Beginner and Advanced modes

The turtleSpaces IDE has a lot of tools. That’s great once you know your way around, but it can be a lot to take in on your first day. Beginner mode hides the expert parts so there is less to think about. Advanced mode, the default, shows everything.

Switching modes

Open the Settings menu and turn on Beginner mode. Turn it off again to go back to Advanced mode. The change happens straight away.

The IDE remembers your choice in this browser, so it opens in the same mode next time. On a shared classroom computer, each browser keeps its own setting.

What Beginner mode hides

Hidden in Beginner mode	Where it lives in Advanced mode
The Debug tab	The panel tabs on the left
The History tab	The panel tabs on the left
The Printer tab	The panel tabs on the left
Live Coding, Auto Update, Code Completion and Show System Procedures	The Settings menu
The printer switch	The Settings menu
Uploading and importing procedures	The Editor menu
Anchor	The Turtle menu

Everything else stays: the Blocks, Text and Help panels, the console, the run controls, saving, publishing and sharing. When you are signed in, the Claude tab stays too.

The Beginner mode switch itself is never hidden, so you can always find your way back to Advanced mode. If the Debug tab is open when you switch to Beginner mode, the IDE moves you to the first tab.

Which mode should I use?

Just starting out, or teaching young learners? Try Beginner mode. You can build with Blocks or type Logo, and nothing you need is missing.
Debugging a bigger program? Switch to Advanced mode for the Debug tab, which shows your variables, each turtle’s state and the loops that are running.
Want to re-run old commands? The History tab in Advanced mode lists everything you’ve typed in the console. In either mode, the Up arrow in the console steps back through your history.

For a tour of all the panels and menus, see About the webIDE.