How the App Talks to You
A cheat sheet for the symbols, toasts, badges, dialogs and undo behaviours that repeat across Wattle Clinic.
Learn these few patterns once and the whole of Wattle Clinic suddenly makes sense, because the same symbols and behaviours repeat everywhere.
Keep this page handy for your first week. You don't need to memorise it. Most of it you'll recognise the moment you see it on screen.
The handful of symbols you'll see everywhere
These little icons mean the same thing on every screen. Learn them once.
| You see | It means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ⋯ (three dots) | "More actions" | Click it to open a small menu of extra things you can do with that row or card (edit, void, delete, and so on). |
| ✏️ pencil | "Edit this" | Click it to change the details you're looking at. |
| ＋ plus | "Add / create new" | Click it to make a new thing — a patient, a line on an invoice, and so on. |
| 🔔 bell (top-right) | Notifications | A red dot means you have something unread. Click to read it. |
| ？ question mark in a circle | Help tip | Hover your mouse over it (or tap it) to read a short explanation. It never does anything except explain. |
| ⌕ search / "Search & Command" | Find anything | Click it, or press ⌘K (Mac) / Ctrl K (Windows), then type. |
| ▢ panel icon (top-left) | Show/hide the sidebar | Click to tuck the left menu away for more space; click again to bring it back. |
| avatar (top-right) | Your account menu | Your settings, light/dark mode, and Log out live here. |
Tip — hover to learn. Not sure what an icon does? Rest your mouse on it for a second. A small label (a "tooltip") pops up — for example "Back", "Notifications", or "Expand sidebar". This is the easiest way to learn the icons as you go.
"Why is this button grey?"
A button that looks faded or grey — and won't click — isn't broken. It's the app telling you a step is still missing. Fill in what's needed and the button comes to life by itself.
Some everyday examples:
- A Save button stays grey until you've filled in the required boxes (the ones that can't be left blank).
- On an invoice, a Finalise button may be grey until the invoice has at least one line on it.
- A Record payment button may be grey until there's actually an amount owing.
So if a button won't respond, don't click harder — look for the empty field or missing step nearby. Once it's done, the button brightens and you can carry on.
Can't see a button at all? That's different from grey. A button that's missing (rather than greyed-out) usually means your account doesn't have permission for that action. See When you "don't have permission" below.
Little pop-ups that say "saved" (toasts)
When you save, send, or change something, a small message slides in at the bottom-right corner of the screen and then fades away after a few seconds. These are called toasts, and they're the app's way of saying "done, that worked."
- A success toast (with a green tick) means your change is saved. You don't need to do anything.
- An error toast (with a red mark) means something went wrong. Read it — it usually says what to try.
You don't have to click a toast — it disappears on its own, though there's a small ✕ if you want to dismiss it early. If you missed what it said, it's fine — your work is already saved (a success toast only appears after the save succeeds).
Almost nothing is permanent
This is the most reassuring thing in the whole app, so it gets its own section. Most actions can be undone. You're very unlikely to lose anything by mistake.
There are three flavours of "undo", from easiest to most deliberate:
1. The 5-second undo (instant)
Some actions show a toast with an Undo button for a few seconds. Delete something by accident? Click Undo in the pop-up straight away and it comes right back. If the toast fades before you click, don't panic — you can usually still reverse it the slower way (below).
2. Reverse it later (void / unfinalise)
Bigger records aren't deleted — they're reversed, so there's always a paper trail:
- Void — used on invoices and payments. The record stays in the system marked "voided" (so the history is honest), but it no longer counts.
- Unfinalise — turns a "locked" invoice or estimate back into an editable draft so you can fix it, then finalise again. It's not blocked even if a payment is attached — the app will just check with you first.
- Delete draft — a draft (not-yet-finalised) invoice can be deleted outright, because nothing official has happened yet.
You'll find these on the ⋯ (three-dots) menu or as a button on the record itself.
