Documentation - CtrlSense

Everything you need to get started with CtrlSense in under 5 minutes.

System Requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
Operating System	Windows 10 (64-bit)	Windows 11
RAM	4 GB	8 GB+
Disk Space	~450 MB	1 GB free
CPU	Any modern 64-bit	4+ cores
Internet	Not required — fully offline

1. Download & Install

1Download the ZIP

Click the "Download for Windows" button on the homepage to get AiDocumentAssistant-Windows.zip.

2Extract the folder

Right-click the ZIP file → Extract All. You can place the extracted folder anywhere you like (Desktop, Documents, etc.).

3Run CtrlSense

Open the extracted folder and double-click CtrlSense.exe to launch. No installation wizard is needed — it runs as a standalone portable app.

💡 Tip: If Windows SmartScreen shows a warning, click "More info" → "Run anyway". This appears because the app is not yet code-signed.

2. Adding Documents

There are two ways to add documents into your local search index:

A. Manual Upload

Open the CtrlSense dashboard in your browser (auto-launches at http://localhost:5000).
Click the "Upload" tab in the sidebar.
Drag and drop your PDF or TXT files, or click to browse.
Files are instantly parsed and indexed locally.

B. Watch Folder (Pro Only)

Go to Settings in the dashboard.
Set a Watch Folder path (e.g., C:\Users\You\Documents\AutoIndex).
Any file dropped into this folder is automatically detected, processed, and indexed in the background.

💡 Tip: The Watch Folder feature runs a lightweight background thread that sleeps until it detects new files — it won't slow down your machine.

3. Searching Your Documents

CtrlSense uses semantic AI search — it understands what you mean, not just the exact words you type.

From the Dashboard

Go to the "Search" tab.
Type a natural language query like "invoice from last March" or "contractor agreement penalty clause".
Results appear ranked by relevance with percentage match scores.
Click any result to open the original document, scrolled to the matching section with a golden highlight.

Using the Hotkey (Pro Only)

Press Ctrl + Shift + D from anywhere on your desktop to instantly summon the CtrlSense search overlay — no need to switch windows.

4. Free Plan vs Pro Plan

Feature	Free ($0)	Pro ($5 one-time)
Document Limit	25 documents	Unlimited
Semantic AI Search	✅	✅
100% Offline Processing	✅	✅
Desktop Hotkey (Ctrl+Shift+D)	❌	✅
Watch Folder Auto-Indexing	❌	✅

5. Activating Pro License

1Purchase your license key from the Entrext Labs store.

2Open the CtrlSense dashboard and go to Settings.

3Paste your activation key into the "License Key" field and click "Activate".

4Pro features unlock instantly — no restart required. The key is stored locally on your machine.

⚠️ Note: Each license key activates on one computer. If you switch machines, deactivate the key in Settings first, then re-activate on the new device.

6. Supported File Types

Format	Status
PDF (.pdf)	✅ Fully supported
Plain Text (.txt)	✅ Fully supported
Word (.docx)	🔜 Coming soon
Spreadsheet (.csv, .xlsx)	🔜 Coming soon

7. Troubleshooting

App won't launch

Ensure you extracted the ZIP completely (not running from inside the archive).
Right-click CtrlSense.exe → Run as administrator.
Check that your system meets the minimum requirements above.

Search returns no results

Verify the file was fully indexed (check the Library tab for a file count).
Try broader or differently worded queries — semantic search understands synonyms.

SmartScreen warning on launch

This is normal for unsigned apps. Click "More info" → "Run anyway".

8. Data & Privacy

CtrlSense is built with a local-first architecture. Your documents, search queries, and AI embeddings never leave your computer. There is no cloud sync, no telemetry, and no tracking. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

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