How to Use Claude: A Quick Tour for Beginners
A short video tour of Claude: the chat box, projects, artifacts, scheduled tasks, connectors and skills, the plus button, and picking the right model.
What does the Claude home screen do?
Claude's home screen is built around one box in the middle. Every request starts there, whether it is a quick question or a bigger job. The short video above is a tour of where everything lives. Here is the same tour in writing.
Start with the box
Type your request like you would message a coworker. The same box handles quick questions, rewrites and brainstorming, and bigger jobs like reports, slide decks and research. Under the box you can pick a project to work inside and choose which model answers.
What is in the Claude sidebar?
- Projects hold your recurring work. Each one has its own files and instructions.
- Artifacts is where the docs, slides and designs Claude builds for you end up.
- Scheduled runs tasks on their own, like a Monday morning summary.
- Customize is where connectors and skills live.
- Below that are your pinned items and your recent chats.
The plus button and the model picker
Back at the box, the plus button lets you attach files, or turn on connectors and skills for just this chat. The pill next to it is the model picker. Sonnet is a great default for everyday work. Switch to a bigger model for tougher jobs.
Check which account you are in
Bottom left shows your name and plan. Before you start real work, make sure it is your work account, not a personal one. That keeps company files and chats where your team's settings and privacy controls apply.
The Claude Essentials video series
This post is part of a five-video series on getting started with Claude.
- How to Use Claude: A Quick Tour for Beginners (you are here)
- How to Create a Claude Project (and Stop Re-Pasting Context)
- How to Connect Gmail to Claude (Connectors Explained)
- How to Create a Claude Skill (Step by Step)
- How to Schedule a Task in Claude
Frequently asked questions
How do I start using Claude?
Type your request in the box in the middle of the Claude home screen, the same way you would message a coworker. The same box handles quick questions, rewrites, brainstorming, reports, decks and research.
What is in the Claude sidebar?
The sidebar holds Projects for recurring work, Artifacts for the docs, slides and designs Claude builds, Scheduled for tasks that run on their own, Customize for connectors and skills, plus your pinned items and recent chats.
Which Claude model should I use?
Sonnet is a great default for everyday work. Use one of the bigger models from the model picker when the job is tougher, like long analysis or complex writing.
What does the plus button in Claude do?
The plus button next to the chat box lets you attach files, or turn on connectors and skills for just that one chat.
How do I know if I am using my work account in Claude?
Look at the bottom left of the screen. It shows your name and plan. Make sure it is your work account, not a personal one, before you start work.
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