3. Truly permanent (rare — the app warns you first)
A few actions genuinely can't be undone. When that's the case, the app stops and asks you to confirm in a pop-up, often with red text or a red button. Read these carefully. If you didn't mean it, just click Cancel — nothing happens until you confirm.
Rule of thumb. If a button is red or makes you confirm in a pop-up, treat it as serious and read before clicking. Everything else is forgiving.
Pop-up windows vs side panels (dialogs and sheets)
When Wattle needs more from you, it opens one of two things on top of the page. Both can be closed the same way: press Esc, click the ✕ in the corner, or click the dark area outside.
- A dialog is a pop-up window in the middle of the screen. Used for short jobs and questions — "Are you sure?", a quick form, a confirmation.
- A sheet is a panel that slides in from the side (usually the right). Used for longer forms with several pages — like booking an appointment where you might also add a new patient and a new client along the way.
There's nothing to learn here beyond "these two cover the screen on purpose, and Esc closes them." Your work behind them is still there when you close.
Colours and badges — at a glance
Small coloured labels (called badges) flag the status of things — an invoice, a patient, a notification. The colours mean the same thing across the app:
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Green | Good / done / positive (e.g. paid, active, success) |
| Yellow / amber | Heads-up / in progress / needs attention soon |
| Red | Warning, error, or something overdue |
| Grey | Neutral or inactive (e.g. a draft, an archived record) |
You don't need to memorise this — colour is just a quick hint. The badge also has words on it, so you can always read the actual status.
When a list is empty
A page that shows no rows isn't broken. When there's nothing to show yet, Wattle displays a friendly empty state — a short message (and often a button) instead of a blank screen. For example, a brand-new patient's invoice list might say there are no invoices yet, with a button to create the first one.
So if you land on an empty list, read the message — it usually tells you exactly how to add the first item.
When you "don't have permission"
Wattle gives different staff different access — a receptionist, a nurse and a vet don't all see the same buttons. This is normal and on purpose.
You might notice this in two ways:
- A button simply isn't there. If you expected an action and can't find it, your account may not have permission for it.
- You get redirected. If you try to open a page you're not allowed to see, the app gently sends you somewhere safe (usually the Dashboard) rather than showing an error.
Neither is your mistake. If you genuinely need access to something:
Can't see this button or page? Your account may not have permission — ask whoever set up your clinic.
See Team & permissions for how access is decided.
A couple of things that surprise people
Small behaviours that are working as intended — so you're not caught out:
- On phones and tablets, the sidebar slides in over the page. Tap the menu / panel icon in the top-left to open it; tap outside it (or press Esc) to tuck it away again and get the full screen back for your content.
- Breadcrumbs hide on small screens. Those little "Dashboard › Patients › Fluffy" links at the top vanish on a narrow phone screen. Use the back arrow (←) to step back, and check the big page title to see where you are.
- Changing what notifications you get lives under your account, not the bell. The bell (top-right) is for reading notifications — a red dot means you have unread ones. To change which notifications you receive, go through your avatar → Account instead.
- The Sign In / Create Account buttons look stuck on the login screen. If you ever see an "auth-config" message there, it's a setup issue on the clinic's side, not your account — contact whoever set up your clinic rather than making a new account. (More in Signing in.)
Two-minute recap
- ⋯ = more actions. ✏️ = edit. ＋ = add.
- A grey button means a step is missing — fill it in and it wakes up.
- A success toast (green tick) = saved. An error toast (red mark) = read it.
- Most things can be undone — instantly (Undo button), later (void / unfinalise / delete draft), and the rare permanent action always asks first.
- Dialogs pop up in the middle; sheets slide in from the side. Esc closes both.
- Green / amber / red / grey badges = good / heads-up / warning / neutral.
- Empty list = nothing yet, with a hint to add the first item.
- Missing button or a redirect = a permission thing, not your fault — ask your clinic admin.
Related reading: The lay of the land · Buttons & symbols · Glossary · Troubleshooting & FAQ