References

A reference is a live pointer to a real thing in your workspace, never a copy. Tap one to preview, open, or pin what it points at - without losing your place.

A pointer, not a copy

The small colored chips all over a workspace stand in for the real thing - a note, a map, an Artifact, a file. A reference always points at the live thing, so when that thing changes or is deleted, the chip shows it. It never quietly goes stale.

One color per kind

Every reference takes its color from what it points at, so you know the kind at a glance. Saved sources each get their own color; a quoted message or a piece of the whiteboard stays a quiet gray, because it points back to a moment rather than a saved source.

MapsTopicsLibrary fileNoteArtifactImageVideoBoard flagQuoted messageBoard view

Tap it for the pop-out

Tap any reference and a small card opens. It names what the chip points at, previews it when it can, and gives you one clear way to Open it - plus Pin to chat when you're in chat. The card follows the chip as you scroll and closes the moment you tap away.

Try it — tap the reference

More things are references than you'd expect

You leave references yourself, but Mesh and the app leave them for you too - and they all open the same kind of card.

An image shows its preview right inside the card.

A quoted message points back to that exact spot, with the message shown in the card.

The Active Map - the map Mesh is centered on - shows the map and the topic in focus right now.

A board view you send Mesh becomes one as well.

Where references come from

One picker drops references wherever you need them, greeting you with the wording that fits the spot. It stays warm in the background, so it opens instantly.

In chatType to Add to message - the reference rides along with that one message.
In a NoteThe picker inserts a reference right where your cursor is.
On a References shelfA note, topic, or map has a shelf beside its writing, with Attach reference to pin things to that page.
On the whiteboardAdd reference drops a colored link onto the canvas.

Mesh leaves references on its own, too. When it reads or builds something, it files a reference to the Topic you're in - or, if none is set, to the Active Map itself. More in Working in a map.

Jump around, and back

Tapping Open sends you straight to the real thing, and that jump joins the same back-and-forward history as everything else you open in the content panels - so the panel's arrows retrace your steps. Open a reference from a note's shelf and it lands you on the exact line in the writing, then pulses green so you can't miss it. If a target has since been deleted, the arrows quietly skip past it - they never strand you on something that isn't there.

Pin a few to keep Mesh on them

Working from the same sources for a while? Pin to chat keeps them in a row above the chat box - up to five at once - so Mesh leans on them for the whole conversation. Unpin one when you're done. Pinning is just for that chat; it never changes which map or topic you're centered on.

References stay honest

A reference never pretends. While a source is preparing it reads Getting ready; on its way out, Being removed; if something failed, Something went wrong; and once it's gone, No longer available. A ready reference shows no label at all - so a plain chip always means the thing behind it is really there.

Tip  If a chip has no status word, the thing it points at is ready - tap it to open, or pin it to keep Mesh working from it.