Creating & editing templates

Templates let you reuse the structure of your best notes so Rebrief can fill in the details for you. This guide walks you through building a new template, editing an existing one, and using Rebrief to draft one from a note you already have.

How templates work

A template is a block of text with a few special pieces that Rebrief recognizes:

• Placeholders — wrap text in square brackets to mark a slot to fill in later, like [Patient Name].
• Default values — add a default after a double colon, like [Tooth::14]. If nothing replaces it, the default is used.
• Generators — wrap an instruction in angled brackets to have Rebrief write that part for you, like <Generate a greeting>.
• Verbatim text — everything else is reproduced exactly as you typed it.

You'll see this same guidance in the left-hand panel of the template editor whenever you're writing.

Create a new template

1. Go to Templates and select New Template.
2. In the title field, enter a clear, descriptive name (for example, "New Patient Exam").
3. In the large text area, write your template using the placeholders, defaults, and generators described above.
4. Select Preview at any time to see your template text laid out, then Hide Preview to go back to editing.
5. Select Save Edits to store the template. Rebrief then opens the saved template so you can keep refining it.

Tip: Be specific in the title. A descriptive name makes the template easy to find later when you're picking one during an appointment.

Edit an existing template

1. From Templates, open the template you want to change.
2. Update the title or the body text directly in the editor.
3. Use Preview to check the result, then select Save Edits.

The editor shows when the template was created and last modified, so you can confirm your change saved.

Generate a template with Rebrief

If you'd rather start from a note you already trust, Rebrief can turn it into a reusable template.

1. Open a template, then select Generate Template with AI.
2. In the Quick Start window, paste an existing appointment note.
3. Select Generate. Rebrief studies the structure of your note and builds a template, dropping the result into the editor.
4. Review and adjust the generated text, then select Save Edits.

Note: Review what Rebrief produces before saving — you can edit any part of it by hand.

Working from a default template

Rebrief includes a set of ready-made default templates for your clinic, marked with a Default badge in the list. These are starting points you can copy and customize.

When you open a default template and select Save Edits, Rebrief doesn't overwrite the original. Instead, it makes an editable copy that belongs to your clinic and opens that copy for you to keep working on. Your edits live in your copy, and the shared default stays intact for everyone else.

Tip: Think of default templates as a library you copy from. Save the copy, rename it for your workflow, and customize it freely.