Write and capture widgets

The Write and capture widgets hold words on a desk. There are seven of them: Sticky, Note, Markdown, Page, Voice note, Card and Living Doc. Each one sits on the desk beside your other widgets, and all seven are included on every plan.

This page helps you pick the right one, shows the ways to add it, and explains what they all have in common. Each widget has its own article with the details.

Which one to use

The seven widgets

Sticky

A small coloured note for a quick thought or a checklist. Type two asterisks either side of a word for bold, start a line with a dash for a bullet, or with [ ] for a box you can tick. Pick one of five paper colours. Quick-add key: S. See Sticky widget.

Note

Larger paper for longer plain writing, such as meeting notes or a draft paragraph. It keeps a light paper look with a serif font, and shows bold text, pasted tables and @ links. Quick-add key: N. See Note widget.

Markdown

A formatted note with a toolbar and a / menu for headings, lists, task lists, quotes, code and links. Copy it out as markdown, or export it as an HTML file or a PDF. Pick it when the note needs to travel. Quick-add key: M. See Markdown widget.

Page

A structured document on the desk, with headings, lists, to-dos, code, quotes and tables. AI draft writes a section for you to review before it goes in, and Make living turns the page into a summary that keeps itself up to date. Quick-add key: P. See Page widget.

Voice note

Record your voice, or a video, and get a transcript you can read as a summary, a cleaned-up version or the full text. Send the result to a new Sticky, Note, Markdown or Page. It has no quick-add key. See Voice note widget.

Card

A titled callout with an accent bar, a bold title and a body. Use it for the one point everyone should see when they open the desk. Quick-add key: D. See Card widget.

Living Doc

Give it a brief and it writes a summary of the desk, reading the other widgets and updating as they change. It has no quick-add key. See Living Doc widget. To turn a Page into a living summary instead, see Keep a living summary of a desk.

Add one to a desk

From the Add widget menu

1. Open a desk.
2. Click Add widget in the middle of the header.
3. Click the widget you want.

The new widget appears beside the widget you touched last. If you have not touched one yet, it appears in the middle of your view.

The Add widget menu groups widgets into columns by what you are doing, and Write & capture is the first column: Sticky, Note, Markdown, Page, Voice note, Card and Living Doc, in that order. To find one quickly, type in Search widgets… at the top of the menu. The search matches a widget's name, its description or its group, so typing write shows the whole column. Press Enter to add the first match.

With a single key

1. Click an empty part of the desk, so that no widget is selected and you are not typing.
2. Press the widget's key.

Voice note and Living Doc have no key. The Add widget menu shows each key in grey beside the widget's name. You can change the keys, and the menu always shows the ones you use. See Add widgets with a single key.

From the tool rail

1. Rest the pointer on the tool rail at the right of the desk, then click Add widget. The Add to this desk panel opens.
2. Find the widget:
   • Sticky and Page are under Notes.
   • Voice note is under Tools.
   • Note, Markdown, Card and Living Doc are under Advanced. Click Advanced to show them, or type the name in the search box.
3. Click the tile to add the widget, or drag the tile to the spot on the desk where you want it.

See The tool rail on the right of a desk.

From the command palette

1. With a desk open, press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows.
2. Type add and the widget's name, for example add note.
3. Choose Add Note (or Add Sticky, Add Page and so on).

What they have in common

Your writing saves as you type

There is no save button. A Sticky, Note, Markdown widget or Page saves a moment after you stop typing, and your writing is there when you come back to the desk.

Link to desks, widgets and people with @

In a Sticky, a Note or a Card, type @ and start typing a name. Pick a desk, room, widget, document or person from the list, using the arrow keys and Enter, or a click. 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 the content

On an empty Sticky, Note, Markdown, Card or Page, a Set up with AI button appears at the bottom of the widget. Click it and AI drafts content from what the desk is about: the desk's name and notes, the widget's title, what is already in it and the other widgets on the desk.

