Members' guide · Getting started

The top bar

The bean, the small icons that show when something needs you, and the buttons at the top right.

What is in it

On the phone, the bar at the top of the screen is the same on every tab. From left to right:

• The bean: your community, and this guide.
• The "needs you" icons: only while something is waiting for you.
• The ? icon, the invite icon, Settings and your picture.

In a web browser the top bar is simpler. It has the connection status on the left, the page's name, and your profile, the ? and Settings on the right. It has no bean sheet and no invite icon: Invites is under People. The tabs are along the bottom, or down the left side on a wide screen.

The web app has the "needs you" icons too, where there is room for them:

• On a phone: in the top bar, between the page's name and your profile. The page's name always comes first. Where there is not room for every icon, the last ones fold into •••. Where there is room for less than one icon, a small number shows how many things need you. Where there is no room at all, they don't show. Tap ••• or the number to see them all.
• On the Map tab on a phone: they don't show, so they never cover BeanPool at the top.
• On a wide screen: at the bottom of the side bar, above the connection status, the ? and Settings.

The bean

Tap the bean at the top left to open the BeanPool sheet. It shows:

• Your community: its name at the top, and whether it can be reached right now.
• Your communities: tap one to switch to it, or tap Add a community. A small number beside one shows how many alerts it has sent you since you last had it open. The Global community is always one of them: its second line says whether you can join it.
• Search the guide, then Guides (how BeanPool works, the rules, common questions), How to use the app (this guide, section by section) and The BeanPool project, with What's new.
• beanpool.org: the public website, with Share to send it to a friend.

The small dot on the bean tells you how things are:

• Green: connected, and you are a member here.
• Amber: you are visiting as a guest.
• Red: your community's server cannot be reached right now, or this phone is not connected to a community yet.

A single slow check does not turn the dot red. It only goes red after more than one check fails in a row.

The "needs you" icons

Between the bean and the buttons on the right, small icons appear only while something needs you. Each one is a kind of thing. Tap it to go straight there.

• A handshake: a deal is waiting for you. Someone asked for your listing and is waiting for you to answer, or your Beans are held in trust and waiting for you to release them. It does not show when you are waiting on them. If there is one, the tap opens that deal. If there are more, it opens Your deals.
• A ballot box: a vote you have not cast yet. The tap opens Commons, at Decide. If the first vote is one in a group or a keepers' vote in an enterprise, the tap opens that group or enterprise instead. A vote you cannot cast yet does not count here, for example one that needs you to finish a trade first.
• An envelope: you are invited to join a group. If there is one invitation, the tap opens it: what the group is, who invited you, and Join the group. If there are more, it opens Commons, at Groups, where each is marked INVITED. It goes once you join, say no, or the convenor takes the invitation back. An invitation to a group its members closed does not count, and none count while your account is suspended.
• A speech bubble: an unread message from a person. If it is from one person, the tap opens that chat. If it is from several people, it opens Talk, at Messages, showing only the unread ones.
• A group of people: new lines in your groups, enterprise chats or event chats. Chats you have muted stay quiet here. The tap opens the chat, or Talk, at Groups, if there are several.
• A shield: only for people who help run your community (on the phone). It shows while there is admin work waiting, like a report to review or a stalled trade that needs a ruling. The tap asks for your phone's screen lock, then opens your community's settings at that job. If your community's settings use a sign-in code, it asks for that too. On the web, open your community's settings directly.

The icons stack from the right. The most important one sits next to the ? icon, and keeps its place as others come and go.

The number and the colour

• A small number on an icon means more than one of that kind: for example 3 people who wrote to you. It shows 9+ above 9.
• An icon turns amber when it is more pressing: a deal waiting on you, admin work, or a vote that closes within 2 days. Nothing turns red.

On a small screen

If there is not room for every icon, the last space shows •••. Tap it to see the whole list, Needs you, in words. Tap a line to go there.

A quiet bar is good news

When nothing needs you, there are no icons at all. You have not missed anything. The icons update as you move around the app and when you come back to it.

Join or Connect

Instead of the icons, you may see a button:

• Join (amber): you are visiting as a guest. Tap it to open Invites. In a local community you join there with an invite. In the global community, tap Join with 12 words or a sign-in (Join with a sign-in where a community takes sign-ins only).
• Connect (red): this phone is not connected to a community. Tap it to open Settings, where you can add one.

While one of these shows, the invite icon is hidden.

The buttons on the right

• The ? icon (a question mark in a circle): help for the screen you are on. It opens a short sheet with what that screen is for, then Read the guide page, Search the guide and Take the tour again. It is on every tab, for members and guests. In the web app it sits between your picture and Settings at the top, and beside Settings at the bottom of the side bar on a wide screen.
• The invite icon (a person with a plus): opens Invites, to invite someone or join another community. See "Joining BeanPool".
• Settings (the sliders): opens Settings. Tap it again to go back to where you were.
• Your picture: opens your own profile, as others see it.

Update messages

Sometimes a green bar shows under the top bar:

• Update available: a newer version of the app is out. Tap Upgrade to get it, or the cross to close the message.
• Your app is too old for this community: you need to update before the app works properly here. This one cannot be closed. Tap Upgrade.

The tabs

Under the top bar are the tabs: Home, Market, Map, Talk, Commons and Ledger. The name of each tab sits above its icon. On the phone, a local community with no Beans does not show Ledger, and hides Commons if Decisions are off too (with Decisions on, Commons stays for Decisions and groups). The global community shows both, with examples from a local community. See "Beans and the global community".

On a long page, tap the tab you are already on to jump back to the top. This works on every tab except Map.

Related

• HomeWhat Home is, which cards it shows on the phone and in the web app, how to add, move or remove them, picking what you're into, and privacy when you sign out.
• This guideWhere to find this guide, how to search it, and how it stays up to date.
• More than one communityBelong to several communities with one account, switch between them, follow your community to a new address, and see what the global community shows you.
• Your dealsOne place for every trade you are in, every post you have up, and your past trades.
• Voting on a DecisionFind open Decisions, vote, change your vote, and see results.
• MessagesStart a chat, send photos, reply, react, edit, delete, mute, and what is private.
• NotificationsChoose which alerts reach your phone, and when events remind you.

The same guide is in the BeanPool app, and works there without a connection: open Settings, then "Help & how it works" under BeanPool. Every other rule, guide and manual is in the Help Centre. Guide version 162.