Most tasks begin by opening a panel, and then clicking a link on that panel. On the main page, to open the panel, click the link for the panel on the left. This will open the panel with links inside for other actions.
In other tools the panels are different. In some places, like the Profile editor, the left navigation bar still opens a panel, but the panels are drop-down panels that are either open or closed. When the panel is closed, you see only the title bar of the panel. To open the panel, click the title bar. To close a panel, click the title again. VSys hides entire panels (e.g. Mandates) if they have no content. You'll still see the link for the panel on the left navigation bar, and clicking on that link will prompt you to add an item to that panel. Then the panel will be displayed.