React Late, Capture Early
Here is the scenario every student and professional knows: a professor says a perfect definition, a colleague states a critical decision, an interviewee delivers the quote of the interview — and by the time your brain registers "that was important," the moment is already several seconds in the past. In a traditional recorder, that delay means a missed bookmark. In 12scribe, it means nothing at all.
When you tap Add Marker during a recording, 12scribe does not simply save the second you tapped. It automatically reaches back in time and captures the audio from before your tap. By default, that lookback window is 30 seconds. So if the key statement happened at 00:20 and you react at 00:25, the marker's audio starts at roughly 00:00 — the full context is preserved, including the buildup to the important moment.
This rolling audio buffer is always running while you record. You do not need to activate it, configure it before each session, or even think about it. It works silently in the background, acting as a 30-second safety net that ensures every marker you create contains the content that actually mattered, not just the aftermath. The buffer has you covered.
This is what separates 12scribe from a plain voice recorder. A bookmark in a basic recorder says "something happened around this second." A marker in 12scribe says "here is the complete thought, from start to finish, captured automatically."
How to Add a Marker
While recording is active, the marker panel appears at the bottom of the screen. Tap Add Marker to place a bookmark. The marker is created instantly with zero interruption to the ongoing recording — the audio capture continues without any gap or glitch.
Behind the scenes, the marker's start time is set to your current position minus the buffer duration. With the default 30-second buffer, tapping at 01:45 creates a marker that begins at 01:15. When you later tap that marker during playback, the audio jumps to 01:15 — right to the start of the thought you wanted to capture.
You can add as many markers as you need throughout the session. There is no limit on the number of markers per recording. Each marker appears in a scrollable list on the recording screen, giving you a running overview of what you have already tagged.
The Buffer in Action: A Real Example
Imagine you are recording a biology lecture. At 14:30, the professor begins explaining the definition of osmosis. The explanation takes about 15 seconds. At 14:47, you think "I should mark that" and tap the marker button. Here is what happens:
- Your tap registers at 14:47
- The 30-second buffer reaches back to 14:17
- The marker captures audio from 14:17 onward — the entire definition is included, plus a few seconds of context before it
Without a buffer, the marker would start at 14:47 — after the definition is already over. You would hear the professor moving on to the next topic, and you would need to manually scrub backward to find the actual content. With the buffer, one tap captures everything. You never miss a thought.
The buffer duration is configurable. If 30 seconds is not enough for your use case — say, dense academic lectures where a concept builds over a full minute — you can increase it to 45, 60, or even 90 seconds. If you prefer tighter, more focused markers, you can reduce it to 10 or 20 seconds. See Buffer Duration and Audio Settings for all the options and guidance on choosing the right one.
Marker Types
When adding a marker, you can choose one of three types to create a visual hierarchy that makes later review faster:
- Flag — the default marker type. Use it for general bookmarks, topic changes, interesting points, or any moment worth remembering. This is your everyday, go-to marker.
- Favorite — use this for moments you absolutely must review later. Key definitions, critical requirements, formulas you need to memorize. Favorites stand out in the marker list, making them easy to find during exam preparation or project review.
- Fire — reserved for breakthrough moments and genuine insights. Use sparingly — if everything is Fire, nothing stands out. Reserve this for the one moment in a lecture that changes your understanding of the topic.
Choosing the right type during recording takes a split second but saves significant time during review. You can always change a marker's type afterward by editing it. Learn about all editing options in Edit Markers: Title, Time, Type, and Description. For a deeper look at each type, see Marker Types: Flag, Favorite, and Fire.
Best Practices
These practices will help you get the most value from real-time markers and the audio buffer:
- Add a marker at the start of each new topic or agenda item to create a natural table of contents for the recording
- Do not stress about reacting quickly — the buffer captures audio from before your tap, so even a 5-10 second delay still preserves the content you care about
- Use Flag for general points, Favorite for study-critical content, and Fire only for rare breakthrough moments
- Review and rename your markers right after the session ends, while your memory is still fresh — a title like "Definition of entropy" is far more useful than "Marker at 14:23"
- If you find that your markers consistently miss the beginning of important content, increase the buffer duration in Buffer Settings for your next session
- Combine manual markers with AI Smart Notes for complete coverage — your markers capture what you noticed in real time, while AI identifies structural elements you may have missed