in user is therefore not enough – it is necessary to log out and sign in again.
• The default choice is Small screen. The last chosen display size is remembered in the browser for one month after the last sign-in through the sign-in window and is used also when signing in without the sign-in window, that is with automatic sign-in and single sign-on.

3. Header

3.1. Personal computer

The header consists of two strips. In the upper one there is an optional logo on the left and, near the right edge, the current date with the week number, the number of currently signed-in users below it, then the avatar of the signed-in user with the personal menu, and last of all the icons for signing out and for opening NET Genium on a new tab. The lower strip contains the bar of application groups.

3.1.1. Logo and link to the main page

• The logo is optional and is set in the portal layout. Clicking the logo returns the user to the main page.

3.1.2. Date, week number and number of users online

• Near the right edge of the header is the current date with the name of the day and the week number. If that day is a public holiday, the tooltip reveals its name.
• Below the date is the number of currently signed-in users; clicking it opens the detailed list. It is shown only on instances with more than one license and in the NET Genium Online cloud edition; external users do not see it in user mode.
  • The “Users online” list contains the sessions in which the user worked within the last hour, with the “User”, “Full name”, “Login”, “Activity” and “Chat” columns. Access other than an interactive login in the web browser – for example through the integrated MCP server or the web services of the “NETGeniumConnection” library – is listed in italics.
  • To users with administrator privileges and to user account administrators, the list shows all sessions and also the “IP address”, “License” and “Logout” columns. It also shows sessions in which the user has not worked for more than an hour – they are displayed dimmed, consume no license and can be logged out. In the “License” column, “1” marks the session for which the user consumes a license and “0” a session that consumes none – for example another session of the same user; if the license key contains external licenses, the value is written in the form “internal+external”, for example “1+0”. For other users, the sessions of the same user are merged. A detailed description of the rights to the list is provided in the separate guide NET Genium settings.
  • The search field filters by login name and full name, and the “Activity in last” drop-down list keeps only the sessions in which the user worked within the last 10, 20, 30 or 60 minutes.
  • The “Chat” column contains the “New message” icon, active only for a session of an interactive login other than one’s own, and a link to the message history with the user. Only users with administrator privileges and user account administrators have the “Message to online users” button.

3.1.3. Avatar and personal menu

• The avatar is a circle with the initials of the signed-in user – the first letter of their name and the first letter of their surname. If the user has neither a name nor a surname filled in, the first letter of their login name is used. It sits behind the number of users online, in front of the icons for signing out and for opening a new tab.
• Clicking the avatar opens the personal menu, aligned with the right edge of the avatar. Its heading carries the name of the signed-in user; if the user signed in through single sign-on or through another account, the tooltip above the avatar and above the name reveals the identity they are authenticated under. The content of the menu depends on the portal settings and on the permissions of the signed-in user:
  • Change password – not shown if signing in with a local account is forbidden.
  • Notifications – opens the same dialog on the tab with notifications about unread chat messages; not shown if signing in with a local account is forbidden.
  • MCP token – opens the same dialog on the tab with the personal MCP token; only for users with administrator rights; not shown either if signing in with a local account is forbidden.
  • Organize favorites
  • Organize portlets
  • Log out – separated by a horizontal line at the end of the menu.
• In admin mode the items Organize favorites and Organize portlets turn into non-clickable headings, and two indented items are added below each of them – the login name of the signed-in user and the login name of the anonymous user. The administrator thus sets the favorites and the portlets separately for themselves and for the anonymous user.
• When a chat message arrives, a red badge with the number of the received messages appears on the avatar and their senders are listed in the personal menu above the other items; clicking a sender opens the window for a reply. A detailed description of the chat is provided in the separate guide Chat and notifications.
• If no menu item is available, the avatar is not clickable.

3.1.4. Signing out

• The icon to the right of the avatar signs the user out. The Log out item in the personal menu below the avatar does the same.

3.1.5. Link for opening NET Genium on a new tab

• The icon at the very right, behind the icon for signing out, opens NET Genium on a new tab of the web browser. The new tab works within the same sign-in as the original one.

3.1.6. Application groups bar

• The lower strip of the header contains the application groups available to the signed-in user. The selected application group is highlighted in colour.
• To the left of the bar is a field with the name of the selected application group, possibly also with its icon. Clicking the field hides or shows again the navigation area (see the “Hiding the navigation area” chapter). For users with administrator rights the field also contains an icon for switching between user and admin mode.
• Users with administrator rights additionally see the “Settings” application group and the switch between user and admin mode in the bar. Both are shown in either mode – they are not part of admin mode but a consequence of the rights. A regular user sees neither of them.
• A padlock icon after the name of an application group means that no rights are defined for it, so only administrators can see it. The same marking is used for other objects of the portal as well; its meaning is revealed by the tooltip.

