> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.comicink.ai/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# The dashboard tour

When you log in to `comicink.ai`, you land on the dashboard. Here's what's where.

## The top bar

A single bar runs across the top of every dashboard page:

- **ComicInk logo** (left) — click it any time to return to the dashboard home.
- **My Stores** — your creator [storefront](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/setting-up-your-storefront-zgj7lo/), with a count of how many are live. (On a phone this moves into the avatar menu to save space.)
- **Credits remaining** — your current [credit balance](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/how-credits-work-1m9t59m/). Click it to buy more.
- **Avatar menu** (right) — your profile, plus Refer a Friend, Help, Billing, Settings, Print Orders, language, and Sign out.

## The Shelf — your Comics and Videos

The main area is **The Shelf**, with two tabs:

- **Comics** — everything you've made as a comic.
- **Videos** — your [Story Videos](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/getting-started-with-story-videos-p1ey58/) (if video is enabled for your account).

Under the tabs you'll find:

- **Filter chips** — All, Drafts, Live, Singles, Series, Recent. **Singles** are standalone one-off comics; **Series** are multi-issue. Filter the shelf to just what you want.
- **Search** — type to find a comic by title (⌘K / Ctrl-K focuses it).
- **Grid / list toggle** and **Select** (for bulk actions).

Each comic shows as a cover tile — click one to open it.

## Creating something new

From the Shelf header:

- **New Comic** — start a comic. You'll pick a title, genre, art style, and language. See [series and issues](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/series-issues-pages-panels-what-each-means-x6xhwd/).
- **New Video** — start a [Story Video](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/getting-started-with-story-videos-p1ey58/).

On a phone these live under a compact **+ New** menu on the Shelf toolbar.

## Inside a comic

Opening a comic takes you into the **workspace**. The old top tabs (Issue / Characters / Assets) are gone — the layout is now:

- A centred **Script ⇄ Comic** toggle switches the main area between the script (a flowing document of every page and panel) and the comic (the flipbook preview). Blank comics open on **Script**; comics with pages open on **Comic**.
- A **left rail** with three panes: **Tools**, **Cast** (renamed from Characters), and **Assets**. Tools lists every action — **Generate All Pages**, Edit Script, Regenerate Cover, Translate, Export, Publish, **[Turn into Video](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/turning-a-comic-into-a-story-video-lhgsb2/)**, and more — with a search box so you can type to find an action by what it does (searching "upscale" or "high resolution" surfaces **Export**, where print-quality upscaling lives). Cast and Assets list your reusable characters and props for the series.
- **Sidekick**, ComicInk's in-editor AI collaborator, is a persistent column on the right at desktop widths. See [Sidekick, your AI collaborator](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/sidekick-your-ai-collaborator-1dct3ek/).
- **On screens narrower than 900px**, the left rail and Sidekick become slide-in overlays instead of fixed columns, so the comic or script still gets the full width.

Un-rendered pages show a placeholder with **Generate Page** and **Edit Page Script** (the latter jumps to the Script view, scrolled to that page).

See [generating pages](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/generating-pages-tebnpg/) for the full editing flow.

## Characters, worlds, and assets

Reusable across a series:

- [**Characters**](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/defining-characters-1913leo/) — people in your story, shown under **Cast** in the editor. The AI keeps them looking the same across pages.
- [**Worlds**](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/worlds-and-settings-13ikkrw/) — settings and locations.
- [**Assets**](https://help.comicink.ai/en/article/reusable-assets-1l4rmko/) — props, vehicles, key objects.

## Live chat

The chat bubble in the bottom-right corner is live support. Send us a message any time — we reply by email when we're not online.