This information allows the client to construct the user's default workspace configuration. The workspace displays only the objects, allowing the user to focus on the work at hand without clutter. All information about other users and the locales is displayed in the Navigator pane. The whole user interface uses the Netscape Internet Foundation Classes as a GUI framework. Objects within the workspace are presentations of the actual documents or chunks of code in the repositories.
Users can access the actual objects by clicking on the presentation object.
By using a variety of techniques, repositories can be integrated tightly or loosely as necessary. Where possible, each repository is modified to generate Elvin notifications when significant events occur. The Orbit Client is responsible for unifying the notifications with the presentation object in the workspace so that the user can observe the recent history of the object at a glance. An important aspect of locales is the privacy they afford their members. In Orbit, objects within a locale cannot be accessed by anyone who is not a member.