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Pensiv is not an app for opening files one by one.
It’s a workspace for working with one project from several angles.
When you open the first screen, the layout is roughly four areas.

① Left sidebar — where you explore structure

The left sidebar shows the full structure of the current project. It includes:
  • Project home
  • Graph
  • Tasks
  • Notes
  • Character / Plot / Document folders
  • Settings and management
The sidebar is not just a menu.
It’s a map of which layer you’re working on.
For example:
  • Open a document → writing mode
  • Open a plot → structure mode
  • Open tasks → progress mode
Moving in the sidebar
is switching what kind of work you’re doing.

② Top tab bar — your current context

At the top, open files stay as tabs. Pensiv is not about opening and closing one file at a time.
It keeps context and works with several files at once.
For example:
  • Document draft
  • Plotboard
  • Character sheet
You can have all three open and switch between them. Tabs are not just a list;
they’re the set of things you’re thinking about right now.

③ Center — where you focus

The middle of the screen is the active workspace for the selected file. On the home screen you see:
  • Recently opened files
  • Upcoming schedule
  • Your to-dos
When you open a file, this area changes:
  • Document editor
  • Plotboard
  • Sheet
  • Canvas
This is the center of what you’re focused on.

④ Panel structure — a workspace that can grow

Pensiv is not fixed to one layout. You can:
  • Split view (right / bottom)
  • Add tabs
  • Drag to reorder
  • Lock a panel
  • Open in a new window
So it’s not “one document on one screen”;
it’s an expandable workspace.

The basic flow

Pensiv’s basic flow: Choose something in the sidebar
→ Open a file
→ A tab is created
→ Work in the center
→ Split or extend when you need to
That cycle repeats.

What to remember

Pensiv is
  • not storage-centric
  • and not single-document-centric.
It’s an environment for keeping context. Left = structure
Top = open work
Center = focus
Split = extend
Those four work together. Once you see that,
the screen doesn’t feel cluttered.
Where you are means what you’re thinking about.

Related: 0.5 Viewing things side by side