Changing your workspace by asking

Cobb can change how your workspace is set up, not only what is in it. Ask the way you would ask a person. Each change is a proposal you confirm, undoable like any other, and when one of his actions covers the ask he runs it rather than sending you to the screen.

What to ask for

• A field: "rename the Colour field on parts to Shade", "make Purchase Date required", "remove Shelf Life from parts". Name the field the way it reads on the form.

• A dropdown's choices: "add Aran to the yarn weight choices", "remove Coffee from the category choices". These are commands worked out in your own words with no AI needed, and they say what they did ("Added Aran to the Yarn weight choices (DK, Worsted, Aran)").

• A built-in field: "hide the manufacturer field, I don't use it", or rename a machine's serial number. On the fields Cobblr ships, the label, whether it shows, and a dropdown's choices are yours to set.

• A set of fields: "track where my things came from" switches on Provenance (where each thing came from, when, and what it cost) across every physical thing you track, now and in future. "Turn provenance off" takes the fields away again.

• The form's layout: "put purchase date and supplier under Buying", "take supplier out of Buying", "rename the Buying heading to Purchasing".

• What a list is called: "call my parts spools" renames the label everywhere it shows (navigation, headings, buttons). Say the plural too when it is not the plain plus-s ("call a Box a Bin, several Bins").

• A category of its own: "give spices their own list" pulls one category out into a list with its own nav entry, fields and label codes. "Fold spices back into the pantry" is the exact reverse.

• A feature: "turn on purchases", "I want to track maintenance", "turn off shipments, I don't use it".

• The workspace: "call this workspace The Garage" (owner only), "this is too cluttered, simplify it" or "turn simple mode off".

• Navigation: "put Spices and Tea under Kitchen" creates the heading and moves those sections under it. "Take Tea back out" puts it at the top level again.

• Records, from one list to another: "move all the tea from this page into the Tea section", "put all my spices in the Spices list". Say "section" or "list" when you mean one, because "put the drill in the garage bin" means a container. It matches whole words, so tea moves your Teas, Tea bags and Tea & Infusions and leaves the steamer baskets alone. Records keep their ids, so photos, history and printed labels stay with them.

• The rest of a page, into the right sections: "sort the rest of inventory into the right sections", "file everything on this page into the correct lists". Each record goes to the section its category names, a category with two or more records and no section gets one, and what is left is listed for you to place.

Moving things needs no AI

Moving and sorting are worked out in code from the page you are on, so they work with no AI connected, and you see the exact list before anything moves.

• One card, one section per destination, each with its own Do this button and Do all at the bottom. A part you run ticks off in place with its own Undo, a part that fails says why and keeps its button, and a card you leave half done is still half done after a reload.
• A record goes to the list whose own vocabulary names it, the way the scanner files it: with a Spice Rack installed, "Garlic Seasoning Blend" goes to Spices though the word is not in its name, one that fits two lists goes to the more specific, and the line says why.
• What the plan could not place is its own block, "Left in Inventory, could not tell (6)", every record on its own line with its reason, and what pressing Enter would do about them. Tab (or Do it) runs exactly what the card lists. Enter also hands the leftovers to Cobb for a look.
• The card after a move offers to open the list they went to.
• A confirm card for a bulk change says exactly what it is about to do and lists every record it will touch, folded past five with "and N more". A move names each record and the list it leaves and joins.
• "From this page" means this page. A move asked for from a page moves only what is on it and says how many more it found elsewhere and left alone. When the page holds none of them, it says so and offers the ones it did find, each with its list, rather than quietly moving everything.

Fields

• He finds a field by the label you see on the form, and asks which you meant if two are close.
• A class-wide field is refused, with a note about where it lives. A field that applies to a whole class of records (everything physical, say) is changed on the Fields screen, because a change meant for one list would land on all of them.
• Removing a field keeps what was recorded. It comes off forms and lists, and adding a field with the same name back brings those values into view again.
• A field's type, and the data stored behind it, are the two things that still belong on the Fields screen.

Why a set is not three hand-made fields, and how grouping behaves

Asking for a set is not the same as building three fields by hand with those names. The set's fields carry the roles that let a scanned receipt fill them in, and hand-made ones look identical on the form and stay empty. Turning a set off keeps anything already recorded, so switching it back on brings the values into view.

For grouping, the order you name the fields is the order they get under the heading, and the heading is created if it does not exist yet. Taking fields out puts them back in the ungrouped list, and a heading with nothing left under it is removed rather than left as an empty line. Class-wide fields are not grouped this way either, since their place on the form belongs to the class rather than to one kind.

Lists and features

• Renaming a list is the label only. Nothing recorded moves, no id changes, and renaming it back is the whole undo.
• Giving a category its own list keeps every record's id, history and printed labels, so the code on the bin still resolves. Only which list they are in changes. Folding it back stamps everything with the category you name as it goes.
• Deleting a whole list is still yours to do on the screen, because folding it back is the version that keeps your records and deleting is the version that does not.
• Turning a feature on is safe to repeat. One already on is left alone and he says so.
• Turning a feature off keeps its records. Its screens leave your navigation, and switching it back on brings the records back. The fields and automations that came with the feature are cleared out, though, so anything you tuned there is set up again from scratch.
• He refuses to turn off a feature another one depends on, and names it.

The workspace and its navigation

• Renaming the workspace changes the name only, so links, bookmarks and printed labels keep working.
• Simple mode puts the advanced screens away and switching it back shows everything again. Nothing is deleted or turned off.
• A section belongs to one heading at a time, so grouping it takes it out of any other. He matches the names to the sections you actually have. If a name matches two sections he asks which you meant, and if it matches none he says what your navigation does have.

What stays on a screen

Some decisions belong on their own screen, where you can see everything they touch. In any mode, Cobb will not invite or remove members, manage API tokens, back up or restore, change AI provider settings, compose automations, or change a field's type or the data stored behind it.

• He walks you there with the form filled in instead. Say "invite sam@example.com as an editor" and your screen moves to Members with the email and role already entered and the Send button waiting for you. Say "I want to restore a backup" and you land on Backup and restore.
• Nothing is ever submitted on your behalf. The address bar is cleaned up afterwards so a copied link never carries someone's email along, and the chat stays docked through the move.
• When one of his actions covers the ask, he runs it instead of offering to take you to the screen. Switching an automation on or off, and every field change above, are actions.