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04 - Project & Workspace Management Guide

📁 Organize Your Transcripts Like a Pro
⏱️ Time Estimate: 10 minutes
📋 What You’ll Learn: Project creation, organization strategies, navigation, search & filtering



A project in Selfoss is a folder that contains related transcripts. Think of it as:

  • 📁 A folder for a specific team (e.g., “Engineering Team”)
  • 📅 A time period (e.g., “Q4 2024 Meetings”)
  • 🎯 A topic or initiative (e.g., “Product Launch Campaign”)
  • 🏢 A client or department (e.g., “Acme Corp Calls”)

Organization: Keep related transcripts together
Context: Quickly find meetings by topic
Visual clarity: Color-coded for easy identification
Search scope: Filter searches by project
Workflow: Separate work and personal transcripts


  1. Click ”+ New Project” button in the sidebar (top-left)
  2. Fill in the form:
    • Name: “Marketing Team Meetings” (required)
    • Description: “Weekly sync meetings” (optional)
    • Color: Choose a color tag (optional)
  3. Click “Create Project”

Success: Your new project appears in the sidebar!

┌────────────────────────────────┐
│ Create New Project │
├────────────────────────────────┤
│ Name: [________________]│
│ (required) │
│ │
│ Description: [________________]│
│ [________________]│
│ (optional) │
│ │
│ Color: 🔴 🟢 🔵 🟡 🟣 │
│ (click to select) │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Create Project] │
└────────────────────────────────┘

Choose meaningful colors for quick visual identification:

ColorSuggested Use
🔵 BlueInternal team meetings
🟢 GreenClient meetings
🟡 YellowPlanning & strategy
🟣 PurplePersonal notes
🔴 RedUrgent/priority
🟠 OrangeExternal collaborations

💡 Pro Tip: Use consistent color themes across related projects.


The left sidebar (F001) displays all your projects:

┌─────────────────────────┐
│ + New Project │ ← Create button
├─────────────────────────┤
│ 🔍 Search... │ ← Project search (F020)
├─────────────────────────┤
│ 🔵 Engineering Team (12)│ ← Project name + count
│ 🟢 Client Meetings (8) │
│ 🟡 Planning Sessions(5) │
│ 🟣 Personal Notes (3) │
└─────────────────────────┘

Each project displays:

  • 🎨 Color indicator (left border)
  • 📝 Project name
  • 🔢 Transcript count (in parentheses)
  • 📅 Last accessed (hover tooltip)

Method 1: Click

  1. Click on any project in the sidebar
  2. The project expands to show transcripts
  3. Main area updates to show project details

Method 2: Keyboard

  1. Press Ctrl+B / Cmd+B to focus sidebar
  2. Use arrow keys to navigate
  3. Press Enter to select

Collapsed:

  • Only project names visible
  • Maximizes main content area
  • Toggle with Ctrl+B / Cmd+B

Expanded:

  • Shows transcripts within selected project
  • Default state
  • Better for browsing

Currently in development (F001 enhancement)

  1. Right-click transcript in list
  2. Select “Move to Project…”
  3. Choose destination project
  4. Click “Move”

Success: Transcript moves and appears in new project.

  1. Click transcript to view
  2. Click “Edit Metadata” button
  3. Change “Project” dropdown
  4. Click “Save”

⚠️ Note: Moving a transcript updates all visualizations and references.


The header search bar searches across all projects:

  1. Click search bar or press Ctrl+K / Cmd+K
  2. Type your query (minimum 2 characters)
  3. Results appear in dropdown, categorized by:
    • 🎯 Decisions (target icon)
    • ➡️ Actions (arrow icon)
    • 💡 Concepts (lightbulb icon)
    • 📄 Transcripts (file icon)

Result Format:

🎯 Decision: "Approve marketing budget"
In: Q4 Budget Meeting
Project: 🟡 Planning Sessions

Click any result to:

  • Switch to that project automatically
  • Select the transcript
  • Scroll to the relevant content

💡 Pro Tip: Use specific keywords for better results (names, dates, technical terms).

