# Record notes or a meeting held elsewhere

> Record your own notes, a call held in another app on this computer, or a meeting in the room, or add a meeting from notes, and get a full meeting record.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-record-notes-and-external
Section: Communicate > Meetings
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

Not every conversation happens in a PlexiiMeet meeting. PlexiiMeet gives you three other ways to keep a record of one:

- **Record notes** records your microphone. Use it to talk through your thinking, or to record a conversation with the people around you.
- **Record external** records a call you are holding in another app on this computer, such as Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, or a meeting in the room with you.
- **Add a meeting from notes** adds a meeting without a recording, for notes you type or a transcript you paste.

A recording becomes a full meeting record, just like a PlexiiMeet meeting: it is transcribed on this computer, summarised, and checked for commitments. See [Meeting wrap-up and records](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-wrap-up-and-records).

## Before you start

- **Allow your microphone.** The first time you record, your computer may ask you to let PlexiDesk use the microphone. On a Mac, see [Allow microphone, camera and screen recording on a Mac](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mac-permissions).
- **To hear the other side of a call**, PlexiDesk records this computer's sound as well as your microphone. On a Mac this may need **Screen & System Audio Recording** to be allowed for PlexiDesk.
- **Set up AI for the summary.** Sign in to use PlexiDesk credits, or add your own Anthropic API key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits).
- **Plans.** Recording notes and external meetings is part of every plan.

> **Note:**
> When you record a call, you are the one recording it. The people on the other end are not asked by PlexiDesk, so tell them you are recording before you start.

## Record notes

1. In the side menu, under **Apps**, click **Meet** in the **PlexiiApps** group.
2. Click **Record notes** at the top of the page. The **Record** window opens with **Record notes** selected.
3. Type a title. If you leave it blank, the recording is saved as **Notes**, or with the name of the desk you attach.
4. Optional: under **NOTES**, write what this is about or anything you already know. Your notes go into the meeting's record word for word.
5. Optional: click **Attach a desk or work item**, then find and pick a desk. A **Staged** badge shows the recording will land on that desk. Click the desk's name again to detach it.
6. Click **Start recording**, or press `Enter`.

While you record, the top of the page shows the microphone's level and a red **Stop recording** button. When you have finished, click **Stop recording**. The wrap-up opens and turns the recording into a meeting.

When you attached a desk, the meeting's record and transcript go on that desk. Otherwise the wrap-up makes a new desk for the meeting.

## Record a meeting held elsewhere

1. Start the call in its own app, or sit down for the meeting in the room.
2. In PlexiiMeet, click **Record external**. The **Record** window opens with **Record external** selected.
3. Type a title. If you leave it blank, it is saved as **External meeting**.
4. Under **WHERE**, choose:
   - **A call on this Mac** to record your microphone and this computer's sound, so both sides of the call are heard. In the transcript you are labelled **You** and the other side **Them**.
   - **In the room** to record your microphone only. Nothing else playing on the computer is recorded.
5. Optional: under **NOTES**, write anything you already know. It goes into the record as your own words.
6. Click **Start capturing**, or press `Enter`.

A dark bar appears at the bottom of the window and stays there until you stop, wherever you go in PlexiDesk. It shows **Recording**, the title and the time so far, and says what is being heard:

- **Your mic + this machine’s audio — transcribed on this machine, never uploaded.** Both sides of the call are being recorded.
- **Plexii can hear you, not them — system audio unavailable, mic only.** Only your microphone is being recorded, because you chose **In the room** or the computer's sound could not be recorded.

When the meeting is over, click **Stop** on the bar. The wrap-up opens.

### Mark a moment

While the bar is showing, click the flag on it, or press `⌘` `Shift` `M` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `Shift` `M` on Windows, to mark the moment. The flag shows how many you have marked. Each moment is listed with its time in the notes document saved with the meeting.

