# Work widget files

> Every work widget is a file: kept in Files, named for you, and on as many desks as you like. Remove it from one desk, or delete it everywhere.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/work-widget-files
Section: Work widgets > Work widget basics
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-18

Every work widget is a file, the way a document is. A table, a task list, a mind map or a sticky is kept in Files with its own file type and is named for you, however you made it. A desk is simply the place it lives: the same work widget can be on one desk, on several desks, or on none, and it opens full-pane when you click it in Files.

When the same work widget is on more than one desk, each desk holds a linked copy of the one file. A change on one desk shows on every other desk it is on, and in the file. That suits something that belongs to more than one piece of work, such as a supplier list several projects use, or a checklist you bring to every launch desk.

## Before you start

- **Plans.** Work widget files work on every plan. A work widget your plan does not include shows a lock and **Pro** in the side menu; click it to see how to upgrade. See [Upgrade to Pro or Team](https://plexiidesk.com/help/billing-upgrade).
- **No desk needed.** You can make a work widget file from anywhere. You only need a desk open to put a copy on it.
- **Your own desks.** Work widgets become files on the desks in your own workspace. A desk you share with other people, or one someone shared with you, keeps its work widgets as part of that desk. See [Desks shared with other people](#desks-shared-with-other-people) below.

## Make a work widget file

Any work widget that can be a file is saved in Files the moment you make it, whichever way you make it:

- **Click it in the side menu.** In the **Work widgets** section of the side menu, click a work widget, such as **Table** or **Sticky**. A new work widget file is made and opens full-pane, ready to use, with no desk needed. Eight common work widgets show first; the rest are under **Other work widgets** (click the heading to open it). See [The side menu](https://plexiidesk.com/help/side-menu).
- **Right-click it in the side menu** and choose **New** followed by its name, such as **New table work widget**.
- **Use the command palette.** Press `⌘` `K` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `K` on Windows and start typing, for example table. Choose **New Table work widget**. These rows appear once you type.
- **Add it to a desk in any way.** Dragging a work widget from the side menu, **Add to this desk**, the canvas right-click **Add object** menu, a quick-add key, a command palette **Add** command, **Build with AI**, a desk template, a **Duplicate** and a work widget Plexii adds for you all make a work widget file and put it on the desk. See [Add a work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/add-a-widget).
- **Import one.** Bring in a `.plexii-` file exported from PlexiiDesk. See [Export and import](#export-and-import) below.
- **Ask Plexii.** Ask for a standalone list, table, note or mind map, and Plexii proposes a work widget file for you to approve. See [Plexii and AI](#plexii-and-ai) below.

Whichever way you make it, the new file goes straight into Files, at the top level unless you made it in a folder.

### Work widgets already on your desks

The work widgets that were on your desks before 4.3.32 become files by themselves, shortly after you first open 4.3.32, once for each workspace. Nothing on your desks moves or changes. Each one keeps the name you gave it; one you never named is named from what it holds where that is possible. Work widgets that were synced copies of each other become one file, with a linked copy on each desk. The files are at the top level of Files.

Work widgets in the Trash are left as they are. If you restore one later, it becomes a file when it comes back.

### Work widgets that only work on a desk

Some work widgets describe or arrange the desk they sit on, so they never become files: **Section**, **Portal**, **Task link**, **Desk agent**, **Send to a URL**, **Receive from a URL**, **Living Doc** and **Contacts**. Clicking one of these in the side menu adds it to the desk you have open. With no desk open, a message says it only works on a desk, and its right-click menu shows **Only works on a desk**.

Work widgets that show something kept elsewhere are not work widget files either. A Document, Spreadsheet, Slides, Design or Artwork work widget shows a file that is already in Office, and a Browser, Email, Inbox, Chat, Calendar or Drive (folder) work widget shows a page, a message or a folder. Attention, File or link, Flowchart and App launcher work widgets also stay part of their desk.

## The full-pane view

![A note work widget file named Soft opening open full-pane, with Files, its name, the type Note, On 3 desks, Add to desk, Export and the bin in the header](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shots/work-widget-files.9a7a2debfa.webp)

*A work widget file opens full-pane. The header says how many desks it is on.*

A work widget file opens full-pane. Below a header, you get the same work widget you would have on a desk, with everything it can do there.

