A common confusion amongst Sandbox 2 newbies is the lack of anything under Archetype Entity, unless you open a premade map. Don’t worry, you’re Sandbox is not bugged, you just have to do something very simple!
Hotkeys are marvelous creations, and Sandbox 2 has it’s own set which should become second nature to you as you continue building maps.
Whilst you can do a lot of stuff in the Perspective view, it really does help to have another 1 or 2 views to get total precision. Configuring your layout gives you greater flexibility when designing your map and you don’t have to keep zooming around perspective view awkwardly.
For some reason Crytek didn’t include the popular CTRL + S hotkey which is internationally recognized as the save hotkey! Luckily, you can actually put this in yourself which is very helpful indeed for those who save as a reflex, not particularly consciously.