On the web, xMatix organizes your work into apps. An app's menu opens lists, and every list opens records. You switch apps with the app launcher, choose a saved view on each list, and open a record to work on it. Every module (Sales, Field Sales, Inventory, Finance, Service and the rest) is built from the same screens, so once you know this layout you can find your way around any app. This page covers the web screens. For the phone app, see Using xMatix on mobile.
Overview
| Building block | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| App | A workspace for one area of the business, chosen from the app launcher | Sales, Inventory, Finance |
| Menu entry | One item in the active app's top bar: a record type, a report, a dashboard, a page, or a group that opens a dropdown | Orders, Accounts, Dashboards |
| List | The records of one type that your access lets you see, with search, columns, filters and refresh | The Orders list |
| View | A saved way of looking at a list: its filters, columns and sort order | All Sale Orders |
| Record | One item opened as a full page | A single order or customer |
| Workspace tab | A record, report or dashboard you have open, kept as a tab under the top bar | Two orders and their list, side by side |
When to use it
Read this page when you are new to xMatix, when you move to an app you have not used before, or when something you expect to see is missing. Signing in is covered in Signing in to xMatix. Arranging columns and saving your own views is covered in Personalizing lists and views.
How xMatix handles it
The top bar
From left to right, the top bar holds:
- your organization's logo, or the xMatix logo when it has none;
- the App Launcher (the grid icon) and the name of the app you are in;
- the active app's menu entries;
- on the right, Open assistant (the Sense chat, when it is switched on for you), the notification bell, the Setup gear (only if you hold at least one setup permission) and your profile menu.
The top bar has no global search box. To find a record, open its list and search there. To reach a record type that is not in your app's menu, search for it in the App Launcher.
The App Launcher
Select the grid icon to open the launcher. It has three parts:
- Search apps or entities at the top. Type part of a name to filter everything in the launcher. An app stays in the results when its own name matches, or when the name of any record type it contains matches.
- The apps grid. These are the apps you have access to. The first nine are shown, and More (n) reveals the rest. Select the star on an app (Pin app) to keep it at the front of the grid. Select the star again to unpin it. Pins are saved for you, so they are still there the next time you sign in.
- All Entities, below the grid. It shows a blue tag for every record type that offers a searchable list, and a purple tag for each shared page such as Reports or Dashboards. Selecting a tag opens that list or page directly, without changing app.
When you choose an app, xMatix takes you back to the last list or page you had open in that app. If you have not used the app before, it opens the app's first entry. xMatix also remembers which app you were in, so you start there after a page reload or the next time you sign in.
The app you are in changes only when you choose another app in the launcher, or when you follow a link that names an app. If you open a record whose type belongs to a different app (for example, a branch opened from an order), you stay in your current app and the record appears as a temporary entry in its menu. Links copied from the address bar carry the app with them, so a colleague who opens your link sees the record in the same app.
Inside an app
The active app's entries run along the top bar. An entry can open a list, a report, a dashboard or a custom page, or it can be a group that opens a dropdown of further entries. Entries that do not fit the width of the window collapse under More at the right end of the menu. The entry for the screen you are on is highlighted.
The list page
Most entries open a list page. Its parts, from top to bottom:
- Title and view selector. The title is the name of the saved view you are looking at, for example All Sale Orders. The arrow beside it switches to another view. If a record seems to be missing, check the view first: search and filters only narrow down the records the current view already includes.
- ✦ Ask AI, beside the title. It opens the Sense assistant with this list as the starting question. It does nothing if Sense is not switched on for you.
- Live / Archived, beside the title, only on record types your organization archives. Choose Archived to read records that have been moved to the archive. See Archived records.
- Page actions, on the right: New and any other actions your access allows. Actions that do not fit collapse into a More actions menu. Some record types also have a How it works? button, which opens a short guide.
- Recent records. Up to six chips for the records of this type you opened most recently. If you have not opened any, nothing is shown.
- Summary cards. These appear only when the view has summary cards set up. They count the records in the current view, and selecting a figure filters the list to the records behind it. The Hide summary cards button turns them off for this record type.
- The list itself. Its header row has Search, Columns, Filters and Refresh, and three buttons for how the records are laid out:
- List view: the table.
- Split view: the list on one side and the selected record on the other. Select a row to show it. Split view is not offered on phones.
