Section 1The fastest way to find an answer.

Open Progress Desk and press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows). The command palette searches help articles alongside your students, goals, documents, and contacts. Type a word like compliance or mastery and Progress Desk jumps you straight to the right article.

You can also open the Help screen from the sidebar, or use the native Help menu, which can deep-link straight to a specific topic.

The help content is bundled with the app. No internet required. The same articles are available in the Mac, Windows, and iPad versions.

Section 2How help is organized.

Articles are grouped into three sections so you can browse without searching:

Getting started

The first few minutes, plus reference material you will reach for again later.

Getting started Keyboard shortcuts Glossary of terms Appearance & themes

Screens

One article per screen, explaining what each one does and how the pieces fit together.

Today Dashboard Compliance Caseload Goals & data entry Writing SMART goals Goal objectives Multiple buildings Accommodations & fidelity Transition planning Contacts & communication Staff directory Decision rules Service minutes Schedule Availability Meetings Progress Documents Notices (PWN & invitations) Presentations

Data & security

How Progress Desk protects your data, and how to back it up, restore it, or recover something you deleted.

Trash & restore Backups & export Security & locking

Section 3Keyboard shortcuts.

Progress Desk is keyboard-first. Where two caps are shown, the first is the Mac key and the second is the Windows one. The complete list lives in the in-app Help, but these are the ones worth memorizing on day one.

⌘/CtrlK Open the command palette. Search students, goals, documents, and contacts, or jump to any section. ⌘/Ctrl1–⌘/Ctrl9 Jump to Dashboard, Compliance, Caseload, Schedule, Meetings, Service Minutes, Progress, Documents, Presentations. ⌘/Ctrl[·⌘/Ctrl] Go back or forward through your navigation history. N Add a new student. ⇧/ShiftG Add a new goal. ⇧/ShiftS Schedule a new session. ? Show the keyboard-shortcut cheat sheet. Esc Close a dialog, popover, or the palette.

Today is the first sidebar item and has no number. Open it with a click or from ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows).

Section 4A few questions that come up early.

Where does my data live? On the computer or iPad you installed Progress Desk on. Nothing is sent to a server. Your data is encrypted at rest with a key sealed in the Keychain on a Mac, or by Windows data protection (DPAPI) on a PC.

What if I accidentally delete something? Deletes are recoverable. Anything you remove goes to Trash under Data & Backup. Light deletes (a data point, a calendar event) show an Undo toast. Heavier deletes (a goal, a student) ask for confirmation first.

Can I move my data to another computer? Yes. Create a full backup file with Back up now under Data & Backup, copy it to the new machine, and restore. You can optionally password-protect the export.

Why is a goal not marked mastered when the data looks great? Mastery requires the full mastery window: a configured number of consecutive points at or above criterion. A single strong probe will not flip the status. You can tune the rule globally under Settings → Defaults & rules, or override per goal.

How do I make the app match my taste? Settings → Appearance. Theme (Light, Dark, or System), five color palettes (Cream, Ocean, Graphite, Lavender, Rose), comfortable or compact density, and three text sizes. Status colors never change.

Section 5Still stuck.

If the in-app Help does not answer your question, email us. The same person who built the software answers the support inbox.

Email us at support@progressdesk.app →

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