Donna Chat
Donna is your AI assistant inside the editor. Ask her to proofread your transcript, apply formatting, look up terminology, or answer questions about your workflow. She understands natural language — just describe what you need.
Opening and Closing Donna
- Open: Click the chat icon in the toolbar, or go to Tools → Donna
- Close: Click the X in the panel, or press Escape
- Keyboard shortcut:
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+K— focus the chat input from anywhere in the editor; pressCmd/Ctrl+Shift+1to return focus to the document
The Donna panel appears on the right side of the editor. It stays open as you edit and updates in real time as AI operations progress.
What You Can Ask
Donna understands natural language. You don't need to memorize commands — just describe what you want:
Proofreading
| What to type | What happens |
|---|---|
| "Proofread my transcript" | Proofreads the whole document |
| "Proofread the selected text" | Proofreads only your selection |
| "Fix grammar from the cursor" | Proofreads from current position |
All proofreading changes appear as Track Changes in the editor so you can review each one individually.
Formatting (Legal projects)
| What to type | What happens |
|---|---|
| "Format this section" | Applies court reporting formatting to your selection |
| "Format the examination" | Applies Q/A, speaker labels, and indentation |
Formatting requires a Legal project with a template selected.
Questions and Lookups
Donna can also answer questions about your document and workflow:
- "What speaker labels are in this document?"
- "How do I format an objection?"
- "What's the shortcut for inserting a speaker label?"
- "Look up 'voir dire'" — searches the web for selected terms
Donna's answers are contextual — she knows your project type, template, and the current state of your transcript.
During Long Operations
When proofreading or formatting is running:
- Progress messages appear in the chat panel as the document is processed
- The chat input is disabled while AI is working
- You can still edit the document while AI processing runs in the background
- Donna will notify you (and play a sound, if enabled) when the operation finishes
For long transcripts, processing may take several minutes. The chat will show progress messages as each section completes.
Sound Notifications
Donna plays a sound when long operations complete. Configure this in Settings → Audio:
- Success chime (proofreading, formatting complete)
- Error tone (if an operation fails)
- Chat response (when Donna replies)
Tips
- Describe the task in plain language — Donna understands context. "Proofread the selected text" works just as well as a formal command.
- Use proofread before manual edits — it catches bulk issues and gives you a clean baseline
- Format section by section for Legal transcripts — ask Donna to format one examination at a time for more consistent results
- Ask about shortcuts — if you can't remember a keyboard shortcut, just ask Donna in the chat
- Check the panel after exporting — Donna logs any export warnings (missing placeholders, unfilled fields) in the chat history