Every patent in &AI opens into a full document workspace where you can read the text, inspect figures, copy formatted citations, and navigate to related analysis tools like claim charts and claim construction. This article covers everything inside that workspace.
When to use the patent document workspace
Open the document workspace whenever you need to:
Read patent text alongside the original PDF.
Copy passages with properly formatted citations for claim charts or briefs.
Correct OCR errors or adjust chunk boundaries.
Check figures, metadata, or references cited.
Jump to claims, claim construction, prosecution history, or other analysis subpages for a target patent.
Opening a patent document
There are two ways to open the workspace:
From the Files page — Navigate to Files in the left sidebar, find the patent you want, and click its row. The document workspace opens.
From the target panel — If a target patent appears in the target panel sidebar, click it directly. The workspace opens with the target patent navigation bar at the top.
Understanding the document layout
The workspace uses a dual-panel view:
Right panel — The original PDF rendering of the patent.
Left panel — Structured text broken into individually addressable chunks (paragraphs, claims, figure descriptions).
Both panels are resizable. Drag the divider between them to give more room to whichever side you are working in.
Bidirectional scroll sync
The two panels stay linked:
Click a text chunk on the right and the PDF on the left scrolls to the corresponding location.
Click a location in the PDF on the left and the matching text chunk on the right highlights.
This makes it easy to cross-reference the structured text against the original document without losing your place.
PDF controls
Along the top of the PDF panel you will find:
Zoom — Adjust from 0.5x to 2.5x magnification.
Page navigation — Step forward or backward one page at a time.
Jump to page — Enter a page number to go there directly.
Download — Download a copy of the PDF to your computer.
Viewing and editing document metadata
A metadata section at the top of the workspace displays key information about the patent.
Nickname
Every patent has a display nickname. Click the nickname to edit it. The nickname appears throughout &AI wherever the patent is referenced, so a short, recognizable name helps your team identify documents quickly.
Keywords
Add or remove keywords to organize and tag patents. Keywords are searchable from the Files page and can help you filter large sets of documents.
Priority date
Click the priority date to open a calendar picker and change it. The priority date is used in prior-art and invalidity workflows, so keep it accurate.
Other metadata fields
The workspace also shows:
Inventors — The named inventors on the patent.
Assignees — The current assignees.
CPC codes — Cooperative Patent Classification codes assigned to the patent.
References cited
For subject patents, a References Cited option opens a modal containing a citation table. Use this to review the prior art the patent examiner considered during prosecution.
Review extracted citations
Use the Citations section when you want to review every citation &AI extracted from the patent without leaving the document workspace.
This section gives you two ways to review the list:
By entity groups related citations together so you can review one source at a time.
By reference lists each extracted citation separately when you need to inspect individual references.
Use the type and source-status filters to narrow the list, then click a citation row to jump to the related chunk in the document. Use Expand on a reference row when you want the detail panel with source status, quote text, description, metadata, and other matching references from the same document.
Reprocess citations when the list is stale
If the document was reprocessed, citation linking is incomplete, or you expect new references to appear, open the Citations section and click the refresh icon in the section header. This reruns citation extraction for that document and refreshes the list when processing finishes.
Viewing figures
Below the metadata, a collapsible Figures section displays all figures extracted from the patent. A badge shows the total figure count.
Thumbnails — Each figure appears as a thumbnail. Click any thumbnail to enlarge it.
In-text figure references — References in the body text such as "Fig. 1" or "FIG. 3A" are clickable. Clicking a figure reference scrolls to and enlarges the corresponding figure image.
Create and manage annotated figure versions
Open any figure from the Figures section to launch the figure viewer. From there, click New version to create a saved annotated version of the current figure.
Add markups — Use the annotation tools to add boxes, lines or arrows, and text directly on the figure.
Save a separate version — Saving creates a named annotated figure version and leaves the original base figure unchanged.
Reuse saved versions — The viewer keeps a versions list so you can reopen an existing annotated version, rename it, duplicate it, continue editing it, or delete it when it is no longer needed.
If you use a saved annotated figure in a chart citation, &AI keeps that specific saved version attached to the citation so later review and export continue using the same annotated image.
