---
title: Settings Page Overview
description: Find every current Settings tab and choose the right guide for appearance, notifications, database backups, trading defaults and testing preferences.
url: "https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/settings-page-overview-guide/"
updated: "2026-11-07"
category: "Chapter 8 - Settings Page"
---

# Settings Page Overview

Use Settings to make Portfolio Boss comfortable to read, choose notification and trading preferences, and protect your local data. Open **Settings** from the main navigation, then choose one of the five tabs.

**On this page**

- [Choose the right tab](#settings-map)
- [A useful first visit](#first-settings)
- [Where brokerage connections live](#accounts)

## Choose the right tab

[![Settings tabs: Automation, Appearance, Database, Trading and Miscellaneous.](https://portfolioboss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pb72-settings.png)](https://portfolioboss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pb72-settings.png)
The current Settings page has five tabs. Trading replaces the older Interactive Brokers settings tab. [Click to enlarge.](https://portfolioboss.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pb72-settings.png)

| Tab | Use it for |
| --- | --- |
| [Automation](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/automation-tab-guide/) | Windows startup, trading-dashboard emails, mail delivery and the late-data cutoff. |
| [Appearance](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/appearance-tab/) | Accent colors, theme, percentage scaling, trading-state colors and position colors. |
| [Database](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/database-tab-guide/) | Find the database folder; back up, restore or transfer your local data. |
| [Trading tab](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/trading-tab-global-order-defaults/) | Global order merging and entry/exit order defaults. |
| [Miscellaneous](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/miscellaneous-tab-guide/) | Memory caching, test-queue preferences, result names, confirmations, notifications, tutorial icons, data options and layout reset. |

## A useful first visit

1. Open **Appearance** and choose a readable theme and scale. The state and position colors are optional ways to make the dashboard easier to scan.
2. Open **Database**, locate your folder and read the backup procedure before you begin building a large strategy library.
3. If you want trading notifications, review **Automation**, the recipient list and mail service.
4. Review **Miscellaneous** before starting long test sessions, particularly automatic queue resumption and cloud-credit notifications.
5. Before automated trading, review the global **Trading** defaults and the account and strategy settings in the dashboard.

## Where brokerage connections live

Broker accounts are managed in the [Trading Dashboard](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/trading-dashboard-overview-apm/). Use [Connect Accounts to the Trading Dashboard](https://portfolioboss.com/documentation/connect-accounts-to-the-trading-dashboard/) for the current Interactive Brokers workflow. The Trading tab sets order preferences; it is not the account-connection screen.