The four heights
The same task, four distances: today's deadline, the next reviewer, the stuck moment, the pattern.
Execute — do the immediate task
+I need to open the settings UI to change a workspace preference quickly. Open the Settings UI…
Execute — do the immediate task
+I need to open the settings UI to change a workspace preference quickly. Open the Settings UI focused on workspace-level editor settings and show the search result for format on save so I can toggle it without digging through JSON.
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Improve — make it easier to accept
+Before I open settings, prepare the UI state I want: show workspace settings first, pre-populate…
Improve — make it easier to accept
+Before I open settings, prepare the UI state I want: show workspace settings first, pre-populate the search for format on save and tab size, and highlight any settings with non-default values. If any setting differs from the repository .editorconfig, flag it so I can resolve conflicts before changing values.
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Decide — diagnose the stuck moment
+I opened the Settings UI and found format on save, but I don’t know if the toggle will change my…
Decide — diagnose the stuck moment
+I opened settings but I can’t tell which setting is workspace vs user level
I opened the Settings UI and found format on save, but I don’t know if the toggle will change my user or workspace settings and I’m afraid of changing everyone’s defaults. How can I tell in the UI which layer I’m editing, and what is the safest click sequence to change workspace-only values so I don’t alter my global profile?
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Become — change the pattern
+I regularly switch between projects and spend time figuring out whether a setting lives at user,…
Become — change the pattern
+I waste time hunting settings across UI and JSON
I regularly switch between projects and spend time figuring out whether a setting lives at user, workspace, or folder scope. That slows onboarding and causes accidental global changes. Recommend a simple habit or small project files to include in repos so developers can see intended editor settings quickly, and a short guide on using the Settings UI without making global mistakes.
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Next to this one
Other code editor work people do in Visual Studio Code.
Every task here came from the work, not from a feature list — which is why the prompts name what you want done and never the button that does it. The tool changes; the work does not.
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The rest of the map
Same library, five ways in.