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Troubleshooting Guide

Step-by-step solutions for common problems in Recall. Find your issue below and follow the instructions.

Quick Fixes to Try First

Before diving into specific problems, try these general fixes:

Restart Recall

  1. Click Recall in the menu bar at the top of your screen
  2. Click Quit Recall
  3. Wait 5 seconds
  4. Open Recall again from your Applications folder

Restart Your Mac

If restarting Recall doesn't help:

  1. Click the Apple menu ()
  2. Click Restart
  3. After your Mac restarts, open Recall

Check for Updates

Make sure you're running the latest version:

  1. In Recall, click Recall in the menu bar
  2. Click Check for Updates (if available)
  3. Install any available updates

Word Integration Problems

Problem: "Word: Disconnected" in Status Bar

What this means: Recall can't communicate with Microsoft Word.

Solution 1: Is Word running?

  1. Look at your Dock for the Word icon
  2. If Word isn't open, double-click it to launch
  3. Open any Word document
  4. Check if Recall's status changes to "Connected"

Solution 2: Check permissions

  1. Click the Apple menu () → System Settings
  2. Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar
  3. Scroll down and click Automation
  4. Find Recall in the list
  5. Make sure Microsoft Word has a checkmark ✓
  6. If not, click the toggle to enable it

Solution 3: Run the Self-Test

  1. In Recall, click the gear icon (⚙) in the toolbar
  2. Click Setup
  3. Find the Self-Test button
  4. Click it and read the results — they'll tell you what's wrong

Solution 4: Restart both applications

  1. Quit Recall completely (Recall → Quit Recall)
  2. Quit Word completely (Word → Quit Word)
  3. Open Word first
  4. Open any document in Word
  5. Then open Recall
  6. Check the status bar

Problem: Permission Popup Never Appeared

What this means: Recall needs your permission to control Word, but the popup didn't show.

Solution:

  1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation
  2. If Recall isn't in the list:
  3. Try using the Word integration feature (insert a pin into Word)
  4. The popup should appear when you first try to use it
  5. If Recall is in the list but Word isn't checked, click the toggle to enable it

Problem: Clicked "Don't Allow" by Accident

What this means: You denied Recall permission to control Word.

Solution:

  1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Automation
  2. Find Recall in the list
  3. Click the toggle next to Microsoft Word to turn it ON
  4. Restart Recall

Problem: Text Doesn't Appear in Word After Inserting

What this means: The insertion command was sent but Word didn't receive it properly.

Solution:

  1. Click in your Word document to make sure Word is the active window
  2. Place your cursor where you want text to appear
  3. Go back to Recall and try inserting again
  4. If it still doesn't work, try restarting both Recall and Word

Search Problems

What this means: Documents aren't showing up in search results.

Solution 1: Wait for indexing

  1. Look at your document in the document list
  2. Check if it says "Indexing" — this means Recall is still processing it
  3. Wait for it to say "Indexed"
  4. New documents can take a few seconds to a few minutes depending on size

Solution 2: Check your filters

  1. Look above the search results for any active filters
  2. Clear the Category filter (set it to "All")
  3. Clear any Document type filters
  4. Search again

Solution 3: Make sure you're in the right Matter

  1. Look at the left sidebar
  2. Confirm you've selected the Matter that contains your documents
  3. Documents from other Matters won't appear in search

Solution 4: Try different search terms

  1. If using Keyword search, check for typos
  2. Try using fewer or different words
  3. Switch to Semantic search mode for concept-based searching

Solution 5: Rebuild the search index

  1. Click the gear icon (⚙) → Model Settings
  2. Under Semantic Search, click Rebuild Index
  3. Wait for the rebuild to complete
  4. Search again

Problem: Search Is Slow

What this means: Searches take a long time to return results.

Solution 1: Close other applications

AI search uses your Mac's memory (RAM). Close apps you're not using to free up resources.

Solution 2: Use a faster search model

  1. Go to Settings → Model Settings
  2. Under Semantic Search, try all-MiniLM-L6-v2 — it's the fastest option
  3. Click Rebuild Index after changing models

Solution 3: Reduce the number of documents

Large Matters with many documents take longer to search. Consider organizing into smaller Matters by sub-topic.

Problem: Semantic Search Gives Irrelevant Results

What this means: The AI search isn't finding what you expect.

Solution:

  1. Rephrase your query: Try asking the question differently
  2. Be more specific: Instead of "breach," try "what constitutes a material breach of contract"
  3. Try Keyword search: For exact phrases or citations, Keyword mode often works better
  4. Check your documents: The AI can only find what's in your uploaded documents

AI Model Problems

Problem: "Model: Error" in Status Bar

What this means: The AI model failed to load.

Solution 1: Restart Recall

Quit Recall completely and reopen it. Wait 30-60 seconds for the model to load.

