What You'll Learn
- The layout of the AI Scribe workspace and its key areas
- How to identify the recording controls, text input, and note editor
- What the toolbar buttons do and where to find them
The Workspace at a Glance
The AI Scribe workspace is your primary screen for clinical documentation. When you open it, you see three main zones working together: the notes panel on the left, the note editor in the center, and the recording and input controls at the bottom.
This is where every encounter starts and finishes. You record, the AI writes, you review, and you send — all without leaving this page.
The Patients Panel
Click Show Patients in the top-right corner to open the Patients Panel on the left side of the screen. This panel lets you quickly switch between patients or search for a specific one. Each patient card shows their name and recent activity, and clicking a patient loads their notes into the workspace.
Use the search bar at the top of the panel to find patients by name — helpful when you need to quickly pull up a specific patient's records.
The Recording Controls
Centered at the bottom of the workspace, the Start Recording button is the primary action. It appears as a blue pill-shaped button with a microphone icon. If your system detects multiple microphones, a dropdown chevron appears to the right of the button, letting you:
- Select your microphone input — choose which device to record from
- Capture Telehealth Audio — toggle this switch to record both your microphone and browser audio simultaneously (useful for Zoom, Doxy.me, or any browser-based telehealth call)
Below the Start Recording button, you may see a brief disclaimer notice the first time you record. After your first session, recording starts immediately on click.
The Text Input Area
Below the note editor, there is a text input field with rotating placeholder hints such as “Paste text, notes, or context here — no recording needed...” and “Merge my last 2 notes into one using my Ortho Follow-Up template.” This field lets you:
- Paste a transcript, referral letter, or any clinical text for the AI to process
- Type natural-language instructions like “Reformat my last chart using my pre-op clearance template”
- Attach files (PDFs, images) by dragging them in or clicking the attachment icon
You do not have to record audio to generate a note. Pasting text and selecting a template works just as well.
The Note Editor
The center of the workspace displays the rich text editor. This is where your AI-generated note appears after processing. The editor includes a toolbar with formatting controls, providing:
- Text formatting — font family, font size, bold, italic, strikethrough, lists, and quotes
- Insertions — images, links, horizontal rules, tables, and print
- AI tools — AI Scratchpad (Ctrl+S), AI Magic Edit (Ctrl+R), Quick Phrases (Ctrl+M), Save Quick Phrase (Ctrl+Shift+M), Dictation (Ctrl+D), and ICD-10 Search (Ctrl+F)
The Action Icons
Above each generated note, you see a row of action icons. These are configurable through your Automations settings, and include:
- Copy — copy the note text to your clipboard
- PDF — generate a PDF and e-signature version of the note
- Gmail — send the note via email
- EHR — push the note directly to your connected EHR system
- Fax — send the note via AI-powered fax
- History — view edit history and previous versions
- Merge — combine with other notes
- Agents — trigger AI automation agents on this note
You can show or hide any of these icons from the Automations page under Toolbar Icon Visibility.
Template Selection
When you click the regeneration icon next to a note, a dropdown menu appears showing your saved templates. You can click any template name to regenerate the note using that template's structure. Below the template list, an optional text area lets you type additional clinical context or observations before regenerating.
Customizing Your Toolbar
You can declutter the action icons row by toggling off any buttons you don't use. This keeps the workspace focused on the tools that matter to your workflow.
- Go to Settings > Automation Rules.
- Scroll down to the Note Toolbar Customization section.
- Toggle off any icons you do not need — changes take effect immediately.
Once you remove unused icons, the toolbar becomes noticeably cleaner and easier to scan at a glance.
Next Steps
Continue to Lesson 1.2 — Recording Your First Encounter