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Note widget

Larger paper for longer plain writing on a desk, such as meeting notes or a draft, with bold text, pasted tables, @ links and AI-drafted notes.

All plansUpdated

A Note is a larger sheet of paper on your desk for longer writing: meeting notes, a draft paragraph, or ideas that don't fit on a sticky. It keeps a light paper look with a serif font in every theme, and it keeps its size as you write, so longer text scrolls inside it.

A Note is deliberately plain. It shows bold text, pasted tables and @ links, and leaves everything else exactly as you typed it. For headings, lists and checklists, use a Markdown widget, a Page or a Sticky.

More about this widget Coming soon

Before you start

  • The Note widget is included on every plan.
  • Letting AI draft notes, and AI Assist, need AI to be set up: PlexiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own Anthropic key. See AI credits and where your AI runs Coming soon.

Add a note

  1. Open the desk.
  2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header.
  3. Click Note.

The note appears beside the widget you touched last, ready for you to type.

Other ways to add one:

  • Quick-add key. Click an empty part of the desk so that no widget is selected, then press N. See Add widgets with a single key.
  • Tool rail. Rest the pointer on the tool rail at the right of the desk and click Add widget. Click Advanced, then Note under Notes. Or type note in the search box.
  • Command palette. Press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows, type add note and choose Add Note.
  • From another widget. Right-click another widget's title bar, or text you have selected in it, and choose Create & link > Note. The new note appears to the right of it, linked to it. It starts with a copy of the text you selected, or of all the text when you right-click a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget.

In the Add widget menu, Note is in the Write & capture column, after Sticky. You can also type note in Search widgets… at the top of the menu and press Enter to add the first match.

Write in a note

  1. Click the note and type. An empty note shows Notes, thoughts, anything that doesn’t fit on a sticky… until you start.
  2. Click anywhere outside the note when you are done. It shows your text formatted.
  3. To change the text, click it again.

Your text saves as you type.

What gets formatted

  • Bold. Type two asterisks either side of words, like **decision**.
  • Tables. Paste a table written in markdown: a header row with the columns between bars, a row of dashes under it, then one row per line. When you click away, it shows as a table with ruled cells.
  • @ links. Mentions show as links. See below.

Every other line shows exactly as you typed it, including blank lines.

  1. While typing in the note, type @. A list of desks, rooms, widgets, documents and people appears. Keep typing to narrow it.
  2. Pick one with the arrow keys and Enter (or Tab), or click it. Esc closes the list.
  3. Click away from the note. The mention shows as a link.

Click a link to a desk or room to go there, or a link to a widget to go to the desk it is on. See Link desks, widgets and people with @.

Let AI draft notes

AI can suggest notes from what the desk is about. It looks at the desk's name and notes, the note's title, what is already in it and the other widgets on the desk, and writes one thought per line.

  1. On an empty note, click Set up with AI at the bottom of the note. On a note that already has text, right-click its title bar and choose Build with AI.
  2. The Set up with AI window drafts a short list of notes.
  3. To steer it, type what to focus on in the box at the top, then press Enter or click Redraft.
  4. Untick any notes you don't want. They all start ticked.
  5. Click Add. The button shows how many notes are ticked.

Each note is added on its own line, starting with a dash, under anything already in the note. To close the window without adding anything, click Cancel.

The sparkle button at the start of the note's title bar opens the same window. It reads Write with AI on an empty note and Rewrite with AI once the note has text, and its tooltip says Draft the notes from what this desk is about. In both cases the notes you tick are added under what is already there, and nothing changes until you click Add. See Use a widget's AI button.

Rewrite text with AI Assist

  1. Click the note so you are typing, then select some text.
  2. Right-click the selection and choose AI Assist, then an action such as Summarise, Improve Clarity, Change Tone or Translate.
  3. Read the result. Click Apply to put it in place of your selection, Copy to copy it, Regenerate for another version, or Discard.

To work on the whole note, right-click its title bar and choose AI Assist. Then Apply replaces all of the note's text. A useful one after a meeting: AI Assist > Summarise on the whole note, then Copy to paste the summary elsewhere and keep your original notes. See AI Assist: rewrite, summarise and translate text.

Copy, move and share the text

  • Copy the text. Right-click the title bar and choose Share > Copy text. Or select text while typing and press ⌘ C (Ctrl C on Windows).
  • Copy it into another widget. Right-click the title bar, choose Create & link, and under Copy into pick Sticky, Markdown or Page. A new widget appears to the right with a copy of the text, linked to the note. The note stays as it is.
  • Share the note. Right-click the title bar and choose Share > Share.... See Share a widget, document or file Coming soon.
  • Live view. When you publish a live view of the desk, people with the link see the note's text. See Publish a live view of a desk.

A note has no file export. To save its text as a file, copy it into a Markdown widget and export it from there. See Markdown widget.

Make the note bigger

A note keeps the size you give it. To see more at once:

  • Drag any edge or corner of the note.
  • Click the + button on its title bar to grow it by half, or − to shrink it again.
  • Or scroll inside the note.

See The controls on every widget.

Good uses

  • Notes from a call, kept on the desk for that project.
  • A first draft of an email or announcement before it goes anywhere else.
  • A running log of decisions, with @ links to the desks they affect.

Common questions

Why does my dash not turn into a bullet?

A Note shows lines as you type them. For bullets and checkboxes, use a Sticky; for headings, lists and task lists, use a Markdown widget or a Page. To move your text across, right-click the note and choose Create & link, then a widget under Copy into.

Does the note change colour in the dark theme?

No. A note keeps its light paper look in every theme, so it reads like paper on the desk.

Can I get a note out as a file?

Copy it into a Markdown widget and use Export as HTML or Export as PDF there.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].