For a lot of new users, CiviCRM can be confusing and intimidating: there are many menu options, the software can do so much, they simply don't know where to start, where to get help, how to ... Get Started with CiviCRM!
Cividesk decided to tackle this challenge and has created a new dashlet that will be displayed on each user's home screen. This dashlet does provide an 'orientation' screen with pointers to documentation, helpful resources as well as links to the community. Here is what is currently looks like:
This new Getting Started dashlet is part of the upcoming 4.7 release (and you can test it on the demo site), but will also be part of the next 4.6 and LTS releases. So next time you upgrade CiviCRM, this dashlet will be enabled for all users (but can be disabled just like any other dashlet).
The design of this dashlet has been discussed extensively with the core team and CiviCRM partners. It includes a number of unique features, like the ability to change the message at any time, personalize it based on the version of CiviCRM you are using, keep track of changes through version control, etc.
So please send us your feedback and watch this space for further improvements!
P.S. For the curious out there, here is a blog post on what led to creating this dashlet.