3.2. Mobile device

• On a mobile device in user mode the header is not shown. The controls normally available in the header are part of the mobile menu, which is shown after clicking the NET Genium logo; if no logo is set in the portal layout, the menu icon is shown in its place.
• In the strip above the mobile menu there is the current date in the abbreviated format with the week number on the left and the number of currently signed-in users below it (under the same conditions as in the header), and the avatar followed by the icons for signing out and for opening NET Genium on a new tab on the right. Clicking the avatar expands the personal menu in the mobile menu with the items Change password, Notifications and Log out; clicking it again hides it.

4. Navigation area

4.1. Personal computer

The navigation area is the left column of the control area. It contains the list of applications of the selected application group and, below it, the favorite items section.

4.1.1. Applications, categories and view pages

• The applications of the selected application group are listed in bold. Clicking an application expands the list of its view pages; in user mode its first view page is opened in the main window at the same time (view pages without a category take precedence, even though they are listed below the categories). Clicking a category behaves the same way in user mode.
• Categories group view pages and are always shown before uncategorised pages.
• An item with the “+” sign opens the edit form for creating a new record.
• In admin mode the navigation area shows the structure of the application – the “Edit forms” and “View pages” sections.
• If the user sees in an application group a single application with the same name as the application group, NET Genium merges both levels in user mode and only one is shown in the navigation area. In the first application group this happens only if the user has no portlets set up; the anonymous user sees both levels there. A detailed description of the merge is provided in the separate guide Application group.

4.1.2. Favorite items

• Favorite items are shortcuts to frequently used view pages. The section can be collapsed and expanded by clicking its title.
• The Add to favorites link adds the currently displayed view page to the favorites; it can be removed from the favorites in the same way.
• The icon in the section title opens the Organize favorites dialog, in which favorite items can be renamed, rearranged and removed. The same dialog is available from the personal menu under the avatar.

4.1.3. Hiding the navigation area

• The navigation area can be hidden, which widens the main window. The function is suitable especially for showing large view pages.
• The navigation area is hidden by clicking the field to the left of the application groups bar (the folded-page icon); clicking it again shows it again. Together with the navigation area, the upper strip of the header is collapsed as well.
• Hiding the navigation area is remembered in the browser, so it persists after the portal is loaded again.
• The function is not available on macOS, on mobile devices (except the Internet Explorer 11 browser and the older version of Edge) and in a portal displayed without frames.

4.2. Mobile device

• On a mobile device in user mode the navigation area is not shown. The controls normally available in the navigation area – favorite items, applications, categories and view pages – are part of the mobile menu, which is shown after clicking the NET Genium logo; if no logo is set in the portal layout, the menu icon is shown in its place.
• On a mobile device in user mode it is not possible to change the settings of favorite items and portlets.

4.2.1. Notifications on a mobile phone

• Notifications are turned on with the Turn on notifications button on the Notifications tab of the Change password dialog, opened on the device that should receive them. Once they are turned on, a system notification arrives on the device for a chat message that stays unread for 30 seconds – even when NET Genium is closed or the phone is locked.
• The Send a test notification button checks that notifications reach the device, the Turn off notifications button turns them off.
• A detailed description of notifications – turning them on on individual devices, when a notification arrives (including the exceptions) and how they behave on signing out – is provided in the separate guide Chat and notifications.

5. Main window

5.1. Personal computer

The main window shows three basic types of pages:

• Portlets – the main page of the portal, displayed on the first application group the user is authorized to access. Portlets can be arranged into one, two or three columns; each user sets the arrangement themselves using the Organize portlets option in the personal menu under the avatar. If a view table or the inbox in a portlet contains more records than are set per page, it offers paging. A detailed description of portlets is provided in the separate guide Portlets.
• View pages – reports of records in the form of view tables, calendars, planners, charts and other overview components.
• Edit forms – screens of individual records intended for creating and modifying them.

In admin mode, the main window of the first application group shows a start page with three panels: Create new application (a table manually, with the help of AI, or an application import; the option with the help of AI is available only to users whose language is Czech, Slovak, English or German – for other users the panel is labeled Create application with table – and the application import only to the Administrator account), User mode (see the portal through the eyes of a user) and Knowledge base (AI assistant, help and guides). If the administrator has portlets in their layout or the background image of the application group is displayed on the main page, the main window shows the portlets or the image as well, and the start page is collapsed under the “more” link above them.

5.2. Mobile device

• On a small screen, portlets are shown in a single column below one another, regardless of the column they are assigned to.
• On a big screen, portlets and edit forms are shown identically to a personal computer.

Working with the control area from the user's point of view is described in the separate guide Application usage basics.