---
title: "Screen Navigation"
canonical: "https://support.soutron.net/space/HG/3279405/Screen%20Navigation"
format: markdown
---
Soutron is web-based. All that is needed to use the application, on any device, is a  web browser  such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. No part of the application requires a Windows client. The screens in the application have been designed to make navigation through the various tasks simple and intuitive. Forms are laid out in a consistent way, however, a new user Interface has been implemented for Acquisitions, Serials management, End User Submission and System Administration. Over the next several months the User Interface for other functions will change to incorporate the new user interface.   There is no need to use any of the browser's own functions to operate the application. Do not use the Back button on the web browser anywhere in the system - it may produce unexpected results   Screen layout The screens are generally laid out as follows, although there are variations depending on the task: The areas corresponding to the numbers in the screen shot are: 1 Header and Login area, showing the corporate branding, user's Username, office and language.  This remains for the duration of the session in the application 2 Menu bar, containing links to the different areas of the application  3 Task panel, containing actions that can be performed on the records in the main part of the screen Collapse or expand the Task Panel by clicking on the arrow on the vertical line: 4 Main area, containing the records or other entities that are being worked on Adjusting the column widths Many screens display information in a table. Adjust the width of a column to display more information. Hover near the header for the next column until you see the double-headed arrow, then drag it across until the column is the desired width. System messages The system communicates through various different message and pop-up boxes, which are themed. The different types are: Instruction boxes Instruction boxes in grey: they appear when you first open a screen, and tell you what needs to be done on that screen. Information boxes Information boxes are in green: they confirm actions that have been done, such as saving a record. Alert boxes Alert boxes are in red: If something is wrong, for example trying to save a record without completing the mandatory fields, a message appears in red. Question boxes Sometimes the system needs to ask a question, or needs confirmation of an action. These take the form of pop-up boxes that needs a response before continuing. The positioning of the message boxes on the screen is defined in System Configuration Maintenance ( Common Settings ). The message boxes disappear after a short while: they can be re-displayed by clicking on the icon at the top of the screen, highlighted in yellow below: