Current guide
The Active Scratchpad
The active scratchpad
Every save in Cognardo Workbench lands in one place: the active scratchpad. It is the scratchpad on duty, one at a time, receiving every one-click save from the floater, the sidebar, and captures across the web. This page explains what active means, where the active scratchpad surfaces, and its lifecycle from new to saved. Its counterpart issaved scratchpads.
Prerequisites:
- Signed in: Scratchpads require a signed-in account. See sign in to the extension.
- Know the access points: The surfaces named here are mapped in scratchpad interfaces.
What active means#
- One at a time: There is exactly one active scratchpad, and it is the same one on chatgpt.com and claude.ai. Making another scratchpad active replaces it in the role.
- Every save routes to it: The floater's Add last response to scratchpad, the Save to scratchpad action on an ASSISTANT card, the sidebar's one-click saves, and captures on pages beyond the chat sites all land in the active scratchpad, never anywhere else.
- It follows the work: Switch chats, tabs, or platforms and the same scratchpad stays on duty, so one project collects in one container no matter where the material comes from.
Where the active scratchpad appears#
- The sidebar's Scratchpad tab: At the top of the tab, open in view mode and ready for one-click saves, with your saved scratchpads listed beneath it.
- The pop-up's SCRATCHPAD row: Its name and live word count, with the row's quick controls beside it, so the size of what you are collecting stays visible at a glance.
The lifecycle#
- It starts new: A new scratchpad becomes the active one the moment you create it, from the pop-up's new control, the sidebar tab, or the main page.
- It collects: Every save lands in it, and the word count in the pop-up row climbs as it grows.
- It steps aside: When another scratchpad is created or made active, the current one keeps everything it holds and joins your saved scratchpads, ready to be activated again. See saved scratchpads.
View mode, not edit mode#
Everywhere outside the editor, the active scratchpad opens in view mode: read it, save into it, and change its state, but never edit its content. Content is edited in one place, the editor on the main extension page. See the scratchpads main page.
FAQ#
Can I have more than one active scratchpad?+
No. One scratchpad is active at a time, and every save routes to it. To collect into a different one, make it active first.
Is the active scratchpad the same on claude.ai?+
Yes. One active scratchpad serves chatgpt.com and claude.ai, so material from both platforms collects in the same container.
Can I edit the active scratchpad from the sidebar?+
No. The sidebar shows it in view mode. Editing happens in the editor on the main extension page. See the scratchpads main page.
What happens to the active scratchpad when I start a new one?+
It keeps its content and moves to your saved scratchpads. Nothing is lost in the handover, and it can be made active again at any time.
Do saves into the active scratchpad cost credits?+
No. Saving is free. Credits apply only to the AI features that run on scratchpad content. Seescratchpad AI features.