From left to right, the header shows:

- **Files**, which takes you back to Files.
- **The work widget's icon.** Drag it onto a desk to place a linked copy there (its tooltip says **Drag onto a desk to place a linked copy — edits sync both ways**).
- **The name.** Click it to rename the file, type the new name and press `Enter`. `Esc` keeps the old name.
- **The type**, such as **Table** or **Task list**.
- **On 1 desk**, **On 2 desks** and so on, when the file is on desks. Two copies on the same desk count as one desk.
- **Add to desk**, to put a linked copy on a desk you choose (below).
- **Export**, to save the file to your computer as its `.plexii-` type.
- **The bin**, which deletes the file. See [Move to Trash and restore](#move-to-trash-and-restore) below.

## Put it on desks

A work widget file can be on any number of desks. Each one holds a linked copy, and edits flow both ways: change a copy and the file and every other copy change too; change the file and every copy follows.

To place a copy:

- **From the full-pane view:** click **Add to desk**, type part of the desk's name in **Find a desk…** if the list is long, and click the desk. A message says it was added and that edits sync both ways, with **Open desk**.
- **By dragging:** drag the file from Files, or the icon from the full-pane header, onto an open desk, or onto a desk's tab in the strip above the footer. See [The open-items strip](https://plexiidesk.com/help/open-items-strip).
- **From a copy you already have:** right-click it and choose **Advanced** > **Duplicate (keep synced)** to put another copy on the same desk, or open another desk and use **Bring a synced work widget…** at the bottom of the side menu's **Work widgets** section. See [Duplicate work widgets and keep copies in sync](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-duplicate-sync).
- **From the side menu, in one step:** drag a work widget from the **Work widgets** section onto the open desk, or right-click it and choose **Add to this desk**. This makes a new work widget file and puts a linked copy on the desk.
- **From the command palette:** with a desk open, choose **Add Table work widget to desk** (or the work widget you want). For a work widget that can be a file, the row's hint ends **also saved in Files**.

A linked copy looks and works like any other work widget on the desk. When the same file is also on another desk, a small link icon shows before its name; rest the pointer on it to read, for example, **Also on 2 other desks — a change here shows there too.** A file that is on this desk only shows no icon. To open its file full-pane, right-click the copy and choose **Advanced** > **Open file**.

### Copies of a work widget

- **Duplicate (keep synced)** puts the same file on the desk again: another linked copy.
- **Duplicate (independent copy)**, and the duplicate button on the toolbar above a selection, make a new, separate work widget file. A copied table gets its own rows, so changing the copy never changes the original.
- **Unlink from synced copies** takes one copy out of the file. That copy becomes a new work widget file of its own, keeping what it holds (a table keeps a copy of its rows). The file it left, and that file's other copies, are not changed.

## Remove from a desk, or delete

![The question Remove or delete “Soft opening”? with Remove from this desk, It stays in Files and on 2 other desks, Delete work widget and Cancel](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shots/work-widget-remove-or-delete.ee592693f1.webp)

*The × asks whether you mean this desk, or the work widget everywhere.*

The **×** on a work widget's title bar asks what you mean. So do **Delete** in its right-click menu, the delete button on the toolbar above a selection (its tooltip says **Remove from this desk or delete (Delete key)**), and the `Delete` or `Backspace` key when work widgets are selected. The question names the work widget, such as **Remove or delete “Supplier · 12 rows”?**, and offers two answers:

- **Remove from this desk** takes this copy off this desk only. The work widget stays in Files, and on any other desk it is on; the answer's hint says so, such as **It stays in Files and on 2 other desks.** A message such as **Removed “Soft opening” from this desk** appears with **Undo**, or **Removed Tasks work widget from this desk** for one you have not named, and `⌘` `Z` (`Ctrl` `Z` on Windows) brings it back too.
- **Delete work widget** removes it from every desk and from Files, and moves the file to the Trash. A message says it moved to Trash and how many desks it was removed from, with **Undo**, and `⌘` `Z` (`Ctrl` `Z`) brings it back too. You can also restore it from the Trash later, which puts it back on every desk it was on.

Click **Cancel** or press `Esc` to leave it as it is.

### Several at once

Select the work widgets (hold `Shift` and click or drag, or press `⌘` `A`), then press `Delete` or `Backspace`, click the delete button on the selection toolbar, or right-click one of them and choose **Delete** followed by how many, such as **Delete 3 work widgets**. PlexiiDesk asks once for all of them, for example **Remove or delete 3 work widgets?**:

- **Remove from this desk** takes them all off this desk. A message says, for example, **Removed 3 work widgets from this desk**, and one undo brings them all back.
- **Delete 3 work widgets** deletes each of them everywhere. One message says, for example, **3 work widgets moved to Trash and removed from 2 desks**, with **Undo**.