### Record a call booked on your calendar

When a meeting on your calendar has a video link pasted in, its block has a record button, **Record this external meeting**. Click it when the call starts and the recording begins straight away, with no window, recording your microphone and this computer's sound. A meeting that repeats keeps its history, so the next one shows what was **Carried from last time**. See [Calendar in Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calendar-overview) and [Meetings from your Google or Outlook calendar](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calendar-mirrored-meetings).

## Add a meeting from notes

Use this for a meeting nobody recorded, or one whose transcript you already have.

1. In PlexiiMeet, click the notes button beside **Message**. Its tooltip reads **Add a meeting from notes**.
2. A meeting named **New meeting** is added to the top of the list and opens. Click the title and type a new one.
3. In the **Overview** tab, write the summary under **Summary**.
4. To keep a transcript, paste it into **Plain transcript text**.

Your changes are saved when you click away. The meeting is marked **Notes only**, or **Transcript pasted** once it has a transcript.

A meeting added from notes is not transcribed or analysed, so it has no timeline, speakers, analytics or found commitments. See [Meeting wrap-up and records](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-wrap-up-and-records#open-a-meetings-record).

## Keys in the Record window

| Press | To |
| --- | --- |
| `Enter` | Start, from anywhere except **NOTES**. |
| `⌘` `Enter` on a Mac, `Ctrl` `Enter` on Windows | Start, while you are writing in **NOTES**. |
| `⌘` `M` on a Mac, `Ctrl` `M` on Windows | Switch between **Record notes** and **Record external**. |
| `Esc` | Close the window without recording. |

## When the microphone is not working

PlexiDesk listens to the microphone for a moment before it starts. If something is wrong, the **Record** window stays open and says why:

| The window says | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Plexii is not allowed to use the microphone.** | Click **Open microphone settings** and turn the microphone on for PlexiDesk, then try again. |
| **Plexii is receiving silence from the microphone — every sample is zero.** | On a Mac this almost always means PlexiDesk is not allowed to use the microphone. Click **Open microphone settings**, turn it on, then try again. |
| **Could not access the microphone. Check your system permissions.** | Check that a microphone is connected and allowed for PlexiDesk. |

If the microphone goes silent while you record, the level is replaced by **No sound is reaching Plexii**, with a **Microphone settings** link.

## Tips

- **Write your notes first.** A line or two under **NOTES** about who is in the meeting and what it is for leads the record, in your own words.
- **Attach the desk you are working on.** With **Record notes**, attaching a desk puts the record, transcript and commitments straight onto it.
- **Recording a call while you work elsewhere.** The **Record external** bar stays on screen across PlexiDesk, so you can keep notes in a document while the call runs.
- **Book external calls on your calendar.** A pasted video link gives you the record button on the block, and a repeating meeting then keeps track of what is still open from last time.

## Common questions

**Do the other people on the call know I am recording?** Not from PlexiDesk. **Record external** does not ask them, so tell them yourself. In a PlexiiMeet meeting, everyone is asked first. See [Recording, consent and transcripts](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-recording-and-consent).

**Why does the transcript say Them rather than people's names?** The other side of the call reaches PlexiDesk as one sound, so it is labelled **Them**. PlexiDesk does not guess names.

**Does the audio leave my computer?** It is transcribed on this computer and kept there for as long as **Keep meeting audio** says. See [Meeting wrap-up and records](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-wrap-up-and-records#keep-re-transcribe-or-delete-the-audio).

**How is this different from the Transcribe widget on Home?** The Transcribe widget records your microphone for quick dictation. To keep a meeting, with a summary and commitments, use PlexiiMeet. See [Transcribe widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-transcribe).

## Related tasks

- [Meeting wrap-up and records](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-wrap-up-and-records)
- [PlexiiMeet: meetings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-overview)
- [Recording, consent and transcripts](https://plexiidesk.com/help/meet-recording-and-consent)
- [Meetings from your Google or Outlook calendar](https://plexiidesk.com/help/calendar-mirrored-meetings)
- [Allow microphone, camera and screen recording on a Mac](https://plexiidesk.com/help/mac-permissions)