diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index e0f7d33..5fd6504 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ ui/src/
     Baseline.jsx        Version management, baseline workbench, reference load
     Forecast.jsx        Perspective pivot, selection handling, operation dispatch
   components/
+    DepthButtons.jsx    One axis's collapse control; both axes are drawn from it
     LayoutMenu.jsx      The Layout ▾ control — Published / Mine, with the write actions
     OperationPanel.jsx  The adjustment workbench — ledger + scale/recode/clone forms
     BridgeView.jsx      Baseline → current waterfall by tag (exports buildSteps/layoutSteps)
@@ -231,11 +232,15 @@ gets written.
 Both axes collapse the same way: a **depth in `ViewConfig`**, set through
 `restore()`.
 
-- **Rows** — `group_by_depth`, driven by the `EXPAND 0 1 2 3` buttons via
-  `applyDepth()`
-- **Columns** — `split_by_depth`, driven by the `COLUMNS` buttons via
+- **Rows** — `group_by_depth`, driven by the `Rows` buttons via `applyDepth()`
+- **Columns** — `split_by_depth`, driven by the `Columns` buttons via
   `applySplitDepth()`
 
+Both sets are drawn by `components/DepthButtons.jsx` from the axis's own field
+list (`groupFull` / `splitFull`), so each button is named after the level it
+reveals. The row axis used to be a fixed `0 1 2 3`, which named nothing and
+offered levels a two-field `group_by` does not have.
+
 Both are **1-based**: they count the levels to show, where the imperative
 `view.set_depth()` counts the boundary below them. `server.cpp` does
 `ctx1->set_depth(row_pivot_depth - 1)` and
@@ -367,6 +372,22 @@ layout, since `restore()` is all-or-nothing.
 
 ---
 
+## The Forecast toolbar is two zones
+
+Left, on its own tinted ground: **view** — `Layout ▾`, the `Rows` and `Columns`
+depth buttons, `Fit widths`. Nothing there reaches the server or changes the
+forecast; it is all `ViewConfig` and `plugin_config` against rows already loaded.
+
+Right: **forecast** — `Refresh data`, `Change log`, `Bridge`, `Operations`. These
+re-run the load, open something over the pivot, or write to the version.
+
+They were one undifferentiated row separated by identical hairlines, which made
+`Fit` and `Bridge` read as peers when one is a column width and the other is the
+version's history. The split is the point; the tint is just what makes it
+visible.
+
+---
+
 ## Slice mechanics
 
 When the user clicks a pivot cell, `perspective-click` fires. The handler in `Forecast.jsx` extracts `[col, '==', value]` filters from `detail.config.filter` — only `role = dimension` and `role = date` columns are kept as the slice. A plain click replaces the selection; ctrl/⌘/shift-click toggles a slice in or out of it, so the panel holds a **list** of slices sent as `slices` in operation POST bodies (the single `slice` object is still accepted server-side).
diff --git a/ui/src/components/DepthButtons.jsx b/ui/src/components/DepthButtons.jsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c6fbd2b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/components/DepthButtons.jsx
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+// One axis's collapse control. Rows and columns are the same thing — a depth in
+// ViewConfig, counting the levels to show — so they are drawn by one component
+// rather than two that happen to look alike.
+//
+// The buttons are named after the level they reveal. The row axis used to be a
+// fixed 0 1 2 3: a number means nothing without already knowing what group_by
+// holds, and a fixed range offers levels that do not exist while hiding ones
+// that do.
+export default function DepthButtons({ label, levels, depth, onPick, totalLabel = 'Total' }) {
+  return (
+    <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
+      <span className="text-gray-400 uppercase tracking-wide" style={{fontSize:'10px'}}>{label}</span>
+      {Array.from({ length: levels.length + 1 }, (_, n) => (
+        <button key={n} onClick={() => onPick(n)}
+          title={n === 0
+            ? `Collapse ${label.toLowerCase()} to a single total`
+            : `Show ${label.toLowerCase()} down to ${levels.slice(0, n).join(' › ')}`}
+          className={`border rounded px-1.5 py-0.5 transition-colors max-w-[9rem] truncate
+            ${depth === n ? 'border-blue-300 text-blue-600 bg-blue-50'
+                          : 'border-gray-200 text-gray-500 hover:border-gray-400'}`}>
+          {n === 0 ? totalLabel : levels[n - 1]}
+        </button>
+      ))}
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx b/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
index ca9d015..318f828 100644
--- a/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
+++ b/ui/src/views/Forecast.jsx
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react'
 import useTheme from '../theme.jsx'
 import LayoutMenu from '../components/LayoutMenu.jsx'
+import DepthButtons from '../components/DepthButtons.jsx'
 import useAuth from '../auth.jsx'
 import OperationPanel from '../components/OperationPanel.jsx'
 import BridgeView from '../components/BridgeView.jsx'
@@ -115,6 +116,9 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
   // re-renders when either changes.
   const [splitFull,      setSplitFull]      = useState([])
   const [splitDepth,     setSplitDepth]     = useState(null)
+  // The row hierarchy, for the same reason: the depth buttons name the level
+  // they show rather than counting to a number nobody can map back to a field.
+  const [groupFull,      setGroupFull]      = useState([])
 