To search within a single project:

  1. Select the project in sidebar
  2. Use the search bar (searches only selected project)
  3. Or filter transcripts by date/name
keyword # Simple text search
"exact phrase" # Exact match
owner:John # Find actions by owner
priority:high # Filter by priority
project:Engineering # Limit to project

👉 Learn More: See 11_SEARCH_DISCOVERY_GUIDE.md


  1. Right-click project in sidebar
  2. Select “Edit Project”
  3. Update name, description, or color
  4. Click “Save Changes”

⚠️ Warning: Deleting a project also deletes all transcripts within it!

Steps:

  1. Right-click project in sidebar
  2. Select “Delete Project”
  3. Confirm deletion in dialog
  4. Enter project name to confirm (safety check)

Recommended workflow:

  1. Export project data first (F013)
  2. Verify backup completed
  3. Then delete

Feature in development:

  • Mark projects as “Archived”
  • Hidden from main view
  • Still searchable
  • Can be restored later

🔵 Engineering Team
├─ Sprint Planning
├─ Retrospectives
└─ Architecture Reviews
🟢 Sales Team
├─ Client Calls
├─ Team Sync
└─ Deal Reviews
🟡 Leadership
├─ Strategy Sessions
└─ Board Meetings

Benefits:

  • Clear ownership
  • Easy access control
  • Team-specific workflows
📅 2024 Q1
├─ Jan Meetings
├─ Feb Meetings
└─ Mar Meetings
📅 2024 Q2
├─ Apr Meetings
└─ ...

Benefits:

  • Easy archival
  • Historical reference
  • Performance reviews
🚀 Product Launch
├─ Planning
├─ Development
└─ Go-to-Market
💰 Budget Planning
├─ Department Reviews
└─ Executive Approvals

Benefits:

  • Cross-functional visibility
  • Initiative tracking
  • Clear milestones
🔵 Engineering
└─ Q4 2024
├─ Product Launch
└─ Tech Debt Sprint
🟢 Sales
└─ Q4 2024
├─ Q4 Pipeline
└─ Year-End Push

Benefits:

  • Maximum flexibility
  • Clear hierarchy
  • Multiple organization axes

✅ Good Names:

  • “Engineering Sprint Planning 2024”
  • “Client: Acme Corp”
  • “Leadership Strategy Sessions”
  • “Personal Voice Notes”

❌ Avoid:

  • “Project 1” (too generic)
  • “asdfasdf” (no meaning)
  • “Meeting Notes” (too broad)
  • Very long names (truncation issues)

💡 Pro Tip: Use prefixes for sorting (e.g., “A_” for high priority, “Z_” for archive).


ShortcutAction
Ctrl+B / Cmd+BToggle sidebar visibility
Ctrl+K / Cmd+KOpen global search
Ctrl+N / Cmd+NNew project (planned)
ShortcutAction
Navigate projects/transcripts
EnterSelect/open
EscClose modal/deselect
TabMove between panels
ShortcutAction
Ctrl+U / Cmd+UUpload transcript
Ctrl+R / Cmd+RStart recording (planned)
DeleteDelete selected transcript

💡 Pro Tip: Keyboard shortcuts work globally - no need to click first!


View project analytics:

  • Total transcripts
  • Total duration (for recordings)
  • Processing costs
  • Most active participants
  • Decision count trends

Create reusable project templates:

  • Pre-defined settings
  • Default workflows
  • Custom metadata fields

Enterprise feature roadmap:

  • Export project as shareable link
  • Collaborate with team members
  • Permission-based access

Causes:

  • Project was deleted
  • Database corruption

Solutions: ✅ Check Recent Projects list
✅ Use global search to find transcripts
✅ Restore from backup (F013)

Causes:

  • Moved to different project
  • Deleted accidentally
  • Search filter active

Solutions: ✅ Check “All Projects” view
✅ Use global search
✅ Clear any active filters
✅ Restore from backup if deleted

Causes:

  • Sidebar collapsed
  • Window too narrow
  • No projects created yet

Solutions: ✅ Press Ctrl+B / Cmd+B to expand
✅ Resize window
✅ Create your first project


🎉 You’re now a project organization expert!

  1. 📁 Create your project structure - Plan before creating
  2. 🎨 Set up color coding - Choose a system
  3. 🔍 Try global search11_SEARCH_DISCOVERY_GUIDE.md
  4. 📊 Process some transcripts06_TRANSCRIPT_UPLOAD_PROCESSING_GUIDE.md
  5. 💾 Set up backups09_DATA_MANAGEMENT_GUIDE.md

📁 Stay organized, stay productive.