Lesson 2 · 15 min
A conversation full of unrelated questions gets slow and confusing, and a huge list of conversations hides the work. Three new features fix that: project sections in the sidebar, side chat for quick questions, and split view to see two conversations side by side. In this lesson, Carla organizes her spreadsheet course using all three.
Start the lesson
Goal: Organize your work by project and ask side questions without cluttering the main conversation.
Tap or click each part.
Scroll down: each step below lights up its part of the diagram.
In the Code tab, conversations are grouped into sections in the sidebar. One section per project helps you find what you need without scrolling through a huge list. Session = one Claude conversation with its own history.
The main conversation is where the work happens: read the outline, write the exercises, save the file. It keeps everything that was said, and every unrelated question you add here stays in the history and weighs on future responses.
A small window on the side for a quick question. It answers using what the session already knows, without using tools (it won’t open a new file or search), and this exchange stays out of the main history.
A second conversation open beside the first in the same window. Each does different work at its own pace, and you can see both. Golden rule: never have both working on the same file.
Each project in its own section, the main conversation focused on the work, questions in side chat, and a second task in split view.
Sections keep things organized, the main conversation handles the work, side chat answers questions, and split view shows a second task alongside it.
Everything is in the Code tab of the Claude app (Mac and Windows). On Linux, see the last tab.
Update the app and open the Code tab. Conversations appear in the sidebar on the left; the idea is to keep conversations for each project together in a section named after it.
The exact place to create a section varies between app versions. If you can’t find it, ask Claude in the Code tab: "how do I create a section in the sidebar in this app?". One section per project is enough: more than that becomes another huge list.
Three sections: spreadsheet course, channel, and community. The lesson 1 conversation goes in the course section.
In the middle of your work, press Cmd + ; on Mac (Ctrl + ; on Windows). Side chat opens: ask your question, read the answer, and close it.
It answers only with what the session already knows and doesn’t use tools. Use it for "what is this?", a synonym, or a calculation. For real work, go back to the main conversation.
If the answer doesn’t need to be saved with your work, ask it in side chat.
In the sidebar, hold Option and click a session on Mac (Alt + click on Windows). Or right-click the session and choose Open in → Split view (open in → split screen).
To remove a session from split view, use Cmd + Ctrl + W on Mac (Ctrl + Alt + W on Windows). Start a new session with Cmd + N on Mac (Ctrl + N on Windows).
Two different tasks, in different files. To coordinate many sessions, see the course Claude as an agent manager.
Sections and split view are part of the app. In the terminal (including on Linux), ask a question on the side with the /btw command followed by your question.
/btw works the same way: it doesn't interrupt the work or appear in the main history.
/btw what is VLOOKUP, in one sentence?
Three things that apply throughout the course. Read once.
The course prompts refer to files like roteiro.md. An .md file is just plain text, like a notepad, that Claude can read and write without a special program. You can open it with Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac.
Claude can also read other common formats, like Word, PDF, or spreadsheets, if you ask. Just say the name of the file you have.
Her script is in Word. She writes "read roteiro-aula-1.docx" instead of roteiro.md.
In the Code tab, each session works in a folder on your computer. You choose that folder when you start a new session. Choose the project folder, where its files are.
How you choose it varies between app versions. If you can't find it, ask Claude in the Code tab: "how do I choose this session's folder in this app?". To check, ask: "what folder are you working in?".
Claude replies with the name of your project folder.
curso-planilhas/aula-1/roteiro.md means: inside the curso-planilhas folder, in the aula-1 folder, the roteiro.md file. This is Carla's file path.
In your prompt, replace this path with the path to your file. If you don't know how to write the path, just say the file name and ask: "find this file in the project folder".
Instead of curso-planilhas/aula-1/roteiro.md, you can write only the name of your file, like ata-reuniao.docx.
One for the main conversation, two questions for side chat (paste one at a time), and one for the second split view session. Replace the example paths (curso-planilhas/…) with your own files, as explained above.
Read curso-planilhas/aula-1/roteiro.md. Create 5 exercises for students to practice what the lesson teaches, from easiest to hardest. Each exercise should include: what to do, sample data, and the correct answer. Save to curso-planilhas/aula-1/exercicios.md. Ask before changing or deleting any file that already exists.
Explain VLOOKUP in one sentence a beginner student can understand. Which of the 5 exercises do you think is hardest for someone who has never used a spreadsheet?
/btw Explain VLOOKUP in one sentence a beginner student can understand. /btw Which of the 5 exercises do you think is hardest for someone who has never used a spreadsheet?
Read curso-planilhas/aula-1/roteiro.md. Write the community announcement about lesson 1: up to 100 words, simple language, and a question at the end for people to answer. Save to comunidade/aviso-aula-1.md. Don't change anything inside curso-planilhas/. Don't publish anything.
You: Explain VLOOKUP in one sentence a beginner student can understand.
Claude: VLOOKUP looks for a value in the first column of a table and returns the value in another column on the same row, like finding a name on a list and reading the phone number next to it.
You: Which of the 5 exercises do you think is hardest for someone who has never used a spreadsheet?
Claude: Number 5, because it combines VLOOKUP with IF. A worked example before it would help.
Carla: Read curso-planilhas/aula-1/roteiro.md. Create 5 exercises…
Claude: I read the script (sum, average, VLOOKUP, and IF). I created curso-planilhas/aula-1/exercicios.md with 5 exercises, from 1 (add a column) to 5 (VLOOKUP with IF), each with sample data and an answer. I didn't change any other files.
Neither of the side chat questions appears here.
Claude: I saved comunidade/aviso-aula-1.md (86 words). It ends with the question: "Which calculation do you do by hand most often today?". I didn't publish anything or change anything in curso-planilhas/.
Use one of your own projects instead of Carla’s course.
In the Code tab, open a session in one of your project folders and group its conversations into a section in the sidebar. If you can’t find where to create a section, ask Claude in the Code tab: "how do I create a section in the sidebar in this app?".
Done when: You can find your project conversations together in the sidebar within a few seconds, in a section with its name (if your app doesn’t show sections yet, the question above tells you what to do).
Run a task in the main conversation (Carla’s prompt, adapted). While it works or afterward, ask two questions in the side chat: Cmd + ; on Mac (Ctrl + ; on Windows) or /btw in the terminal.
Done when: You scrolled through the main conversation from beginning to end, and neither side question appears in it.
Open a second session for another task in a different file, and put both in split view (the screen divided in two) (Option + click on Mac, Alt + click on Windows). Then take one out of split view.
Done when: You saw both sessions in the same window, each saved its own file, and neither changed the other’s file.
The explanation appears after your answer.
Question 1 of 5
In the middle of the work, Carla wants a synonym for "spreadsheet." Where should she ask?
Question 2 of 5
What does the side chat NOT do?
Question 3 of 5
What’s the golden rule for split view?
Question 4 of 5
How do you take a session out of split view on Windows?
Question 5 of 5
Carla now uses a Mac. How does she put a session side by side with the one that’s open?
Choose an option. The explanation appears after your attempt.