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Assemble a desk from across your workspace

Search widgets on every desk, tick the ones you want and the related items Brain suggests, then create a new desk holding them, synced or as copies.

All plansUpdated

Work often ends up spread over several desks: a budget table on one, meeting notes on another, a checklist on a third. Assemble a desk brings the pieces together. Search for widgets across every desk, tick the ones you want, pick up related items Brain suggests along the way, and create a new desk that holds them all. By default the widgets on the new desk stay in sync with the originals, so a change on either desk shows on both.

Before you start

  • Every plan includes Assemble a desk.
  • It gathers widgets. Search finds widgets on your desks, such as notes, tables, lists and charts. Sections and widgets pinned to a corner of the screen cannot be gathered.

Assemble a desk

  1. Open the Brain area and choose Assemble a desk. The page is headed Assemble a desk, with the line Search your workspace, gather related items, and open a new desk that holds them.
  2. Type in Search widgets across every desk. After two characters, matching widgets appear with their type and a short extract.
  3. Tick each widget you want. It moves into the tray at the bottom, which counts them, such as 3 items collected.
  4. Look under Related to what you picked. Each time you tick a widget, Brain suggests widgets related to it. Tick any you want too.
  5. Choose how the widgets come across with Keep synced across desks. See Synced or standalone.
  6. Type a name in New desk name. If you leave it empty, the desk is called Assembled desk.
  7. Click Create desk with 3 items (the number matches your tray).

The new desk opens, with the widgets laid out in a grid, three to a row.

To take a widget out of the tray before you create the desk, click the cross beside it, or untick it in the results.

Synced or standalone

Setting What the line under it says What it means
Keep synced across desks ticked Edits to these will stay in sync everywhere they appear. Each widget on the new desk is a synced copy. Change it on either desk and the other follows. This is the setting when you start.
Unticked Disconnected copies, they will not stay in sync with the originals. Each widget is an independent copy of how it is now. After that, the two go their own ways.

For more on synced copies, including how to unlink one later, see Duplicate widgets and keep copies in sync.

Tips

  • Start from the most important widget. Tick it first, then work through what Brain suggests as related.
  • Keep synced for live work. A synced budget table on a project desk and on a review desk stays one table.
  • Use standalone copies for a snapshot, such as a desk you hand to someone as a record of how things stood.

Common questions

Search shows No matching widgets. Try other words. Search looks at widgets on your desks, not documents in your Files or entries in Ask Brain.

Does assembling move the widgets? No. The originals stay where they are. The new desk gets synced or independent copies.

Can I add a document? Assemble a desk gathers widgets. To put a document on the new desk, open the desk and add it there. See Put a document, spreadsheet or deck on a desk.

Is this the same as Turn into desk? No. Turn into desk builds a desk from a conversation with Plexii. Assemble a desk gathers widgets that already exist. See Turn a conversation into a desk.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].