Solution 2: Free up memory

  1. Close other applications (browsers, video apps, etc.)
  2. Restart Recall
  3. AI models need several gigabytes of memory to run

Solution 3: Check disk space

  1. Click the Apple menu () → About This Mac
  2. Click Storage (or More Info → Storage)
  3. If you have less than 10 GB free, delete some files to make room
  4. Restart Recall

Solution 4: Try a smaller model

  1. Go to Settings → Model Settings
  2. Under Generation, select Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct
  3. This model uses less memory but is still capable

Solution 5: Check for corrupt model files

  1. Go to Finder
  2. In the menu, click Go → Go to Folder
  3. Type: ~/Library/Application Support/Clericus/Models/
  4. Press Enter
  5. If you see files with strange names or 0 KB size, delete them
  6. Restart Recall (it will re-download or use bundled models)

Problem: "Model: Loading" Takes Forever

What this means: The AI model is taking too long to load.

Solution:

  1. Wait at least 2-3 minutes — first load can be slow
  2. Close other memory-intensive apps
  3. If it never finishes, restart Recall
  4. Try a smaller model (Phi-3.5 Mini)

Problem: Clerk Gives Bad or Irrelevant Responses

What this means: The AI writing assistant isn't being helpful.

Solution 1: Be more specific

Instead of: "Help me write about this case" Try: "Draft an argument that the defendant breached the implied warranty of merchantability based on the Smith v. Jones case"

Solution 2: Make sure relevant documents are uploaded and indexed

Clerk uses your Matter's documents as its knowledge source. If the relevant documents aren't there, it can't help well.

Solution 3: Try a different model

  1. Go to Settings → Model Settings
  2. Under Generation, try Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
  3. Different models may work better for different tasks

Document Problems

Problem: Document Won't Upload

What this means: Recall won't accept a document you're trying to add.

Solution 1: Check the file format

Recall only works with PDF files. If your file is:

  • .doc/.docx (Word): Open in Word and choose File → Export to PDF
  • .txt (text): Open in TextEdit and choose File → Export as PDF
  • Other formats: Use any PDF converter to create a PDF

Solution 2: Check file size and corruption

  1. Try opening the PDF in Preview (double-click it)
  2. If Preview can't open it, the PDF may be damaged
  3. If it opens in Preview, try adding it to Recall again

Solution 3: Check disk space

Make sure you have enough free disk space for the document.

Problem: "Indexing" Never Completes

What this means: Recall is stuck processing a document.

Solution 1: Wait longer

Large documents (hundreds of pages) can take several minutes. Give it time.

Solution 2: Check the document content

Some PDFs are actually images (scanned documents). Recall works best with text-based PDFs. If your PDF is a scan:

  1. You may need to use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to convert it to searchable text
  2. Adobe Acrobat and other tools can add OCR to scanned PDFs

Solution 3: Remove and re-add the document

  1. Right-click the stuck document
  2. Click Remove
  3. Confirm the removal
  4. Add the document again

Solution 4: Restart Recall

If indexing seems frozen, restart Recall and see if it resumes.

Interface Problems

Problem: Panes Are Missing or Can't Find Features

What this means: Parts of the interface aren't visible.

Solution 1: Check which mode you're in

  • Research mode: For searching documents and viewing PDFs
  • Write mode: For the editor, Pins panel, and Clerk

Use the toggle in the toolbar to switch between modes.

Solution 2: Expand collapsed panes

Panes might be collapsed. Look for small arrows or dividers at the edges of the window. Click them to expand hidden panels.

Solution 3: Reset window size

If the window is too small, some elements may be hidden. Resize the Recall window by dragging its corners.

Problem: Text Is Too Small/Large to Read

What this means: Font size isn't comfortable.

Solution:

  1. Click the gear icon (⚙) → Model Settings
  2. Find Content Font Size
  3. Adjust the slider (10-24 pt)

Application Problems

Problem: Recall Won't Open

What this means: Double-clicking Recall does nothing.

Solution 1: Check if it's already open

Look at your Dock — if Recall has a dot beneath its icon, it's running. Click the icon to bring it to the front.

Solution 2: Force quit and try again

  1. Press Cmd+Option+Esc to open Force Quit
  2. Find Recall in the list
  3. Click Force Quit
  4. Try opening Recall again

Solution 3: Check macOS version

Make sure your macOS is compatible with Recall. Check system requirements at retrieval.company.

Problem: Recall Crashes Frequently

What this means: Recall unexpectedly quits.

Solution 1: Free up resources

Close other applications to give Recall more memory and processing power.

Solution 2: Check for updates

Make sure you're running the latest version of Recall.

Solution 3: Reset Recall settings

  1. Quit Recall
  2. Open Finder
  3. Click Go → Go to Folder
  4. Type: ~/Library/Preferences/
  5. Find any files with "Clericus" or "Recall" in the name
  6. Move them to the Desktop (as a backup)
  7. Restart Recall (it will create fresh settings)

Still Having Problems?

If nothing here solved your issue:

  1. Check the FAQ for more answers
  2. Search this documentation using the search bar at the top
  3. Contact support at retrieval.company with:
  4. A description of the problem
  5. What you were doing when it happened
  6. Any error messages
  7. Your Mac model (Apple menu → About This Mac)
  8. Your macOS version