**Cancel** keeps the selection as it was.

The `Delete` and `Backspace` keys do this only on the desk itself. They do nothing to work widgets while you are typing, while you are working inside a work widget that is not selected, inside a web page, or in focus mode.

### Work widgets that are not files

A work widget that only works on a desk, such as a Section, and one that is not a file, such as a Document or Browser work widget, has nothing to delete beyond the desk. Its **×** and the `Delete` key ask **Delete this work widget?** and take it off this desk. The message then says, for example, **Deleted “Opening shift”** or **Deleted Contacts work widget**, with **Undo**; several at once say, for example, **Deleted 2 work widgets**. A Document, Spreadsheet or Slides file stays in Office.

### When Plexii removes one

When you ask Plexii to remove a work widget, its card says which it will do. **Remove from this desk** takes the copy off the desk, and it stays in Files. **Delete everywhere**, for when you ask to delete the work widget itself, moves it to the Trash with every copy on every desk. Nothing happens until you apply the card. **Apply all** asks first, for example **Remove 2 work widgets from this desk?** or **Delete 1 work widget everywhere?**. See [Everything Plexii can create or change](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-actions-reference).

## Move to Trash and restore

To delete a work widget file from Files or from its full-pane view:

- Click the bin in the full-pane header, or right-click the file in Files and choose **Move to Trash**.
- If the file is on any desk, PlexiiDesk asks first. It says how many desks the file is on and that it will be removed from them too, and that restoring it puts it back. Click **Delete work widget** to go ahead. A file on no desk goes to the Trash straight away.

A message says the file moved to Trash, with **Undo**.

A work widget file goes to the same Trash as your Office documents, on the Documents page. To bring it back, open **Trash** there and click **Restore**. The file returns to the top level of Files, and its copies return to the desks they were on, in the same places. A copy you had already removed from a desk before you deleted the file stays removed. See [Delete and restore Office files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-trash-and-restore).

**Delete forever** in that Trash removes the file and its copies for good. It cannot be undone.

If you open a link to a file that has gone, PlexiiDesk says **This work widget file no longer exists.**, with **Go to Files**.

## Desks shared with other people

On a desk you share with named people, and on a desk someone else shared with you, work widgets stay part of that desk, as before: they are not made into files and are not converted. Their **×** asks **Delete this work widget?** and takes the work widget off the desk.

If you want one of them in your own Files, right-click it and choose **Advanced** > **Save as file**. This is offered only on a work widget that can be a file and is not one yet. It makes a work widget file in your Files and links this work widget, and any synced copies it has, to that file. A message says **Saved to Files as** and the name, with **Open**.

## Find them in Files

![Files showing All work widgets: Milk order and Opening tasks on Opening week, and Soft opening on Kitchen fit-out, Opening week and 1 more desk, with their types Sticky, Task list and Note](https://plexiidesk.com/help/shots/files-work-widgets.ae435dae2e.webp)

*Files narrowed to All work widgets. The line under each name says which desks it is on.*

Work widget files are in Files with everything else. Click the **Apps** heading in the side menu, then **Files**, or click the **Work widgets** heading in the side menu to open Files showing only your work widget files. See [Files: your folders and files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/files-overview).

- **Each has its own type and icon.** The **Type** column says **Table**, **Task list**, **Mind map**, **Sticky** and so on, rather than "Document".
- **Each says where it is.** Under its name, a work widget file says which desks it is on: **On Launch plan**, **On Launch plan and Hiring**, **On Launch plan, Hiring and 3 more desks**, or **Not on a desk**. Rest the pointer on it to see every desk, and click a desk's name to open that desk. Nothing is moved: the file stays in the folder you keep it in.
- **Show only one type.** Use the type list in the toolbar: **All types**, **Folders**, **Documents**, **Imported files**, **All work widgets**, then one entry for each kind of work widget file in the folder, such as **Tables** or **Task lists**. **Documents** leaves work widget files out. If nothing in the folder matches, Files says **Nothing of this type here.** with **Show all types**.
- **Open** one by double-clicking it. It opens full-pane.
- **Right-click** one for **Open**, **Rename**, **Export…** and **Move to Trash**.
- **Drag** one onto a desk to place a linked copy, or onto a folder to move it there.

