What is the Workspace?
The Workspace appears on the right side of your screen and allows you to create and edit documents without leaving your chat conversation. See your documents update in real-time as Novis works, then review, edit, and refine as needed.
Document Types
Novis supports two document types in the Workspace:
Notes (.md)
Best for:
Quick summaries and brainstorming
Knowledge capture and note-taking
Lightweight documentation
Markdown-formatted content
Features:
Fast to create and edit
Simple, clean formatting
Easy to organize and reference
Suitable for internal use and quick references
Documents (.docx)
Best for:
Formal reports and proposals
Documents with tables and rich formatting
Client-facing deliverables
Policy documents and SOPs
Features:
Professional Word document format
Support for tables, headers, footers, and styling
Track changes and Suggestion Mode
Easy to share and collaborate
Ready for download and distribution
Creating Documents
Request a Document
In Chat, ask Novis to create a document. Examples:
"Create a document for a project proposal"
"Draft a note about market research findings"
"Generate a Word document with our strategy"
Document Appears Immediately
Once created, your document appears in the Workspace on the right side. You'll see real-time updates as Novis generates content.
Review & Iterate
Once the document is complete, you can:
Review the content
Ask Novis to refine or expand sections
Edit manually if needed
Request changes to tone, structure, or format
Editing Documents
Suggestion Mode (Default)
When you request edits, Novis uses Suggestion Mode by default:
How it works:
Novis proposes edits using track changes
You can compare the original text and the proposed changes
Review suggestions one by one
Accept the changes you want (simply click on Apply) and reject the ones you don’t
Your final document includes only the changes you approve
Benefits:
Maintain full control over your document
Review every change before it's applied
Easy to compare original vs. proposed versions
Professional and safe editing approach
Controlling Edit Visibility
The editing toolkit features a Visibility Button (represented by an eye icon) that gives you control over how you view pending changes.
Show Edits: Displays all "redlines". This is ideal for reviewing the proposed changes against your text.
Hide Edits (View Original): Click the eye icon to hide the suggestions and view the original document exactly as it was before the edits were proposed. This allows you to reference the previous version and see how the text looked before the changes.
Note: Toggling this view does not accept or reject changes; it simply hides the suggestions so you can see the original text.
Comments (optional): see why an edit was suggested
When you apply an edit with a comment, Novis adds a short explanation alongside the change. This helps you understand the reasoning (for example, clarity, consistency, or standard wording) before you accept it.
Applying edits: what the options mean
When reviewing edits, you can choose how each change is applied:
Apply as direct edit:
Applies the change immediately (no suggestion/tracked change step).Apply as suggestion (with comment):
Adds the change as a tracked suggestion plus an explanation comment showing why it was recommended.Apply as direct edit (with comment):
Applies the change immediately and adds a comment explaining the reasoning.
Re-apply: why it’s useful
If you accidentally delete a suggested change, reject something you didn’t mean to, or make manual edits that you want to undo, Re-apply lets Novis re-generate those suggestions for the current version of the document. This helps you quickly bring back the recommended edits without re-running the entire request from scratch.
Quick Edit
Quick Edit lets you make instant, focused changes to selected text without switching back to chat.
How it works:
Select any text in your open document
Click Quick Edit from the menu that appears
Type your instruction in the text bar (e.g., "shorten this," "make this more formal," "simplify")
Novis suggests the change directly in the document
Review and apply the suggestion
Making Manual Edits
You can edit documents directly in the Workspace at any time. Click into the document, make changes, and they save automatically.
Managing Your Documents
Download Documents
Once your document is ready, you can download it:
Go to File
Select Download as
Choose your preferred format (if applicable)
Your file will be saved to your computer’s Downloads folder.
Share Documents
You can share documents with colleagues from the Documents page.
Open Documents.
Find the file you want to share (for example in Workspace or Uploads).
Use the Share option to share it with people in your organisation.
If you need to share outside your organisation, download the file first (File → Download as) and share it using your usual tools (email, Drive, SharePoint, etc.).
For detailed guidance on working in the Documents page, read the Using Documents article.
Organize Your Work
Keep your Workspace organized:
Create documents with clear, descriptive titles
Use notes for quick references
Archive or delete documents you no longer need
Refer back to previous documents in chat conversations
Best Practices
Request Specific Edits – "Add a risk analysis section" is clearer than "improve it."
Review Suggestions Carefully – Take time to understand proposed changes before accepting.
Use Descriptive Titles – Name your documents clearly so they're easy to find and reference.
Iterate Gradually – Request small, focused edits rather than complete rewrites when possible.
Keep Context – Reference your original request or attached files when asking for modifications.
Leverage Track Changes – Use Suggestion Mode to maintain a record of edits and decisions.
Tips & Tricks
Work in Conversation – Chat remains on the left, Workspace on the right. Ask follow-up questions while reviewing your document.
Reference Previous Work – Novis remembers your conversation history. Say things like "Based on the document we created earlier..."
Combine Multiple Documents – Create separate documents and have Novis synthesize or compare them in chat.
Export for Collaboration – Download documents and share with non-Novis users for feedback, then request updates in chat.
Limitations
PDFs Are Read-Only – You cannot edit PDF files directly. Upload in an editable format such as `.docx` (Word) if you need to make changes.
Format Support – Some complex formatting from external tools may need adjustment when imported.
File Size – Very large documents may take longer to process.
Need help?
Need help?
For help with other features, see the articles in Using Novis:
Using Chat – How to ask questions, add context, and use tools
Using Documents – How to upload, organise, and share files
Using Transcripts – How to create and work with transcripts
Using Projects - How to organize your work more efficiently
Security & Privacy – How Novis protects your data
For an overview of Novis and your first steps, read the Getting Started article.
If you still have questions, contact [email protected].