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Exploring the Interface

Tavrn’s layout is designed to feel intuitive once you know where things are. Here’s your orientation guide.

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The Big Picture

Tavrn is organized around a sidebar + main content layout. On the left, you navigate. In the middle, things happen. 
┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Sidebar       │   Main Content Area        │
│                │                            │
│  • DMs         │   (chat, room, etc.)     │
│  • Rooms     │                            │
│  • Friends     │                            │
│  • Settings    │                            │
└────────────────────────────────────────────┘
On mobile, the sidebar collapses and you navigate with a bottom bar.

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The Sidebar

The sidebar is your home base. Here’s what each section does:

💬 Direct Messages (DMs)

Your private conversations with individual friends. All your existing DM threads show up here.

🏘️ Rooms

The rooms (communities) you’ve joined. Click any room icon to switch into that community’s space.

👥 Friends

View your friends list, pending friend requests, and search for new people to add.

⚙️ Settings

Your account settings, profile customization, privacy controls, notification preferences, and more.

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Direct Messages

When you click on DMs, you’ll see a list of everyone you’ve chatted with. Click any conversation to open it. Inside a DM conversation, you’ll find:
  • The message history at the top
  • The message input box at the bottom
  • A toolbar above the input for attachments, GIFs, emoji
  • The other person’s name and status at the top of the chat
You can start a new DM with any friend by clicking the + icon next to the DMs header, or by clicking someone’s name in the friends list or a room.

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Inside a Room

When you’re in a room, the layout expands a bit: 
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Room List │ Channel List │ Chat Area │ Members    │
│             │              │           │            │
│ (icons)     │ # general    │ messages  │ (users)    │
│             │ # off-topic  │           │            │
│             │ 🔊 voice     │           │            │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  • Channel List, All the text and voice channels in this room
  • Chat Area, The active channel’s conversation
  • Members List, Who’s in this room (click to collapse)

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Status Bar & User Controls

In the bottom-left corner, you’ll see your own name, avatar, and status. From here you can:
  • Click your avatar to open your profile
  • Click the status dot to change your online status (online, away, busy, offline)
  • Access settings via the gear icon
  • Mute/deafen yourself if you’re in a call

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Notifications Bell

The bell icon in the navigation shows your unread notifications, friend requests, mentions, DMs, and system messages. Click it to open the notification panel.
A red dot on the bell means you have unread notifications. Click Mark All as Read inside the panel if you want to clear them in one shot.

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The Active Call Bar

If you’re in a voice or video call, a small bar appears at the bottom of the screen showing your call status and quick controls. It stays visible even when you navigate to other parts of the app, so you never lose track of where you are. You can minimize the call overlay to a small floating indicator while you browse around, it won’t interrupt the call.

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On Mobile

On smaller screens, the layout adapts:
  • The sidebar collapses, swipe or tap to open it
  • Navigation moves to a bottom tab bar
  • The channel list and members list are accessible via icons within the room view
  • Everything else works the same, chats, calls, settings
Tavrn is designed to work great on mobile. You can add it to your home screen for a more app-like experience (look for “Add to Home Screen” in your browser menu).

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Keyboard Shortcuts

If you’re on desktop, these shortcuts will speed things up:
ShortcutAction
EscClose the current modal or panel
Arrow keysNavigate image lightbox
EnterSend a message
Shift + EnterNew line in a message

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What’s Next?

Now that you know your way around, let’s find you some communities to hang out in. ➡️ Continue to: Finding & Joining Rooms