# The start screen learners see first > Add a title screen with a heading, text, image and button that learners see before a simulation or coach conversation begins. - Plans: All plans - Canonical: https://docs.devlin.ai/simulations/start-screen A start screen is a title screen that learners see before a simulation or a coach conversation begins. It shows a heading, optional text and an optional image, and a button the learner clicks to start. It is off until you turn it on, and it is available on every plan. ## Before you start - You need a simulation or a coach you can edit. The start screen is set separately on each one. - To use your own image, host it somewhere and have its web address ready. The start screen takes an image address, not an uploaded file. - The start screen uses the colors, font size and button style from the simulation's or coach's appearance settings. See [appearance and branding](https://docs.devlin.ai/simulations/appearance-and-branding). ## Steps 1. Open the simulation or the coach. In the **Design** stage, choose **Start screen**. 2. Check **Enable start screen**. On a simulation, an empty heading is filled in with the simulation's name, which you can change. 3. Fill in **Heading** (up to 500 characters). 4. Fill in **Body text** (up to 2000 characters). It is plain text. Line breaks are kept and a blank line starts a new paragraph. Formatting marks are shown as typed. 5. Optionally fill in **Image URL (optional)** with a full `http` or `https` address (a path on the same site that starts with a single `/` also works). Anything else is rejected when you save. On a simulation with a character portrait, leaving the field blank shows the portrait in its starting pose, and a custom image replaces it. 6. Set **Button label** (up to 40 characters). If you leave it blank, it is saved as "Begin". 7. Check the **Preview** below the fields. It shows the screen as learners will see it, with your appearance settings, and updates as you type. The preview is display only, so its button does not do anything. When the start screen is off, the section shows **Turn on the start screen to preview it.** instead. 8. Save with **Save Changes**. On a simulation the button is in the header at the top of the editor. On a coach it is at the bottom of the Start screen section. ## Result Learners who open the simulation or coach see the start screen first. The conversation appears when they click the button. ## When learners see it The start screen appears every time the simulation or coach loads, whether it is embedded in a course or opened from a hosted link. - **Text simulations and coaches:** the start screen takes the place of the conversation until the learner clicks the button. The character's opening line shows only after that. - **Voice simulations:** the start screen appears before the voice screen. Clicking the button reveals the voice screen, and the learner still taps the microphone there to start talking. - **Choosing a mode:** when a simulation lets learners switch between text and voice, the start screen shows a second action under the button, **Begin in voice mode** on a text link or **Begin in text mode** on a voice link. On a coach text link with voice available, the start screen shows **Begin in voice mode** unless that offer is turned off for the coach. On a coach voice link the main button already opens voice, so no second action is shown. The start screen is skipped in these cases: - It is turned off. - The learner picked the other mode on the start screen. The simulation reloads in that mode and goes straight to the conversation. - The learner starts another attempt with Try Again in a text simulation. The new attempt starts in the conversation. - A course button starts the voice session from the parent page with `startVoiceSession()`. That dismisses the start screen if it is showing, unless the start screen asks for a learner identifier or a required identity field that has not been given yet. In that case the start screen stays, and the learner fills it in and starts from it. See [Voice sessions and course controls](https://docs.devlin.ai/voice/voice-sessions-and-course-controls). ## Showing criteria on the start screen If a simulation shows learners its evaluation criteria before they start, the criteria appear on the start screen as a card between the text and the button, and the editor preview shows the card with a **Change in Evaluation** link under it. When that option is on and the start screen is off, learners see a short screen with only the criteria and a button. Coaches do not have this card. See [criteria breakdown and attempt limits](https://docs.devlin.ai/results-and-analytics/learner-results-and-attempts). ## Asking who the learner is On a simulation, the Start screen section also has **Learner identity on this screen**. These controls work only when learner identity is on for the workspace and collection applies to the simulation. Otherwise the identifier checkbox is disabled, and learners are not asked for anything. Coaches do not have these controls. - **Ask for the learner identifier** adds a text box to the start screen. **Prompt above the input** is the label learners see above it (up to 200 characters). What the learner types can be up to 50 characters. Once the box is shown it is required, so the button stays disabled until the learner types something. - **Supporting fields** lists the workspace's identity fields. Check the ones this start screen should ask for. A field marked required also keeps the button disabled until it is filled in. ## Other languages When a simulation has added languages, a language switcher appears above **Heading**. Pick a language to see and edit that language's heading, body text, button label and identifier prompt. The on/off setting, the image and the identity choices are shared by every language. If the original text changed after a language was translated, selecting that language shows **Source changed.** with a **Retranslate** action. Learners who open the simulation in an added language see the translated start screen. Coaches do not have per-language start screens. ## Related - [Appearance and branding](https://docs.devlin.ai/simulations/appearance-and-branding) - [Building a simulation](https://docs.devlin.ai/simulations/build-a-simulation) - [Evaluation and scoring](https://docs.devlin.ai/simulations/evaluation-and-scoring) - [Criteria breakdown and attempt limits](https://docs.devlin.ai/results-and-analytics/learner-results-and-attempts) - [Hosting and SCORM wrap](https://docs.devlin.ai/publish-and-embed/hosting-and-scorm-wrap)