The Dashboard is the screen one sees when first opening a Planets turn. It is composed of three parts: the top bar, the left menu bar, and the main screen. At the bottom left is a single button that says either End Turn if you haven't marked your turn as finished or Turn Is Ready if you have. By selecting this button, you will toggle its state.
The buttons on the main screen and the menu items on the menu bar are identical, with one exception, and open the following screens. Click on the links below for more information.
The one exception to the dual access mentioned above is the Battle Simulator, which can be reached only from the left menu bar version of the VCR screen.
The top bar contains two buttons: one reading Starmap (which opens the starmap) and the other reading Exit. The Exit button will save and exit your turn. If you are not in a training game, the Exit button will give you the option of marking your turn complete.
On the right side is a message bar containing a scrolling feed of the more recent messages to and from players. Near the top of the tab, a new message can be added using the Start a discussion... box; recipients will need to be selected from the list that pops up. Alternately, an extant message can be replied to using the link provided for that purpose. Public messages can be accessed from outside the game.
NOTE: At the end of a game, all in-game discussions, whether Public or Private, will be able to be seen by people reviewing the game. As there is no ability to edit or delete these messages, please exercise restraint in what you write.