How to use Colib on an iPad with an Apple Pencil ?

Who is this article for?

You work on an iPad, with or without an Apple Pencil, and you want to do your clinical documentation without going back to the computer: handwritten notes, diagrams (for example an injection diagram on a face), forms, signed consents and before/after photos.

Colib works in Safari on the iPad, like on a computer. This article explains, for each need, what you can do on the iPad today and how to do it.

In short

1Stop the conversion of your handwriting into text

When you write with the Apple Pencil in a text field, the iPad converts your writing into typed text. This is not done by Colib: it is the Scribble feature of the iPad, which works in every app and every website. To write without conversion, turn it off:

1. Open the Settings app of the iPad.
2. Tap Apple Pencil.
3. Turn off Scribble.

You can turn it back on at any time. Scribble can be useful in Colib: when it is on, you can fill a text field (a note, a form question) with the Apple Pencil, and the text is typed for you. Check the converted text before saving.

Good to know: with Scribble turned off, the Apple Pencil works like a finger in Colib: it taps, scrolls and selects, but it does not write in the text fields. To type, use the keyboard of the iPad or dictation (microphone key of the keyboard, or the voice recognition of Colib notes: please see How to dictate a note with voice recognition).

2Keep handwritten notes as they are

Colib notes are text notes: Colib has no handwriting area that keeps the strokes of the Apple Pencil like a sheet of paper. To keep a handwritten page in the client's record:

1. Write your page by hand in the Notes app of the iPad (or any drawing app).
2. Save the page as an image in the Photos app (share button, then Save Image), or take a screenshot of it.
3. In Colib, open the client's note (a new note or a draft) and click the picture icon of the editor toolbar.
4. Choose the image in your photo library. It is added to the note, where you can also type text around it.
5. Save the note as usual.

The handwriting stays an image: it cannot be searched or edited as text. To insert an image in the editor step by step, please see How to add an image in the Colib text editor.

3Injection diagrams and drawings

The drawing tool of the notes and the iPad: the Draw a sketch from a template tool, under the note editor, is made for a mouse or a trackpad. On an iPad, drawing with the finger or the Apple Pencil does not work yet: the page scrolls instead of drawing. Use it on a computer, or use the method below on the iPad.

On the iPad, annotate the diagram with the Apple Pencil, then insert it in the note:

1. Save your face diagram (or any other diagram) in the Photos app of the iPad. Use an image that you have the right to use.
2. Open the diagram in Photos, tap Edit, then the Markup icon (pen tip).
3. Draw the injection points with the Apple Pencil, then tap Done. Use Duplicate or Save as Copy if you want to keep the blank diagram for the next client.
4. In the Colib note, click the picture icon of the editor and choose the annotated diagram.
5. Write the products used and the quantities in the note, under the diagram.

To have the diagram in every note of a treatment, put it in a note template: when you edit the template, click the picture icon of the editor and insert the diagram, then add under it what you write every time (for example a table with the columns Area, Product, Quantity). When you choose the template in a note with Use a template, the diagram and the table are already there. To create a template, please see How to create and use note templates.

Good to know: the diagram inserted by the template is a fixed image: you cannot draw on it inside Colib. On the iPad, annotate it in Photos as explained above. On a computer, the drawing tool offers a body, muscles, bones and nervous system diagram, and you can add your own face diagram with Add template. Please see the article titled "How to draw a sketch or handwrite in a note".

4Forms and questionnaires on the iPad

Your clients can fill out your forms on the clinic's iPad:

1. Open the form on the iPad, from the link of the form (Forms page, www.colib.io/forms) or by scanning its QR code with the camera of the iPad.
2. Give the iPad to the client, who answers the questions.
3. If the form includes an electronic signature, the client signs in the white box with a finger or the Apple Pencil, then taps Submit.

The completed form is saved in the Forms tab of the client's record, with its PDF. For the details, please see the article titled "How can a client fill out and sign a form without signing in?".

• Text answers — the questions are answered with the keyboard, lists and checkboxes. There is no question where the client writes or draws freely by hand. With Scribble turned on (step 1), the client can write a text answer with the Apple Pencil: it is converted into text.
• Photos in a form — a question of the Document type lets the client add a photo taken with the camera of the iPad.
• Portal account — if the form requires a client portal account, the client has to sign in to the portal on the iPad before filling it out.

5Have consents signed on the iPad

To have a consent signed on the iPad and keep it in the client's record:

1. Create a form that contains the text of the consent and turn on Include electronic signature in the form settings.
2. At the appointment, open the form on the iPad and give it to the client, who reads it and signs with a finger or the Apple Pencil (step 4).
3. The signed consent is saved in the Forms tab of the client's record, with its PDF.

The Privacy tab of the client's record lets your team record which consents the client gave (type, answer, date obtained), for example after the form is signed. This record does not contain a signature. Please see How to record and track client consents in Colib and the article titled "How to create custom consents for your clinic".

6Photos and before/after pictures

You can take photos with the camera of the iPad without leaving Colib:

• In a note — click the picture icon of the editor, then choose the file field: the iPad offers to take a photo, or to choose one in your photo library. The photo is added to the note text.
• In the client's record — in the Documents tab, click Add document, then the drop area: the iPad offers the camera and the photo library. You can link the document to one or more notes with the Notes field. Please see the article titled "How to add a document to a client".

Colib has no dedicated before/after comparison. To document a treatment, insert the photo taken before and the photo taken after in the note of each session, for example under the headings Before and After of your note template. To attach photos to a note step by step, please see How to attach documents and images to client notes.

Good to know

• Browser — use Colib in Safari, at www.colib.io. There is no app to install. Please see the article titled "Can I use Colib on a phone or tablet? Is there an app?".
• Signed notes — images and photos are added before the note is signed. To complete a signed note, add an addendum.
• Signature of the practitioner — to add your handwritten signature at the bottom of your notes automatically, please see How to automatically add your handwritten signature to notes.

Related articles

• Please see the article titled "How to draw a sketch or handwrite in a note".
• How to add an image in the Colib text editor
• How to attach documents and images to client notes
• How to create and use note templates
• How can I send the form to my clients?
• How to record and track client consents in Colib

Still have a question?

Write to us at support@colib.io, we will be happy to help.