Glossary
Plain definitions of credits, quotes, Threads, processing and the words used throughout the guide.
Follow a term’s link in any guide to find its meaning here, then use the related guide for instructions.
Allowance
The plan usage included in a paid plan for a billing period. Free has no monthly allowance.
See Plans and credits.
Annotation
A highlight, sticky note, drawing or other mark attached to a place in a PDF. Your annotations belong to your account; other project members do not automatically see their private content.
See Read and annotate.
Cite key
A short name that identifies a library paper in a citation or bibliography, also called a citation key. It lets a writing refer to the paper without repeating its full details in the source.
See Ask with sources.
Conversation
A saved exchange of questions and answers about papers in your project. You can return to its answers and their source citations in Threads.
See Ask with sources.
Credit
The unit Distari counts processing and AI work in behind the scenes. Plan usage and extra credits are both measured in credits, and the Details view on Plan & credits shows the numbers. Reading saved results does not use any.
See Plans and credits.
Digest
One email collecting updates over a period, rather than a separate email for each update. A saved-search digest can run a new Discover scan and use the saving member’s credits.
See Discover new work.
Discover
The workspace mode for finding papers outside your project’s library. You can search from a question or research context, inspect results and choose which papers to add.
See Discover new work.
Enrichment
Filling gaps in a paper’s publication details using outside sources. Finding a title or author this way does not itself start paid PDF processing.
See Add papers.
Extra credits
Credits bought while Pro is active, used after your plan’s usage. Extra credits never expire and stay spendable after Pro ends. Shown in the account menu as a credit count.
See Plans and credits.
Favourite
A personal marker for returning to a paper. Marking a favourite does not change other members’ favourites.
Folder
A named group of papers and notes within a project. Folders can be nested, and one paper can belong to more than one folder.
Format
A writing’s choice of Plain rich text, LaTeX or Typst, fixed when you create it. The format determines how you edit the writing and prepare its output.
See Write beside your sources.
Free
Distari’s plan with no time limit and no card requirement. Reading and organizing remain available when welcome credits expire; new credit-funded work needs a spendable balance.
See Plans and credits.
Full paper
A paper-processing option that produces a fuller structured summary than Quick read. How much plan usage it takes depends on the selected depth and any additional processing options.
See Plans and credits.
Group code
A code from a supervisor bundle that gives one person their own Pro for three months and its credits. Buying a bundle does not give the purchaser Pro automatically.
See Plans and credits.
Hold
Usage reserved while a task is running. When it finishes, Distari settles what the work used or releases the rest.
See Plans and credits.
Invitation
An offer to join a project in a chosen role, sent by email or shared through a controlled link. Pending email invitations reserve places in a Free-owned project until they expire or are revoked.
See Work with others.
Lab
A group plan arranged with Distari, whose active seats share a pool of usage. Its billing and access terms are agreed for the group.
See Plans and credits.
Ledger
The record of credits added, reserved, spent and returned. Open Details, then Activity, in Plan & credits to review it.
See Plans and credits.
Library
The papers and notes collected in a project, together with the tools for finding, organizing and reading them. The Library is one of the project’s workspace modes.
Member
A person who has access to a project, including its owner. Their role and permissions determine what they can do there.
See Work with others.
Metadata
A paper’s publication details, such as its title, authors, year and DOI, shown on its Details tab. These details describe the paper; they are separate from its PDF and AI summary.
See Add papers.
Metadata-only
A paper record saved without a PDF, containing its publication details and sometimes an abstract. You can organize and cite it, and attach a PDF later if you have one.
See Add papers.
Note
Research text you keep beside papers in the Library, such as an excerpt, question or your own interpretation. Notes start private to their author and can be shared when permissions allow.
See Keep research notes.
Notification
An update about work or account activity relevant to you. Delivery can depend on your notification preferences and the client you use.
See Apps and devices.
