# Turn a meeting into minutes or an email

> Views turn a recording into a finished document: Summary, Action items, Meeting minutes, or a Follow-up email. Four fixed formats, one tap each.

Updated: 2026-08-16 · Canonical: https://usecanto.com/help/ai/views-templates/

The **Views** tab turns a recording into a finished document in one tap. There are exactly four Views, and they are fixed — you can't create custom ones:

| View | What it produces |
| --- | --- |
| **Summary** | Overview, key points, and decisions |
| **Action items** | Every commitment with owner and deadline |
| **Meeting minutes** | Formal minutes with agenda and decisions |
| **Follow-up email** | A ready-to-send recap email |

## How do I generate a view?

1. Open a ready recording and switch to the **Views** tab.
2. Pick a view — an ungenerated one says **Tap to generate**.
3. Wait out **Generating…**; the document appears in place.

The output is markdown — headings, bullets, task lists — written in your app language and faithful to the transcript: real names, numbers, and timestamps, no invented content. Generated views are saved with the recording, so **Tap to open** brings a finished one back instantly on any device.

## What's in each view?

- **Summary** — a titled document with an overview paragraph, "Key points" bullets, and "Decisions & next steps".
- **Action items** — a task list; each item names the owner where identifiable, any spoken deadline, and the timestamp where it came up. If nothing was committed to, it says so rather than inventing tasks.
- **Meeting minutes** — attendees, agenda and discussion by topic in chronological order with timestamps, decisions, and action items. The formal format for records and distribution.
- **Follow-up email** — a subject line and a complete body: greeting, one-paragraph recap, key points and decisions, action items with owners, sign-off. Copy it into your mail client and send.

## Can I regenerate a view?

Yes — choose **Regenerate** on a generated view and it's rewritten from the transcript, replacing the previous version. Useful after you've [edited the transcript](https://usecanto.com/help/transcription/edit-a-transcript/) or renamed speakers, since views use speaker names as they stand at generation time.

## What are My views and Shared views?

On a recording that's shared with you, views the owner generated appear under **Shared views**, and ones you generate yourself under **My views**. You can read shared views without generating anything; you can only regenerate your own.

## What do views cost?

Each generation or regeneration is a template run — 100 / mo on the free plan, unlimited on Pro. Reading an already-generated view is free, as is generating views on recordings shared with you. See [What are the free plan's limits?](https://usecanto.com/help/billing/free-limits/)

## FAQ

### Can I add my own template?

No. The four Views above are the full set — there's no custom template builder. If none fits, ask the recording's chat for the format you want ("draft a status update from this") — see [Chat with a recording](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/chat-with-a-recording/).

### How do I get a view out of Canto?

Views are markdown, so copying preserves the structure. See [Copy notes, transcripts, and views](https://usecanto.com/help/export/copy-content/) and [Export to PDF or Markdown](https://usecanto.com/help/export/export-pdf-markdown/).

Related articles:

- [What's in an AI summary?](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/summaries/)
- [Track action items across meetings](https://usecanto.com/help/ai/action-items/)
- [Copy transcripts and summaries](https://usecanto.com/help/export/copy-content/)
- [Export a recording as PDF or Markdown](https://usecanto.com/help/export/export-pdf-markdown/)