   const [slices,         setSlices]         = useState([])
   const [applyMode,      setApplyMode]      = useState('prorate')  // 'prorate' | 'each'
@@ -920,6 +924,7 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
         // split_full is the legacy key, from when collapsing truncated split_by
         adoptSplit(cfg.split_full?.length ? cfg.split_full : cfg.split_by,
                    cfg.split_by_depth != null ? cfg.split_by_depth - 1 : null)
+        setGroupFull(cfg.group_by || [])
         // restore() has already applied group_by_depth; this only syncs the
         // toolbar. expand_depth is the legacy key, from when depth was imperative
         // and had to be stored beside the config rather than in it.
@@ -947,6 +952,7 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
         }
         await viewer.restore(cfg)
         adoptSplit(cfg.split_full?.length ? cfg.split_full : cfg.split_by, (cfg.split_by || []).length)
+        setGroupFull(cfg.group_by || [])
         // Name what we landed on, so the menu says which layout this is and the
         // dirty dot has something to compare against. Read back rather than
         // reusing cfg: restore() normalises, so the live config is what a later
@@ -971,6 +977,7 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
           const live = await viewer.save()
           adoptSplit(live.split_by || [],
                      live.split_by_depth != null ? live.split_by_depth - 1 : null)
+          setGroupFull(live.group_by || [])
           // the plugin element is replaced when the plugin changes, so re-assert
           hideSplitTotal()
           const cfg = await captureConfig()
@@ -1515,6 +1522,7 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
     await viewer.restore(cfg)
     adoptSplit(cfg.split_full?.length ? cfg.split_full : cfg.split_by,
                cfg.split_by_depth != null ? cfg.split_by_depth - 1 : null)
+    setGroupFull(cfg.group_by || [])
     if (cfg.group_by_depth != null) setExpandDepth(cfg.group_by_depth - 1)
     else if (cfg.expand_depth != null) await applyDepth(cfg.expand_depth)
 
@@ -1899,73 +1907,68 @@ export default function Forecast({ sources = [], sourceId, versions = [], versio
       {/* Toolbar */}
       <div className="px-3 py-1.5 border-b border-gray-200 bg-white flex items-center gap-3 shrink-0 flex-wrap text-xs">
 
-        <LayoutMenu
-          layouts={layouts}
-          activeLayoutId={activeLayoutId}
-          dirty={layoutDirty}
-          onApply={applyLayout}
-          onSave={handleSaveOver}
-          onSaveAs={handleSaveAs}
-          onSetVisibility={(l, v) => patchLayout(l, { visibility: v },
-            v === 'published' ? `Published “${l.name}”` : `“${l.name}” is private again`)}
-          onSetDefault={l => patchLayout(l, { is_default: true },
-            `“${l.name}” opens this forecast`)}
-          onRename={(l, name) => patchLayout(l, { name }, 'Renamed')}
-          onDelete={deleteLayout}
-          onReset={resetLayout} />
+        {/* ── View: everything here changes how the loaded rows are displayed.
+               Nothing in this zone talks to the server or alters the forecast,
+               which is the whole reason it is fenced off from the zone on the
+               right — the two used to sit in one undifferentiated row of
+               buttons separated by identical rules, so "Fit" and "Bridge"
+               read as peers when one is a column width and the other opens
+               the version's history. ── */}
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-2.5 flex-wrap bg-gray-50 border border-gray-100
+                        rounded px-2 py-1">
 