Renaming a work widget file, in Files, in its header or on any of its copies, renames it everywhere.

## How work widget files are named

A work widget file is never called "Untitled".

- **A name you give is kept.** Whatever you type as a name, in the header, in Files or on a copy's title bar, is never changed by PlexiiDesk.
- **Otherwise it is named from what it holds,** as soon as there is something to name it from:

| Work widget | Named from |
| --- | --- |
| Sticky, Note, Markdown note | Its first line |
| Page | Its first line of text |
| Card | Its title, or the start of its text |
| Table | Its first column's header and its number of rows, such as "Supplier · 12 rows" |
| Task list | Its first open task, such as "Call Sam + 3 more" |
| Mind map | Its central idea |
| Chart, Stat card, Metrics | Their own title |
| Field | Its label |
| Voice note | Its transcript |
| AI image | Its prompt |
| Diagram | The first labelled shape |
| Place | The place's name |
| Gallery | Its number of images |
| Timer | Its length, such as "Timer · 25 min" |

- **Before there is anything to name it from,** it gets its type and the moment it was made, such as "Table · Oct 17, 3:40 PM". A table keeps this name until it has rows, so it is never named after the columns a new table starts with.
- **AI names the rest later.** When PlexiiDesk next starts, a file that still has that dated name and holds enough text gets a short name from AI, in the same pass that names untitled documents. A Scratchpad sketch has no words to name it from, so it keeps its dated name until you rename it.

## Task lists keep their own tasks

Where you make a task list decides what it lists:

- **Put on a desk as you make it,** by dragging **Tasks** from the side menu onto a desk, **Add to this desk**, **Add Tasks work widget to desk** in the command palette, the canvas right-click **Add object** menu or a quick-add key: it shows that desk's tasks and subtasks, as a Tasks work widget always has. It is a work widget file too, and a copy of it on another desk shows that desk's tasks. Task lists that were already on your desks work the same way.
- **Made with no desk,** by clicking **Tasks** in the side menu, or with **New tasks work widget** or the palette's **New Tasks work widget**: it keeps its own tasks inside the file, a checklist with a box to tick and an optional due date for each task, and **Active**, **Done** and **All** tabs. Every copy shows the same list, whichever desk you place it on, and placing it on a desk does not change that. These tasks belong to the list, so they do not appear in All Tasks or in Attention.

Rest the pointer on **Tasks** in the side menu to be reminded: **Drag onto a desk, or right-click and Add to this desk: that desk's tasks. Click: a task list of its own, saved in Files, with the same items on any desk you place it on.**

A task list that shows a desk's tasks has no desk when you open it full-pane from Files, so there it shows every task and says **Every task · shows a desk's tasks when placed on one**. See [Tasks work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks).

## Tables share their rows

A table file's rows live with the table, so every linked copy shows and edits the same rows. Until you name it yourself, its name follows its first column's header and its row count, such as "Supplier · 12 rows", and the count updates as rows come and go. An independent copy of a table gets rows of its own. See [Table work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table).

## Export and import

**Export** saves a work widget file to your computer as one file whose extension names its type. It is a JSON file you can keep, send to someone, or bring back into PlexiiDesk. A table's export carries its columns and rows.

To export, click **Export** in the full-pane header, or right-click the file in Files and choose **Export…**.

| Work widget | Extension |
| --- | --- |
| Table | .plexii-table |
| Task list | .plexii-tasks |
| Mind map | .plexii-mindmap |
| Sticky | .plexii-sticky |
| Note | .plexii-note |
| Markdown note | .plexii-markdown |
| Page | .plexii-page |
| Card | .plexii-card |
| Chart | .plexii-chart |
| Stat card | .plexii-stat |
| Metrics | .plexii-metrics |
| Field | .plexii-field |
| Timer | .plexii-timer |
| Calculator | .plexii-calc |
| Colour swatch | .plexii-color |
| Voice note | .plexii-voice |
| Diagram | .plexii-diagram |
| Sketch | .plexii-sketch |
| Shape | .plexii-shape |
| Form block | .plexii-block |
| Custom work widget | .plexii-custom |
| AI image | .plexii-image |
| Gallery | .plexii-gallery |
| Place | .plexii-place |
| SpeedDeck | .plexii-speeddeck |

To import, choose any of these:

- In the side menu, under **Bring in** at the bottom of the **Work widgets** section, click **Import work widget file…** and choose the file. It opens full-pane.
- In Files, click **Add files** and choose it, or drag it onto Files. It comes in as a work widget file, in the folder you are in.

