Notes Tools

Real-time online note-taking with co-workers & teams

Overview

Whether it's brainstorming with coworkers, the meeting notes you share with attendees, or the plans you're working on with partners, vendors & customers, real-time collaboration is an essential part of how we work. The notes module makes it easier to work together with co-workers in ways that keeps everyone organized & productive

Typical use-cases of Notes

  • Capture and Organize Important Personal Information

  • Capture and Organize Important Team Information

  • Meeting Notes

  • Recurring Meeting Agenda

  • Program Planning, Tracking & Status

  • Strategic Planning

  • Weekly Planner

  • Goal Tracking

  • Creative Brief

  • Call Debrief

  • Weekly Account Plan

  • Weekly Social Media Plan

  • Brainstorming Session

  • Employee Onboarding Checklist

  • Employee Off-boarding Checklist

  • 1-1 Meetings

  • User Feedback and Reviews

  • Product Launch Checklist

  • Sign-up Sheet for an Event

  • Performance Review

  • Interview Scheduling & Feedback

  • Interview Candidate Co-ordination

  • Bug/feature Request List

  • Weekly Shift Management

  • Marketing Budget Review

  • Marketing Launch Plan

  • Event Planning

  • Team Availability

  • Team Task Lists

  1. Search Notes: Type the keyword in the Search Notes text box to do a look-ahead search on the notes title and a deep search in the full content.

  2. Filter Notes: Choose the filter to display notes.

    • All Notes: Show all notes in the list.

    • Created By Me: Show only the notes which you have created .

    • Pinned by Me: Show only the notes which you have pinned.

    • Shared With Me: Show only those notes which have been shared with me by other network users.

  3. Sort Notes: Choose the filter to sort the notes in the list.

    • Title (A-Z): Sort the notes alphabetically from A-Z (Ascending).

    • Recently Modified: Sort all your notes as per the last activity time. The most recently edited note is displayed at the top of the list.

    • Recently Accessed By Me: Sort all your notes as per your last access. The most recently accessed note by you is displayed at the top of the list.

  4. List of Notes: List of all notes created, pinned, shared with you. Click a note to open it in the Note Editor. A note may have one or more of these icons after the name

    • No icon: Private note, not shared with/accessible to other users.

  5. Note Editor: Microsoft Word-like visual text editor for the selected note. Use the toolbar within the text editor to add/edit/style/delete content in the note.

  6. New Note: Click the New Note button to create a new note.

  7. Note Tools: Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Message Co-Editors & Creator or Access Tracking or Set a Reminder or Edit Reminder or Pin or Unpin or Duplicate or Download (PDF). See Note Tools for more information.

  8. Share: Click the Share button to open the Share Note pop-up and share the note with other network users, configure the shareable link, and permissions for the note.

Deleted notes are moved to the Trash Can which can be recovered and restored by the creator or network admins.

Creating a New Note

You can create a blank note or use an out-of-the-box template or a custom admin-created template to create a new note in MangoApps. To create a new note:

  1. Click the New Note button in the Notes page to open the New Note pop-up. OR

  2. Select the preferred template for the note.

    • Select the Blank Note option to create a blank note. Click the Preview button to see the preview of the template in a new pop-up, scroll the templates, click the Select button and then click the Continue button to use the template and open the note in edit mode. OR

    • Select one of the out-of-the-box or admin-created Notes templates. For example, click the Meeting Notes template and then click the Continue button to use the template and open the note in edit mode.

  3. Edit the title of the note as preferred. For example, enter Brainstorm - Help Articles in the title text box.

  4. Edit the content of the note in the Notes Editor.

MangoApps automatically saves all changes to notes as you type in real-time.

Each note has a unique URL for it in the domain.

Editing a Note

Click a note to open it in the Note Editor. Use the toolbar within the text editor to add/edit/style/delete content in the note with:

  • The editing and styling tools to easily format text and paragraphs.

  • The inline tables to capture project plan, due dates, priority, and keep everyone organized.

  • Capture and track action items that come from meetings, email, or chat messages using checklists in notes, to get stuff done and stay sane in the process.

  • The MangoApps Media Library module to embed images & GIFs to support richer content experiences.

  • Use the outline to jump directly to a specific section on a long document and make your edit, post an inline comment, or just read it.

Shared notes send notifications to the other editors (if they were not participating in real-time on the note) based on their configured notifications. The notification is sent when the editor has finished editing and leaves the note.

Requesting Edit Access

If a note is only shared with view access, users can easily request additional access.

At the top of the note, click where on View Only.

Then, click on Request Edit Access.

If desired, type a message that will be shared with the note's owner. If you do not include a message, the request will say, " I would like to get access to this note." Once you are satisfied, click on Send Request.

The note's owner will receive a private message. From here, they can Approve or Decline the request.

Then, they will be asked to confirm their choice.

