Documentation

Getting started

Tessera keeps one event in one place. Every event lives in a workspace called a docket. Inside a docket you add pages, and each page is one of three things: a Reference (a document you can zoom into), a Checklist (a pull sheet your team works from), or a Layout (a true-scale floor plan of your space). Notes, reminders, and calendar dates attach to the docket too. The whole crew works from the same picture.

The name says the rest. A tessera is a single tile in a Roman mosaic. Small pieces, one complete picture.

Set up in a minute

1. Open Tessera. You can start using it right away. You do not need an account to create dockets, scan documents, and build layouts on your own device.
2. To back up your work, use Tessera on more than one device, or work with a team, create an account. Open the Profile tab (bottom right) and tap Sign in, then Create new account.
3. Enter your first and last name, a username, your email, and a password. Your username is how teammates find you.
4. Confirm your email from the message we send, then sign in.

One thing to know up front: without an account, everything you make lives on that one device only. If the phone is lost or wiped, the work goes with it. Create an account to back it up and to work across devices or with a team.

Finding your way around

The bar at the bottom of the screen has five spots:

• Home is your list of dockets.
• Calendar shows everything you have scheduled.
• The green plus in the middle starts a new docket.
• Teams is where you create or join a crew.
• Profile holds your account, your settings, and sign in.

The first time you open Tessera you get a short "Welcome to Tessera" docket to poke around in. When you are ready, tap the green plus and build your own.

Dockets and pages

A docket is one event. A page is one document inside it. Think of a docket as the folder for a single job, and each page as a tab inside that folder.

Create a docket

1. From Home, tap the green plus.
2. Name the docket.
3. Choose the first page type: Reference, Checklist, or Layout.
4. Follow the upload steps for that type. The docket opens with your first page ready.

Work inside a docket

• Pages show as tabs across the top. Tap a tab to switch pages. The tab bar is hidden when there is only one page.
• Add another page with the plus inside the docket. A docket can mix all three page types.
• Open the three-dot menu (top right) for page and docket settings: rename a page, remove a page, assign a calendar date, rename or delete the docket, and switch the docket to light mode.

Organize your dockets

• Reorder pages. Press and hold a page tab, then drag it left or right.
• Rename a docket. From Home, press and hold the docket card.
• Delete a docket. From Home, swipe left on the docket card and tap delete.
• Search. Use the search bar at the top of Home to find a docket by name.
• Recently opened. Your most recent docket sits at the top of Home for quick access.

References

A Reference is a document you want to look at, not check off. Floor plan markups, vendor contracts, run-of-show sheets, parking maps, anything you need to pull up fast and read clearly.

Add a Reference

1. Inside a docket, add a page and choose Reference.
2. Pick your source: take a photo, choose an image from your library, or browse files. The first time you do this, Tessera asks for camera, photo, or file access.
3. Save.

A Reference holds one document. To keep several documents in the same docket, add a Reference page for each.

Use a Reference

• Pinch to zoom and drag to pan. Get right down to the fine print.
• Tap to expand to full screen.

Checklists

A Checklist turns a pull sheet into something your team works from live. Hand Tessera a pull sheet and it reads the sheet into an interactive table with checkboxes, quantities, and notes. This is the heart of the app for production crews.

Build a Checklist from a scan

1. Inside a docket, add a page and choose Checklist.
2. Take a photo of your pull sheet, choose an image or screenshot from your library, or browse files. Physical paper, a phone photo, or a digital copy all work. For a multi-page sheet, capture or select every page and Tessera merges them into one checklist.
3. Tessera reads the document and builds the table. Review it, make any edits, and save.

Reading the sheet uses AI, so this step needs a connection. Once the checklist is built, working it does not.

Work the list

• Tap a checkbox to mark an item done. Checked rows sink to the bottom so the work that is left stays on top.
• Tap any column header to sort by that column. Tap again to reverse it, once more to clear the sort.
• Scroll the table sideways if it has more columns than fit the screen.

Edit the list

1. Tap the pencil on the Checklist badge.
2. Rename columns or the page, add or delete rows, and drag rows to reorder them by the handle on the left.
3. Set a type for each column with the dropdown on its header:
   • Item marks the column that names each thing. It is also the column you long-press to add a note to an item.
   • Qty turns on the quantity picker for that column.
   • Default is plain text.

Setting column types is what unlocks the next two features, so do this first.

