Query Tab

Overview

The Query Tab is the heart of Archivist, greeting you when you first open the application. This friendly chat interface is where all your AI conversations happen. Here, you can freely chat with the AI about any topic, ask questions about your uploaded documents, or explore ideas combining both general knowledge and your personal files. The clean, intuitive design makes it easy to type your questions, see responses in real-time, and switch between different types of AI chats—whether you're having a general conversation or diving deep into specific documents from your collection. It's your command center for interacting with both the AI and your personal knowledge library.

Details

Files and File Sets Dropdowns

At the top of the Query Tab, you'll find two important dropdown menus that help you control which documents the AI uses when answering your questions.

File Dropdown: This first dropdown lets you select specific individual files to chat with. Want to focus your conversation on just your quarterly report or that research paper you uploaded? Simply select it from this dropdown, and Archivist will limit its responses to information contained in that specific document.

File Set Dropdown: The second dropdown allows you to work with groups of related files called "file sets." File sets are logical groupings of documents that you've organized together—perhaps all documents related to a particular project, topic, or client. Every document is automatically included in the default "All Docs" file set, which cannot be removed. This ensures you can always query your entire document collection at once if needed.

When you first launch Archivist, your document database will be empty, so these dropdowns won't contain any options until you upload your first files.

Query Interface

Active Model Display

At the top of the chat interface, a text indicator shows you which AI model is currently active. Paid users can upload and switch between different AI models, and this display helps you keep track of which one you're currently using.

General Query Button

This button allows you to have a direct conversation with the AI without referencing any of your personal documents. When you click "General Query," the chat switches to a standard AI conversation mode, drawing only on the model's built-in knowledge rather than your document database.

Export Chat

Privacy is important in Archivist, so your conversations aren't stored permanently. The "Export Session" button lets you save your current conversation as a text file that you can download. This feature gives you several options: save important conversations for your records, transfer them to other applications, or even re-upload them as documents into your Archivist database to reference in future RAG discussions.

Chat Display Window

The main chat area displays your ongoing conversation with the AI. As you chat, your messages and the AI's responses appear in this window, creating a readable dialogue. Each message includes helpful options like a copy button to easily save specific responses to your clipboard.

Message Input Box

Located at the bottom of the screen, this text box is where you type your questions or messages to the AI. It's designed to be simple and intuitive—just click inside, type your message, and you're ready to send.

Send Button:

Next to the input box, the Send button transmits your message to the AI model, triggering it to process your question and generate a response based on your selected files or general knowledge.

Stop Generation Button

If the AI is providing a lengthy response that you'd like to cut short, the Stop Generation button immediately halts the AI's output. This gives you control over the conversation flow and helps when you've already received the information you need.

Clear Chat Button

When you want to start fresh, the Delete Chat button allows you to completely reset your conversation, removing all previous messages and beginning a new dialogue with the AI.

Voice Input

Voice Recording Component

Below the main chat interface, you'll find a convenient voice transcription card that allows you to speak your messages rather than type them. Simply click the Record button to begin capturing your voice—you may need to grant microphone permission to use this feature. When you've finished speaking, click Stop Recording to end the audio capture.

Send to Textbox Button

After recording, you can click this button to have your spoken words transcribed into text and placed in the message input box. This two-step process gives you the opportunity to review the transcription for accuracy and make any necessary edits before sending it to the AI.

Send to AI Button

For a more streamlined experience, this button transcribes your recorded audio and immediately sends it to the AI model, bypassing the input box entirely. Your transcribed message will appear in the chat window as your message, followed directly by the AI's response. This option is perfect when you're confident in the transcription quality and want quick results.