Porymap can seem daunting at first because it has many buttons, tabs, panes, and windows. Let's briefly go over the different parts of the application.
Map List
--------
The map list contains a hierarchical view of all of the maps in your project. It is situated on the left side of Porymap's main window. To switch to a different map, simply double-click or press ``Enter`` on the desired map's name. Larger maps can take a few seconds to load the first time, so be patient.
..figure:: images/navigation/map-list-pane.png
:alt:Map List Pane
Map List Pane
By default, the maps are organized by their map groups. The *Sort Map List* |sort-map-list-button| button gives you some other options to organize the maps:
Sort by Group
Organizes by map groups.
Sort by Area
Organizes by region map section.
Sort by Layout
Organizes by map layouts. Most layouts are only used by a single map, but layouts like the Pokemon Center are used by many maps.
Right-clicking on the folder name in any of the sort modes will bring up a dialog to create a new map in that folder. For more details, see: :ref:`Creating New Maps <creating-new-maps>`.
Most of the work you do in Porymap is in the center Main Window. It features 4 tabbed views which each have different purposes, but they all operate within the context of the currently-opened map in the Map List. Let's quickly summarize what each of these tabs is used for.
..figure:: images/navigation/main-window-tabs.png
:alt:Main Window Tabs
Main Window Tabs
Map Tab
Paint metatiles and their collision properties to change the appearance of the map and how the player can walk around the map. When the Map Tab is selected, the pane on the right side of the map will have two tabs: Metatiles and Collision. You can switch between these to paint either metatiles or collision properties onto the map.
Events Tab
Edit the interactable events on the map. This includes things like objects, warps, script triggers, and more.
Header Tab
Choose various gameplay properties to set for the map. This includes things like background music and weather.
Connections Tab
Change how the map connects with surrounding maps when the player walks from one to another.
The Tileset Editor can be opened with *File -> Tileset Editor* (``Ctrl+T``). When the Tileset Editor is opened, it is opened in the context of the currently-opened map. Every map has a primary and secondary tileset, so you will work with a combination of the two whenever you use the Tileset Editor. The left-side pane shows the primary and secondary tilesets' metatiles. The right-side panes allow you to modify the currently-selected metatile.
The Region Map Editor can be opened with *File -> Region Map Editor* (``Ctrl+M``). This window will allow you to modify the look and layout of maps on the game's region map. You can also modify the city map images using the bottom two panes. Currently the Region Map Editor is only available for pokeemerald and pokeruby projects.
