Choose a workspace folder

Every workspace is a folder on your computer, and every chat works inside one. When a workspace needs its folder, Oda opens a folder chooser and you pick it: your operating system's folder dialog on the computer that runs Oda, or the in-app Select Workspace Directory dialog when a system dialog cannot be used. This page covers the picking itself and the folder Oda prepares for you on first use. Add, rename or delete a workspace covers the workspace list and what Oda may do inside the folder, Open files and folders in other apps covers handing the picked folder to your own tools, and Your first task walks through the first run.

Pick a folder for a workspace

1. Open the chooser: choose Add workspace in the sidebar, or use the folder button near the message box on a new chat. That button shows the chat's folder, or Choose workspace while the chat has none. Both open the same chooser.
2. Pick the folder: in the system dialog, select the folder and confirm it; in the in-app dialog, browse to the folder and choose Open.
3. The folder you confirm becomes the workspace's folder, and the chat works in it from then on.

Closing the chooser without confirming changes nothing: a cancelled pick is not an error, and you can open the chooser again at any time.

Change the folder of a new chat

A blank chat can still switch folders before its first message: use the folder button near the message box and pick another folder, and the chat moves there. If the switch fails, the button returns to the previous folder. To move a chat that has already started, use the sidebar; Add, rename or delete a workspace covers it.

Inside the Select Workspace Directory dialog

The in-app dialog is a small folder browser of its own, shown when a system dialog cannot be used. It opens at the home folder of the computer that runs Oda every time, can browse the whole computer, and works one folder tree at a time.

• The trail at the top shows the folders you walked through, starting at Home. Every crumb jumps back to that folder.
• Folders are listed in columns: choosing one opens it and shows what is inside beside it, so you can move from folder to folder.
• Edit path turns the trail into a path field that opens with the current folder's path. While you type, the text filters the folder list; press Enter to go to the folder you typed, and Escape or clicking away puts the trail back. A step like .. works. A typed path opens with the folder above it beside it when that can be listed too, or on its own. While a typed path is still a draft, Open and New folder stay disabled: press Enter first, or clear the text.
• Folders whose names start with a dot are treated as hidden. The Show hidden files switch in the footer reveals them; it starts off each time the dialog opens, and the dot rule is the same on every platform. While you type a path that starts with a dot, matching hidden folders are shown too.
• New folder creates one folder inside the folder you are viewing; the questions below cover the name rules.
• Open takes the folder you selected, or the one you are viewing when nothing is selected; Cancel closes the dialog without picking.
• If a folder takes a moment to list, a small Loading… pill appears. If something fails, the message stays inside the dialog.
• A folder that holds more folders than one listing carries (1,000 at a time by default) is listed by its first names in order and says Too many folders to list; only the beginning is shown.

The dialog lists folders only. It lists, steps into and creates folders: it has no search, no rename and no delete, and it cannot select several folders at once.

How Oda chooses the folder dialog

• Oda settles this when it starts, from how it was launched, and keeps the choice until it restarts. It is not a setting you can change.
• At the computer that runs Oda, your operating system's folder dialog is used. On Linux that dialog needs a graphical session and a chooser tool such as zenity or kdialog; without one, Oda uses the in-app dialog.
• In a browser or over a remote session, Oda uses the in-app Select Workspace Directory dialog, which works everywhere.
• The same chooser serves every pick. If it cannot be used, Oda shows the failure and you can try again; Oda does not quietly move to the other dialog until it restarts.
• When a setup cannot offer any folder chooser, the folder step is not shown at all, and no dialog opens.

The Default workspace Oda prepares on first use

On first use, when you have no workspaces and no chats yet, Oda prepares a Default workspace so your first chat has a folder to work in right away.

• The folder is created inside your Documents folder, at DataMind Oda/Default workspace. Its title in Oda is kept separately from the folder name, so renaming one does not rename the other.
• Oda looks for your Documents folder the way your system reports it: on Windows it uses the folder Windows itself uses, including a redirected one; on macOS it asks the system; on Linux it reads your user directories setting. Looking for the folder creates nothing, and if the system reports no usable Documents folder, Oda does not guess.
• The lookup has a time limit (10 seconds by default), and other workspace changes wait while it runs.
• In a managed setup, an administrator can point Oda at a specific Documents folder instead of the system one. The value must be a full path; a partial one is refused as Documents directory must be fully qualified: '<directory>'.
• The folder name must be one plain folder name. Oda refuses a name that is blank, starts or ends with a space, ends in a dot, or contains a slash, a backslash, a colon or a control character; a refused name reads default Workspace requires a directory name and non-blank title.
• It is prepared on first use only: an existing default folder and workspace are reused as they are, and once you remove the Default workspace, Oda does not create it again.
• If the folder cannot be prepared, a notice reads Unable to create default workspace. Use Choose workspace to select a folder. Choose Choose workspace and pick a folder yourself; Oda tries again the next time it starts.