Overview
The workspace mode showing your project’s state, including goals, progress and areas needing attention. Its coverage views describe the papers in your library rather than the whole research field.
Owner
The member responsible for a project, whose credits normally pay for its processing and AI work. The owner’s plan also controls project storage, member limits and access to LaTeX and Typst editing.
See Plans and credits.
Paper
A publication record in a project, usually with a PDF but sometimes with publication details alone. Its notes, files and saved processing results stay associated with that record.
See Add papers.
Permission
The right to perform an action in a project, such as adding papers or spending its owner’s credits. A member’s role supplies permissions, and some can be adjusted for that member.
See Work with others.
Plan usage
How much of your plan’s allowance you have used, shown as a percentage meter in the account menu: welcome credits, monthly usage, Pro usage or a Lab pool, depending on your plan. When it is used up, extra credits keep things running if you have them.
See Plans and credits.
Pro
The paid plan with more plan usage, storage, project members and LaTeX/Typst editing. Pro monthly renews until cancelled; Pro for three months ends without renewal.
See Plans and credits.
Processing
Background work that prepares a paper’s text and, when requested, its summary and other results. Saving a record or finding its title does not mean paid processing has started.
See Add papers.
Processing depth
The amount of detail requested when processing a paper. Changing depth can change the work and how much plan usage future processing takes.
See Set up a project.
Processing state
A paper’s progress label: queued means waiting to start, running means work is underway, and completed means that run has finished. Failed means the run needs attention or a retry; waiting-for-credits means its cost is not currently covered.
See When something does not work.
Project
A shared space for one research effort, keeping its library, notes, writings, questions, goals and members together. Each project has an owner and its own access rules.
See Set up a project.
Quick read
A shorter paper-processing option for an initial understanding of a paper. It uses less of your plan’s usage than Full paper; fuller processing is a separate choice.
See Plans and credits.
Quote
The cost of a piece of work, shown in credits under What things cost in Details and used behind the scenes to hold usage before work starts. In this guide, a cost quote is different from a quotation copied from a paper.
See Plans and credits.
Reference
A publication identified in a bibliography or saved as a paper record. Reference only lets you keep a discovered paper’s record without starting PDF processing.
See Discover new work.
Role
A preset level of project access: Viewer, Commenter, Editor, Admin or Owner. It determines the actions a member is normally allowed to perform.
See Work with others.
Scope
The papers or research context you choose for a question. A narrower scope focuses the answer; a whole-project scope lets Distari look across more of the library.
See Ask with sources.
Seat
One verified account included in a Lab group’s allowance. Active seats share the group’s credit pool under its agreed terms.
See Plans and credits.
Significance
A project-specific score, shown as SIG, combining relevance to your brief with citation impact, library links, venue and recency. It helps you choose what to inspect and is not a verdict on a paper’s quality.
Source citation
A link from an answer or writing to the paper supporting a claim, with a passage when available. Open the evidence and check its context before relying on the claim.
See Ask with sources.
Summary
A structured account of a paper’s content, including its methods, findings and limitations, made when you ask for it. AI assessment is distinguished from the paper’s own claims and should be checked against the source.
See Read and annotate.
Tag
A coloured label for organizing papers across folders. Tags let you group a paper by several themes without moving it.
Thread
A saved question and its follow-up conversation with cited answers. The Threads workspace mode keeps your questions alongside the project’s saved comparisons.
See Ask with sources.
Welcome credits
A one-time grant of plan usage (1,000 credits) for an eligible person at their first verified sign-in, usable for 30 days. The meter shows them as Welcome credits. Expiry does not start a paid subscription, and Free continues afterwards.
See Plans and credits.
Workspace
The place where you work inside a project, using Library, Discover, Threads, Writing and Overview. The available layout and tools depend on your device and permissions.
See Start with a project.
Writing
A document created inside a project, such as a paper draft or thesis chapter. Each writing has its own format, files and versions, with library citations close at hand.