Current guide
Scratchpad Interfaces
Scratchpad interfaces
Scratchpads are the working containers of Cognardo Workbench: project folders that collect responses, notes, and source material while you work. They are reachable from every surface: the floater saves into them mid-chat, the sidebar's Scratchpad tab works with them beside the conversation, the pop-up tracks the active one, the // shortcut inserts from them, and the main extension page holds the library and the editor. This page is the reference map of those access points: where each one sits and what it reaches. What active and saved mean is covered in active and saved scratchpads.
Prerequisites:
- Signed in: Scratchpads require a signed-in account. See sign in to the extension.
- Know the surfaces: This page assumes the floater, the sidebar, the pop-up, and the main extension page from the interface.
Every access point at a glance#
| Access point | Opens from | What you reach |
|---|---|---|
| Floater quick action | The green dot on chatgpt.com and claude.ai | One-click save of the latest response into the active scratchpad. |
| Save to scratchpad on a captured turn | The ASSISTANT card in the sidebar's Collect tab | Saving one response into the active scratchpad. |
| Sidebar, Scratchpad tab | Open sidebar for more actions on the floater | The active scratchpad in view mode, plus your saved scratchpads with search. |
| Pop-up, SCRATCHPAD row | The pinned toolbar icon | The active scratchpad's name and word count, with its quick controls. |
| The // shortcut | Typing // in the chat input | //scratchpad, inserting scratchpad content into the chat. |
| Main extension page, Scratchpad tab | The pop-up navigation grid | The library of saved scratchpads and the editor, the one place content is edited. |
| Floater on any web page | The green dot beyond the chat sites | Capturing selected text and pages into the active scratchpad. |
The floater#
On chatgpt.com and claude.ai, the floater's Add last response to scratchpad action sends the latest response to your active scratchpad in one click, and the same save repeats in the quick-action strip at the top of the sidebar. Beyond the chat sites the floater stays on the page and turns into a capture tool for the wider web. The in-chat saves are covered in the floater and the sidebar, and the wider web in scratchpads on non-LLM pages.
The sidebar: the Scratchpad tab#
The Scratchpad tab is the in-page home. The active scratchpad sits at the top, open in view mode and ready for one-click saves, with your saved scratchpads listed beneath it and a search field over them. Everything here reads and manages state, such as which scratchpad is active; content is never edited from the sidebar. The full tab, control by control, is covered in the floater and the sidebar, and the view-only rule itself in active and saved scratchpads.
One more save lives a tab away: the Save to scratchpad action on any ASSISTANT card in Collect sends that response to the active scratchpad. The card actions are covered in chat capture.
The pop-up: the SCRATCHPAD row#
The SCRATCHPAD row in the pop-up names the active scratchpad and shows its word count, so the size of what you are collecting stays visible. Beside it sit the row's quick controls for deleting the active scratchpad, starting a new one, and opening it outside the pop-up. The row is the glance surface: state at a distance, with the work happening elsewhere.
The // shortcut#
Typing // in the chat input opens the shortcut menu, and //scratchpad is its third command: pick it and scratchpad content inserts into the chat input as editable text, nothing sent. The keyboard flow, key by key, is canonical on insert a prompt with the shortcut, and the scratchpad-specific insertion is covered in the floater and the sidebar.
The main extension page: the Scratchpad tab#
The Scratchpad tab sits third in the left navigation of the main extension page, reached from the pop-up's navigation grid. It holds the library of saved scratchpads and the editor, which is the one place scratchpad content is actually edited: notes written alongside captures, material reworked, scratchpads managed at scale. The page is covered in the scratchpads main page, and the AI features that run on scratchpad content in scratchpad AI features.
Scratchpads also answer to Search Anything in the sidebar header, which searches them alongside your prompts, sequences, and conversations. See search and filter.
FAQ#
Where do I edit a scratchpad's content?+
In the editor on the main extension page, and only there. Every other surface opens a scratchpad in view mode: read it, save into it, change which one is active, but never edit the content. See the scratchpads main page.
What is the difference between the active scratchpad and a saved one?+
The active scratchpad is the one currently receiving saves; saved scratchpads are the rest of your collection, kept and switchable. The states are the subject ofactive and saved scratchpads.
Can I insert scratchpad content without opening the sidebar?+
Yes. Type // in the chat input and choose //scratchpad. See insert a prompt with the shortcut.
Do scratchpad saves use AI credits?+
No. Saving into a scratchpad and inserting from one are free. Credits apply only to the AI features that run on scratchpad content, such as Expand / Shorten, Flash Card Generator, and Turn into Quiz. Seescratchpad AI features.
Do these access points differ on claude.ai?+
No. Every access point works identically on chatgpt.com and claude.ai, and the floater's capture role runs on pages beyond both. See scratchpads on non-LLM pages.