-        <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
+          <LayoutMenu
+            layouts={layouts}
+            activeLayoutId={activeLayoutId}
+            dirty={layoutDirty}
+            onApply={applyLayout}
+            onSave={handleSaveOver}
+            onSaveAs={handleSaveAs}
+            onSetVisibility={(l, v) => patchLayout(l, { visibility: v },
+              v === 'published' ? `Published “${l.name}”` : `“${l.name}” is private again`)}
+            onSetDefault={l => patchLayout(l, { is_default: true },
+              `“${l.name}” opens this forecast`)}
+            onRename={(l, name) => patchLayout(l, { name }, 'Renamed')}
+            onDelete={deleteLayout}
+            onReset={resetLayout} />
 
-        <button onClick={fitColumns}
-          title="Size every column to its contents, releasing any widths pinned by dragging or carried in a saved layout"
-          className="border border-gray-200 rounded px-1.5 py-0.5 text-gray-500 hover:border-gray-400
-                     transition-colors whitespace-nowrap">
-          Fit
-        </button>
+          {/* Rows and Columns are the same control on the two axes — a depth in
+              ViewConfig — so they are built from one renderer and read alike.
+              The buttons name the level they reveal: "2" meant nothing without
+              already knowing what group_by held, and the old fixed 0–3 range
+              offered levels that did not exist and hid ones that did. */}
+          {groupFull.length > 0 && (
+            <>
+              <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
+              <DepthButtons label="Rows" levels={groupFull} depth={expandDepth}
+                onPick={applyDepth} totalLabel="Total" />
+            </>
+          )}
 
-        <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
+          {splitFull.length > 0 && (
+            <>
+              <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
+              <DepthButtons label="Columns" levels={splitFull} depth={splitDepth}
+                onPick={applySplitDepth} totalLabel="Total" />
+            </>
+          )}
 
-        {/* Expand group */}
-        <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
-          <span className="text-gray-400 uppercase tracking-wide" style={{fontSize:'10px'}}>Expand</span>
-          {[0, 1, 2, 3].map(d => (
-            <button key={d} onClick={() => applyDepth(d)}
-              className={`border rounded px-1.5 py-0.5 transition-colors
-                ${expandDepth === d ? 'border-blue-300 text-blue-600 bg-blue-50' : 'border-gray-200 text-gray-500 hover:border-gray-400'}`}>
-              {d}
-            </button>
-          ))}
+          <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
+
+          <button onClick={fitColumns}
+            title="Size every column to its contents, releasing any widths pinned by dragging or carried in a saved layout"
+            className="border border-gray-200 rounded px-1.5 py-0.5 text-gray-500 hover:border-gray-400
+                       transition-colors whitespace-nowrap">
+            Fit widths
+          </button>
         </div>
 
-        {splitFull.length > 0 && (
-          <>
-            <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
-
-            {/* Column hierarchy group — the split_by equivalent of Expand */}
-            <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
-              <span className="text-gray-400 uppercase tracking-wide" style={{fontSize:'10px'}}>Columns</span>
-              {Array.from({ length: splitFull.length + 1 }, (_, n) => {
-                const label = n === 0 ? 'Total' : splitFull[n - 1]
-                return (
-                  <button key={n} onClick={() => applySplitDepth(n)}
-                    title={n === 0
-                      ? 'Collapse the columns to a single total'
-                      : `Show columns down to ${splitFull.slice(0, n).join(' › ')}`}
-                    className={`border rounded px-1.5 py-0.5 transition-colors max-w-[9rem] truncate
-                      ${splitDepth === n ? 'border-blue-300 text-blue-600 bg-blue-50' : 'border-gray-200 text-gray-500 hover:border-gray-400'}`}>
-                    {label}
-                  </button>
-                )
-              })}
-            </div>
-          </>
-        )}
-
-        <div className="w-px h-4 bg-gray-200 shrink-0" />
-
-        {/* Data group */}
-        <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5">
-          <button onClick={() => initViewer(versionId, sourceId)} disabled={loading || !versionId}
+        {/* ── Forecast: reaches the server, or opens something over the pivot.
+               Refresh discards the current view's state and re-runs the load;
+               Operations is where the version is actually written to. ── */}
+        <div className="flex items-center gap-1.5 flex-wrap ml-auto">
+          <button onClick={() => initViewer(versionId, sourceId, layouts)} disabled={loading || !versionId}
+            title="Re-run the load from the database"
             className="border border-gray-200 rounded px-2 py-0.5 text-gray-500 hover:bg-gray-50 disabled:opacity-40">
             {loading ? 'Loading…' : 'Refresh data'}
           </button>