The requestor will get a private message response letting them know of the decision. If permission has been granted, they will instantly have the additional access.

Co-Authoring a Note With Multiple Users

Shared notes are often worked on by multiple users simultaneously. Users can:

  • Edit and style the content using editing and styling tools from the visual editor toolbar.

    • Styling (H1 to H6)

    • Bulleted list

    • Numbered list

    • Post a comment

    • Text formatting

    • Copy/cut actions

  • Give and get better feedback with inline comments on a specific part of the note; attributions show you who’s added what. The UI shows the inline comments expanded in the full-screen view and as a bubble (with the count of comments and replies on it) in the normal note view.

  • Enable Track Changes for suggestions to make edits and build about each other’s ideas.

  • Click a user's profile icon in the note to start a 1-on-1 chat with them right within the note.

Up to 10 users can simultaneously co-edit a shared note at any point of time in MangoApps.

Sharing a Note

You can share your created notes with other network users and teams. A note creator can generate a shareable link and assign access permissions for a shared note.

Click the Share button to open the Share Note pop-up.

  1. Enable shareable link: Click the toggle bar to create a shareable link for the note. If enabled, automatically converts a private note into a 'shared note' even if the link is not shared with other users on the domain. If disabled, users with whom the link was shared with previously continue to have access to the note without any modifications to their permissions.

  2. Shareable Link Permissions: Select the permissions for the note when a user accesses the note via the shareable link.

    • View: Select the View option to allow users with the shareable link to only view the note.

    • Edit: Select the Edit option to allow users with the shareable link to edit and collaborate on the note.

  3. Copy Link: Easily copy share link.

  4. Enable Public Sharing: Click the toggle bar to enable public sharing of note with no sign in required

  5. Share with specific users: Enter the name of the network users to share the note with.

  6. Permission: Select the permission for the note for the specified users.

    • Editor: Select the Editor option to allow users to edit the note. Users with Editor permission can co-edit, manage share permissions, duplicate, share, view access history, comment, set a reminder, and download notes.

    • Viewer: Select the Viewer option to allow users to edit the note. Users with Viewer permission can only view, comment, set a reminder, and download notes.

    • Viewer (No Download): Select the Viewer (No Download) option to allow users to edit the note. Users with Viewer (No Download) permission can only view, comment, and set a reminder for notes.

  7. Subject: Enter a subject line for the private message that will be sent to user you are sharing notes access with.

  8. Message: Enter an optional message with the shareable link of the note.

  9. Manage Current Permissions: Click the Manage Current Permissions link to open the Manage Current Permissions pop-up and manage the access permissions for the editors and viewers of the selected note. See Manage Current Permissions for more information.

  10. Send/Done: Click the Send button to send the private message to the specified users with a link to the note and the optional message. OR Click the Done button to apply the share permissions to the note and close the Share Note pop-up.

If the shareable link is shared with a team in MangoApps, all the members (network users and guest users) will have the same access permission applied to the link of the note; unless the creator/editor(s) explicitly changes the permissions for a network user.

Users can edit shared notes simultaneously in real-time.

Managing Current Permissions

  1. Shared With: Name of the network user the note is shared with.

  2. Permissions: Access permission granted to the user for the note. Click the drop-down list for the user and select the preferred permission.

  3. Shareable Link: Shareable link to the note with the View/Edit permission as defined in the Share Note pop-up.

    • Click the Copy Link option to copy the shareable link to the clipboard.

  4. Close: Click the Close button to apply the permissions to the note and close the Manage Current Permission pop-up.

Users with the Editor and Creator role, both can manage the permissions for each user the note is shared with for shared notes.

Note Tools

Message Co-Editors

Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Message Co-Editors to send a private message to the co-editors and the creator of the note along with a link to the note.

  1. Message: Enter a brief message for the private message.

  2. Recipients: Mark the checkbox for the users you want to send the message to.

  3. Send: Click the Send button to send the private message along with the link to the note to the selected users.

Users with the Editor and Creator role, both can send private messages to other co-editors and creator for notes via the Message Co-Editors pop-up. This action is shown only when the note is shared.

Access Tracking

Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Access Tracking to view the access history of the note and download the access history as a CSV/PDF.

  1. Access History: Access history of the note on the domain by all users who have access to the note.

  2. Access History Filters: Choose the filter to display the access history.

    • All: Show the access history for all activities on the note.

    • Viewed: Show the access history for all the views of the note.

    • Downloaded: Show the access history for all the downloads of the note.

    • Created: Show the access history for the creation activity of the note.

    • Shared: Show the access history for the sharing activities for the note. Includes changes to the modes of the shareable link, shared with a user along with the role, enabling/disabling of the shareable link.

    • Renamed: Show the access history for all renaming activities of the note's title.

    • Modified: Show the access history for all edits to the content by the users of the note.

    • Permissions: Show the access history for changes to the permissions for the users of the note by all users of the note.