Body text
The right panel displays the full document text split into precise chunks. Each chunk corresponds to a paragraph, claim, or figure description from the patent.
Searching within the document
Use the search bar at the top of the text panel to search within the document. Matching terms are highlighted across all chunks so you can scan results quickly.
Keyword highlighting
If you have added keywords to the patent, those terms are highlighted in the body text automatically as you read.
Filtering chunks
A set of filter buttons lets you narrow which chunks are visible:
All — Show every chunk in the document.
Charted — Show only chunks that have already been cited in a claim chart.
Not Charted — Show only chunks that have not yet been cited.
Use the Not Charted filter when you are looking for uncited passages that might support additional claim limitations.
Translation toggle
For non-English patents, a translation toggle switches the text between the original language and an English translation. This lets you work in whichever language you need without leaving the workspace.
Copying text with formatted citations
&AI supports multiple citation formats and makes it easy to copy passages with the correct reference attached.
Copy with Citation
To copy a passage with its citation:
Click the chunk you want to cite.
Use Copy with Citation from the chunk menu, or press Ctrl+B (Windows) / Cmd+B (Mac).
The copied text includes the passage and the formatted citation string, ready to paste into a claim chart, brief, or report.
Editing chunks
Toggle Edit Mode to modify the structured text. Editing is useful when automatic parsing did not capture the document perfectly — common with older patents that were scanned from paper.
Editing chunk text
In edit mode, click any chunk to change its text. This is the fastest way to fix OCR errors such as misread characters, merged words, or broken lines.
Editing chunk location metadata
Each chunk stores location metadata — column numbers, line numbers, or paragraph numbers — that drives citation formatting. If a citation is producing the wrong reference, edit the chunk's location metadata to correct it.
Adding custom chunks
If the automatic parser missed a passage, you can add a custom chunk. Custom chunks are inserted into the document flow and behave like any other chunk — they are searchable, citable, and chartable.
Deleting chunks
Remove chunks that are duplicates or that contain content you do not want appearing in search results or charts.
Toggling chartable status
Each chunk has a chartable toggle. Turn it off for chunks that should never appear in claim chart workflows, such as boilerplate language or administrative text. Turn it on for substantive passages you may want to cite.
Target patent navigation
When you open a target patent, a navigation bar appears at the top of the workspace. This bar connects the document view to every analysis workflow associated with that patent.
Patent
The document view described in this article. Read patent text, view figures, copy citations, and edit chunks. This is the default subpage when you open a target patent.
Claims
Review and edit the patent's claim structure. Inspect individual limitations, split compound claims, and set claim properties like independence or dependence. For full details, see Review and edit claims.
Claim Construction
Construe claim terms with AI-assisted evidence discovery. Define terms, review proposed constructions, and approve or reject them. For full details, see Claim construction.
Prosecution
View the patent's file history with AI-generated summaries and claim diffs that show how claims changed during examination. For full details, see Prosecution history.
Family
Explore related patents in an interactive family tree. See continuations, divisionals, and foreign counterparts. For full details, see Patent family.
PTAB
Track inter partes review (IPR) proceedings. For full details, see PTAB proceedings.
Charts
View and create claim charts for this patent. Map prior-art evidence to claim limitations. For full details, see Charts overview.
Moving between subpages
Teams typically move between these subpages during patent review. Claim editing, claim construction, and charting rarely happen in isolation — you may construe a term, then switch to the document view to find supporting text, then open charts to map that text to a limitation. The navigation bar keeps every workflow one click away.
Common issues and tips
Missing text — If a passage from the PDF does not appear in the structured text, use the add custom chunk feature in edit mode to capture it manually.
OCR errors — Toggle edit mode and correct the text directly. This improves search accuracy and ensures citations copy cleanly.
Chunks you do not want in charts — Toggle the chartable status off for boilerplate or irrelevant chunks so they do not clutter chart workflows.
Next steps
Files overview — Learn how the Files page organizes all patents and documents in your project.
Adding sources — Add new patents or non-patent literature to your project.
Review and edit claims — Break down claim structure after reviewing the patent text.
Charts overview — Start building claim charts using the citations you copied from the document workspace.