Capturing with the desktop app

The desktop app is built for capturing in the moment, without leaving what you are doing. Everything you put in it is saved to your account and filed by the AI, the same as anything saved from the web.

If you have not installed it yet, start with Desktop app: install and connect.

Quick notes

1. Click in the note box. It says “Add notes…” when it is empty.
2. Type your note.
3. Stop typing. The top of the window says “Auto-saving in 3s…” and counts down. Typing again starts the count again.
4. The note saves and the box clears for the next one.

There is no Save button in the normal window. Press Enter to start a new line; the note saves itself three seconds after you stop.

Each note becomes its own entry. The AI then gives it a title, a summary, topics and people. See How the AI files your entries.

Formatting

The note box understands simple formatting as you type, in every size of window:

Longer notes in the expanded window

For meeting notes or anything longer, expand the window. Click the expand button at the right of the bottom row, or double-click the note box.

The expanded window adds:

• Formatting buttons: Bold, Italic, Bullet List and Numbered List.
• Tabs: each tab is a separate note with its own colour. Click + (Add new tab) to start another. When there is more than one tab, double-click a tab to delete it.
• Save now: saves the note straight away.

In the expanded window there is no countdown. Instead, the note is saved quietly every ten seconds while it changes, so nothing is lost if you are interrupted.

When you collapse the window back to normal, the note is saved one last time as a Long note, and the AI files it. Any screenshots or files you captured while writing are saved with it.

Drop files

In the normal window, drag files onto the area that says “Drop files here”. It changes to “Drop!” when the file is over it. You can drop several files at once.

Each file waits in the window as a small chip with its name. Type a note if you want one, and after the three-second countdown the files and your note save together. Click the cross on a chip to take that file out before it saves.

Dropping files works in the normal window. Collapse the expanded window first.

Any other kind of file, or one over the limit, is turned away as soon as you drop it, and the drop area says why.

Screenshots

The camera button in the bottom row takes screenshots of anything on your screen, not just the browser.

Press Esc while the screen is dimmed to cancel. The app hides itself while it takes the picture, so it is not in the shot.

The screenshot does not save straight away. It waits as a Screenshot chip, and the camera button reads “Add a note, will save together” when you point at it. Type a note if you want, and the screenshot and note save together after the countdown.

On a Mac, the first screenshot needs Screen Recording permission. See Desktop app: install and connect.

Audio

The bottom row has three recording buttons. Click one to start; it turns red and pulses, with a stop symbol. Click it again to stop.

Sound from your computer can be recorded on Windows. A Mac does not allow it without an extra virtual audio driver, so on a Mac System audio explains this when you click it, and Record meeting records your microphone only and says so.

When you stop, the recording uploads in the background. The window shows its progress: “Uploading audio…” with a percentage, then “Audio uploaded”. The AI then transcribes it, notes who is speaking where it can, and writes a summary. Long recordings are fine.

Recordings are written to your computer as they happen. If the app closes during a recording, it offers it back the next time it opens: “A recording was recovered”, with Upload and Discard.

When something has not saved

If a save does not go through, the app says so in a red banner above the buttons, in every size of window. Your note and your captures stay in the window, so nothing is lost.

When the app will try again by itself, it waits ten seconds, then thirty, then a minute between tries. The button on the banner says Retry now if you would rather not wait. When the problem needs you, the button says Retry. Point at the banner to read more about what to do.

For “sign in again”, make a new key in the web app under Settings > Device keys, copy it, choose Set Device Key from Clipboard in the tray menu, then click Retry. See Connect an app with a device key.

Audio has its own status line. If an upload fails it says “Upload failed, will retry”, with a Retry now button.

Shortcuts and clicks

The app has no keyboard shortcuts that work from other apps. Click the window or the tray icon to bring it up. Inside it:

Tips

• Keep the app in a corner of the screen you are not using. It stays on top, so it is always one click away.
• Use Record meeting with headphones for calls, and add a line in the note box about who the call was with.
• Write a few words with each screenshot. A note is the quickest way to find it again.
• Use compact mode when space is tight. It keeps the note box and all the buttons.

Related pages

• Desktop app: install and connect
• Task reminders
• Capture in the web app