  3. Export: Click the Export drop-down to display the options and download the full Access History for all activities.

    • CSV: Click the CSV option to download the Access History to a .csv file.

    • PDF: Click the PDF option to download the Access History to a .pdf file.

  4. Close: Click the Close button to close the Access Tracking pop-up.

Users with the Editor and Creator role, both can view the access history of the note and download the access history as a CSV/PDF via the Access Tracking pop-up.

Set a Reminder

All users who have access to the note can set a reminder for it. Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Set a Reminder to open the Set A Reminder pop-up.

  1. Date/Time: Select the date and time for the reminder. The timezone is as per the user's Locale settings.

  2. Short Note: Enter an optional short note for the reminder.

  3. Color: Select a color for the reminder from the color picker for the reminder.

  4. Save: Click the Save button to add and save the reminder to your calendar.

Edit Reminder

Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Edit Reminder to modify the reminder settings in the Edit Reminder pop-up.

Pin

All users who have access to the note can pin it. Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Pin to pin a note and receive notifications for it based on your chosen Notification Settings for Notes.

Unpin

Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Unpin to unpin a note and stop receiving notifications for it based on your chosen Notification Settings for Notes.

Duplicate

Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Duplicate to create a duplicate of the current note and open it in Edit mode.

  1. Title: Enter a name for the note in the Note Title text box. For example, enter 'Brainstorm - User Guide' in the text box.

  2. Duplicate: Click the Duplicate button to create a duplicate of the note and open it in Edit mode.

A duplicate note does NOT include the inline comments and track changes of the original note.

Users with the Editor and Creator role, both can duplicate a note to create a new note from it via the Duplicate Note pop-up.

Download (PDF)

Users with the Creator, Editor, and Viewer role can download the note as a PDF. Click the Tools button to display the drop-down list and then click Download (PDF) to download the selected note as a PDF.

Downloaded PDF of a note does NOT include the inline comments and track changes suggestions.

Up to 10 users can simultaneously co-edit a shared note at any point of time in MangoApps.

FAQs

What are the permissions associated with Notes?

The below table explains the permissions associated with Notes for different user roles:

Role

View

Comment

Reminder

Download

Duplicate

Edit

Share

Access History

Delete

Creator

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

Editor

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

✓

Viewer

✓

✓

✓

✓

Viewer (No Download)

✓

✓

✓

Can guest users co-edit and collaborate on Notes?

Yes, guest users CAN co-edit and collaborate on a note that has a "Editable" sharing enabled just like the network users in the team. The guest users however can't further share the note.

When is a notification triggered for Notes?

MangoApps sends notifications to the users for notes activities only when the user was not participating in a live co-editing session of the shared/pinned note. Note Activities for notifications:

  • For content:

    • On completion of edit/co-edit on notes created or pinned by users

    • On completion of edit/co-edit on notes shared with users

  • For comments:

    • Inline comment on notes created or pinned by users

    • Inline comment on notes shared with users

Network users can opt to receive notifications for the Notes' activities via User Profile > Settings > Change My Settings > Notification Settings > Change What's Important > Notes.

Which browsers support the Notes module?

Full support for notes & co-editing exists on the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. For IE Edge good support exists. Currently, notes are NOT supported on IE 11.

Which Notes templates does MangoApps provide out-of-the-box?

The out-of-the-box templates include:

  • Meeting Notes

  • Project Plan

  • Project Status

  • Weekly status

  • Onboarding notes

What is the difference between Notes, Posts, and Wikis modules?

Each module serves a unique set of use-cases; there are many differences in their functionality and features.

Feature

Notes

Wikis

Posts

Microsoft Word-like visual text editor

✓

✓

✓

System templates

✓

✓

✓

Can limit editing by other team members

✓

✓

✓

Export as PDF file

✓

✓

✓

Ability to attach files and resources

Images Only

✓

✓

Track total and unique views

✗

✓

✓

Allow comments, like and other social actions

✗

✓

✓

Detailed access tracking

✓

✓

✓

Save as a draft

✗

✓

✓

Revision tracking and rollback

✗

✓

✗

Ability to organize in parent/child hierarchy

✗

✓

✗

Schedule publish

✗

✗

✓

Custom templates

✓

✗

✓

Ability to organize in categories

✗

✗

✓

Ability to mark it as must-read

✗

✗

✓

Ability to require view acknowledgement

✗

✗

✓

Block-based templates and editing

✗

✗

✓

Featured cover image

✗

✗

✓

Listen as a podcast

✗

✗

✓

Real-time editing with coworkers

✓

✗

✗

Typical content length

Medium/Short

Long

Medium/Short

Typical update frequency

High

Low

Rare

Share in a team

Optional

Required

Required

Sharing control

Private/Limited/Team

Team

Team/Intranet

Mobile support

View only

View only

View and create

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