- Board view: cards in columns, grouped by a field. This button is available only when the view has board settings that name a field to group by.
xMatix remembers your choice of layout separately for each record type.
Opening a record
In the table, select a record's linked name or document number to open its record page. In split view, select anywhere on the row. The record page shows the record's details as your administrator designed them, tabs with related records (an account's orders, an order's lines and invoices), and the actions that apply to it. The actions depend on the record's state and on your permissions, so a draft order offers different buttons from a posted one, and an approver sees options that a viewer doesn't. Related records open from inside the record, and you can keep following links from one record to the next.
Workspace tabs
Unless your administrator has turned it off, the workspace behaves like a console:
- Each menu entry keeps its own tab group. The list is always the first tab and can't be closed. Each record you open from it is added as a tab to the right. The tab strip appears as soon as you have more than one tab.
- Related records open as nested tabs. A record you open from inside another record (an account opened from an order) opens as a tab inside that record's tab, so you can switch between them without losing your place.
- The menu entry returns you to where you were. Selecting Orders in the menu brings back the order tab you last had active.
- Closing tabs. Select the × on a tab or middle-click it. Close all closes every record tab in the group, and the + button (New) creates a record that opens as a new tab. Each group keeps up to 15 record tabs, and each record keeps up to 10 nested tabs. When you go past that, the oldest tab closes.
- Reload keeps your tabs. Open tabs survive a page reload for as long as the browser tab stays open.
Reports, dashboards and printed documents get their own tab groups in the same way, with All Reports or All Dashboards as the first tab.
Your profile menu
Select your picture or initials at the top right to see your sign-in email, Settings (your profile page), Logout, Appearance (Light, Dark or System), Theme, and Subscriptions, where you can switch to another organization you belong to.
Procedure
Step 1 — Switch to the app you need
Select the grid icon at the top left. Type part of the app's name in Search apps or entities, or pick the app from the grid. The top bar now shows that app's name and menu, and you land on the last list or page you used in it. Select the star on apps you use every day so they stay first.
Step 2 — Open a list and choose the view
Select a menu entry, for example Orders. Check the title: it names the view you are in. Select the arrow beside it to choose another view, for example one that shows only your own records.
Step 3 — Find the record
Type in the list's Search box to narrow the records in the view. To narrow by status, date or owner, use Filters, or select a column's filter mark. If the record still doesn't appear, change to a broader view and search again. Record types that are not in the app's menu can be reached from All Entities in the App Launcher.
Step 4 — Open the record and follow related records
Select the record's linked name or number. The record page opens. With workspace tabs on, it also opens as a tab next to the list. Use the record's tabs to reach related records, and select a related record to open it. With nested tabs on, it opens inside the record you came from.
Step 5 — Move between open work
Select a tab to switch to it. Close the ones you have finished with, or select Close all. To go back to something you opened earlier but have since closed, use the Recent chips on that record type's list.
Step 6 — Change the layout of a list
On the list's header row, select Split view to keep the list and the record side by side while you work through records one at a time. Select Board view to see the records as cards in columns, if the view offers it. Select List view to return to the table. Your choice is kept for that record type.
Example
A sales coordinator starts the day in the Sales app. They open the launcher, pin Sales and Inventory, and select Sales. xMatix opens Orders, the list they used last. They switch the view to their own open orders, type a customer name in Search and open order SO-01452. The order opens as a tab next to the list. On the order, they open the customer account to check the credit limit. The account opens as a nested tab inside the order, while the top bar still shows Sales. They go back to the order tab, finish it, close both tabs, and select Split view to work through the next five orders without leaving the list.
Training
Practice exercise
In a sandbox:
- Open the App Launcher, search for an app you use, and pin it. Expected result: the app moves to the front of the grid and keeps its filled star.
- Open a list from the app's menu and switch to a different view. Expected result: the page title changes to the new view's name.
- Open two records from the list. Expected result: a tab strip appears with the list first and one tab for each record.
- From one of the records, open a related record. Expected result: it opens as a nested tab inside that record (if nested tabs are on in your organization).
- Select the app's menu entry for that list again. Expected result: the record tab you had active is shown.
- Close all record tabs, then reopen one record from the Recent chips. Expected result: it opens again as a tab.
Quick reference
- Grid icon = App Launcher. Search covers apps, record types and shared pages.
- Star an app to pin it to the front of the grid.
- Choosing an app returns you to the last screen you used in it.
