Instances

A module that supports it can exist as more than one instance, each skinned for a specific purpose. This is how a general Machines module becomes a focused 3D Printers area, a Lasers area, and a CNC area, all at the same time.

One module, several skins

Turn on a few instances of Machines and you get:

• 3D Printers, with fields like nozzle size and bed dimensions
• Lasers, with fields like wattage and work area
• CNC, with its own fields

Each instance has its own name, its own place in the nav, and its own custom fields. Underneath, they're all still machines. An instance is a skin and a set of fields over the same base module, not a separate copy of it.

Why it works this way

You get a clean, purpose-named area for each kind of thing, without duplicating the module or splitting your data model in two. And because the items share a base, a view can focus on one instance (just the printers) or, where it makes sense, cover several at once.

The words you'll meet for this

The app and these docs use a few words for an instance depending on where you are standing, and they are the same thing underneath. A tracker is an instance seen from the capture side, the thing a scan gets routed into. A category or section is an instance seen from the dashboard and Create, a named area of your workspace. A table or list is an instance seen from filing, the destination a record lands in. When a page says any of these, it means a named, skinned copy of a module, this page's subject.

Not every module can be instanced. Some only exist as one copy per workspace. The ones that support instances let you spin up as many named ones as you want.