AI Formatting
AI Formatting applies court-standard formatting to each section of your transcript. Donna uses your template's formatting rules to add proper indentation, colloquy headers, Q&A bylines, and speaker labels — all shown as track changes for your review.
AI Formatting is available for Legal Transcription projects with a template selected. The Format Section button appears in the editor toolbar when a template is assigned to the project.
How to Format
Proofread First
Before formatting, make sure your transcript has been proofread. Formatting works on proofread text that has correct speaker labels and punctuation.
Navigate to a Section
Scroll to the section you want to format (proceedings, cover page, appearances, index, certificate, or errata) and place your cursor in that section.
Click Format Section
Press Cmd+Shift+F (Windows: Ctrl+Shift+F) or click the Format Section button in the toolbar. The editor shows a progress indicator while Donna processes the section.
Review Changes
When formatting finishes, changes appear as track changes:
- Green text — New formatting Donna added
- Red strikethrough text — Old text being replaced
Accept or Reject
Review the formatting changes:
- Accept All to apply the formatting
- Reject All to keep the original text
- Review individual changes if needed
What Gets Formatted
Proceedings
- Q&A bylines and indentation
- Colloquy headers (BY MR. SMITH:)
- Speaker label formatting
- Examination transitions (DIRECT, CROSS, REDIRECT)
Cover Page
- Court name and jurisdiction from job sheet
- Case number and party names
- Witness name, date, time, and location
- Proceeding type
Appearances
- Attorney listings with firm names
- Addresses and contact information
- Representing party labels
Index of Certified Questions
- Question descriptions with page and line references
- Formatted table layout
Page numbers in the index may need manual updating after formatting if the content length changed.
Certificate
- Reporter's certification text
- Notary information and deposition details
Errata Sheet
- Deponent name and deposition date
- Change-tracking table structure
How It Works
- Donna identifies which section the cursor is in
- The section content and your template's formatting rules are sent to Google Gemini
- Gemini returns properly formatted text matching your rules
- Changes are applied as track changes so you can review before accepting
Format each section independently and review changes one section at a time. This gives you full control over the formatting applied to your transcript.
After Formatting
Once all sections are formatted and changes accepted:
- Use File > Export as DOCX to generate a Word document
- The exported file preserves all formatting, fonts, and layout from your template
- The Word file is ready for review and filing
Tips
- Format sections in order: proceedings first, then cover, appearances, index, certificate, errata
- Always proofread before formatting — the formatter expects corrected text
- If formatting produces unexpected results, use Undo (Cmd+Z) to revert
- Each section is formatted independently — you can re-format a single section without affecting others