An import always makes a new file. An imported table gets its own copy of the rows, separate from the table it was exported from. A file PlexiiDesk cannot read as a work widget file is refused with a message saying why; dropped onto Files, it is kept as an ordinary file instead.

The workspace export in **Settings** also includes your work widget files, with every other document. See [Export your work and import it elsewhere](https://plexiidesk.com/help/data-export-import).

## Plexii and AI

- **Plexii and Brain read them.** They read a work widget file as text: a table as a table, a task list as a checklist, a mind map as an outline, a chart with its values. Ask about one, or let Plexii find it by what is in it. See [What Plexii can read and search](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-what-plexii-reads).
- **Search finds them.** Search finds work widget files by name and contents, and opens the one you pick full-pane.
- **@-mention them.** Type `@` and pick a work widget file to mention it, for example in a sticky, a note or a document. The list shows its type, such as **Table**. A file that is already on the desk you are on is offered once, as the work widget on that desk. See [Link desks, work widgets and people with @](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-mentions).
- **Build with AI uses them.** When you build a desk with AI, it uses your work widget files that match what you ask for, so it can reuse their real columns and names. The work widgets it adds are files too. See [Set up a desk with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-build-with-ai).
- **Plexii can make and change them, with your approval.** Plexii can propose a new work widget file (a sticky, note, Markdown note, card, task list, table or mind map) or a change to one, such as adding tasks or rows. Each arrives as a card you approve; it is applied without asking only where your autonomy settings already allow it. See [Review and apply Plexii's changes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/plexii-proposals) and [Assistant autonomy](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-assistant-autonomy).
- **Other AI tools, through MCP.** An AI tool connected to PlexiiDesk with a token that can write can create and update work widget files too. A read-only token cannot. See [Connect your own scripts and AI tools to Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/brain-api-mcp).

## Common questions

**What is the difference between a work widget file and a work widget on a desk?**
On your own desks there is none: every work widget that can be a file is one, and the work widget on the desk is a linked copy of it. The file lives in Files, and each desk it is on shows a copy.

**I changed a table on one desk and it changed on another. Why?**
Both are linked copies of the same work widget file. To keep one separate, right-click it and choose **Advanced** > **Unlink from synced copies**. It becomes a file of its own.

**I removed a work widget from a desk. Is it gone?**
No. **Remove from this desk** only takes it off that desk. It is still in Files, and on any other desk it is on. To delete it everywhere, choose **Delete work widget** instead, or move it to the Trash from Files.

**I deleted a work widget by mistake.**
Click **Undo** in the message straight away. Later, restore it from the Trash on the Documents page: it comes back in Files and on every desk it was on.

**How do I see which desks a file is on?**
In Files, the line under its name says, such as **On Launch plan and Hiring**. Open it and the header says **On 1 desk**, **On 2 desks** and so on. On a desk, the link icon before its name appears when it is also on another desk.

**Why is there no Save as file on this work widget?**
On your own desks it is already a file: choose **Advanced** > **Open file** to open it. **Save as file** is offered only on a work widget that is not a file yet, such as one on a desk shared with other people. Work widgets that only work on a desk never offer it.

**Why are there so many work widgets in Files?**
Every work widget on your own desks is a file, so they are all listed. Use the type list in the toolbar to show one type, or choose **Documents** to leave work widgets out.

**I made a task list from the side menu, but it does not show my desk's tasks.**
Clicking **Tasks** in the side menu makes a task list of its own, with no desk, and it keeps its own list even after you place it on a desk. To list a desk's tasks, drag **Tasks** from the side menu onto the desk, or right-click it and choose **Add to this desk**. See [Tasks work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks).

**Can I change a file's type?**
No. A table file stays a table. To use the content in another kind of work widget, copy it across.

## Related tasks

- [Add a work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/add-a-widget)
- [The side menu](https://plexiidesk.com/help/side-menu)
- [Files: your folders and files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/files-overview)
- [The controls on every work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-title-bar)
- [Duplicate work widgets and keep copies in sync](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-duplicate-sync)
- [Delete and restore Office files](https://plexiidesk.com/help/office-trash-and-restore)
- [Tasks work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-tasks)
- [Table work widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-table)
- [Export your work and import it elsewhere](https://plexiidesk.com/help/data-export-import)