Every Rhythm application, from Membership to Finance, opens in its own Console. Each Console uses the same frame, so the edges of the page look and work the same wherever you are. After you learn that frame, you can move around any application with confidence.
Why Every Application Looks the Same Around the Edges
Most staff move between several applications during the day, so Rhythm keeps shared tools in the same places. Around the edges, you can see which organization you are working in, open another application, return to records you recently opened, and manage your personal options. The application fills the middle of the page and controls its own side menu, while the frame stays the same.
Your Rhythm Account: The Organization You Are Working In
Each Rhythm account is one complete Rhythm database for your organization. Many organizations use more than one account, such as a live account and a sandbox copy for testing or training. You work in one account at a time, and everything you see or change belongs to that account.
The Console chooses an account when you sign in. In this browser, it opens the account you used last; the first time, it opens your organization's default account. Rhythm saves that choice for each browser, so another computer opens its own saved account when it has one. The current account name always appears in the top bar, so check it before you change anything, especially when your organization has similarly named accounts. See Sign In and Choose Your Account and Switch to Another Account or Sandbox. To see how accounts relate to your organization, see Your Rhythm Account, Customers, and Sandboxes.
Every tab in the same browser shares your sign-in and selected account, and both stay saved after you close the browser. When you switch accounts in one tab, any tabs that were already open still show the previous account until you reload them.
The Top Bar
The strip across the top of every page includes these parts, from left to right:
- The Rhythm logo opens the first page of the Console you are in.
- Sandbox mode appears in orange beside the logo when the current account is a sandbox.
- Search opens universal search in a dialog. You can also press Ctrl+K. See How Global Search Works.
- The current application's title, for example Membership & Committees, opens the application list.
- The current Rhythm account's name opens the account switcher. When no account is chosen, this spot tells you that no account is selected.
- A clock icon opens your recently visited records. On narrow screens, the words Recent Items appear beside it.
- A currency selector appears only for organizations that use more than one currency. It shows the flag and code for the currency you are viewing amounts in.
- Your name and picture open the user options menu.
The Application List
Open the list from Top navigation bar › [current application title]. The larger column lists every application you can open in this account, in alphabetical order. The Console home page appears there as Home. The Recent Apps column shows up to six applications you used recently, with the newest first. It leaves out the application you are in and Home. When there is nothing to show, it reads No recent applications.
When you choose an application from this list, that Console loads in the same tab, and you stay signed in to the same account. If an application you expect is missing, the list leaves it out because you cannot open it. How the Console Decides What You Can See explains why.
Recently Visited Records
Open Top navigation bar › Recent Items (clock icon), or press Ctrl+L anywhere in the Console. The drop-down, headed Recently Visited Records, shows your ten most recent records, with the newest first. Each entry shows the record name and, when it applies, what the record belongs to, such as a registration's event. It also includes a line like Data Import · 5 minutes ago. Type in Search recent items to find older entries by name.
The list follows you across applications. A record you opened in one Console appears in every other Console. Most records reopen in the Console where you opened them, while contacts and organizations usually open in the Console you are using. You cannot remove entries.
Your recent records are kept separately for each account, so after you switch accounts, you see only records you visited in the new account. The list loads the first time you open it on a page, so records you open afterward appear once you reload.
The User Options Menu
Open it from Top navigation bar › [signed-in person's name]. Depending on your sign-in and the Rhythm account you are using, the menu offers:
- Change My Password, only if you sign in with a Rhythm password rather than single sign-on.
- Training Exercises, only in a training account.
- Create a Task and Task Manager, only when your organization has tasks switched on.
- Three switches, which show a green check mark while on: Show Inactive Records (include inactive contacts and organizations in universal search), Open Apps in Separate Tab (open links to other applications in a new tab), and Hide KPIs (Privacy Mode) (blur key figures so you can share your screen). Rhythm remembers them for each account in this browser.
- Reset Tips on this Page and Reset Tips for this App, which bring back hints you dismissed.
- Log Out.
Log Out signs you out right away, with no confirmation. You see You've been logged out. and, a moment later, the sign-in page. Because your sign-in stays saved after you close the browser, always use Log Out on a shared computer.
The Side Menu
Most application pages include a column of links down the left side. The application you are in controls which entries appear. Use the three-bar button at the left of the top bar to collapse the column to icons or expand it again. A New! badge marks an area your organization has just gained. Some entries appear only when your organization has switched the feature on. See How the Console Decides What You Can See.
Warnings About Your Rhythm Account
Some account-level issues affect everyone working in the same Rhythm account until they are resolved, so every staff member sees the same warnings.
- Sandbox. Along with Sandbox mode in the top bar, pages of the Home application show a tip beneath the bar: Heads up! This instance is in sandbox mode. Data may be changed or updated en mass without notice. Dismissing it with Got it! Don't show me this tip again hides it on that page for one day. Do not enter real work in a sandbox, because it can be overwritten.
- Overdue invoice. A red warning asks you to contact Rhythm's billing team. The warning becomes stronger the longer the invoice stays unpaid. Eventually, a Billing Hold covers the whole Console until the balance is cleared.
- Data import in progress. A warning tells you that data is being reloaded, and you cannot use the account while that happens. This banner is meant to appear across every application in the Console, not just the one you happened to open.
- Payments merchant application due. When your organization must complete a merchant account application for Rhythm Payments, a warning gives the date and a link, Please follow this link to complete your merchant account application. It grows more urgent as the date approaches.
These warnings appear just below the top bar on pages that have a side menu. They reflect your account as it was when you opened the Console, so reload the page if a warning should have cleared or appeared.
Warning
In a training sandbox, the home page also offers Refresh Sandbox. Its confirmation does not say so, but it wipes the sandbox you are working in and refills it from its parent account.
The Home Page
The Console home page, Application list › Home, is the first page you see after you sign in. It greets you by first name and time of day, for example Good morning, Sam!, using your computer's clock. The line beneath it names the account you are using: Here's where your Rhythm account's name stands today. The Tasks card lists up to five of your open tasks, earliest due first, with a count of all of them and View all tasks. For now, the Announcements card always reads There are no announcements at this time. If your organization has it switched on, an overview dashboard fills most of the page.
Pages You May Land On
- Error Encountered. This page reads We were unable to proceed with your request. and includes a Back to Rhythm Home link. You land here when you open an application you cannot use, with a message explaining why. See How the Console Decides What You Can See. Rhythm does not keep a consolidated list of common error messages, including for payment processing; some errors show a brief explanation on the page, but many do not.
- Console Location has Moved! An old bookmark shows this notice with a link to the current address. The link opens the application's first page, not the page you bookmarked, and you may need to sign in again. Update your bookmarks.
If the Console will not load at all, check Rhythm's public status page for active incidents affecting access or performance; you can subscribe there for live updates.