Appearance

Appearance is where you choose how Sift looks to you: its colors, fonts, ratings, clock and the marks on a tile. To open it, go to Settings > Appearance.

Come here to change the background or accent color, or to choose which pages the sidebar shows. Each User chooses for themselves.

On this pane

The pane draws these groups, in this order:

• Background: four dark backgrounds, Obsidian, Midnight, Graphite and Chrome.
• Accent: seven accent colors and Custom.
• Font: six font pairings, then Main and Secondary to choose each font yourself.
• Ratings: Five stars or Ten stars.
• Time: a 12-hour or 24-hour clock.
• Motion: how much Sift animates. It’s saved in this browser only.
• People details: how much of a person’s record you see, and the units heights are shown in.
• Marks on a tile: when each mark appears. Select a mark on the picture, then choose Always on the tile, Only when you point at it or Never.
• Sidebar: which pages the sidebar shows, and their order. Drag a row by its grip to move it. It’s saved in this browser only.

Rows the pane draws by hand

• Movement: Full motion, Follow Windows or Reduced motion, for this browser.
• Reset the sidebar: Reset shows every page again, in the order Sift started with.

Every setting

Background

The color everything else sits on.

Obsidian is true black. Midnight is the near-black Sift has always used. Graphite and Chrome are the same neutral gray, one darker and one a little lighter.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Background
• Default: Midnight
• Choices: Obsidian, Midnight, Graphite, Chrome
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Accent color

The color that marks what is selected, focused or playing.

The six named colors have the same brightness, so none is harder to see. Custom starts from a color you choose and is adjusted to stay just as legible.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Accent color
• Default: Blue
• Choices: Blue, Magenta, Red, Gold, Green, Cyan, Custom
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Custom accent color

The color a custom accent starts from, written as # and six digits. Used only while Accent color is Custom.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Custom accent color
• Default: #2563eb
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Saved accent colors

Up to ten colors of your own, kept under the six named accents. Press one to wear it as your custom accent.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Saved accent colors
• Default: empty
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Main font

The typeface headings and numbers are set in. The sizes never change, only the shapes of the letters.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Main font
• Default: Archivo
• Choices: Archivo, Space Grotesk, Geist Mono, Manrope, JetBrains Mono
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Secondary font

The typeface everything you read is set in: rows, help, the words on a button. Each of the six pairings sets both fonts, and you can change either one by itself.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Secondary font
• Default: Instrument Sans
• Choices: Instrument Sans, Inter, Geist, Public Sans, Sora, DM Sans
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Clock

How Sift writes a time of day, such as when a file was added or a task last ran.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Clock
• Default: 12-hour
• Choices: 12-hour, 24-hour
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Times watched

An eye and a number, on anything you have opened at least once.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Times watched
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

O counter

A drop and a number, on anything you have pressed the O counter on.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > O counter
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Pinned

A pin, on anything you have put at the top of a wall.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Pinned
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Shared or private

A badge on anything you have shared with a guest or kept private from one. It shows that a choice was made, never who it was about.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Shared or private
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Hidden

A crossed-out eye, on anything you keep out of the ordinary view.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Hidden
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Heart

The heart you press to like a file. When off, you can still like a file from the file itself or from its menu.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Heart
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Rating

The rating you gave a file, beside the heart. You rate a file on the file itself.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Rating
• Default: Only when I point at it
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

The word GIF

In the corner of a looping picture, where a video shows its length.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > The word GIF
• Default: Always
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Duration

The clock in the bottom corner of a video.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Duration
• Default: Always
• Choices: Always, Only when I point at it, Never
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Rating scale

How many stars a rating shows.

There are no half stars, and ratings you already gave keep their meaning.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Rating scale
• Default: Five stars
• Choices: Five stars, Ten stars
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Show every field on a record

When off, a record shows only its main fields.

The extra fields are ones only a stash-box fills in, like eye color and height. Nothing is saved or deleted either way.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Show every field on a record
• Default: On
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves

Units

How heights are shown. Sift stores them in centimeters either way.

• Path: Settings > Appearance > Units
• Default: Feet and inches
• Choices: Centimeters, Feet and inches
• Who sets it: each User, for themselves