The Screens Pane is the navigation bar in DonorWise. The items that will be visible on the Screens Pane will vary from user to user, depending on the security access given to the user in Manage Users.
When there is pending work, a number may appear in parenthesis next to the item (see below in the Contacts group). The work in each section tends to flow from top to bottom. For example, batches are created "New", then "Approved", then "Posted".