A workspace is a saved arrangement of panels, links, and display rules. Most configuration problems that look like software faults are actually workspace problems: a panel linked to the wrong instrument, a template applied to the wrong session, or a layout that was copied between machines with different screen geometry. This chapter describes a layout method that stays readable as it grows.
Designing the Panel Grid
Start from the reading order, not from the available space. The eye should travel from a summary panel to a detail panel in one direction, without crossing the screen twice. A common arrangement places a broad chart on the left, a depth ladder on the right, and a narrow column of modules between them. Another arrangement stacks charts vertically and puts the ladder at the bottom. Both work; mixing them produces a layout that is technically complete and practically unreadable.
Panel borders are cheap structure. A one-pixel rule between panels does more for legibility than a decorative background, and it survives theme changes. Keep gutters consistent, align panel tops, and avoid nesting panels inside panels unless the inner panel is a genuine subordinate view. The workspace should look like a measuring instrument, not a collage.
Linking Rules and Instrument Groups
Linking controls whether a panel follows another panel's instrument, session, or cursor. Link by group rather than by pair; a group of four panels that share one instrument is easier to reason about than six pairwise links. When a panel must show a different instrument, put it in its own group and label the group in the panel title.
Cursor linking is the most frequently overused option. Linking cursors across a footprint chart and a depth ladder is useful for inspection; linking them across every panel in a six-panel workspace turns a small pointer movement into a screen-wide event. Enable cursor linking only where the comparison is meaningful, and disable it for panels used as background context.
Templates Versus Workspaces
A template stores the settings of a single panel type: colors, row height, thresholds, and module attachments. A workspace stores the arrangement of panels and their links. Confusing the two leads to two opposite mistakes: applying a workspace when you wanted a chart preset, or applying a template and expecting the layout to change. Keep both concepts in the naming scheme so the distinction is visible before anything is opened.
Templates should be small and composable. One template for a footprint chart, one for a cluster chart, one for a depth ladder, and a handful of module presets cover most needs. Workspaces then combine templates with geometry. If a template grows to cover every possible instrument and session, it has become a workspace in disguise and will be difficult to maintain.
Multi-Monitor Geometry
Screen geometry is stored in absolute coordinates on some systems and in relative units on others. Moving a workspace between machines with different resolutions can therefore push panels off-screen. Before transferring a workspace, reduce it to a single monitor, save, transfer, and then re-expand. This avoids the frustrating case where a panel exists but cannot be reached.
Keep the most frequently consulted panel on the primary display and the reference panels on secondary displays. This is not merely ergonomic: window managers handle focus and redraw differently across displays, and a panel that is repainted less often is a poor choice for the center of attention.
Use three tokens: instrument class, panel type, and version. For example, index-footprint-v3. The version token is what lets you retire an old arrangement without deleting it in the same minute.
Saving, Versioning, and Recovery
Save a workspace before and after any substantial change. The before copy is the recovery point; the after copy is the new baseline. Keep both for a week, then delete the older one. A directory of twenty near-identical workspace files is not a version history; it is a pile. Three generations are enough for most purposes.
Recovery is easier when the workspace directory is backed up as a whole. Individual files can be restored, but links between panels are only meaningful when the whole set is present. A partial restore can leave a panel pointing at a group that no longer exists, which usually manifests as a panel that refuses to change instrument.
Workspace Audit Checklist
- Every panel is linked to an instrument group, and the group is named.
- Session templates match across panels that share a group.
- No panel is positioned outside the visible desktop area.
- Module panels carry their key settings in the title.
- One template per panel type, with a version suffix.
- A recovery copy exists and is no more than one week old.
Run this audit after any change that touches more than two panels. It takes a few minutes and prevents the slow drift toward a workspace nobody can explain.
Sharing a Layout Without Sharing Data
A workspace file contains layout and settings, not market history. Sharing one is therefore safe from a data standpoint, but it can still leak method: thresholds, module choices, and color rules describe an analytical approach. Review a workspace before sending it, and strip panels that encode a private method. A clean layout with neutral templates is usually more useful to a colleague than a complete copy of a personal setup.