The UI Preferences page lets you personalize how PawPlacer looks and feels. These settings are personal; they only affect your own account and don't change anything for other team members.
Accessing UI Preferences
- Navigate to Settings from the sidebar
- Toggle to User Settings using the switch at the top of the sidebar
- Click UI Preferences
Pet Badge Display
Pet badges appear throughout PawPlacer wherever pets are listed in compact spaces, such as on adopter and foster profiles; this setting controls how those badges look.
Options
- Avatars Only: Pet badges display as stacked circular avatars. If there are more pets than can fit, a "+N" indicator shows how many additional pets are associated. Hovering over the badges opens a popover showing the full list.
- With Names: Pet badges display as pills with both the avatar and the pet's name visible. This takes more horizontal space but lets you identify pets at a glance without hovering.
The settings page shows an interactive preview of both styles so you can see the difference before choosing. The popover preview displays each pet's image, name, species, breed, age category, and status.
Dog Cursor
A lighthearted cosmetic option that changes how your mouse cursor companion appears.
Options
- Dog Animation: A small animated dog follows your cursor around the screen
- Letter Avatar: A standard circular letter avatar appears instead
Select whichever you prefer. The selected option is highlighted with a blue border.
Background Image
You can set a background image that appears on your dashboard and main navigation screens.
Changing Your Background
- Your current background image is displayed as a preview on the settings page
- Click Change Image to open the image selector
- Browse the grid of available images: PawPlacer includes a collection of nature scenes, abstract patterns, animal-themed images, seasonal designs, and minimalist backgrounds
- Click any image to select it (the selected image shows a red border)
- Click Save to apply your choice, or Cancel to keep your current background
Uploading a Custom Image
The first cell in the image grid shows a "+" button. Click it to upload your own image from your computer. Custom images are automatically converted to WebP format and resized to 1920×1080 pixels for optimal performance.
Resetting to Default
To return to the default background, open the image selector and choose the default option (typically the first image in the grid), then save.
How Backgrounds Are Applied
- The change takes effect immediately after saving
- Your background appears on the dashboard and main screens
- It does not affect public-facing pages
- It's specific to your account; other team members see their own background
Permissions
UI Preferences are available to all users. No special permissions are required.