Comment résumer une note

Notes grow. A project doc that started as ten lines becomes four pages of decisions, links and half-finished thoughts. A research note collects quotes from a dozen sources. A daily log runs for three months. At some point you, or someone you’re handing the work to, need the short version: what’s in here, and what matters.

This guide covers how people usually condense their own notes, then the three ways to do it in Fabric: the automatic summary, a summary the AI assistant writes into the note itself, and a summary across a whole folder of notes.

How people usually summarize their notes

Rereading and writing a summary by hand is the classic method, and it’s the one that teaches you the most. Methods like evergreen notes build it into the habit, rewriting ideas in your own words as you go. It’s also the step most likely to be skipped when the week is busy.

Many note apps now include an AI button that summarizes the page you have open. That’s convenient for one page. Notes on a topic are rarely on one page, though, and a summary of a single note can miss what you wrote about the same thing in another note last month.

Copying notes into ChatGPT is the other route. It works, and it’s flexible about format. Pasting several notes takes a few rounds of copying, and the summary comes back to a chat window, where you then copy it back into your notes app.

Step 1: Get your notes into Fabric

Notes you write in Fabric are ready as they are. The notes editor handles long notes with headings, lists and links, so a working document can grow in the same place it gets summarized.

Notes from elsewhere can come in several ways. Paste text into Fabric and it becomes a note. Drag in Markdown, TXT, DOCX or HTML files, or click Upload a file to bring in a folder’s worth at once. Fabric also has import functions for Evernote and Notion.

Notion pages and Google Docs can also be reached through connections, which need a paid plan. Spoken notes are covered too: a voice or meeting note recorded in any Fabric app produces a written write-up when you stop recording. Recording and transcription need a paid plan.

Step 2: Read the automatic summary

Fabric writes a short summary of each note when it’s saved, along with embeddings that let search match the note by meaning, and attributes such as the concepts it covers. It also suggests tags. These attributes are what smart collections use to fill themselves, so a collection for one client or one research theme picks up new notes without you filing them.

The automatic summary answers the first question about a note (what is this?) and is most useful when you’re scanning through older notes to decide which ones to open.

Step 3: Have the AI assistant add a summary to the note

When the summary should live inside the note, ask the AI assistant to write it there. The assistant can edit documents directly, and each change it proposes comes with accept and reject controls, so nothing lands in your note until you approve it.

A prompt like “Add a five-line summary at the top of this note, then a list of open questions at the end” turns a long working note into something a colleague can read in a minute. You can ask it to keep your wording where possible, or to rewrite the summary for a particular reader, such as a client or a new team member. One subscription includes models from the major labs, such as Gemini, OpenAI, Claude and Qwen, so you can try another model if the first summary misses the point.

If the note is shared, people with access see the summary along with the rest of the note. Fabric’s collaboration features include viewer, commenter, editor and admin roles, so you can decide who reads it and who can change it.

Step 4: Summarize a whole folder of notes

The scope of the summary depends on where you ask. A folder for one project gives a project summary; a folder holding a year of journal entries gives something closer to a retrospective. If the notes you want are scattered, move them into one folder for the purpose before you ask, and the assistant can then read them together.

For a set of notes, open the folder and open the AI assistant. It’s automatically limited to that folder. To skip opening it, right-click the folder and add it to the assistant’s context instead.

Then ask across everything in it. “Summarize what I decided about pricing across these notes” or “What themes keep coming up in my daily notes this month?” both work, and the answer cites the notes it drew from with clickable references. Save the answer as a note of its own, which is a good basis for a weekly review.

When you’re looking for one note rather than a summary of many, search by describing it. Fabric matches by meaning and by keyword, so you can find a note from a rough memory of what it said.

Frequently asked questions

Can AI summarize my notes?

Yes. Fabric writes a short summary of each note automatically, and the AI assistant can write a longer one in the format you ask for, citing the notes it used.

Can the AI add the summary straight into my note?

Yes. The assistant can edit documents directly, and you accept or reject each change it proposes.

How do I summarize lots of notes at once?

Put them in one folder, open the AI assistant there, and ask for a summary. It reads everything in the folder and cites each note it draws on.

Can I summarize notes from Notion or Evernote?

Yes. Fabric has import functions for both, and Notion can also be reached through a connection on a paid plan. Once the notes are in, summarize them the same way as notes written in Fabric.

Can I save the AI’s summary as a separate note?

Yes. Assistant answers can be saved as notes, which you can keep in the same folder as the notes they summarize.

Can I summarize a voice note?

Yes. When you stop a voice or meeting note, Fabric produces a write-up from the transcript and any notes you typed. Recording and transcription need a paid plan.

Is summarizing notes free?

Notes are on the free plan, which includes limited AI use. Heavier use, connections and transcription need a paid plan.

What makes notes easier to summarize well?

Clear headings and one topic per note help any summary, human or AI. Note-taking basics covers habits that make notes easier to come back to.