Activity rows and actions

While DataMind Oda works, the Activity tab in the side panel lists the work running beside the chat, one row per piece of work. This page takes one row apart, so you can read it and act on that piece of work; the panel itself, with its bands and the pill in the chat header, is described in Activity.

What one row shows

• A shape at the start of the row tells you the state at a glance. Each state has its own shape, so the state still reads without colour.
• The title says what the work is.
• The line under the title carries the facts: the kind of work first (Agent, Teammate, Workflow, Ralph, Process or Scheduled), then what the row waits on you for, if anything, then the work's own notes, such as a token count or an exit code, then the time.
• While the work runs, the time counts up in minutes and seconds, and it keeps the total when the work ends. A queued row, or one that ended without a recorded finish, shows no time.
• When the work counts against a real total, a thin bar along the bottom edge shows how far it has come. Oda never estimates one: a row without a real total shows no bar.
• While a stop settles, the row reads Stopping….
• Most rows keep their buttons out of the way: point at the row, or move focus to it, and they appear. On a touch screen they are always shown.

Open the work behind a row

• Choose Open on the row, or press a row that has nothing to expand: the work opens beside the conversation.
• Hold Ctrl (on macOS, Command) as you open a row, and it opens in the centre column instead.
• When Activity is shown as a popover, every open goes to the centre, and the popover closes as the work opens.
• A row with no open and nothing to expand stays as it is.

Expand a row into its details and members

• Press a row that has details or member lines to expand it, and press it again to fold it. Where the row shows its buttons, a chevron does the same.
• The details are the work's own view of itself, from the part of Oda that runs it.
• The member lines sit under a run that groups other work, such as a workflow or a Ralph loop. They are the agents inside that run; each member is a single line with its own shape, title, time and Open.
• Such work is listed once, under its run, and never again as a row of its own.

Stop one row's work

• A running row offers Stop. One press stops that row's own work, and Oda asks no confirmation.
• When stopping a row ends the turn it belongs to rather than the row alone, the button is named Stops the current turn.
• Each stop stays on its row. To stop every running background row at once, use Stop all, described in Activity.

Steer a running agent

• While an agent is working, its row offers Steer: your own words go to that agent and interrupt the turn it is on.
• Choose Steer, or press S with the row focused, and a field opens ready to type. Enter sends your message; Escape closes the field without sending.
• Oda reads the physical key, so S keeps working on other keyboard layouts. It is ignored while you are typing into a field or composing text.
• A teammate row has no Steer or Stop of its own. To interrupt or redirect a teammate, work from its conversation, as described in The Team panel in Activity.

Review what waits on you

• A row that waits on you shows Review, kept visible in place of its other buttons. Review opens the thing that needs you: an approval, a question or a plan review.
• When that thing is a question, you answer it in the message box. Answering Oda's questions covers the question set and how your answers are kept.
• A failed agent, workflow or Ralph loop also shows Review until you open or expand it, and returns if it fails again later.
• A failed command is different: its exit status is part of the work's own result, and a non-zero exit is routine, so it does not wait for review.

What a settled row reads

• When work ends, its row keeps a final shape. Oda reads the ending out with the row as hidden text for screen readers: Done, Failed or Stopped, and a settled row that opens rather than expands carries its ending in its button's name too.
• The row opens or expands just as it did while it ran, and keeps its kind, title, total time and notes.
• Settled rows gather in the finished list of the panel.

Questions, answered

How do I open a row's work in the centre column?

Hold Ctrl (on macOS, Command) as you open the row, and the work opens in the centre column instead of beside the conversation. When Activity is shown as a popover, every open goes to the centre anyway.

Why does pressing a row expand it instead of opening it?

A row with details or members of its own expands when you press it, and folds on the next press. When you want the work behind such a row, use its Open control; a row with nothing to expand opens straight from a press.

How do I stop one piece of work?

Point at the row, or move focus to it, and choose Stop. One press stops that row's own work, and Oda asks no confirmation. To stop every running background row at once, use Stop all; see Activity.

What does it mean when stopping a row ends the turn?

That row's stop reaches beyond the row: it ends the turn the work belongs to, so the stop control is named Stops the current turn instead of naming the row. To stop the turn from the chat instead, use Stop in the message box; see Stopping Oda and queued messages.

How do I steer a running agent?

Choose Steer on the agent's row, or press S with the row focused, and type into the field that opens. Enter sends your message to that agent, interrupting the turn it is on; Escape closes the field without sending. The shortcut uses the physical key, so it keeps working on other keyboard layouts; it does nothing while you are typing into a field or composing text.

Why does a failed command not wait for me?

A failed agent, workflow or Ralph loop waits with Review until you open or expand it, and comes back if it fails again later. A failed command is different: its exit status is part of the work's own result, and a non-zero exit is routine, so it does not wait for review.

Why does a row show no time or no bar?

The time needs a start and, when the work ends, a recorded finish: a queued row shows none, and neither does a settled row without a finish time. The bar needs a real total to count against; Oda does not estimate one, so a row whose size is unknown shows no bar.

What do Done, Failed and Stopped mean on a row?

They are the endings Oda reads out with a settled row as hidden text for screen readers: Done for work that finished, Failed for work that ended with a failure, and Stopped for work that was stopped. Open or expand the row to see its result.

Why does one row sit under another?

That row is a member of the run above it, such as an agent inside a workflow or a Ralph loop. Oda lists each piece of work once, under the run that started it, so it never appears again as a row of its own.