Every chat works in a folder on your computer, and Oda calls that folder a workspace. When a chat needs one, or when you add a workspace, Oda opens a folder chooser so you can pick it. This page covers the chooser itself; Add, rename or delete a workspace covers the workspace list, and Workspaces, files and permissions covers what Oda may do inside the folder.
The in-app dialog is a small folder browser of its own. It always opens at the home folder of the computer Oda runs on.
New folder in "<name>" for the folder it will create in; type the name and choose Create.If a folder takes a moment to list, a small Loading… pill appears in the corner. If something fails, the message stays inside the dialog.
On first use, Oda prepares a Default workspace so a new chat has a folder to work in right away. It lives in your Documents folder, at DataMind Oda/, and its title is kept separately from the folder name, so renaming one does not rename the other. If Oda cannot create that folder, it shows an alert and opens the folder chooser so you can pick one yourself.
Oda decides when it starts. On your own computer it uses the operating system's folder dialog; in a browser or over a remote connection it uses the in-app Select Workspace Directory dialog. On Linux the system dialog also needs a graphical session and a chooser tool (zenity or kdialog); without one, Oda uses the in-app dialog. The choice is not remade for each pick: the same chooser serves every pick until Oda restarts.
Oda decides once, when it starts, judging from how it was launched, and it cannot always tell where you really are. A launch that looks local but is actually reached from somewhere else can put the system dialog on the computer that runs Oda, and that dialog must be answered there. If the dialog opens where you are not, reopen Oda from the computer you are sitting at and try again.
Yes. The dialog can browse the whole computer; it is not limited to a preset area. Walk through folders with the trail, or type a path. It lists folders only, and it works on one folder tree at a time.
Oda treats folders whose names start with a dot as hidden, and the dialog leaves them out until you switch on Show hidden files. The switch starts off each time the dialog opens, and while you type a path that starts with a dot, matching hidden folders are revealed too. On Windows, the folder's hidden attribute is not used; the dot rule counts on every platform.
Yes. Choose Edit path; the field opens with the current folder's path. As you type, the text filters the folder list. Press Enter to go to the folder you typed, and Escape or clicking away puts the path back. A step like . works, and a path that starts with a dot also finds hidden folders. While a typed path is still a draft, Open and New folder stay disabled: press Enter first, or clear the text.
Choose New folder; a small dialog opens over the picker, titled New folder in "<name>" for the folder you are viewing. Type the name in Folder name and choose Create. The name must be a single plain name: a blank name is refused, and so are names with slashes and the names . and .. One folder is created inside the folder you are viewing, and it cannot make several levels at once. If the name already exists, the dialog refuses it and names the existing folder. The picker then shows the created folder selected.
That note appears when a folder holds more folders than one listing can show (1,000 at a time by default): Too many folders to list; only the beginning is shown. The list keeps the first names in order and skips the rest, and hidden folders count toward the limit. The folders are still there; type or filter for the one you want, or step into folders to reach the rest.
Nothing is picked and nothing changes. Closing the chooser is a cancellation, not a failure, so no error appears, and the cancelled pick leaves nothing behind. Open the chooser again when you are ready.
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.
On first use, Oda prepares a Default workspace for you. Its folder lives in your Documents folder, at DataMind Oda/, and its title is kept separately from the folder name, so renaming one does not rename the other. You can add your own workspaces whenever you like; Add, rename or delete a workspace covers that.
Oda shows an alert that the default workspace could not be created and opens the folder chooser, so you can pick a folder yourself. Nothing else changes, and you can also open the chooser at any time from the workspace picker.