Tether
Tether keeps every figure the model wrote tied to the data it came from. Change the data and the figure frays: it shows what it said, what the data says now, and asks to be updated or kept as written.
The summary was written from the rent roll at 14:20. Tap a figure to see the cells it reads. Then mark Meridian Bank’s floor as vacant: all three figures fray. Update one, keep another as written.
Anatomy
When to use
- In any text the model wrote from data that keeps changing: rent rolls, budgets, pipelines, cash positions.
- In reports that are read days after they were written.
- For a figure that is calculated in front of people, use Trace.
Behaviour
| State | Figure | Person can |
|---|---|---|
| Tied | Still pigment, tyrian underline | See the cells it reads |
| Frayed | Struck in ochre, pulses once | Update it, or keep it as written |
| Updated | Rewritten from the data, then still | — |
| Kept | Labelled “as of 14:20”, no longer tied | — |
A fray pulses once when it happens, then rests. The strike and the count stay until someone decides.
Best practices
- Say when and from what the text was written: “Written at 14:20 from the rent roll”.
- Show the old and new values side by side before rewriting.
- Update only the figures that changed, never the whole text.
- Label a kept figure with its date, so nobody mistakes it for current.
Accessibility
- Each figure is a button whose name includes its state: “Occupancy: 88%, out of date: the data now says 72%”.
- Frayed and kept figures differ by strike and label, not only by colour.
- Data changes announce how many figures are out of date.
Specifications
- Tied
- 1.5 pt tyrian underline at 50%
- Frayed
- 2 pt ochre underline, ochre strike
- Pulse
- One beat, ochre tint; none under Still
- Kept
- Mono label “as of” with the time