ADMIN - Create and Manage Dot Phrases

A dot phrase is saved text that clinicians can insert into an encounter note, such as standard wound care instructions. Each dot phrase has a short trigger, for example .sutures. In a note, a clinician types a period and the first letters of a trigger, then chooses the dot phrase from a menu to insert its text.

This guide shows administrators how to create, write, edit, turn off, and find the dot phrases for your practice. Your practice has one list of dot phrases, and clinicians are offered the active ones. To learn how clinicians insert a dot phrase, see Use Dot Phrases in an Encounter Note.

Before you begin

You need an administrator permissions to create or change dot phrases.

Other staff, such as providers and front desk staff, can open Admin > Dot phrases to view the list and each dot phrase’s text, but they cannot change them. They see the message “Read only. Practice administrators can add dot phrases.”

How to view and search your dot phrases

1. Select Admin in the top navigation.
2. Select the Dot phrases tab.

The list shows each dot phrase’s Trigger, Name, Status, and Last updated date, sorted by trigger. A dash (—) means there is no date to show. Select a dot phrase’s name to open it in the text editor.

To find a dot phrase:

• Type in the Search dot phrases box. As you type, the list narrows to dot phrases whose trigger or name contains your text. Capital letters don’t matter, and a period at the start is ignored, so .ros and ros find the same dot phrases.
• Select All, Active, or Inactive to show only dot phrases with that status. The search and the status filter work together.

How to create a dot phrase

1. Open Admin > Dot phrases.
2. Select New dot phrase. If your practice has no dot phrases yet, the button is under the message “No dot phrases yet”.
3. In the New dot phrase dialog, fill in both required fields:
   • Trigger: What clinicians type after the period to find the dot phrase, for example sutures. The field already shows the . in front, so you don’t need to type it. See Trigger rules.
   • Name: A short description clinicians see beside the trigger in the dot-phrase menu, for example Wound care after sutures.
4. Select Create dot phrase.

A “Dot phrase .sutures created” message confirms it, and the new dot phrase opens in the text editor, ready for you to write its text. See How to write and format the text.

A new dot phrase is Active as soon as you create it, so write and save its text straight away. Until it has text, clinicians can choose it in a note, but nothing is inserted.

Trigger rules

A trigger must:

• Start with a letter.
• Use only the letters A to Z, numbers, and underscores (_). Spaces and hyphens are not allowed.
• Be 32 characters or fewer.
• Be different from every other trigger in your practice, including the triggers of turned-off dot phrases. Capital letters are ignored when comparing, so .FollowUp and .followup count as the same trigger.

If the trigger or name breaks a rule, a message appears under the field when you select Create dot phrase or Save details. It clears when you type in that field.

Message	What it means
Enter a trigger.	The Trigger field is empty.
Use letters, numbers or _; start with a letter; no spaces.	The trigger contains a character that is not allowed, or does not start with a letter.
Use 32 characters or fewer.	The trigger is longer than 32 characters.
.sutures is already used by "Wound care after sutures" (active).	Another dot phrase already has this trigger. The message names it and ends with (active) or (inactive) to show its status. Choose a different trigger.
Enter a name.	The Name field is empty.

How to import the starter dot phrases

OpenCoreEMR comes with nine starter dot phrases you can add to your practice in one step. You need an administrator account (admin or superadmin) to import them.

1. Open Admin > Dot phrases.
2. Select Import starter phrases in the page header. If your practice has no dot phrases yet, the button also appears under the message “No dot phrases yet”.
3. The Import starter phrases? dialog lists the Dot phrases to add and the Dot phrases to skip. A starter is skipped when another dot phrase in your practice, active or inactive, already uses its trigger. The dialog names that dot phrase.
4. Select Import to add the listed dot phrases. The button shows how many, for example Import 8 dot phrases. To leave without adding anything, select Cancel.

A message above the list reports the result, for example “Imported 8. Skipped: 1.” If a dot phrase could not be added, select Try importing again.

The starter dot phrases are:

Trigger	Name
.yo	Year old
.htn	Hypertension
.rtw	Return to work
.rts	Return to school
.pe_cardio	Physical exam - Cardiovascular (Normal)
.pe_resp	Physical exam - Respiratory (Normal)
.pe_neuro	Physical exam - Neurological (Focal Negative)
.ros_negative	ROS normal
.lab_normal	Lab results - Normal

Imported dot phrases are Active and available to clinicians across your practice. You can edit them or turn them off like any other dot phrase, but you can’t delete them. The Import starter phrases button disappears once all nine are in your list. A starter you have renamed or turned off still counts as being in your list.