Adjust quantities for partial pulls

A pull is not always all-or-nothing. When you find 8 of 12 stanchions, say so.

1. Press and hold a cell in a Qty column.
2. Set the number you actually have.
3. The cell and its row mark yellow to show the item is partially pulled, and the row stays in the active list until the count is met.

When the quantity is back to full, the row clears its yellow and behaves like any completed item.

Leave a note on an item

1. Press and hold a cell in an Item column.
2. Type your note and save. A small marker appears on the cell.
3. Tap the marker any time to read the note.

Working a Checklist as a team adds assignment, initials, and live sync. That lives in Sharing and collaboration.

Layouts

A Layout is a true-scale floor plan you build right on your phone. Calibrate a map of your space once, then place real equipment at exact dimensions. No desktop tool, no exporting, no stale printouts.

Set up your space

1. Inside a docket, add a page and choose Layout.
2. Upload a floor plan image, or reuse a saved one (see Reuse a space below).
3. Mark your zones. Tap to drop a box over each area of the room, resize it by the corners, and name it (for example Grand Ballroom, East Gallery, loading dock).
4. Define your space. Enter real dimensions for at least one zone. Tessera uses that measurement to scale the whole plan. Other zones can stay named for context without measurements.
5. Name your space and open the canvas.

Build your equipment library

Your equipment library is saved to your account and carries across every space, so you build it once.

1. From the canvas, open the equipment library panel with the chevron.
2. Create folders to group your gear.
3. Add an item with a name, a shape (rectangle or circle), and its real dimensions. Dimensions read in feet and inches or in meters, depending on your units setting.

Place equipment

1. Tap an item in the library to load it into the hotbar, the strip of quick-access pieces that holds up to five.
2. Drag a piece from the hotbar onto the canvas. A preview shows above your finger as you move, sized to true scale for the space.
3. Release to place it. The same piece stays in the hotbar so you can drop as many as you need.
4. Set a color for each hotbar item with the chevron above it. Colors are saved per layout page.

The canvas controls

Across the top of the canvas and in the toolbar just below it:

• Grid View overlays a grid on each zone you marked. Open it to toggle Show grid on or off and to set Grid size in feet per square cell. Use it to space and align pieces.
• Group Selection lets you select several pieces at once (see below).
• Undo steps back your last change.
• Magnet toggles snapping. On (green), a piece snaps to another when you drag it close, handy for setting tables side by side. Off (white), pieces stay exactly where you drop them, handy for a row of chairs with a little space between each.
• Copy duplicates whatever you have selected.
• Trash deletes whatever you have selected.
• The X in the top-right corner closes the canvas and saves your changes back to the docket. It sits above the trash, so check which one you are tapping: the X saves and exits, the Trash deletes your selection.

Arrange and edit what you placed

• Move or rotate a piece. Press and hold it until a green box appears, then drag to move it or use the rotate handle to turn it.
• Select a group. Tap Group Selection, draw a box around the pieces, and confirm. Move or rotate them together.
• Duplicate. With a selection active, tap Copy.
• Delete. With a selection active, tap Trash.
• Pinch to zoom and drag to pan the whole plan while you work. Double-tap empty space to reset the view.

Read the manifest

Below the plan, the equipment manifest lists everything you placed, grouped by zone with counts (for example "Round table x12"). It is the fast answer to "what goes in the ballroom."

Reuse a space

When you save a space as a preset, you can load it again without recalibrating.

1. On the last step of setup, check Save as a preset and name it.
2. Next time you start a Layout, choose Previously Defined Spaces and tap your saved space. Its plan, zones, and scale load straight in.

Calendar and scheduling

Put a page on the calendar so dates never slip. Any page can carry a date, a date range, and a repeat rule.

Assign a date to a page

1. Open the page's docket and tap the three-dot menu.
2. Tap the calendar icon next to Page Settings.
3. Set a start date, an end date if it runs more than a day, and a repeat rule if it recurs.
4. Choose whether the date is personal, on a team calendar, or both, then save.

Repeat rules

Pick a simple rule (every day, week, month, or year) or build a custom one: every few weeks on chosen weekdays, monthly on a set day or position (for example the last Friday), with an end date or a number of occurrences.

The calendar screen

• Open the Calendar tab for a month view. Dots mark scheduled days and bars span multi-day events. A recurring marker shows on repeating events.
• Tap a day to list the pages scheduled for it. Tap an entry to jump straight into that docket and page.
• Switch between your personal calendar and a team calendar with the toggle, and pick a team from the dropdown.

