Looking for a broad overview of the World Anvil interface? This guide will cover the main navigation elements, which are located in the two sidebars (left and right).
Sidebar
The World Anvil monogram at the top left will take you to the Dashboard. Our dashboard (pictured above) shows quick stats about your world, a "continue working" panel so you can quickly pick up where you left off, and the latest news from the community. You can customize this dashboard with the gear button at the bottom left.
On the left menu, you’ll see icons representing your tools: Articles & World Manager, Maps, Timelines, your Images, Manuscripts, and more! Mouse over each icon to see which tool it represents, and click to open its side menu (i.e. the list of all maps/timelines/etc you have in your world). From the side menu, you can create new items of the same type, organize them in folders, and use the search bar at the top to find what you're looking for.
Advanced tools
The toolbox button reveals more advanced tools, like Content Trees, Calendars and Whiteboards.
The cog button at the bottom expands to show:
- Worldbuilding Meta: where you can define the top level information about your active world
- Subscribers and Authors: where you can add co-authors or readers with exclusive access to otherwise-private information in your active world
- World Styling: where you can customize the way your active world looks
- Advanced Settings: where you can edit your active world’s advanced settings
- Statistics: See stats about your world.
There are also two double chevrons at the bottom of the sidebar. Use them to expand or completely hide the sidebar.
The quick buttons
At the bottom right of your interface you'll find a set of buttons as part of the right sidebar. These buttons won’t be active if you have an RPG Character activated.
The Create button
The Create button allows you to quickly create articles from anywhere on World Anvil, without changing pages. They’ll appear in the world you currently have active. Select which worldbuilding template you want, then fill in the fields to create your article. Remember you can see and manage your articles in the Articles & World Manager. See the guide to editing articles for details.
Pro-tip: You can also press Alt+N on your keyboard to create new articles with keyboard shortcuts!
The plus button
The green plus button allows you to quickly create all other types of content on your world (Timelines, Secrets, Categories, etc). Note that creating some of these content types, such as timelines, will take you to a new page.
Note creation
The Notebook feature is a great way to keep track of notes, ideas, meta information and even snippets of CSS or tags you want to use in your world. Clicking on the yellow note button will let you create a note without fully opening the notebook. Check the guide to the notebook for details.
Todo list
The todo list lets you plan your worldbuilding in an easy and organized way. Clicking on the blue todo button will bring up the to-do list in a small panel in the bottom right. Check the guide to the to-do list for details.
Customize your interface
You can customize your World Anvil interface in your Interface settings. Find them by clicking your profile pic at the top right. In Interface Settings you can:
- Toggle on and off Dark Mode (note that light mode is currently unsupported)
- Hide the auto-save indicator
You can also decide which features you see on your interface in your Features settings. Find it by clicking your profile pic at the top right.
You can toggle the following features and elements on or off in the Features menu:
- The Worldbuilding Features
- RPG Features (Statblocks, Campaign Manager, GM notes, etc)
- RPG Character Manager (primarily for managing Player Characters)
- Novel Writing Software
- NSFW/18+ content
- Accessibility features like Userway
- Community features like Challenges & Featured Articles
- Competitor Mode: this allows you to rank and win prizes in competitions
- Access to our monthly newsletter, where we share new features, guides and sometimes raffle off goodies like books and dice
Right sidebar
The right side bar allows you to switch which World, Campaign, or Character you have active. Click on the switcher icon to open the switcher and select your world, campaign, or character to activate.
You can also use the top bar to reach community-related tools ( Notifications, News, and the Community portal), the Notebook, the Help center, your Creator’s Studio, and the Learn section (which is where you are right now!).
Account settings
At the top of the right sidebar there's your profile picture. Click it to access account options, including:
- View and Edit your Author’s Profile (where people can learn more about you and your work, and you can advertise what you’re proudest of)
- Customize your Interface and what Features you have active
- Edit your Account Settings (username, email, password, language) as well as manage your subscription and connect your Discord to your World Anvil account
- Create user API tokens and request application keys (Guild only)
- See your Followed Worlds and your Reading List
- See, submit, and vote on Feature Suggestions
- See the Professional Portal to get your world promoted via official World Anvil channels, request help with your world, apply for our professional Power Users programme, or view our library of exclusive seminars on worldbuilding, marketing, brand, and design (Sage Only)
