Getting started: the checklist, sample data and your first send

The five steps to a first campaign, how to look around with sample data first, and what happens when your first campaign goes out.

The setup checklist

The top of your dashboard shows five steps, ticked off as you do them: connect a mailbox, check your domain, add your contacts, write a template and send your first campaign. Click a step to go straight to it. When all five are done it goes away by itself, or press Hide any time. You can bring it back from Settings.

Only your real work ticks a step. Sample data never does.
"Check your domain" ticks when you run a check on the Deliverability page.
"Send your first campaign" ticks when one goes out or is scheduled.

Try with sample data

Want to look around before you connect anything? Try with sample data (on the welcome screen, in the checklist, or in Settings) adds a demo list of 24 people, a template and a finished campaign with opens, clicks, three replies, a bounce and an unsubscribe. Every screen then has something in it: the charts, the Replies page, the contact histories.

Nothing is ever really sent

Sample data uses a sample mailbox and example.com addresses. Even if you start a new campaign with the sample list, Vecta only pretends to send: nothing leaves, and nothing reaches anyone. A yellow bar reminds you whenever sample data is present. Clear sample data removes the list, campaign, template and mailbox in one click. Your own work is never touched, and the sample people are never told to Atlas.

Your first send

When your first campaign goes out you'll see a short celebration and what to do next: watch it go out live on the run page, come back in a few hours for opens and clicks, and read replies on the Replies page. The celebration appears once. If your computer asks for less motion, there is no confetti, only the message.

Light, dark and less motion

At the bottom of the sidebar, choose Light, Dark or Follow my computer. Dark is the default. Less motion turns off the gentle movement between steps and in lists. It is also off automatically if your computer is set to reduce motion.

If something looks wrong

The checklist disappeared: you pressed Hide, or everything is done. Settings has "Show the setup checklist again".
"Check your domain" isn't ticked: run a check on Deliverability. Only an owner or admin's check is recorded.
I added sample data by mistake: press Clear sample data in the yellow bar or in Settings.
The sample campaign shows 'sent' but nothing arrived anywhere: that is on purpose.
The page flashes the wrong colour when it loads: this can happen if your browser blocks saved settings. Choose the theme again.
I don't see the welcome screen: it appears once, only to people who haven't added anything yet.

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