How to write and format the text

1. Open Admin > Dot phrases and select the dot phrase’s name. A new dot phrase opens here automatically after you create it.

   The text editor shows the dot phrase’s name as its heading, with its trigger and status.

2. Write the text in the editor. Use the toolbar to format it:

   • Heading level: Choose Paragraph, Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3 for the current line. This list is the first control on the toolbar and shows the current line’s level, such as Paragraph.
   • Bold, Italic, and Underline
   • Bullet list and Numbered list
   • Add hyperlink

3. Check the Preview panel beside the editor, or below it on a narrower screen. It shows what a provider gets when inserting this dot phrase, and updates as you type.

4. Select Save. A “Dot phrase saved.” message confirms the change.

Save is available once you have made a change. Your text is not saved automatically. If the dot phrase has no text, the Save button is disabled, and the preview section displays “This dot phrase is empty.”

Tip: You can also type shortcuts in the editor. Type ## and a space at the start of a line for a heading, or - and a space for a bullet list.

Dot phrases hold text, headings, and lists. Headings inside a list are not available, so the heading options are disabled while your cursor is in a list item.

If you select Back to dot phrases or another Admin tab before saving, OpenCoreEMR asks Discard changes? Select Keep editing to stay, or Discard changes to leave without saving.

You can’t change a dot phrase’s trigger, name, or status in the text editor. Change them from the list instead: see How to edit a dot phrase’s details and How to turn a dot phrase off or on.

How to edit a dot phrase’s details

A dot phrase’s details are its trigger and name.

1. Open Admin > Dot phrases.
2. In the dot phrase’s row, select the More actions button (…).
3. Select Edit details.
4. In the Edit dot phrase details dialog, change the Trigger or Name. The trigger rules apply here too.
5. Select Save details.

The dialog closes, and the list shows the new details. To change the dot phrase’s text, select its name in the list instead.

How to turn a dot phrase off or on

Turn a dot phrase off when clinicians should stop using it. You can’t delete a dot phrase in this version of OpenCoreEMR. A turned-off dot phrase stays in your list, so you can turn it back on later.

1. Open Admin > Dot phrases.
2. In the dot phrase’s row, select the More actions button (…).
3. Select Turn off.
4. Confirm with Turn off. The confirmation names the dot phrase, for example Turn off .sutures?

The dot phrase’s status changes to Inactive, and clinicians are no longer offered it in encounter notes. A turned-off dot phrase keeps its trigger, so no other dot phrase can use that trigger. To reuse the trigger for a different dot phrase, first change this one’s trigger with Edit details.

To turn a dot phrase back on, select More actions (…) > Turn on, then confirm with Turn on. Its status returns to Active, and clinicians are offered it again.

Understanding what you’re looking at

Dot phrase fields

Field	What it means
Trigger	What clinicians type after a period to find the dot phrase, shown with its leading ., for example .rosneg. Must be different from every other trigger in your practice, ignoring capital letters. Required
Name	A short description clinicians see beside the trigger in the dot-phrase menu, for example Review of systems negative. Required
Text	What is inserted into the note: text, headings, lists, and formatting. You write it in the text editor; the list does not show it
Status	Active dot phrases are offered to clinicians in encounter notes. Inactive (turned off) dot phrases are not
Last updated	The date the dot phrase was last changed

When clinicians see your changes

Clinicians are offered only Active dot phrases.

A clinician who already has an encounter note open may not see a dot phrase you have just created, changed, or turned off in that note straight away.

Notes that already contain a dot phrase’s text are not changed when you later edit or turn off that dot phrase.

Troubleshooting

The message says the trigger “is already used by” another dot phrase. Another dot phrase in your practice already has that trigger, ignoring capital letters. The message names that dot phrase and says whether it is active or inactive. Turned-off dot phrases keep their triggers, so the other dot phrase may be Inactive. Choose a different trigger, or first change the other dot phrase’s trigger with Edit details.

A dot phrase won’t turn on, and the message ends “Turn that dot phrase off first.” Another active dot phrase uses the same trigger. The message above the list names it, for example .followup is already used by "Follow-up plan" (active). Turn that dot phrase off first. Turn off the dot phrase the message names, or give one of the two a different trigger with Edit details, then turn this one on again.

The message says “This dot phrase changed since you opened it. Reload to see the latest version.” Someone else changed the dot phrase while you were editing its details or turning it off or on, so your change was not saved. Select Reload to see the latest version, then make your change again.