# The Home bar: ask, search and jump

> Use the bar on your Home dashboard to ask Plexii, search the web, open a web address, or type @ to jump straight to a desk, room, widget or document.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-bar
Section: Home dashboard > Your Home dashboard
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

The Home bar sits under the greeting on your Home dashboard. It is one box for four jobs: ask Plexii a question, search the web, open a web address, and jump straight to anything in your workspace by typing **@**. The same bar is on Office Home, People Home and Brain Home.



## Before you start

- **Plans.** The Home bar is on every plan.
- **Asking Plexii needs Plexii's AI.** When you are signed in it runs on PlexiDesk credits, or you can add your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help) and [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys).
- **Searching, opening web addresses and @ jumps** do not use Plexii's AI.
- **@attention** works on your Home dashboard in the Desk area, once Attention is switched on. See [Turn Attention on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

## The parts of the bar

- **The icon on the left** shows the mode: a sparkle in Ask Plexii mode, a globe in Search mode.
- **The text box.** Type here.
- **The ⌘K button** opens the command palette, the same as pressing `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows. On a narrow window it is hidden; press the keys instead. See [Search and commands](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette).
- **The Ask or Search button** sends what you typed, the same as pressing `Enter`. It is named after the current mode.
- **Under the bar** are two mode buttons, **Ask Plexii** and **Search**. In Ask Plexii mode there are example ideas beside them (Plan a wedding, Launch a product, Track job applications and Run a book club); click one to put it in the bar. In Search mode there is a search engine button instead.

## Choose a mode

Click **Ask Plexii** or **Search** under the bar. The highlighted one is the mode you are in.

- PlexiDesk remembers your choice on this computer, so the bar is still in that mode next time, on every dashboard.
- If you have already typed something, clicking a mode button also acts on it straight away: **Ask Plexii** asks Plexii, and **Search** searches the web.

## Ask Plexii

1. Check that **Ask Plexii** is highlighted under the bar.
2. Type a question or a request, such as "Plan the Q4 launch", or click one of the example ideas.
3. Press `Enter` or click **Ask**.
4. The Plexii hub opens with a new conversation and Plexii answers there. The conversation is about your workspace as a whole rather than one desk. See [Use the Plexii hub](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-hub).

Some things you type do not need Plexii, so they happen straight away, even in Ask Plexii mode:

- **A web address**, such as example.com, opens that page in PlexiDesk's built-in browser.
- **"Go to", "take me to", "open" or "show" followed by a name** takes you straight there when the name matches one of your desks, or the **Tasks**, **Calendar**, **Files** or **Vault** page. For example, "go to Q4 launch plan".
- If nothing in your workspace matches, **"go to"** and **"take me to"** search the web for the rest of what you typed.

## Search the web

1. Click **Search** under the bar. The icon changes to a globe and the button reads **Search**.
2. Type what you are looking for and press `Enter`.
3. The results open in PlexiDesk's built-in browser, full size, so you can read them without leaving PlexiDesk.

### Choose your search engine

1. In Search mode, click the search engine button beside **Search** under the bar. It shows the engine in use.
2. Click an engine in the list. A tick marks the one in use.

PlexiDesk remembers your choice. The built-in browser's own search engine button uses the same setting, so changing one changes both.

## Jump to anything with @

1. Type **@** at the start of the bar, or after a space.
2. A list opens under the bar with up to eight matches. Each row shows a name and what it is: **Desk**, **Room**, **Widget**, **Table**, **Document**, **File**, **PlexiBrain** (a knowledge entry) or **Page** (Tasks, Calendar, Files or Vault).
3. Keep typing after the @ to narrow the list. Your desks, rooms and pages match straight away; from the second letter, widgets, table rows, documents, files and knowledge entries from a full search of your workspace join in.
4. Press `↑` or `↓` to move through the list and `Enter` to go, or click a row. Press `Esc` to hide the list.

Where each kind of row takes you:

| Row | Where you land |
| --- | --- |
| Desk | The desk opens. |
| Room | The room opens. |
| Widget | Its desk opens with that widget selected. |
| Table | The desk holding that table opens. |
| Document | The document opens. |
| File | The Files page opens. |
| PlexiBrain | The knowledge entry opens in Brain. |
| Page | The Tasks, Calendar, Files or Vault page opens. |

## Capture something into Attention with @attention

On your Home dashboard in the Desk area, with Attention switched on, the bar can file a note straight into Attention, the list of everything that needs you.

1. Type **@att**. An **attention** row appears at the top of the list, marked "Capture — Tab to arm".
2. Press `Tab`, or click the row. An **@attention** tag appears at the start of the bar, and the bar asks what needs attention.
3. Type what needs your attention, for example "Send the Q4 budget to finance", and press `Enter`.
4. Attention's capture window opens with your words filled in, so you can check the item and file it. See [Capture something into Attention](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

To remove the tag without filing anything, press `Backspace` in an empty bar, or press `Esc`.

## Common questions

**Plexii does not answer my question.** Asking needs Plexii's AI. Sign in to use PlexiDesk credits, or add your own Anthropic key in Settings, then ask again. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

**I wanted to search the web, but my words went to Plexii.** In Ask Plexii mode, most things you type go to Plexii. Click **Search** under the bar, and anything you type goes to your search engine instead.

**I typed a web address to ask Plexii about it, and the page opened instead.** A web address on its own opens the page. To ask about it, add words around it, such as "What does example.com offer?".

**The @ list does not appear.** Type the @ at the start of the bar or after a space. An @ in the middle of a word, as in an email address, does not open the list.

**There is no attention row in the @ list.** Attention is switched off. Turn it on under Settings, on the **AI** tab, then try again. See [Turn Attention on or off](https://plexiidesk.com/help).

**Is the Home bar the same as the command palette?** They overlap, but each has its own strengths. The bar is quickest for asking Plexii, searching and jumping with @. The command palette, opened with the **⌘K** button, also runs commands, such as adding a widget to the desk you are on or taking a tour. See [Search and commands](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette).

## Related tasks

- [The Home dashboard](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-dashboard)
- [Search and commands](https://plexiidesk.com/help/command-palette)
- [Use the Plexii hub](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-hub)
- [Capture something into Attention](https://plexiidesk.com/help)