The model is in there. Don't look at it, just imagine it. Think of the real buildings you can't see at the moment. The Lincoln Memorial is there. Trust me.
The model is before everything in the Navigator. No model, nothing to Navigate, right?
The Navigator, besides being indispensable to your productivity, is good illustration of Archicad's intended model-to-deliverables workflow.
Update: Buttons look different starting with Archicad 20.
1.
The first button is the Project Map. The Project Map consists of Viewpoints. Viewpoints are 'places' from which we can see/interact with the model. For our purposes, 'Viewpoint' is usually synonymous with 'Window'.
The viewpoints are organized into sets: Stories, Section/Elevations, Details, 3D, Element Schedules, Project Indexes, Lists, Info. You neither create nor destroy these sets. You cannot remove a viewpoint from the project map without removing it from the project. Though you create the viewpoints (stories, sections, details, etc), nothing about the project map is optional.
2.
The second button is the View Map. While the project map is rigid, the view map is wide open. There is nothing there until the user puts it in. The nature and organization of views is entirely up to the user. (You don't need views, unless you actually want to do work and not get fired.)
A View is a viewpoint (from the project map) with certain environment options added. The viewpoint is what it is, the options are whatever the user decides. (The options are: Layers, Scale, Model View Options, Graphic overrides, Dimension Standard, Zoom. 3D views also take several 3D options. Plan views also take the Floor Plan Cut Plane settings.)
Our standard views are organized into sets defined by purpose: Working, Schematics, CDs, Existing conditions, etc.
View = Viewpoint + User Options.
3.
A drawing is a view placed in a layout. Or, if you like, a layout is where a view becomes a drawing.
4.
(An example of non-layout publication: A DWG direct from a project window, no title block.)
Publication = Layouts (or views) + Output settings.
Summary:
• Build the model.
• Create viewpoints so you can see the model in the right way.
• Add options to the viewpoints to create views.
• Place views in layouts to create drawings.
• Publish layouts (or views) to create deliverable output.
Then you're done, and you can go home!