The Chat Sidebar allows you to interact with an AI assistant that uses the content of your open browser tabs as context for its responses. You can typically open the Sidebar by clicking the chat icon found on the Ventrilo Context Bar or by using a configured keyboard shortcut.

The main interface
When you open the sidebar, you'll see the main chat view

• Conversation area: this is where ongoing conversations between you and Ventrilo will be displayed.

• Input field: at the bottom, there is a text input field where you type your questions, prompts, or instructions for the AI.
  
  

Adding specific content to the chat
To supplement the automatically detected browser tab context, you can also add specific content using the '+' icon located in the input field

Clicking the '+' icon reveals a menu with options such as:

• Save webpage (🌐): Allows you to add the content of a specific webpage to the current chat's context. This provides more in-depth information for the AI to use. This is useful if you want to ask the AI more in-depth questions about the webpage content, or if you want to keep a reference to the webpage content in the future.

• Upload files: Enables you to upload documents (like PDFs, text files, etc.) directly from your computer for the AI to analyze and discuss.
  
  

Top bar navigation and controls
Across the top of the top of the sidebar, you'll find consistent navigation elements:

• Menu (☰): Clicking the hamburger icon on the far left opens a navigation panel.
  This panel provides access to sections like "What's new," "Get Inspired" (usage examples), "Customize shortcuts," and "Contact support."

• Context Icons: Similar to the Context Bar, this row of favicons shows which specific browser tabs the Sidebar chat is currently using as context for generating responses.

• Settings (⚙️): Clicking the gear icon on the far right opens the main Ventrilo Settings panel.
  
  

Managing sidebar context
You have control over which browser tabs provide context for the sidebar chat. This is managed via the Context Menu accessed by clicking on the context bar at the top.

• View: This menu includes an 'Enable auto-context' toggle and lists the specific tabs currently being used

• Pin/Block controls: Hover over a tab in the list to see icons for allowing you to pin (📌) a tab or block (🚫) a tab (which in turn blocks all similar domains). This allows for precise and quick control over the information you'd like to use.

This overview covers the primary features and interface elements of the Ventrilo.ai Chat Sidebar, detailing how you can interact with the AI, manage its context sources, and configure related settings.