Files

Files is the default file-browsing view in Project Navigator. It shows the current folder's immediate subfolders and supported files. A selection in the folder tree activates the pinned Files tab, so other working tabs keep their state.

List and Grid Modes

List mode is the default. Each compact row shows the file icon, name, type, size, modified date, and an Open action.

Grid mode shows cards. Small, medium, and large sizes are available from the toolbar. Image cards load thumbnail previews in the background. Medium and large cards include direct Open and Delete actions; the context menu is available at every size.

ThinkForge remembers the selected display mode and grid size while the page is in use.

Subfolders appear before files. Double-click a subfolder to enter it. The breadcrumb begins with the active project name and lets you return to any ancestor folder.

A Back control appears to the left of the breadcrumb. It returns to the previously viewed Files location, including physical folders, system folders, and tag results. Rebuilding the Files surface starts a new history while restoring the tab's last physical folder.

Subfolders are sorted alphabetically. Files are sorted by last write time, newest first. There is no sort selector in the current beta.

Project discovery skips dot-prefixed directories and the common generated directories bin, obj, and node_modules. Overview applies an additional top-level exclusion for dist, so do not assume every browser surface treats dist identically.

System Folders at the Project Root

At the project root, Captured appears first; the remaining physical subfolders are sorted alphabetically. The label does not change its _captured path.

At the project root, Files places six virtual system folders before the physical project folders:

Smart Clipboard
Workspaces
Pinned
Shortcuts
Recents
Tags

These rows are navigation locations, not directories on disk. Each uses the same icon as its folder-tree section. They appear in list and grid modes and show the current item count.

The System folders control at the top of the root view hides or shows all six rows. They are visible by default, and the choice is saved per project. A folder-plus action beside the control opens the New Subfolder dialog with the project root as its parent, regardless of the current folder-tree selection. Both controls are hidden after entering a physical or system folder.

Open a system folder by double-clicking it or using its right-side open control. The breadcrumb represents the virtual location, such as project name › Pinned. The collections behave as follows:

Smart Clipboard lists the global clipboard stack. Opening an entry places it back on the system clipboard.
Workspaces lists saved project workspaces. Opening one changes the center area to the Workspace view.
Pinned lists pinned documents, folders, and tags. Opening an entry follows its stored target.
Shortcuts lists the global shortcut registry. Document, tag, workspace, and automation targets use their corresponding navigation action. Folder targets navigate when they belong to the active project; use the folder tree for a cross-project folder shortcut.
Recents lists up to 20 documents from the active project, newest access first. It reflects the same recent-document history other surfaces use.
Tags lists your tags with document counts. Opening a tag produces a third breadcrumb segment and shows its matching documents.

System rows can be selected, but they are not file drag sources. The folder tree's Trash section has no matching system-folder row in Files.

System-Folder Drop Actions

Some virtual rows are metadata drop targets. During an accepted drag, the row receives an accent border and reports either copy or link semantics. These operations never move or copy the source project file.

Drop project files or folders on Pinned to add project-scoped pins.
Drop project files or folders on Shortcuts to create global shortcuts that point back to the active project's item.
Drop files, folders, or text on Smart Clipboard to capture them. Smart Clipboard also accepts file and text drags from outside ThinkForge.
Open Workspaces, then drop project files on a specific workspace row to attach references to that workspace. This does not copy the file into a workspace import folder.
Open Tags, then drop indexed project files on a specific tag row to apply it. Folders and unindexed files are rejected.
Recents is navigation-only and rejects drops.

Pinned, Shortcuts, Workspaces, and Tags deliberately reject payloads dragged in from outside ThinkForge, so project metadata cannot silently point outside the active project. Duplicate pins, shortcuts, workspace references, and tags are skipped. Physical-folder drop behavior is unchanged.

Tag Filtering

Selecting a tag in the folder tree or opening one from the Tags system folder switches Files from filesystem browsing to indexed results for that tag. The breadcrumb reads project name › Tags › tag name, so Tags, the project root, and previous locations remain directly reachable.

When Files is active, enter a query in Search project files... and press Enter. ThinkForge runs a hybrid search, groups matching chunks by document, ranks each document by its strongest match, and shows up to 20 result documents in the center area.

Search results replace the current file listing until you press Escape or clear the search box. This toolbar search is separate from the Search section inside the folder tree. Search-result files can also be dragged out to other applications or dropped onto a Mind Map: the map background adds a generation source, while a node adds an attachment. The project file is not moved or copied.

Selection and Opening

Click a document to select it and update the info panel.
Hold Ctrl to add or remove individual items from a multi-selection.
Hold Shift to select a range.
Double-click a document, select Open, or use its context menu to open it in its editor.
Drag a selected item to a supported destination. If the dragged item belongs to a multi-selection, the selected group is carried together.

Markdown and other rich-text formats open in the rich editor; code and text formats open in the code editor; images, PDFs, tables, and video use their dedicated viewers.

Context Menus and Deletion

Files uses the folder tree's shared command set for right-click actions. Available actions depend on the item and can include Open, Pin, Shortcut, Add to Workspace, Reveal in Explorer, Copy, Copy Content, Copy Path, Rename, Delete, Copy or Move to Project, and Run Tool.

Deleted project items are moved under the project's internal .fire/trash area, which is capped at 50 entries. Use the folder tree's Trash section to restore an item, delete it permanently, or empty the trash. Restore does not overwrite an item already at the original location. Entries beyond the 50-item cap are removed permanently, so keep an external backup for important projects.

Document Focus

Some document selections open a focused document presentation in the center area. It shows file metadata, the path, rendered document content, an Open action, and Copy document link. The copied target uses the document's existing ID and continues to resolve after a rename or move.

Links in the rendered Markdown are interactive. A link to another indexed project document replaces the focused presentation with that document, while a #heading link scrolls within the presentation. Relative local links resolve from the source document and then the project root. Web and email links open through Windows. Use the back control to return to the folder listing.

Markdown tables render as bordered grids. Columns share the available width and cell text wraps, so wide tables remain inside the reader. Header rows are shaded and emphasized, and merged cells retain their spans.

See Document Linking for link creation, supported targets, and table-of-contents behavior.

Relationship to Other Views

Changing to Overview, Workspace, Insights, or Clusters replaces the center area but retains the current tab's folder-tree state. Returning to Files restores the tab's browsing context.