Workspaces are saved project contexts for a task or topic. They collect references to files, up to three goals, and attached ThinkForge tools so you can return to a stream of work without reconstructing it from memory.
The current interface labels the selector Session, while the saved object and the rest of the product call it a workspace. In this documentation, saved session and saved workspace refer to the same thing.
Workspace selection is saved per Project Navigator tab. When a tab is restored, ThinkForge validates that selection before loading it. A missing, deleted, or outdated reference falls back to Current (All Activity) and the corrected selection is saved back to the tab. Selecting Current or another saved workspace from the Session control also updates that tab's saved selection.
Current Activity versus Saved Workspaces
The Workspace view always includes Current (All Activity). Current is a protected system context built from ThinkForge's activity tracking. It can show recently edited or opened files, accessed folders, searches, and tools used.
Use the time controls to inspect Now, Today, Yesterday, This Week, Last Week, two weeks ago, or a selected day. You can filter the visible activity by tags, include recently opened files, or restrict the list to modified files.
Current also has its own goals and attached tools. When you run a tool from Current, the currently visible files and folders become its context.
A saved workspace is more deliberate. Its left side shows the workspace name, optional description, and referenced files. Its right side shows goals and attached tools.
What a Saved Workspace Contains
- Files — References to project documents, not copies. The same file can belong to more than one workspace.
- Goals — One to three short instructions or outcomes. When a workspace tool runs, the goals are included as workspace context.
- Tools — ThinkForge agents attached for quick use. Running one supplies the workspace's referenced files and goals.
- Description — Optional orientation text stored with the workspace.
Workspace activity is recorded internally, but the current Workspace panel does not present a general activity-history card for each saved workspace.
Creating a Workspace
Use the plus action in the folder tree's Workspaces section to create an empty saved workspace.
You can also use Save Session from the Current activity view. This creates a named workspace and adds up to 20 recent tracked files beginning at the selected time boundary. Review the result after saving — it is an activity-based starting point, not a frozen copy of every event in the displayed panel.
Adding and Removing Files
Files can be added from supported drag-and-drop targets and from Add to Workspace context-menu actions in Project Navigator. Cluster View can add either one document or the selected document's connected group.
Removing a file from a workspace removes only the reference. It does not delete the project file.
Goals and Tools
Use the plus action on the Goals card to add a goal. A workspace accepts at most three. Remove a goal with its row action.
Use the plus action on the Tools card to attach a ThinkForge tool. The Run action executes it immediately with the workspace context. Removing a tool from the workspace does not delete the tool itself.
Active Workspaces
A saved workspace can be made active with Make Current in its Workspace view. Despite that button label, activation does not replace the Current activity context and does not necessarily replace another workspace.
ThinkForge supports up to three active saved workspaces at once. The active set persists across restarts and can contribute context to extraction and tool workflows. The folder tree reports how many workspaces are active.
Beta limitation
The current Workspace panel does not expose a general Deactivate button, even though the underlying system supports deactivation. Deleting a saved workspace deactivates it as part of deletion. If three workspaces are already active, activating a fourth does not succeed.
Renaming and Deleting
Right-click a workspace in the folder tree to Open, Rename, Delete, or add it to Shortcuts. Deleting a workspace removes its saved context, file references, goals, tool attachments, and activity records. It does not delete the referenced project files. Project Navigator tabs that referenced the deleted workspace return to Current the next time their Workspace view loads.
What Is Not Implemented
Workspaces do not support automatic membership rules such as tag, recent, or folder expressions. Any material describing tag:, recent:, or folder: auto-population rules refers to an unimplemented design, not the beta product.
Related Surfaces
Workspaces appear in Project Navigator, Floating Navigator, and Power Strip. Power Strip can switch between Current activity and any saved workspace, with active saved workspaces listed first. Its Current view offers compact time, activity-type, and tag filters. Project Navigator remains the place for custom dates, exclusions, goals, tools, session creation, and workspace management.