Find your way around the app
In short: The SciNodes app has a left sidebar for moving between your projects and tools, a header with page controls, and, inside a project, a row of tabs: Overview, Research in Formation, Library, Research Maps, Notes and Research Assistants. Notifications, the sync status, help, your account menu and undo/redo sit at the bottom of the sidebar.
The sidebar outside a project
| Item | What it opens |
|---|---|
| My Projects | Projects you own. See Project gallery. |
| Shared | Projects other people have shared with you |
| Legacy | Projects you archived. Only shown if you have any. See Legacy projects. |
| Featured | Featured projects (coming soon) |
| My Lab (under Labs) | Lab spaces (coming soon). See Lab. |
| Bin | Deleted projects you can restore. See Recycle bin. |
| Quick Chat | A research assistant chat that doesn't need a project. See Quick Chat. |
| Quick Note | A new note outside any project. The arrow next to it opens View Quick Notes. See Quick notes. |
On your very first visit, before you have any projects, the sidebar shows only My Projects and Featured Projects. The rest appears once you have a project.
The sidebar inside a project
When you open a project, a back arrow next to the SciNodes logo takes you back to your projects. The rest of the sidebar changes with the tab you're on:
| Tab | Sidebar shows |
|---|---|
| Research Maps | A New Map tile in the map gallery. With a map open: your map list, map controls and the Composition list of clusters. |
| Library | Add Publications, then My references, Authors, Venues and your Folders |
| Notes | A New Note tile and your note folders |
| Research Assistants | Your Chats and a New chat button |
| Research in Formation | A New Research Object tile |
Project tabs
| Tab | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Overview | Project summary, recent maps, notes, chats and activity. See Project overview. |
| Research in Formation | Collect research objects and the evidence behind them. See Research in Formation. |
| Library | The publications in your corpus, folders, saved authors and venues. See Adding publications. |
| Research Maps | Build and explore network maps. See Map types. |
| Notes (icon) | Your notes, highlights and comments. See Notes. |
| Research Assistants (icon) | AI chats about your project. See Chats. |
Project Settings open from the gear icon next to the project name on the Overview tab, or from the gear on the project's card in your project list. See Project settings.
The header
The header changes with the page:
- Project lists: the page title, a sort menu (Updated or Name, with a button to switch ascending or descending), and Grid view / List view buttons.
- Bin: Grid view / List view and Empty Trash.
- Inside a project: the tab bar, the project name, a Download button when a map is open on Research Maps (exports the map) or a note is open on Notes (downloads it as Markdown), and a Share button. Sharing individual maps is coming soon. See Sharing maps.
- Archived project: "Legacy — restore to edit" instead of the tabs.
The bottom of the sidebar
Notifications
Click Notifications to open the panel. A number shows how many are unread. Use Mark all read or Clear all. When there are none, it says "No notifications". Typical notifications include "Project ready", "Project could not be built", "Project created without publications", "PDF unavailable" and "Trash emptied".
Sync status
The small chip next to Notifications shows whether your recent map and note edits have reached the server:
| Tooltip | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "Syncing" | Edits are being saved now |
| "Unsynced changes" | Some edits haven't been saved yet. Click the chip to sync now. |
| "Changes synced" | Everything is saved |
Building
While a project is still filling with publications after you've left the New Project form, a Building card shows its progress. When it finishes, click Open to go to the project, or close the card with Dismiss.
Undo and redo
Undo and redo buttons appear wherever something can be undone, for example on the Research Maps tab. Hover over a button to see which action it will undo. When there's nothing left, the tooltip says "Nothing to undo". There's no keyboard shortcut for undo or redo.
Help menu
Click the ? button for:
- Legal & Compliance: Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Accessibility, Cookie Policy, Compliance
- Knowledge Base: opens SciVerse
- Learn: opens SciNodes Academy
- Documentation: these docs
- Support: file a support ticket. See Contact support.
- More Tools: other tools from Scholaris Labs
Your account menu
Click the person icon for:
- Your name: opens your Profile
- Subscription: plans (coming soon). See Plans and billing.
- Usage limits: your weekly AI credits and storage. See Credits and usage.
- User Preferences: see Preferences
- Device Check: tests whether your computer can handle large maps
- Theme: Dark, Light or System
- Log out
Tips
- SciNodes runs on desktop browsers only. On a small window you see "SciNodes will soon be available on mobile." with a Use fullscreen button. See System requirements.
- The interface is in English. AI explanations and assistant replies can be in 20 languages. See Translation.
- For all keyboard shortcuts, see Keyboard shortcuts.
FAQ
Where are my project settings?
Open the project's Overview tab and click the gear icon next to the project name. You can also click the gear on the project's card in My Projects.
How do I get back to my project list from inside a project?
Click the back arrow next to the SciNodes logo at the top of the sidebar.
Why can't I see Shared, Bin or Quick Chat in the sidebar?
On your first visit, before you have any projects, the sidebar is trimmed. Create a project and the full sidebar appears.
What does "Unsynced changes" mean?
Some of your recent map or note edits haven't reached the server yet. Click the chip to sync them now. It usually clears by itself.