This first draft is for users working in the GreenSparks desktop web app. It focuses on practical setup and orientation: creating operating context, adding devices, inviting colleagues, and understanding which workflows are ready for everyday use.
Getting Started
Open the GreenSparks app from the public site or go directly to the app URL. If you are not already signed in, use your GreenSparks account to log in. New users can create an account from the login flow, but access may depend on email verification and admin approval.
After sign-in, use the top navigation to move between the main desktop surfaces: Events, Venues, Devices, People, Agents, Readings, and Reports. The exact actions visible to you may depend on permissions and the current data environment.
Venues and Events
Venues and events describe where work happens. A venue is a reusable place, such as an arena, festival site, campus, or temporary operating location. An event is a specific operating period at or associated with a venue.
Creating and managing a venue
Use the Venues surface to create or select venues. A useful venue record should have a clear name and enough location context for other users to recognize it. Where available, use properties and maps to add structure beyond the name.
Venue boundary
Venue maps can represent the venue boundary. The boundary is useful when the same venue is used across multiple events, because it gives maps, reports, and zones a stable spatial reference.
Creating an event at a venue
Use the Events surface to create an event and associate it with the correct venue. Name events in a way that is meaningful later, such as the event name plus year, phase, or operating period.
Zones
Zones describe useful subdivisions inside an event or venue. A zone might represent a stage, vendor area, operations compound, charging area, or any other place where devices or power behavior should be grouped.
Devices
Devices represent the monitored equipment or logical measurement points that GreenSparks uses to collect and organize data. Device setup usually starts with categories and products, then moves to individual devices.
Creating categories and products
Categories and products help describe what a device is. Categories are broad groupings, while products or templates can capture a more specific device type. Use names that will make sense to non-engineering users.
Adding devices
Add devices under the appropriate product or category. Set device properties where you know them. Good properties make reports, readings, and later troubleshooting easier to interpret.
Do's and don'ts
Do set up device properties carefully. Do use clear names. Do connect devices to the right operating context before relying on reports.
Do not use engineering features unless you are confident about their meaning. Engineering surfaces are for expert setup and diagnostics and will be covered in later documentation.
Do not expect every report to be meaningful immediately. Many reports depend on telemetry, query setup, device assignment, and engineering configuration. If a report is empty or incomplete, treat that as a setup signal rather than a final result.
Adding Virtual Devices to Zones in Events
Virtual devices let an event model represent useful logical loads or measurement groupings even when the underlying physical infrastructure is more complex. Add virtual devices to the relevant zones so the event structure matches how operators think about the site.
Start simple. Create the zones users actually discuss, then add virtual devices only where they clarify responsibility, measurement, or reporting.
Inviting Users
For now, the simplest onboarding path is to send the user to greensparks.live. They can open the app, choose the login path, and create a new account. After signup, they may need to verify their email and wait for account approval.
GreenSparks still needs a dedicated invite flow in the People or Users surface. Until that exists, use the signup-and-approval path and confirm with the new user when access is ready.
Review and Looking Forward
With the desktop app, users can begin creating venue and event context, organizing zones, adding devices, reviewing readings, and opening reports where the underlying setup supports them.
Later guides will go deeper into administration, reports, mobile use, and data sharing. Treat this desktop guide as the starting workflow: establish the operating structure first, then use the specialist guides as the product and deployment mature.