What is a note?
A note is an editable rich-text document in your lab. It can hold formatted text, images, formulas, and resource views, so it works as a simple memo, a page of your electronic laboratory notebook, or a scientific report presenting the results of a scenario. A note has a title and can optionally be linked to a folder in your space, which allows it to be synchronized and shared with your team.
Unlike a plain text editor, a note is a first-class lab object: it can be searched, tagged, linked to scenarios, validated, and archived. Its content is also versioned, so every change is recorded in a save history you can review and roll back. Beyond text and views, a note can embed structured forms directly in its content — either a brand-new form or a reference to an existing one — so data capture lives alongside the report that describes it.
What is a note template?
A note template is a reusable content blueprint for notes. It has a title and rich-text content, but no folder, no validation, and no synchronization — it is not a deliverable on its own. Templates let you standardize the structure of recurring notes (for example a standard experiment report or a weekly meeting note) so every new note starts from the same layout.
Templates and notes are connected in both directions. When you create a note, you can start it from a template to pre-fill its content. Conversely, you can turn an existing note into a new template to capture a layout you have already built. A template can also be inserted into an existing note's content as a content block.
Key concepts
Note lifecycle
A note moves through a small set of states during its life:
- Editable — the default state. The content can be modified freely. A note is editable as long as it is neither archived nor validated.
- Validated — the content is locked and can no longer be edited. Validation records who validated the note and when, and requires the note to be linked to a folder.
- Archived — the note is hidden from the default list but not deleted. Archiving is reversible: an archived note can be unarchived and becomes editable again.
Note templates vs. notes
Notes and note templates share a rich-text editor but serve different purposes. The table below summarizes the differences:
What's in this section?
This section walks you through everything related to notes and note templates:
- Notes page — browsing, searching, and filtering notes.
- Creating and editing notes — creating a note, linking scenarios and folders, printing, synchronizing, validating, archiving, and deleting.
- Note content — using the note editor, inserting note templates, inserting resource views, and embedding forms.
- Note template page — browsing, searching, and filtering note templates.
- Creating and editing note templates — creating, using, printing, and deleting note templates.
- Note FAQ — common questions, troubleshooting, and edge cases.
