# Welcome screen

The welcome screen is shown when Spine starts. It provides quick access to opening projects and makes it easy to stay on top of the latest Spine news.

![](/img/spine-user-guide/welcome/welcome-screen.jpg)

To exit the welcome screen, press `escape` or click the `X` in the upper right. The last opened project will be opened.

To visit the welcome screen later, click the mail button in Spine's titlebar:

![](/img/blog/welcome-screen/mail-icon-open.jpg)

If you'd rather the welcome screen not be shown when Spine starts, see the [settings dialog](/spine-settings#Welcome-Screen).

# Projects

Clicking `New Project` or `Open Project` will create a new project or open an existing one.

The `Recent` section is similar to a [file dialog](/spine-ui#File-dialogs) and displays the recently opened projects and project folders. Typing on the welcome screen will filter the recent projects and pressing `enter` will choose the first project listed.

The `Examples` section contains Spine's example projects. Click to open a project or visit the [examples page](/spine-examples) for details on how the project was built.

# News

The `News` section shows the latest Spine blog posts. Click a news item to visit the blog post.

# Tips

The `Tips` section displays a different tip each time you run Spine. Click a tip to visit the [tips page](/spine-tips) with the tip selected for easy sharing.

# Learn

The `Learn` section provides links to the Spine documentation, forums, and other [learning materials](/spine-academy).

# Changelog

The `Changelog` section displays the most recent fixes, changes, and additions by Spine's development team. The complete list of changes can be found on the [changelog page](/spine-changelog).

[Next: Versioning](/spine-versioning)
[Previous: Weights view](/spine-weights)
[Spine User Guide: Table of Contents]