Create and edit meeting minutes

The user who creates the Minutes document automatically becomes the Meeting Secretary. This can be changed later if needed.

Create minutes

Open the Meeting panel and select the Minutes tab.

You can start creating your Minutes in four different ways.

Blank document
Based on the meeting agenda (most common)
Copy minutes from a previous meeting
With help from AI

Creates a blank document where you add all Minutes sections and notes from scratch.

Regardless of which option you choose to create the Minutes, the document will open in the Minutes editor. The document will have draft status, meaning that only you, as the Meeting Secretary, can see it until you choose to share it with the Meeting participants.

Manage attendance

In the attendance section, you record who was present at the Meeting, including full attendees and any guests participating in specific Agenda items. This ensures that the Minutes accurately reflect who took part in the Meeting.

Edit attendance

Click the Edit attendance button to open the Attendande dialog.

Absent or Present

All participants invited to the Meeting are automatically listed as present if they accepted the invitation or replied “maybe,” and as absent if they declined. To change this, use the Attending toggles.

Show titles

If you want attendees titles to be shown in the attendance section, use the Title toggle. Titles are fetched from the title each user has in the workspace and are managed by workspace administrators. However, if needed, you can edit the titles for each individual Minutes document.

Change the order of attendees

If you want to change the order in which attendees appear in the attendance section, click the Drag handle to the right of an attendee and drag them to the desired position.

Add external attendee

If you want to add an external attendee to the attendance section, click the Add external attendee button.

In the dialog that appears, enter the person’s full name, optionally add a reason for their attendance, and then click the Add button.

If you need to edit or remove an external attendee, use the Edit or Remove buttons.

Hide a participant from the attendance section

If you want to hide an invited user from the attendance section, you can do so by using the Hidden toggles.

Hide entire attendance section

If you want to hide the entire attendance section from the Minutes document, use the Hide entire attendance section toggle located in the Edit attendance menu.

Write minutes

A minutes document consists of sections, each with a title and a block for the minutes notes. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to seamlessly navigate through the document’s sections.

In a sections notes block, you write the Minutes text for that section. You can format the text by selecting it. A toolbar will appear where you can choose the formatting you want to apply, such as Bold, Italic, Underline, Ordered list, or Unordered list. You can also insert images into the section using the menu. In addition to the menu options, you can use common keyboard shortcuts that you’re familiar with from other text editors.

Write Minutes text with AI

If you’ve jotted down notes during the Meeting and are now turning them into a readable Minutes document, you can use AI to help formalise the text.

Move the cursor over the + button at the bottom of an existing item.
Click the Suggest text for this section button

A dialog will appear with the sections's title and notes text pre-filled in the input field, serving as the basis for the suggestions. You can modify this text to add more details.

Click the Suggest button.
A new block with suggested text will be added to the section. You can use it as is, or use it as a base and edit it to fit your needs. If you don’t want to use the suggested text, simply delete it.

Add, move and remove minutes sections

To add a new section click the + button at the bottom of an existing section.

Sections can be structured in a two level hierarchy. To convert an section to a sub-subsection Click the Make sub-section button.

A converted section will appear as an indented subsection to the section above.

Use the Move item up or Move item down buttons to reorder sections within the document.

To delete a section, use the Trash bin button. A confirmation dialog will appear where you need to confirm the deletion.

Once you’re satisfied with the Minutes, you can move on to the final steps. You can share the document with the Meeting participants, manage any approval or review needed and, if required, complete the process by e-signing the Minutes.

Click the Manage minutes button in the top-right corner of the Minutes editor and choose how you want to proceed from the menu.

Until the Minutes are shared, they are only visible to the Secretary. Once shared, all Meeting participants can view them, but only the Secretary can edit the document. As the Secretary, you can choose to share the Minutes at any time. If you share them during the Meeting while writing, participants will be able to see your live edits.

Unshare minutes

If you, as the Secretary, have shared the Minutes and for some reason want to unshare them, you can do so by clicking the Manage minutes button and selecting the Make minutes private option.

If you want to share the Minutes for review and approval, select that option in the Manage minutes menu. To learn more about this process, continue reading the Approve meeting minutes article.

E-sign minutes

If you want to e-sign the Minutes, select that option in the Manage minutes menu. To learn more about this process, continue reading the E-sign meeting minutes article.

Change Meeting Secretary

The user who creates the Minutes document for a Meeting automatically becomes the Secretary, and any Meeting participant can take on this role. Sometimes the Secretary needs to be changed, and the process is simple. It must be initiated by the user who will take over the Secretary role, and only that user can perform the change.

To take over as Secretary, open the Meeting panel and select the Minutes tab.

Click the Make me Secretary button.

You are now the Meeting Secretary and can edit and manage the Minutes.

Upload minutes document

If you have written your Minutes in another application, such as Word or Google Docs, you can upload the document to your Hippoly Meeting. The file must be a PDF, and the file size cannot exceed 10 MB.

Note: If you have created a minutes document in Hippoly using the built-in editor, you cannot upload a minutes file for the same meeting unless you first delete the existing minutes document.