# 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.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/brain-assemble
Section: Brain > Build and connect
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

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](#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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-duplicate-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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-put-files-on-desks).

**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](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-turn-into-desk).

## Related tasks

- [Duplicate widgets and keep copies in sync](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-duplicate-sync)
- [Create a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-create)
- [Brain: your workspace knowledge](https://plexiidesk.com/help/brain-overview)
- [Turn a conversation into a desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-turn-into-desk)