Find your way around: dock, launcher, Spotlight and windows

os.construction works like a desktop: a system bar across the top, a dock of apps down the left, a launcher with every tool, and Spotlight to jump to anything. Each tool you open becomes a window you can switch back to or put side by side with another.

System bar

The bar across the top of every screen. From left to right:

• os button: opens the launcher.
• Workspace switcher: shows your company and the open project. Click it to switch to another project you’re on, or go to All projects or Portfolio.
• Window tabs: the tools and records you have open (on screens 1024px and wider). See Windows.
• Spotlight (⌘ K), My open items, and the notifications bell with an unread count.
• Account menu: your name and email, the theme (dark, light or system), My Profile and Sign Out.

Dock

The dock runs down the left edge. At the top are buttons for the launcher and Spotlight, then two system apps, Desktop (the project home) and Files, then your pinned tools. Tools you have open but haven’t pinned show below a divider, and a dot marks every tool with an open window.

• Default pins: if you haven’t marked favorites, the dock starts with RFIs, Submittals, Daily Log, Schedule, Budget, Change Orders, Punch List and Documents (shown as Files). Tools you can’t access or that are turned off on the project are left out.
• Pin or unpin: right-click a tool in the dock and choose Pin to dock or Unpin from dock, or use the pin button on a tile in the launcher.
• Reorder: drag pinned tools up or down.
• More options: the same right-click menu has Open in split view and Open in new tab.

Your pins are saved in your browser.

On a phone the dock sits at the bottom: Desktop, your first pinned tools and an Apps button that opens the launcher.

Launcher

Press ⌘ Space on a Mac or Ctrl Space on Windows, or click the apps button at the top of the dock. The launcher fills the screen with every tool you can open on this project.

• System: Desktop, Files, Open Items, Inbox, Projects and Settings.
• Tools by area: Project, Financials, Field, Docs and Admin, each with a count.
• Search apps: start typing to filter. Enter opens the first match.

Outside a project (on the projects list, Portfolio or Company Admin), the launcher shows company apps instead: Projects, Portfolio, Company Admin and Migration for company admins, and API Docs.

Spotlight

Press ⌘ K or Ctrl K from anywhere. Spotlight is search and quick actions in one box.

• Before you type: your recent windows, a few apps and the quick-create actions.
• Apps: type a tool name to open it.
• Records: type two or more characters to search RFIs, drawings, people and other records on the current project. Results only include what you have permission to see.
• Quick create: New RFI, New Submittal, New Punch Item, New Observation, New Task, New Daily Log Entry, New Direct Cost, New Change Event, New Meeting and New Form.
• Projects: type a project name to switch to it.
• Settings: type “theme” for dark, light or system, or find Focus mode, Open launcher, My Profile and Sign Out.

Use ↑ ↓ to move, Enter to open and Esc to close.

Windows

Every tool or record you open becomes a window. On screens 1024px and wider, open windows show as tabs in the system bar: click one to switch back, or click its × to close it. Up to 8 windows stay open; opening a ninth closes the one you used least recently. Open windows are remembered in your browser for each project.

Each window has a title bar with the tool name and where you are in it (for example RFIs › #212). Inside a record, List and Record tabs take you between the list and the item. On the right are three controls:

• Focus mode: hides the dock so the window gets the full width.
• Split view: opens a second window beside this one.
• Open in new tab: opens the same page in a new browser tab.

On a phone, the title bar has a back button instead.

Split view

Put two things side by side, such as a drawing next to the RFI that asks about it:

• ⌘-click or Ctrl-click any link in the app to open it in a pane on the right (screens 1024px and wider).
• Or click Split view in the title bar to open your most recent other window beside this one.
• Drag the divider to resize, or focus it with Tab and press ← or →. Each pane can take between a quarter and three quarters of the width, and the size is remembered.
• The pane’s own controls are Swap panes, Open in new tab and Close split view.

Notification center

Click the bell in the system bar. The notification center lists your latest notifications, such as assignments, mentions and status changes, newest first, with unread ones marked. Click one to open the item, or Open inbox for the full list in the Notifications tool.

Project desktop

Desktop in the dock opens the project home: a board of widgets that sum up the job.

Widget	What it shows
Contract	Revised contract: original plus approved change orders
Committed	Committed cost against the original budget
Billed	Billed to date against the contract, and what’s been received
Margin	Revised contract against projected cost
My open items	Items waiting on you, and how many are late
Activity feed	Recent changes on the project
Schedule	Percent complete against plan, upcoming milestones and the finish date
Field items	Open field items by tool, and how many are overdue
Site · Daily log	Today’s daily log entries and the latest weather
Recent files	Recently added files
Quick launch	Every tool you can open on the project

Click Customize to choose which widgets to show, then Done. Your choice is saved in your browser. A widget only shows numbers from tools you have permission to see.

Files

Files in the dock opens the Documents tool as a file manager: folders on one side, files on the other. The Files icon also lights up when you’re in Drawings or Photos. You can drive it from the keyboard:

• ↑ ↓ ← → select, Home and End jump to the first and last item.
• Enter opens a folder or file.
• Space shows a Quick Look preview of the selected file.
• Backspace or Alt ↑ goes up a folder.

For versions, check-in and check-out, folder permissions and drawings, see Documents and drawings.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	What it does
⌘ K / Ctrl K	Open or close Spotlight
⌘ Space / Ctrl Space	Open or close the launcher
⌘-click / Ctrl-click a link	Open it in split view
← → on the split divider	Resize split view
↑ ↓, Enter, Esc in Spotlight	Move, open, close
Space in Files	Quick Look preview
Backspace or Alt ↑ in Files	Up one folder