Sync to your phone's calendar

Turn on device sync from the Calendar screen to push your Tessera dates into your phone's default calendar. With live sync on, new dates you assign show up automatically. Turning sync off removes the Tessera events it added. Device sync needs a connection to update.

Notes and reminders

Every docket has a shared notes section for the loose ends. Notes live at the docket level, so they stay with the event no matter which page tab you are on.

Add notes

• Open a docket and scroll to the notes section at the bottom.
• Tap a bullet to type. Clear all the text in a bullet to remove it.

Set a reminder

1. Press and hold a note bullet (without the cursor active).
2. Pick a date and time. Use the clock view for a quick set.
3. A reminder chip shows the date and time. Tap it to edit, or tap the X on the chip to clear just the reminder.

Tessera sends the reminder as a notification on your device at the time you set, so allow notifications when it asks. The reminder clears itself once it fires.

Teams

A team is your crew in the app. Once you are on a team together, you can share dockets and work checklists in real time. You need an account to use teams.

Create a team

1. Open the Teams tab and tap Create Team.
2. Name it. Tessera generates a six-character join code.
3. Share the code or the team QR with your crew.

Join a team

1. Open the Teams tab and tap Join Team.
2. Enter the six-character code, or tap to scan a teammate's QR. Scanning a QR uses your camera.

Roles

• Admin runs the team. There is one admin. The admin can rename the team, promote or remove members, and hand off admin to someone else.
• Lead can invite people and act on join requests.
• Member is a member of the crew.

Team colors

Every member gets a signature color. That color is used for one thing: showing task assignments. When the owner of a shared checklist assigns an item to someone, the item carries that person's initials in their color, so each teammate can spot their own jobs at a glance. You can change your own color in the team screen. Colors already taken by teammates are hidden so everyone stays distinct.

Invites and requests

Pending invites and join requests show in your Inbox on the Profile screen. Accept or decline from there. Admins and leads also see and act on requests for their team.

Sharing and collaboration

Sharing a docket puts the same pages in your teammates' hands, live. When you share a checklist, everyone's checks land in real time with their initials. When you share a layout, the current plan is on every phone. Live collaboration needs a connection.

This section is split by role. Find the part that matches what you are doing.

• Sharing pages out to your team? Read If you are the owner.
• Working from a docket someone shared with you? Read If you are a team member.

A quick word on what gets shared

You share specific pages, not whole dockets blindly. Recipients see only the pages you grant them. Each person's private notes and any pages they add on their own stay theirs.

If you are the owner

You are the owner of a docket when you created it and you are the one sharing its pages.

Share pages with your team

1. Open the docket and tap the share icon in the header.
2. Select the pages you want to share.
3. Pick the team, then choose the teammates to share with.
4. Name the docket as it will appear for them, and confirm.

Checklists, References, and Layouts can all be shared.

Set your column types before you share

The quantity picker and item notes on a shared checklist only work on columns that have a type. Before you share, open the checklist in edit mode and set the column that names each item to Item and your count column to Qty. That is what lets your teammates adjust quantities and add notes on items. Without it, they can check boxes but cannot log partial pulls or leave notes.

Work a shared checklist as the owner

You hold the final say on completion. On a shared checklist you can:

• Assign an item. Press and hold an empty checkbox, then pick a teammate. Their initials show in their color, marked as assigned but not done.
• Confirm completion. Tap a box a teammate has checked to confirm it. It fills green and sinks to the bottom as done.
• Check your own items. Tap an empty box to put your initials on it and mark it done.
• Uncheck an item. Tap a completed box to send it back into the workflow. The teammate's initials stay so you keep the record of who had it.

You can still edit the checklist structure (columns, rows, names). Your structural edits push out to everyone live.

See who is on a page

On a shared page, the collaborator icon shows everyone with access. Tap it for the list.

Remove access

Open the share icon on a specific page and remove a teammate. They lose that page only. Their other shared pages stay. They will see a clear "no longer have access to this page" message in place of the content.

Keep your boss in the loop

Add your planner or manager as a recipient on a checklist. They see pull status update in real time without you sending a single text.

If you are a team member

A shared docket arrives in your shared dockets view.

