Giving instructions

Just tell me what to do – in the field at the top, via ✦ on the phone, or about a specific email. I do it or put it in front of you.

The one field

On a computer the field sits in the header of every page; Ctrl K (⌘ K on a Mac) or “/” opens it from anywhere. On the phone you tap ✦ in the tab bar; in the Mac app you press ⌃⌥Space. The same field also searches (Search): the first line under the field always says what Enter does right now, such as “Do it:” or “For this email:”. In browsers with speech recognition you can dictate with Dictate.

Examples

I translate your instruction into one or more actions (at most five). Relative dates like “tomorrow” or “next Tuesday” I turn into real dates.

Tasks: “Note: offer to Miller by Friday”, “Remind me on the 1st of every month about VAT” (Tasks).
Meetings: “Put dentist Thursday 2 pm in the calendar” for a fixed time; “Set up a meeting with Mark” when the time still needs agreeing (Meeting requests).
Emails: “Ask Anna whether the documents arrived”. I write a draft in your tone; you look at it and send it.
Questions: “When did Hays last write?”, “Where’s the Scaleway invoice?”. I search your emails and calendar and answer briefly, with sources. If it isn’t there, I say so.
Rules: “Daily Brief is a newsletter”, “Always file emails from X”, “Always let X through” (Sender rules).
Routines: “File invoices in Drive from now on”, “Always send receipts to FastBill” (Routines).
Let me know: “Tell me when Anna’s reply arrives” (Let me know when someone writes).
Files: “Create a file Munich office”, “Note for the Hays file: contract runs until March”, “Where do things stand with Hays?” (Files).

What I did appears as a card right under the field, with undo where possible. If I don’t understand something, I ask a short question back. Under Recent instructions you’ll find your recent instructions; in the Done report they’re listed under Your instructions carried out.

You can also ask me how something works in Consent+ (“How do I connect LinkedIn?”, “What does In demand mean?”). I answer from this manual and link the matching section. If it isn’t in there yet, I say so honestly and note the question. You can open the whole manual anytime via the ? at the top of every page or at /hilfe.

Instruction about an email

When an email is open, in the front office or the inbox, the field automatically refers to it: “This email” appears at the front. Then sentences like “Translate this”, “Bring it back on Monday” or “Forward to Michael” apply to exactly this email. If you want to search normally instead, remove the reference with ×.

Under every email the most common actions sit as buttons: What’s this about?, Real or fake?, Make it a task, Bring back tomorrow, for foreign-language emails Translate to English, plus Wrong category? and Something else …. In the front office the field is also right in the list, as the quick action ✦ Instruction (Quick actions).

A forward I prepare and show you for sign-off; only then does it go out.

In an item, Rephrase … switches the field into reply mode: “accept, but only from October”. I then rewrite the draft (Send, file, vet).

If something’s wrong

If I misunderstood you, use undo on the card or rephrase; names and dates help me more than paraphrases. A question from me you simply answer in the field; I remember the context of the last few sentences.