Some work is easier on the page itself. The side panel of a chat has a Browser that you and Oda share: Oda opens and reads pages there, and you can watch, take over, and point it at the parts of a page that matter. The browser is available in the DataMind Oda desktop app and the VS Code extension.
In the VS Code extension the browser opens in the editor area beside your code, and element picking is not offered there.
The browser starts with Enter an HTTP(S) address to start browsing, and reads Opening… while a page loads.
localhost work, so you can open tools that run on your computer.http:/ are accepted.If a page does not open, the browser shows The page could not load; reload or open it in the system browser. It may also add a plain reason such as Page load failed (-105): DNS failure. The notice stays until the next load; use Reload to try again.
The first time Oda reads or acts on a site in a chat, a Browser dialog asks Allow Oda to read and act on <site>? with the note:
Oda will see the content of
<site>pages in this chat's browser and can click and type there. It never types passwords or payment details.
Your options:
<site> (For every chat in this workspace; revocable later.)Oda asks once per site in each chat. Local addresses such as localhost need no approval, and a chat in Full access skips the question (see Workspaces, files and permissions for the access modes).
Your company's browser rules are checked before this question and always win. If your company blocks a site, no answer you give can change that, and Oda does not retry the site. A blocked page shows This site is blocked by your organization’s browser rules.
While Oda drives the page, an overlay with Oda's cursor shows where Oda is and the pill reads Oda is using the browser. The page is still yours: press Stop to take the tab, and the pill changes to You have control. Press Hand back when you are done, and Oda carries on.
If the page navigates on its own, the toolbar can lose the address: a URL changed chip appears and the note at the bottom reads The page navigated; this carrier cannot read its new URL. Back, Forward and Open in system browser stay unavailable until the tab loads a page again.
To send Oda a part of the page, use element picking.
Picking sends only the elements you chose, not the whole page, and it does not approve the site for Oda. The full detail is in Picking page elements.
If a browser tab has a saved page, it shows Previously opened with the page's title and address. Click Restore page to load it; nothing loads until you do. Closing one browser tab forgets only that tab's saved page, not the others.
No. Oda asks once per site in each chat: Allow in this chat works until the chat ends or Oda restarts, and Always allow <site> is remembered for every chat in this workspace. Local addresses such as localhost need no approval, and a chat in Full access skips the question. Your company's rules come first: if a site is blocked there, no answer can change it.
Your company's rules do not allow Oda on this site, either because the site is blocked or because your company allows only listed sites. Oda will not open it and does not retry; you can still open the site in your usual browser. If you need it for work, ask your administrator.
No. Oda never types passwords, payment details, bank account numbers or one-time codes, in any mode. When a page needs them, type them yourself in the panel and let Oda continue.
Yes. While Oda drives, the overlay shows where Oda is and the pill reads Oda is using the browser. Press Stop to take the tab; Oda waits until you press Hand back.
The page navigated on its own and the toolbar cannot read the new address, so a URL changed chip appears and the note reads The page navigated; this carrier cannot read its new URL. Back, Forward and Open in system browser come back once the tab loads a page again.
No. The browser opens HTTP and HTTPS addresses only, though local addresses such as localhost work. For files on your computer, use the side panel preview: see Preview files in Oda.
Yes. It has its own storage, separate from your usual browser. Sign-ins you make there last while DataMind Oda is open, and chats that work in the same workspace folder share them.
No. Browser tabs belong to the chat, and Oda opens and uses them only in the chat on your screen.
Sandbox restrictions are on by default, and the setting applies to one tab. Disable sandbox restrictions lifts them for the open page, and the browser shows this warning:
Sandbox restrictions are disabled; the page can navigate the top-level app and use downloads, modal dialogs, and input locks.
Restore sandbox restrictions turns them back on.
In the DataMind Oda desktop app and the VS Code extension. In the extension it opens in the editor area beside your code, and element picking is not offered there. Outside those two apps it is not available, and Oda reports The Oda browser is only available in the DataMind Oda desktop app and VS Code extension.