Panels and windows

The side panel keeps your saved list, conversations and current workspace's tools close to your canvas. Its tabs change when you open a creative workspace. Floating windows open over the canvas for a particular task, such as changing a node's options.

Use the adaptive panel#

On a computer, the panel sits on the right. Choose a tab to bring its contents forward. The canvas row contains Listr, Chat, Wall, Media and Feed.

• Listr holds your notes, links, saved nodes and other saved entries. Use Capture a thought or paste a link to filter the list as you type; Enter or Add to list saves that text. See Listr and saved lists.
• Chat shows the same conversations as the floating chat window. Use the chat guide.
• Wall follows the node you are standing in. Its discussion and community controls depend on that node's sharing and your access. See Walls.
• Media brings your Pixls, pictures, tracks and other media together. Use the Pixl guide and images guide.
• Feed brings public posts into For you and Following. See Feed.

On a fresh desktop canvas view, Listr is the starting tab. Until you choose a tab, entering a node can bring Wall forward. Once you choose a tab, reloading or moving between canvases keeps that choice. Listr remains available even when its list cannot load; the failure appears inside the tab with Try again. Home is the canvas inside your root node, so a Wall view there concerns that root, rather than a different public place.

The tabs follow your workspace#

Your Listr entries stay the same between these views. Each workspace can remember its own chosen tab and panel width in this browser. Returning from Layers in Pixl Studio does not require you to leave Layers selected on the canvas.

On a computer, selecting a node on the canvas can bring Wall forward, and selecting a Pixl or video can bring Media forward with its inspector. Clearing the selection restores the previous tab if you have not chosen another tab meanwhile. Your own tab choice takes precedence, and an automatic change is not saved as your choice: reloading returns to the tab you chose. Automatic inspector changes wait while you are using a text field or a busy editor, and do not bring tabs forward on the phone layout.

Some tools use their own windows. Node options has Properties, Members, Linked and Assets, plus Interests or Council where appropriate. Share, Settings, the Freemarket, the Jukebox, Glob Studio and Pixl Studio have their own controls and layouts.

Resize the panel#

Move your pointer to the panel's left edge and pause until its resize control appears. Drag the edge left to widen the panel or right to narrow it, then release. Its width stays within the space your window can provide.

You can also Tab to Resize panel. Left Arrow makes it wider, and Right Arrow makes it narrower. Hold Shift with an arrow for a larger step. This lets you make room for a conversation without dragging a narrow edge.

Hide and bring it back#

Choose Hide panel on that edge to use automatic hiding. The panel slides out to the right, leaving more of the canvas visible. Move your pointer close to the right edge to bring it over the canvas again. After you move away, it waits briefly before closing.

The panel stays open while you are using its controls or a menu it opened. Keyboard focus inside it also keeps it open. Choose Keep panel open on its edge to return it to the usual docked position. Show panel at the edge also returns it to that position.

Shift+Command+L on a Mac or Shift+Ctrl+L elsewhere switches between keeping the panel open and automatic hiding. The preference is remembered in this browser. See Keyboard shortcuts.

On a phone or narrow window#

On a phone, the signed-in app opens on Feed, with the panel filling the screen. Use the bottom control Show canvas to reveal your canvas. It remains loaded behind the panel, preserving your place. Show Feed brings the full-screen panel back; a tab you selected there can remain in front.

The canvas has no second list sheet over it in this layout. Opening a panel tool brings the full-screen panel forward again. Use its tabs to choose Listr, Chat or another available tool.

Narrow creative-workspace rows omit controls that do not fit. In Pixl Studio, Frames and Palette use the bottom dock's Animation and Palette cards instead of separate panel tabs. The desktop hover gesture for automatic hiding does not apply to a finger; use the bottom controls to change surfaces.

Floating windows#

The round Home button opens the Home toolbar. Its people and first-trip controls can open a window over the canvas. Opening another of those toolbar windows replaces the first.

Use a window's close control when you have finished. Many dialogs also close with Escape. In an editor with a Save or Cancel button, check that dialog's instructions: closing a window and saving its draft are separate actions. Node options in particular mixes a bottom Save for the text draft with immediate actions for permissions and people.

Broad Search and the Command+K or Ctrl+K search box also float over the workspace. They are separate from the side-panel tab row.

When a panel does not load#

If a deployment has replaced a part of the app that this tab still needs, Glob can reload once to get the current version. It avoids automatic reload after text entry, while saving, or with unfinished Pixl or Studio work. Save or copy unfinished work before reloading yourself. A failed automatic recovery never repeats in the same tab session.

If a panel says This panel could not load., choose Try again inside it. The tab row and canvas remain available, so you can switch to another panel while you check your connection.

A list can also show its own empty state or loading error. Clear its search, type filter and scope before assuming an entry is missing. If Listr says Your list could not be loaded or saved. Try again shortly., check the connection and choose Try again. A failed save is different from an empty list; wait for confirmation before discarding your original text.