Hello again! As summer turns to fall, we're reminded that change is inevitable, and Dosu is no exception. This month we're excited to announce a new Home page for the Dosu app, global search in the Command Menu, the ability to mention relevant sources like files or documentation when you Ask Dosu, more detailed research status while Dosu is thinking, and automatic Topic tagging to keep your documents organized.
On top of all that, Dosu's own documentation is now hosted on a Public Space, so you can Ask Dosu about how to use Dosu. We ran the numbers and we're pretty sure this won't make it self-aware, but if you notice Dosu becoming unusually interested in where to find Sarah Connor please report it on our Discord server.
New Home Page#
Let's begin with the place you begin on the Dosu App: we launched a new Home page for logged-in users. Our goal was to put the most-commonly-used workflows front-and-center as soon as you open the app. Now you can quickly ask Dosu a question, access your recent chats, and keep track of documentation changes.
As part of this change, there is no longer a separate "Ask" tab on the left sidebar — its functionality has been folded into the Home page. You can also start a chat with Dosu using our Command Menu. Speaking of which…
Global Search in the Command Menu#
We've recently added global search to the Command Menu, which can be opened from anywhere in the app using the Cmd+K (MacOS) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) shortcut. You can search across all the Data Sources you've added to your Space: documentation, code files, GitHub issues, Slack conversations, or anything else. Use it to quickly access information, or Ask Dosu if you can't find what you're looking for.
Mention Sources and View Research Status#
We often hear from users that Dosu is more tortoise than hare. We're going to keep working on finding answers faster. The number one determiner of response speed is how easily Dosu can find the sources it needs. Now, when you Ask Dosu in the app, you can @mention documents, code files, or other content from your Data Sources that you think will help Dosu find the right information.
We also thought you deserved to see what's taking so long, so we've added much more detailed status information when Dosu is doing research. Plus, we'll send you a browser notification when your answer is ready, so you can swap tabs at will.
And don't forget to generate more documentation, then let us keep it up to date with Self-Documenting PRs. When Dosu has done its research ahead of time, it will answer questions faster!
Auto-Apply Topics to Documents#
If you're worried about having too much documentation and not enough organization, Dosu can help with that too. Last month, we introduced Topics to let you group related Documents, and now Dosu will automatically tag new Documents with Topics. To get started, just add a few Topics using the + menu on the left sidebar so Dosu can learn how your project is organized. (If you'd like Dosu to figure that out for you as well, we're working on it now; check back next month.)
If you'd rather do things the old-fashioned way, you can still manually assign Topics yourself when you create a Document — Dosu won't mess with them. You can also turn automatic Topics off completely in the new Documents Settings page.
That's all for this month. As always, please reach out with your feedback and feature requests. Your input drives our roadmap and fuels our creativity. Thank you for using Dosu!