The Oda window, sidebar and panels

DataMind Oda shows everything in one window built from three columns: the sidebar with your chats and workspaces, the conversation, and the side panel that holds the things a chat opens beside it. This page covers the window itself: how the columns fold and give way, what a narrow window does to the layout, and the window's title, menus and keyboard moves. Chats and workspaces in the sidebar covers the lists, The chat screen covers the conversation's frame, and The side panel covers the panel's tabs and views.

One window, three columns

• The sidebar sits on the left, the conversation fills the middle, and the side panel opens on the right when something needs it.
• Oda keeps one window on this computer: opening DataMind Oda again brings the window you have to the front instead of starting a second one. If you had closed it, it opens again.
• When a column opens or closes, it slides into place. If your system asks for reduced motion, Oda skips the animation and the column simply appears.

Resize the sidebar

1. Point at the edge between the sidebar and the conversation: a thin line marks the handle.
2. Drag the handle to make the sidebar wider or narrower; the edge follows your pointer.

Oda does not keep the width you set: after a restart or a reload, the sidebar uses its standard width again. To fold it away and bring it back, use the sidebar's collapse control; Chats and workspaces in the sidebar covers it.

Work in a narrow window

• When the window gets narrow, the sidebar folds on its own so the conversation keeps its room. Use the sidebar's collapse control to bring it back, and widen the window to give every column its place again.
• While the window is narrow, opening the side panel folds a sidebar you had opened back out of the way. If the panel cannot sit beside the chat at all, it covers the chat instead of squeezing it; The side panel covers where it goes.
• Widen the window again and the columns return to the way you left them.
• At its narrowest, the window can no longer protect the conversation: it may end up narrower than Oda would like.

The window title

• The title names the open chat: the chat's name, followed by the app's name. With no chat open, it shows the app's name alone.
• A local development build shows DataMind Local Build in place of the app's name.

The app menu

• On macOS the menu bar carries the application commands: About DataMind Oda, Check for Updates…, Hide DataMind Oda, Hide Others, Show All and Quit DataMind Oda. Update DataMind Oda covers the update flow.
• On Windows there is no menu bar: the version and the manual update check live in Settings > About (About, version and updates).
• Right-click inside a text box for Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All; right-click a selection to copy it.

Move around the window

• F6 moves the keyboard focus forward through the window's regions, and Shift F6 moves it backward. The regions are the sidebar, the chat's header, the conversation, the message box and Activity.
• The move wraps around at both ends, and regions that are not on screen are skipped.
• The window shortcuts follow the physical key, so a keyboard layout that types a different character on that key keeps them working.
• They work while you are typing in the message box, and they stand aside inside a terminal. Keyboard shortcuts lists every shortcut and where it applies.

Questions, answered

How do I resize the sidebar?

Point at the edge between the sidebar and the conversation; a thin line marks the handle. Drag it and the edge follows your pointer. Oda does not keep the width you set: after a restart or a reload, the sidebar uses its standard width again.

Why did the sidebar shrink by itself?

The window became narrow, so Oda folded the sidebar to keep the conversation its room. Widen the window, or use the sidebar's collapse control, to bring it back; Chats and workspaces in the sidebar covers it.

Why did the side panel fold my sidebar?

On a narrow window, Oda makes room for the panel first: opening it folds a sidebar you had opened back out of the way. Widen the window again and the sidebar returns to the way you left it.

Does Oda remember how wide I made the side panel?

Yes, in this browser: the side panel keeps the width you drag it to between visits, even after a reload. The sidebar is different: its width is not saved. See The side panel.

Why does the sidebar cover the chat inside VS Code?

When Oda runs inside an app that brings its own navigation, such as the VS Code extension, the sidebar has no column of its own. It opens over the conversation as a drawer, and it closes when you press Escape, click outside it, or open something else. Oda in VS Code covers that frame.

Do the window shortcuts work with a different keyboard layout?

Yes. They follow the physical key rather than the character it types, so a keyboard layout that types something else on that key keeps them working. They apply anywhere in the app except inside a terminal; Keyboard shortcuts has the full list.

What does the window title show?

The open chat's name, followed by the app's name. With no chat open, it shows the app's name alone; a local development build shows DataMind Local Build.

Why is there no menu bar on Windows?

On Windows there is no application menu. The version and the manual update check live in Settings > About (About, version and updates); on macOS the menu bar carries the same commands, from About DataMind Oda to Quit DataMind Oda.

What is in the right-click menu?

Inside a text box: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All. On selected text elsewhere, Copy.

I started Oda again and got one window. Where is the second one?

There is none: Oda keeps a single window on this computer. Starting it again brings the window you already have to the front, and starts it fresh only if you had closed it.