Edit, rewind and retry a message

In DataMind Oda, when a chat goes the wrong way you do not have to start it over. You can change a message you sent, go back to an earlier prompt, or ask the last question again. Each move starts a new version of the chat, and the version you were on stays as it was.

What a version is

A version is another path through the same chat. When you change something in the past of a chat, Oda cuts a new version that continues from just before that message's turn, and the earlier paths stay in the chat, reachable from the switcher and the map.

Three actions cut a new version. They differ in what the new version starts with:

• Everything before the message is kept, and nothing earlier is written over.
• The new version becomes the one you continue in, and it works in the same folder as the version it was cut from.
• Messages you queued that had not started do not carry into the new version: waiting input is cleared when the version is cut; see Queue, steer and stop.

Change a message you sent

1. Point at a message you sent. Edit and Rewind to here appear next to Copy.
2. Choose Edit. The message turns into an editor holding the text you sent; the placeholder reads Edit your message.
3. Change the text, then choose Send or press Ctrl/Cmd+Enter. Cancel, or Escape, closes the editor.
4. Oda starts a new version from just before that message and sends your edited text in it. You land on the new version, and the version you were on stays as it was.

An edit needs visible text: an edit with none is refused with an edited prompt must include non-whitespace text.

These actions change the chat rather than just read a message. The other things a message can do, such as Copy and Branch into a new conversation, are on Actions on a message.

Rewind to an earlier prompt

1. Point at a message you sent and choose Rewind to here, or type /rewind in the message box and pick a prompt from the list.
2. If Oda can put back files it changed after that message, the Rewind to this message dialog opens first: Oda continues from before this message in a new version, and the message goes back into the input box. Keep Restore files Oda changed after this message ticked to put them back, then choose Rewind to go ahead, or Cancel to close the dialog. The Rewind button reads Working… while Oda works. If nothing needs restoring, the rewind runs straight away.
3. Oda starts a new version from just before that message and puts your message back into the message box, with its text and its images.
4. If some attached files could not be put back into the message box, a notice counts them.

The /rewind list:

• It offers the prompts of the version you are viewing, newest first.
• Each row shows the prompt and its time. A prompt with no text of its own reads Message with attachments.
• When there is nothing to pick, the list says There is no earlier message to rewind to.

A restore covers only the files Oda changed with its own file steps after that message. It never undoes changes made by shell commands, memory, skills or scheduled tasks, and a file changed outside Oda is left as it is unless you ask for it. An Edit can offer the same choice. Rewind and restore files covers the choices and the report the chat shows afterwards.

Retry the last answer

1. Find the last answer of the version you are viewing.
2. Choose Retry. Oda starts a new version from just before that turn and asks the last prompt again, unchanged.

Retry never restores files. A rewind or an edit can offer to put back the files Oda changed; a retry just asks the prompt again.

Edit, Rewind to here and Retry are hidden while a reply is running.

Move between versions

When a message has more than one version, a ‹ n/m › switcher appears on it. Previous version and Next version step between them, and the switcher names the one you are on, for example Version 2 of 3.

• The arrows are disabled at the first and last version and while a reply is running; while a reply runs, the tooltip reads Stop the running reply first.
• Switching opens that version of the chat.
• Oda counts one version for the path you started from, plus one for each version it has cut: a chat you have never changed is one version, and every edit, rewind or retry adds one more.
• The chat's row in the sidebar carries a small branch glyph with the number of versions, and its tooltip names the count, for example 3 versions.
• To see the whole tree, open the conversation map from the tile in the chat corner. The tile appears once a chat has more than one version.
• Versions are kept with the chat's stored record, so a chat you close and reopen comes back with its versions.

What a new version changes around the chat

• Background work stops. The background subagents, jobs and reminders of the version you were on stop when a new version is cut, and reminders do not come back when you switch back to it.
• Memory, skills and scheduled tasks are not rewound. The new version continues with the same ones.
• One chat. A version never appears as its own row in your lists: the chat keeps one row, which follows the version you are on; see Sessions: the list and lifecycle. The name, the pin and the archive cover every version, and a single version cannot be archived or deleted on its own.
• Switching never touches files. Moving between versions leaves your files as they are.
• Half-finished turns are closed. If a cut falls inside a turn that was still open, Oda closes that turn in the new version, and a step that had not finished is recorded with an unknown outcome, so it is not mistaken for a completed change.

If a new version cannot be created

When Oda cannot create the new version for an edit or a rewind, the editor or the dialog stays open and shows the reason: The new version could not be created: {message}. Read the detail and try again, or close the editor or the dialog. Common reasons:

• stop the running turn before branching: a turn is still running. Stop the reply, or wait for it to finish, then repeat the edit, rewind or retry.
• subagent Sessions cannot be branched: versions belong to the chat you work in, and a helper chat Oda started cannot be branched.
• The point you chose must be a prompt of the chat, a message you sent that opened a turn; any other point is refused.

Oda follows a chain of versions up to 256 links deep. The limit is on the depth of the chain, a version cut from a version, not on how many versions a chat can hold.

Questions, answered

How do I change a message I already sent?

Point at the message and choose Edit. It turns into an editor holding your text; change it and choose Send. Oda starts a new version from just before that message and sends your edited text in it.

Will I lose anything if I edit an old message?

No. The new version starts from just before the message you changed, so everything before it is kept. Everything that came after it stays in the version you were on, reachable from the switcher.

Where does my message go when I rewind?

Back into the message box, with its text and its images. If some attached files could not come back, a notice counts them.

Which prompts does /rewind offer?

The prompts of the version you are viewing, newest first, each with its time; a prompt with no text of its own reads Message with attachments. When there is nothing to pick, it says There is no earlier message to rewind to.

What does Retry send again?

The last prompt of the version you are viewing, unchanged, as a new version. Retry appears only on that version's last answer while nothing is running, and it never restores files.

How do I get back to an earlier version?

Point to the message that has several versions and use the ‹ n/m › switcher; Version 2 of 3 means you are on the second of three. You can also open the conversation map and click a message to open the version that shows it.

Why can't I edit or switch versions while Oda is answering?

A new version cannot be cut while a turn is running. Edit, Rewind to here and Retry are hidden, the switcher's tooltip reads Stop the running reply first, and a request that still arrives is refused with stop the running turn before branching. Stop the reply, or wait for it to finish.

What does The new version could not be created mean?

Oda could not create the new version from your edit or rewind, so it kept the editor or the dialog open instead of moving you on. The text after the colon names the reason; read it and try again, or close the editor or dialog.

Why did my background tasks stop when I made a version?

Creating a version stops the background subagents, jobs and reminders of the version you were on. Reminders do not come back when you switch back to it. Memory, skills and scheduled tasks are not rewound.

Can a helper chat Oda started have its own versions?

No. Versions belong to the chat you work in, and a helper chat cannot be branched (subagent Sessions cannot be branched).

Do my versions survive if I close and reopen Oda?

Yes. Oda records each version with the chat's stored record, so the chat comes back with its versions and the switcher works as before.

Is a version the same as branching a chat into a new conversation?

No. A version is another path inside this chat. Branch into a new conversation, among the actions on a message, makes a separate chat; see Actions on a message.