- The page title is the current view. Check it before you assume a record is missing.
- Search narrows the current view. It never shows records outside the view.
- Recent chips: the last six records of that type you opened.
- List view, Split view, Board view: remembered for each record type.
- Workspace tabs: the list is the first tab; record tabs can be closed; middle-click closes a tab.
- There is no global search in the top bar. Use the list's Search or All Entities in the launcher.
Permissions
What you see on these screens depends on your access, so two colleagues can see different launchers, menus and buttons:
| What you see | What controls it |
|---|---|
| An app in the launcher | The app granted on your security profile's App Permissions, its product licence enabled, and its module switched on |
| A menu entry, and the records in a list | Read permission on that record type, plus any record-level sharing rules |
| New, Edit, Delete and other actions | Your permissions on that record type and its actions, and the record's state |
| Open assistant and ✦ Ask AI | Sense switched on for your organization and a Sense AI seat for you |
| The Setup gear | At least one setup permission |
A user without access to a record type does not see it at all. There is no greyed-out entry. For the full model, see Security model. For step-by-step diagnosis, see A user can't see something.
Configuration
Administrators shape navigation in a few places:
- Apps and their menus. Setup → Design Studio → Apps → Apps. Open an app, then Manage Items, to add, order and group its entries. See Apps, entities, records and views.
- Which app each user can open. The App Permissions tab of a security profile. See Security profiles.
- Views, summary cards and board settings. Shared views, including their summary cards and board grouping, are set up for each record type under the entity's Views. See Apps, entities, records and views.
- Workspace tabs. Setup → Feature Hub → Administration → Org Settings, section Workspace interface. Each switch is saved as soon as you change it and applies to everyone in the organization:
- Enable tabbed interface: the console tabs described above. When it is off, links simply navigate and the browser's back button takes users back.
- Enable nested tabbed interface: related records open as nested tabs inside the record they came from. Requires the tabbed interface.
- Keep the first tab loaded: while a record tab is showing, the list it came from stays loaded in the background, so going back shows it exactly as it was (scroll position, loaded rows, selection, filters). Requires the tabbed interface.
All three switches are on until someone turns them off. Changing them needs the setup.org.settings.manage capability.
Common problems
"An app my colleague has is missing from my launcher"
The app is not granted on any of your security profiles, its product licence is not enabled for your organization, or its module is switched off. Ask your administrator to check your user record. See A user can't see something.
"I can't find a record I know exists"
Check the view in the page title first. Search and filters only narrow the current view, so a record outside the view never appears. Switch to a broader view, clear the filters and search again. If it still doesn't appear, your access may not include that record. See Record security.
"The Board view button is greyed out"
Board view needs the current view to have board settings with a field to group by. Choose a view that has them, or ask your administrator to add them.
"My old record tabs closed by themselves"
Each list keeps at most 15 record tabs, and each record keeps at most 10 nested tabs. When you open one more, the oldest closes. Closing the browser tab also clears your open workspace tabs.
"There are no tabs; links just change the page"
Your organization has turned off Enable tabbed interface. Use the browser's back button, or the Recent chips on each list, to return to earlier records.
Common questions
Why did the app change when I opened a link?
Links in xMatix carry the app they were opened from. When you follow a link that names a different app, for example one a colleague sent you, xMatix opens the record in that app so it uses the same form and view your colleague saw. Opening a related record from inside a record does not change your app. That record appears as a temporary entry in your current app's menu. To go back to your own app, choose it in the App Launcher. You return to the last screen you used there.
Is there a search box for the whole system?
No. The top bar has no global search. To find a record, open the list for its record type and use Search on the list header. That search covers the records in the current view. To reach a record type that is not in your app's menu, open the App Launcher and type its name: the All Entities tags open lists directly, and the purple tags open shared pages such as Reports and Dashboards.
Can I change which columns a list shows?
Yes. Lists let you choose and reorder columns, sort and filter, and save the result as a personal view so it is one click away next time. Personal views change only what you see. Shared views are set up by administrators and keep team-wide lists consistent. See Personalizing lists and views for each step, including how to set a favourite view.
How do I get back to something I opened earlier?
There are three ways. If its workspace tab is still open, select the tab, or select the list's menu entry to return to the tab you had active. The Recent chips on that record type's list show the last six records of that type you opened. You can also search for it by name or number on the list. When you switch apps, xMatix takes you back to the last list or page you used in that app.