Fast capture

Capture is designed for a phone in one hand while the other hand opens boxes and cabinets. Stay with the physical space in front of you and record enough to find and move its contents later.

Record one space

1. Select the physical space by its short ID or name. On a phone, choose Capture queue to find it; selecting the row opens Current container in one tap.
2. Enter What is it? and adjust Qty only when the default of one is not right.
3. Expand Add description or unit when a searchable description or a unit other than each will help.
4. Choose Save & add next.
5. Repeat until the loose items in that space are represented.
6. Add any nested boxes, bins, drawers, or shelves before moving on. On a phone, choose Add container inside [name] from Current container to open and focus the matching form in Capture queue.
7. Choose Counted & next.

Each accepted row is saved in this browser before Stowplan tries online backup. You can close the tab or lose service after the save completes without losing that accepted row.

Use Skip for now when you want to continue in the named next space without changing either space's capture status. After the current space is complete, the same shortcut reads Continue count. Counted & next records that the current space is accurate enough and advances through the full hierarchy, including branches that are collapsed or hidden by a filter.

On a phone, Capture queue and Current container switch between the hierarchy and the focused form without discarding unfinished form input. The queue uses the available viewport height and scrolls its hierarchy inside the panel, so the bottom navigation does not leave a large unused gap. Its space-creation form stays collapsed until you choose its Add action, except when the workspace still needs its first space. Completion controls follow the captured contents in the page rather than covering them. Every queue row keeps Move available as a separate action when you need to change its exact parent or position.

At compact desktop widths, the workspace navigation becomes an icon rail automatically so the Capture queue and current container can remain side by side. Wider windows restore the text navigation according to your saved sidebar preference.

Add a container inside another

Select the parent. On a phone, choose Add container inside [name] from Current container; Stowplan switches to Capture queue and focuses the Add inside [name] form. In a side-by-side layout, use that form directly in the queue. Stowplan suggests a short ID from the friendly name, but you can replace it with the code on your physical label.

Use Add as another top-level space for a separate room, garage, storage unit, or other root rather than a container inside the selected space.

The breadcrumb above the capture form shows where the selected container sits. Expand or collapse branches to focus the queue; this changes only the display, not the saved structure.

Record an empty space safely

Choose Checked empty & next only after checking the physical space. When no records or nested spaces remain, the action stays beside Counted & next and records the space as known empty.

If item records remain after the physical contents are gone, choose Container is now empty... below the recorded contents. Its confirmation names what will be removed before you choose Empty container. The deletion and known-empty status become one Activity entry, so one undo restores both.

A space with a nested space cannot be marked known empty because the nested space is still part of its contents.

Correct a completed space

Counted and known-empty spaces protect their contents from accidental edits. Choose Reopen capture before adding, editing, moving, reordering, or deleting their direct contents.

Reopening a space with contents returns it to In progress. Reopening an empty space returns it to Uncounted.

Inventory labels an item in a completed space Review, reopen to edit. The review keeps the confirmation explicit, then opens the full editor in the same dialog. After a successful edit or move, choose Mark counted again there to restore the original space's trusted first-pass status without detouring through Capture.

Moving a nested container can affect both its old and new completed parents. Stowplan names those parents and asks before reopening them and making the move as one change.

Fix or move an item

Choose an existing item to edit its name, quantity, or searchable Description. Expand More item details for unit, category, frequency, and tags. Placement requirements and exact dimensions stay in their own optional disclosures. The placement card can move all or part of an item's quantity. A partial move leaves one record at the source and creates or combines the matching amount at the destination.

Reorder handles change the visible order inside one container. Arrow controls provide the same operation without dragging.

Print labels

Open Settings → Backup & recovery → Print text and QR labels. A plain text code is enough for everyday use; QR labels are optional shortcuts into the matching Stowplan view.