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Prompt display

NowDoing has two places for the “What did you just work on?” prompt and three knobs for everything around it. All of it lives under Settings → General — or in the welcome wizard at step 3. What sits inside the prompt and how to drive it is documented in Prompt popover.

ModeBehavior
PopoverThe prompt appears anchored to the menu bar icon. Default.
CenteredThe prompt appears centered at the top of the screen, next to the notch. Handy on large displays or when the icon hides in the overflow menu.

The interaction is the same in both modes: type to search, pick an activity, confirm with Enter.

ModeWhat you see
Icon onlyCompact. The current activity is one click away in the popover.
Icon + live textThe activity and a running stopwatch right in the menu bar.

In icon + live text, macOS automatically truncates when the menu bar gets crowded.

Which of the three timeline views the popover opens to by default:

  • Grouped — totals per activity (default).
  • List — chronological entries with gaps.
  • Timeline — a colored bar from morning to evening.

You can switch views inside the popover anytime; this setting only controls the initial view.

A short cue when the prompt appears. Turn it off in meetings or on headphones.

⌃⌥⌘L opens the prompt from anywhere — regardless of popover vs centered. See Keyboard shortcuts.