Open what was shared with you

• On Home, tap the shared filter to switch from your personal dockets to the ones shared with you.
• A shared docket is a full docket for you. You get your own private notes, you can add your own pages, and you can rename it for yourself. None of that touches the owner's copy or your teammates'.

Work a shared checklist as a team member

• Check an item. Tap an empty box to put your initials on it. That marks it checked by you, waiting for the owner to confirm.
• Pick up an item assigned to you. An item the owner assigned to you shows your initials in your team color. Tap it to check it off.
• Uncheck your own. Tap a box with your initials to clear it. You can only uncheck items you checked, not someone else's.
• Leave a note. Press and hold an item cell to add a note the whole team can see.
• Adjust a quantity. Press and hold a quantity cell to log a partial pull.

The owner verifies final completion, so an item you check turns green only once the owner confirms it.

Layouts and references

Shared Layouts and References work the same way: you see the current version the owner shared. A Layout you receive comes in fully, with the floor plan and scale intact, so the map on your phone is always the live one.

Syncing your data

Sign in and your work is backed up and on every device. Without an account, everything you make lives only on the device you made it on. With an account, Tessera keeps a secure cloud backup.

How it works

• Signed in. Your dockets, pages, checklists, notes, reminders, layouts, equipment library, and settings back up automatically as you work.
• New device. Sign in on another device and your data pulls down to it.
• Signed out. Your data stays on the device. It simply stops syncing until you sign back in.

Working offline

You can keep working without a connection. Your changes save on the device and sync the next time you are online. Two things do need a connection: building a checklist from a scan, since the read uses AI, and live team collaboration and device calendar sync. Everything else, including checking items, editing, layouts, and references, works offline.

Making Tessera yours

A few settings tune Tessera to how and where you work.

Light mode and palettes

Tessera opens in dark mode. To switch a docket to light mode, a brighter, high-contrast view that reads well in direct sunlight, open that docket's three-dot menu and tap the moon and sun toggle. It is remembered for that docket. To choose which color scheme light mode uses, open the Profile tab and tap Light Mode Palette. Pick from the Pantheon palettes. Hermes is the free default.

Units

Switch between Imperial and Metric in the Profile tab. It changes how dimensions read and how you enter them in Define Your Space, the equipment library, and the layout grid. Your measurements stay accurate either way.

Tooltips

Small question-mark icons around the app open short tips for what you are looking at. Turn them on or off with the Tooltips toggle in the Profile tab. Leave them on while you learn the ropes, then turn them off once you know your way around.

Profile picture

Tap your photo on the Profile card to set a picture. It shows on your account and in the nav bar.

Your account

Manage your sign in and details from the Profile tab. Tap the gear on your profile card to open account settings.

• Change your display name. Update how your name shows to teammates.
• Change your password. You confirm your current password first.
• Delete your account. This removes your account and its cloud data. Treat it as permanent.
• Sign out. Tap the red logout icon on your profile card. Your local data stays on the device.

Forgot your password

On the sign-in screen, tap Forgot password? and enter your email. We'll send a reset link. Opening it on your device takes you to a screen to set a new password.

About the beta

Tessera is in beta testing on Android and iOS. You are among the first crews using it, and your real-world use shapes where it goes next.

What that means for you

• It is free during the beta. No charge, no card. Many beta testers, and their organizations, may also qualify for lifetime free access. If you are not sure whether you or your team are eligible, email support@syzygyapps.com to check.
• On Android and iOS. Install it from your app store on either platform.
• It is built from the production floor. Tessera was made by an event production lead who got tired of pockets full of paper pull sheets. It is a tool for the people who pull, haul, and set the event, not just the office.
• Things will keep improving. You may hit the occasional rough edge or see a feature change between updates. That is the beta working as intended. Updates arrive through your app store, so check for updates often during the beta to stay on the latest version.
• A few features are on the way. AI-assisted equipment placement for Layouts is on the roadmap. Nothing you rely on today goes away.

Your data during the beta

When you are signed in, your work is backed up to a secure cloud, and signing in on a new device brings it with you. If you work without an account, remember your data lives only on that one device.

Tell us what you find

Your feedback during the beta carries real weight. If something breaks, feels off, or could work better for how your crew runs events, we want to hear it. Reach out at support@syzygyapps.com. Real notes from real events are exactly what we are looking for.

Help and FAQ

Quick answers to the common questions. If yours is not here, email support@syzygyapps.com.