Introducing the Magento 2 backend
The new UI of Magento 2 is quite a change from the original Magento admin backend. Whereas Magento 1.x had a more traditional layout, Magento 2 leverages the best of HTML 5 and CSS 3 to create a responsive interface, which we're sure you'll find more enjoyable.
The primary navigation menu is located along the left side of the window. This placement gives more space to the content of whatever section you're working in. Each of the main menu items has a pop-out menu of choices within that group.
In the upper-right corner of the backend, there are three icons: search, notifications, and account:
Global search allows you to search for anything in the backend: products, customers, orders, and so on. It's a wonderful way to quickly search for whatever you need without having to first drill down through several menu levels.
The bell icon takes you to a list of notifications, if any. If a "badge" (a red circle with a number) appears, it means you have received notifications from Magento or extension developers alerting you to updates or other important information. Click this icon to view and process notifications.
The account drop-down menu gives you access to your Account Settings, where you can update your name and password. By clicking on Customer View, a new tab will open to display the frontend of your Magento store.
Configuration scopes
In Chapter 3, Catalogs and Stores, we'll go into more depth regarding multiple websites, stores, and store views. However, as we are going to discuss configurations now, it's important that we take a moment to explain the section following the title of the screen.
The Store View menu allows you to set the configuration scope for whatever you wish to do in the backend. Depending on the screen you're viewing, you can switch between All Store Views, a particular website, or store view within your Magento installation.
This is a very important concept, as your actions can impact everything in your store, a website, or store view. Likewise for reviewing information: you can view information for all the stores in your installation, or those of a single store.
Tip
As you work through the Magento backend, be sure to be aware of your configuration scope setting. Some configurations can be set at the Website and/or Store View level as well, giving you an incredible flexibility to have different configurations for different stores. See Chapter 3, Catalogs and Stores, to learn more about multiple stores.
Besides many configurations, you may see [GLOBAL], [WEBSITE], or [STORE VIEW]. This indicates the finest level at which this configuration can be set. In other words, if you see [WEBSITE] beside a configuration, you could set a different value if your configuration scope is set at a particular website within your configuration. A [STORE VIEW] label means you can set values particular to a Store View level.
When you are at any configuration scope other than the Global (or Default) level, you will see a checkbox selector:
With the box checked, the setting shown will be inherited from the higher scope level. In the preceding image—captured at a Store View configuration scope—the selected checkbox means that the associated setting will be the same as that of the Website configuration scope. If you uncheck this box, you can set a different value for the particular Store View configuration scope in which you're working.
Tip
Not all configuration settings are possible at all configuration scope levels. For example, the activation of a payment method (like Credit Card, PayPal, and so on) can only be set at the Website level, not at the Store View configuration scope level. If you're at a level in which a setting is not applicable, it will not appear. So, don't be alarmed if certain settings "disappear" as you change from one scope level to another.
As we go through the many configurations within Magento, we will be reviewing them at the Global level so we can discuss all possible choices. Note the configuration scope level shown to the right of each configuration to understand the maximum depth at which you can fine-tune your store or stores.