1. Click Set up with AI. The Set up with AI window opens and drafts suggestions.
2. To steer it, type what to focus on in the box at the top, then press Enter or click Redraft.
3. Untick anything you don't want. Every suggestion starts ticked.
4. Click Add, which shows how many items are ticked. On a Page, you get an outline instead and click Set up.

Nothing changes until you click Add or Set up. Cancel closes the window without changing anything. On a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget that already has text, right-click the title bar and choose Build with AI to open the same window. The items you tick are added under what is already there.

Every widget has an AI button, the sparkle at the start of the buttons on its title bar. Rest the pointer on it to see what it does for that widget. On an empty Sticky, Note, Markdown, Card or Page it reads Write with AI and opens the Set up with AI window described above. Once the widget has content it reads Rewrite with AI; each widget's article explains what it does then. On a Voice note or Living Doc the button reads Describe with AI or Refine with AI; see those widgets' articles. See also Use a widget's AI button.

Rewrite text with AI Assist

1. In a Sticky, Note, Markdown widget or Page, select the text you want to work on and right-click it. On a Sticky or Note, click into the text first so you are typing, then select.
2. Choose AI Assist, then an action: Expand, Simplify, Summarise, Rewrite, Fix Grammar, Improve Clarity or Continue Writing, or Change Tone, Translate or Custom Prompt... for more.
3. Read the result, then click Apply, Copy, Regenerate or Discard.

On a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget you can also right-click the title bar to work on all of its text at once. AI Assist is not offered on a Living Doc, because its AI writes the whole document. See AI Assist: rewrite, summarise and translate text.

Copy text into another widget

To carry text from a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget to another writing widget, right-click its title bar and choose Create & link. Under Copy into, pick Sticky, Note, Markdown or Page. A new widget of that type appears to the right with a copy of the text, linked to the original, which stays as it is. From a Page, select the text first and right-click the selection.

The items above Copy into in the same menu make other kinds of linked widget, such as Table, File or Automate with an agent. See Link widgets and set up wires.

Copy out, share and publish

• Copy text: on a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget, right-click the title bar and choose Share > Copy text. On a Page, select the text and press ⌘ C (Ctrl C on Windows).
• Share one widget: right-click the title bar and choose Share > Share.... See Share a widget, document or file Coming soon.
• Export a file: only the Markdown widget exports, as HTML or PDF. To export text from another writing widget, copy it into a Markdown widget first.
• Live view: when you publish a live view of a desk, Sticky, Note, Markdown and Card widgets show their text, and Page and Living Doc widgets show as documents. See Publish a live view of a desk.

Before you start

• Every Write and capture widget is included on every plan.
• AI features (Set up with AI, Build with AI, AI Assist, AI draft and the Living Doc) 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 and AI settings.
• Some Voice note features use your own Anthropic key. See Voice note widget.

Common questions

What is the difference between a Note and a Markdown widget?

A Note is plain paper: you type, and it shows bold text, pasted tables and @ links, with everything else exactly as you typed it. A Markdown widget is a formatting editor with a toolbar, headings, lists and task lists, and it can be copied out as markdown or exported as HTML or PDF.

Should I use Markdown or Page?

Use Markdown for a single note you will copy out or export. Use Page for a document that lives on the desk, with sections, to-do lists, AI draft and the option to make it a living summary. A Page has no file export.

Can I turn a sticky into a page?

Right-click the sticky and choose Create & link > Page under Copy into. You get a new Page with the sticky's text, linked to the sticky. If you no longer need the sticky, delete it.

I can't find Note or Markdown in the tool rail

They are under Advanced in the Add to this desk panel. Click Advanced, or type the name in the search box. They are always in the Add widget menu in the header.

Related tasks

• Sticky widget
• Note widget
• Markdown widget
• Page widget
• Voice note widget
• Card widget
• Living Doc widget
• Keep a living summary of a desk
• Add a widget to a desk
• The controls on every widget