Starting an Explore Session
The end-to-end walkthrough for opening a new research conversation over your archive.
From the Explore page
- Explore in the sidebar.
- Click New Exploration in the top right.
The new-exploration wizard has two steps.
Step 1 — Select accessions
Pick the accessions that should be in scope for this session.
- Use the Search accessions… input to filter the list.
- Tick the accessions you want.
- The right column shows file counts and draft/complete status for each.
You can include both Draft and Complete accessions. Drafts may have less-polished metadata; the model will work with whatever's processed.
When you're done selecting, click Next.
Step 2 — Configure context
Set the framing for the session. The model uses this to focus its answers.
- Research context (optional textarea) — a paragraph about what you're researching. Example: "I'm investigating the relationship between the Council's Housing Committee and the local building firms operating in Derby between 1960 and 1985. Particularly interested in any conflicts of interest or unusual procurement patterns."
- Citation style — Inline (recommended) puts citations at the end of each sentence; Footnotes consolidates them at the end of each paragraph.
- Response length — Concise / Standard / Detailed.
The context is persisted with the session — it carries through every follow-up question without you having to repeat it.
Click Start Session.
From other places
You can also start a session from:
- Search results — use Select → Add to Explore session to pre-populate the accession picker
- Inside an accession — the Explore button in the accession header opens a new session scoped to that accession
- A dossier — the Explore button on the dossier detail page scopes the session to the dossier's items
- A Quick / Full Analysis — the Continue in Explore button at the bottom carries the analysis context forward
In a live session
The session interface is a familiar chat surface:
- Type your question in the input at the bottom; Enter to send.
- The answer streams in. Citations appear as superscript numbers; hover to preview, click to jump to the source item.
- Follow up — your next question carries the conversation context.
- Edit and resubmit previous questions if you want to nudge the model.
The top of the session shows:
- Title (auto-generated, click to rename)
- Scope — accessions in scope, with a chip you can click to add or remove
- History — earlier turns, scrollable
Saving and revisiting
Every session is saved automatically. Find them on the Explore page, sorted Newest first by default. Search session titles with the input at the top of the list.
To delete a session, open it and use the … menu → Delete. The conversation is gone; the underlying items are unaffected.
Quota management
- Each new session counts as 1 session against your monthly research budget.
- Continuing an old session doesn't count again — just the messages within it count toward the per-session message cap.
- If you hit the per-session cap, start a follow-up session — your earlier context is summarised into the new one automatically.
What's next?
- Asking good questions — phrasing for better answers