When a consult is finished, you'll often want the note or letter out of Whippet — into your practice management system (PMS), an email to a client, or a saved file. Download .docx gives you an editable Word document; Download .pdf gives you a fixed, ready-to-send or ready-to-print file. Both keep your formatting — headings, bold, italics, and lists. If you just want the text fast, copy it to your clipboard instead — see Copying your notes.
How to download a note or letter
Open the consult and select the Note or letter tab you want. See Viewing and navigating a consult.
At the top-right of the editor toolbar, click the download icon (tooltip Download .docx) for a Word document, or the PDF icon (tooltip Download .pdf) for a PDF.
Your browser downloads the file automatically once it's ready.
Whippet names the file from the patient's name and the consult date, so it's easy to find later — for example cooper-2026-05-16-notes.docx for a note or cooper-2026-05-16-letter.pdf for a letter. If the patient name or date isn't available, Whippet falls back to a simpler name (notes, letter, or letterhead).
Notes vs letters at a glance
Notes | Letters | |
Download .docx | Yes | Yes |
Download .pdf | Yes | Yes |
Copy to clipboard | Copy / Copy MD | Copy Text (plain text, no tables) |
— | Yes |
For the copy options, see Copying your notes; for printing, see Saving and printing your notes.
Good to know
Downloads land wherever your browser saves files — usually your Downloads folder. Whippet doesn't choose the location.
Exporting doesn't change or save the document — it just produces a copy. If you've made edits, click Save first so your changes are part of what you export.
If something goes wrong
The download buttons aren't showing. They appear once a note or letter is ready to edit. If a note is still generating, wait for it to finish.
The button says "Exporting…" and is greyed out. An export is already running — wait for it to finish before starting another.
PDF export fails or says it couldn't be authorised. PDF export needs a quick authorisation step that's only valid briefly. If a tab has been sitting idle or your connection is slow, the attempt can time out — just click Download .pdf again to retry.
What this doesn't do (yet)
Copy a letter with its formatting or tables. Copy Text is always plain text and leaves tables out — use Download .docx or Download .pdf to keep them.
Choose where files are saved. Filenames and the download location are handled by Whippet and your browser.
For more on working with letters, see The client summary letter. To send a note straight into your practice management system instead of exporting it, see Sending finished notes to your practice management system.