# Let Ask edit

> Edits to the note beside you, with review and one Undo; edits across many notes with Pro; new notes from a chat; and canvases.

Applies to Canto 1.0 beta 3 · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/edits

Ask can change the note beside it, not only talk about it. You ask for a change in plain words, Canto makes it in the note, and you see exactly what changed before you keep it. One Undo takes the whole change back. Edits to one note at a time are free; organizing many notes in one go is part of Pro.

## Ask for a change

Open Ask beside a note (`⌘J`) and say what you want done:

* "Check off the first task."
* "Add a summary at the top."
* "Clean up the formatting."
* "Turn this list into a table."

When you ask for a change, Ask edits the note instead of answering in the chat. When you ask a question about the note, it answers in the chat as usual. The line under the composer says which note it can edit, for example "Can edit "Launch plan" with your review".

Ask edits the note in the pane next to it. To edit another note, open that note first.

## Review the change

The change lands in the note with what was added and removed marked, and a bar at the top of the note, **Review AI changes**, with two keys:

* **Accept** keeps the change.
* **Reject** puts the note back exactly as it was. Ask hears that you said no and can try another way.

While the review is open, the note can't be typed in, so nothing you type gets mixed into the change.

If the edit came from something Ask read on the web, Canto asks first, in the chat: a card titled "Edit "…"?" says how many changes it wants to make and why it's asking. **Approve** lets it write them into the note; **Reject** stops it.

A change applies completely or not at all: an edit that fails halfway leaves the note as it was.

### After the change

Under the answer, **Edited this note** says what changed, which citations linked to which sources, which References lines were added, and any citation that didn't match a source. **Show in note** scrolls to the first change. **Undo** opens the note's **AI edits**, where you can take this change back with a preview of what that does.

`⌘Z` in the note also takes the whole change back in one step, citations and References included.

Every AI edit leaves a checkpoint, so you can also go back later: `⇧⌘Y` opens **Version history**, and its **AI edits** view lists each change with **Go back to before this edit…**. See [Writing notes](https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/writing#version-history).

## Citations in edits

When Ask adds to a note, the sources it found in the chat become numbered citation chips as the edit lands, and new References are added at the end, all in the same reviewed change and the same Undo. A number like \[11] that matches one of the note's References cites that reference again.

A citation that matches no source stays in the text as written, and **Note health** lists it; Canto never deletes words it can't link. **Refresh references** (in the note's **⋯** menu) turns citation markers already in a note into linked chips. See [Research and research notes](https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/research#note-health).

## Edits without asking

If you'd rather Ask changed notes directly, turn on **Settings › Assistant › Chat › Apply agent edits without asking** (off). Canto then skips the review; Version history and Undo still work.

**Also after reading the web** (on) decides whether that also applies once a chat has read web pages. Turn it off to keep reviewing those edits even with the first switch on.

## Focused edits for a selection

**Settings › Writing › AI edits in notes › Focused edits for a selection** (off, **Beta**) makes a quick edit of selected text that reads only the selection and what's around it. **Model for focused edits** chooses **The chat model** or **A smaller one** on your Mac; Canto never switches to a bigger model or a cloud model on its own.

## New notes from a chat

Ask can also make notes. Say "make this a note", "save this answer" or "이 내용을 노트로 만들어줘"; once a chat has an answer, Ask can always save it. Before it creates a note, Ask shows a card, **Create note?**, with the title, the folder it goes in, a preview and why, and **Approve** and **Reject**. Under any answer, **Save as note** does the same without asking: **This answer**, **Entire chat**, or **As a research note** for a well-sourced answer (see [Research and research notes](https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/research#saving-a-research-note)).

## Edits across many notes

To file, tag, link or edit several notes in one go, drag them from the sidebar onto the message field on Home or in a chat. The chat turns into a basket of sources, and its button becomes **Organize**. Pick a starting point that fits what's in the basket (such as **File notes**, **Tag by topic**, **Link related notes**, **Find connections** or **Summarize into new note**) or write your own request, then press **Organize**. Web search stays off while you organize.

Canto reads the notes and drafts a list of proposed changes, grouped by kind: **Move**, **Tag**, **Link**, **Edit**, **Attachment**, **Create** and **Pin**. Nothing has changed yet.

* Open any proposal to preview it.
* Tick the ones you want, or **Select all**.
* **Apply selected** makes the ticked changes. **Regenerate** drafts a new list; **Start over** goes back with the same notes in the basket.

When the changes you apply touch more than one note, that's **edits across many notes**: **Pro**, and each Mac gets three free tries. Changes to a single note are always free. Every changed note keeps its earlier versions, so each change can be undone.

## Canvases

Beside a canvas, Ask reads its cards and, once you say yes, adds cards, puts your notes on it, links related ones, tidies it or draws a mind map. Everything one answer changed is one step, and **Undo** under the answer takes it back. See [Canvases](https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/canvases#ask-on-a-canvas).

## Which model edits

Edits run on the chat's model: the one on your Mac, a server you added, or a cloud model if you chose one (then the note's text and your request go to that service; see [Servers and cloud models](https://lonelyduck.io/docs/canto/servers)). An edit with a model on your Mac thinks briefly, then writes the change straight into the note.