Apart from the Default workspace, Oda creates a folder only when you ask for one while picking, with New folder.

What the chooser shares with Oda

The chooser works with folder names and paths only. It returns the path of the folder you pick, never reads the contents of your files, and nothing from it is sent in a model request.

When picking fails

• A system folder dialog can fail to open or to finish. Oda reports the reason and lets you try again.
• On Linux, when the chooser tool cannot be found, the reason reads no supported native directory picker found (install zenity or kdialog).
• When a system dialog is stopped from Oda's side, the reason reads native directory picker aborted, and nothing is picked. Open the chooser again and pick the folder.
• When a folder you are browsing cannot be read, Oda reports it and nothing else changes. Choose another folder, or check that the folder still exists and that your account can open it.
• When a new folder cannot be created, for example because your account may not add one there, Oda reports it and nothing is created. Try another name, or create the folder somewhere else and pick it from there.
• Closing a dialog yourself is never an error: a cancelled pick changes nothing.

Questions, answered

Which folder dialog will Oda show me?

Oda settles it when it starts and keeps it until a restart: at the computer that runs Oda, your operating system's folder dialog; in a browser or over a remote session, the in-app Select Workspace Directory dialog. On Linux the system dialog also needs a graphical session and a chooser tool such as zenity or kdialog; without one, the in-app dialog is used. The choice is not remade for each pick, and it is not a setting you can change.

Why did the dialog open on a different computer?

Oda judges from how it was launched, and it cannot always tell where you really are. A connection that looks local can put the system folder dialog on the computer that runs Oda, and that dialog must be answered there. If it opens where you are not, reopen Oda from the computer you are sitting at and try again.

Can I reach any folder on the computer?

Yes. The dialog can browse the whole computer, not just a preset area, and it works one folder tree at a time. On Windows it does not list your drives: type a drive's path, such as D:\, with Edit path to reach folders on it.

Can I type the folder path instead of clicking?

Yes. Choose Edit path; the field opens with the current folder's path, and the text you type filters the folder list. Press Enter to go to the folder you typed, and Escape or clicking away puts the trail back. A step like .. works. While the typed path is still a draft, Open and New folder stay disabled until you press Enter or clear the text.

Why are folders starting with a dot hidden?

Oda treats a folder whose name starts with a dot as hidden, and the dialog leaves those out until you switch on Show hidden files. The switch starts off each time the dialog opens, and typing a path that starts with a dot shows matching hidden folders too. On Windows the folder's own hidden setting is not used; the dot rule counts on every platform.

How do I make a new folder from the dialog?

Choose New folder. A small dialog opens, titled New folder in "<name>" for the folder that will hold the new one; type the name in Folder name and choose Create. The name must be a single plain name: a blank name, a name with a path separator, and the names . and .. are refused ("<name>" is not a single path segment). One folder is created inside the folder you are viewing, and several levels cannot be created at once. A name that is already taken is refused too; the message names the existing folder and ends with already exists, and nothing is created. The dialog then selects the folder it created.

Can I rename or delete folders from the dialog?

No. The in-app dialog only lists folders, steps into them and creates a new one. It has no rename, delete or search, and it cannot select several folders at once. Use the usual tools on your computer for renaming and deleting.

Why does the folder listing cut off?

A folder that holds more folders than one listing carries (1,000 at a time by default) is listed by the first names in order, and the rest are left out; the dialog says Too many folders to list; only the beginning is shown. Hidden folders count toward that limit. The other folders are still there: step into a folder or type a path to reach the one you want.

Where does the Default workspace folder live?

Inside your Documents folder, at DataMind Oda/Default workspace. Its title in Oda (Default workspace) is kept separately from the folder name, so renaming the folder does not rename the workspace, and renaming the workspace does not rename the folder. You can add your own workspaces whenever you like.

What if Oda cannot create the Default workspace?

A notice reads Unable to create default workspace. Use Choose workspace to select a folder. Choose Choose workspace and pick a folder yourself. This also happens when your system reports no usable Documents folder: Oda does not guess another place. While you still have no workspaces and no chats, Oda tries again the next time it starts.

Will the Default workspace come back if I remove it?

No. Oda prepares it on first use only, and once you remove it, later starts leave it absent, with no error shown. Choose Choose workspace when a chat needs a folder.

What does no supported native directory picker found (install zenity or kdialog) mean?

The system folder dialog on Linux needs the tool zenity or kdialog, and Oda could not find either when opening the dialog. Install one of them and try again. When Oda starts on Linux without such a tool, it serves the in-app dialog instead.