Visual Space manual, Spaces, Activities Panel

The Activities panel is the working map of a space. It keeps subspaces, activities, update signals, and nearby document folders within reach while the main workspace changes between Feed, Chat, Documents, Meetings, Goals, Events, and other available apps.

Read The Space At A Glance

Each subspace appears as a group, with its activities arranged underneath. The order is chosen by people who manage the space rather than calculated from popularity, so the panel reflects the community's intended structure.

An activity row can carry several compact signals:

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Update state shows that something inside the activity has changed since it was last read.

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A private indicator marks an area whose membership is restricted.

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A draft indicator keeps unfinished setup recognizable to its creator.

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An archived state separates inactive work from the normal list.

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Participant avatars provide a quick sense of who has recently taken part in the activity's Chat.

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An ongoing-meeting indicator appears when Meetings is available and a room is active for that context.

These signals are clues, not permission grants. For example, seeing participant avatars does not make someone an activity manager, and access to a private activity does not grant authority to change it.

The panel keeps a public subspace, its activities, and lightweight participation context beside the active workspace.

Move Between Areas And Apps

Select a subspace to move into that part of the space. Select an activity to open its current app context. This shared placement is what lets a conversation, document, goal, meeting, or event remain attached to the same piece of work.

When you switch to another joined space, Visual Space can return you to a useful recent area while keeping the app you are already using where possible. Selecting the current space again returns to the space-level view of that app. The result is a steadier workspace: moving between communities does not have to mean reopening the whole path from the beginning.

About pages provide a different kind of navigation. They explain what an area is for before you enter its day-to-day work. A published subspace can open its About page from its panel interaction, while an activity exposes About Activity in its menu. Learn what those pages contain in About Pages.

Keep A Long Panel Readable

Subspace groups can collapse when you do not need their full activity list. In a long panel, the current group heading remains available as you scroll, helping you keep track of the subspace and reach its menu.

Signed-in members can use Mark as Read on a subspace to clear its visible update state and the updates inherited from activities below it. Normal reading and Chat activity also clear relevant signals. The joined-space avatar reflects the combined state, so its update dot disappears when no visible area still needs attention.

An archive view becomes available when the space contains archived activities. It is a cleanup view, not another organizational level. Restoring an activity returns it to the active structure under its subspace.

Organize Work Without Losing Context

People with the relevant management access can arrange the panel to match the way the community works:

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Drag subspaces into a new order, or use Move up and Move down from the menu.

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Reorder activities within a subspace.

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Move an activity to another subspace when its subject or ownership changes.

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Archive completed or inactive activities so current work remains easy to scan.

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Unarchive an activity when it becomes active again.

The visible order changes immediately while Visual Space saves it. If an activity reorder cannot be saved, the prior confirmed arrangement is restored. Organize Subspaces and Activities follows the complete housekeeping journey.

Deletion is different from archiving. Archive when the work and its context should remain available. Delete only when the area itself should be removed and the action is available to you.

Documents In The Same Map

On document surfaces, the Activities panel can also show folder branches beneath the subspace or activity that owns them. Expanding a folder reveals its children without creating a second top-level structure for the space.

Selecting a folder opens it in Documents. Eligible documents and folders can also move to an activity or visible folder through the panel, while invalid destinations such as the item's own descendant are rejected. This is a Documents workflow presented through the shared space map; see Organizing Documents for the full file and folder model.

Access And Management

Everyone who can enter an area can use the panel to navigate it. Creation, ordering, movement, archiving, settings, and deletion appear only when the current user has the necessary space or activity-management access.

Draft areas remain visible to their creator while they are being prepared. Private areas remain hidden from people without access, including in broad navigation. Archived activities remain available to eligible readers but cannot accept new Goals while archived.

For the concepts behind the three levels, see Space Areas. To build the structure, follow Create Subspaces and Activities.

Common Questions

Why can I not create an activity at the top of a space?

Every activity needs a parent subspace. Create or choose the group that best describes the work first.

Why did an activity disappear from the normal panel?

It may have been archived, moved to another subspace, deleted, or made inaccessible to you. Check the archive view first when one is available.

What do the participant avatars measure?

They are a compact signal based on activity Chat participation, with live conversation able to refresh the visible people. They are not a formal member list or responsibility ranking.

Does Mark as Read change notification preferences?

No. It clears the current update signal. Personal notification and mute choices are separate preferences.

Can I rearrange the panel for myself only?

Subspace and activity ordering describes the space's shared structure, so changing it requires management access and affects other members. The order of joined-space avatars in the left rail is personal.

Is archiving the same as deleting?

No. Archiving removes an activity from the normal active list while preserving it for eligible readers. Deletion removes the area and should be treated as the more consequential action.