HazeOver Help & Productivity Tips

HazeOver runs in the background and adds a translucent dark layer behind the window you’re using. When you switch to a different window, HazeOver automatically shades the previous window. You can choose between instant switch or a smooth animation. The application is energy-efficient and does not get in your way.

You can improve your experience by allowing HazeOver to use your Mac’s Accessibility features. HazeOver will react instantly when you switch between windows and detect the focused window even more reliably.

You only need to follow these steps once, when the corresponding option shows up:

Select “Improve Dimming Accuracy…” in the HazeOver menu or click the “Allow…” button at the bottom of the HazeOver Settings window.

In macOS Ventura or newer:

• Turn on the HazeOver switch in the app list.

In earlier versions of macOS:

• Click the lock at the bottom-left corner of the System Preferences window to allow changes;
• Select the HazeOver checkbox in the app list.

Use a trackpad gesture or mouse scroll to turn the brightness of your distractions down. Place the mouse pointer over the HazeOver menu bar icon and scroll to adjust dimming intensity. Scrolling down to the minimum will disable HazeOver.

Toggle HazeOver dimming by double-clicking its menu bar icon. Or press ^⌥⌘H (Control, Option, Command and H) to turn HazeOver on or off. You can customize keyboard shortcuts in the Shortcuts tab of the HazeOver Settings.

HazeOver can either highlight the front window on each connected screen or dim all secondary displays (those without keyboard focus). The latter option helps you easily recognize which display is currently in focus. You can disable dimming completely on a specific display via the “Secondary Displays” menu.

Dimming settings can be set to change automatically when using Auto Appearance (System Settings > Appearance). For example, enable dimming when turning on Dark Mode. Or have different dimming intensity and color when using Light appearance.

Those settings will be saved and applied independently for Dark and Light appearance. See HazeOver Settings > Advanced > Dark Mode Settings.

Tap the “fn” key when dragging a file to temporarily disable dimming. Clicking the desktop also disables dimming.

When you close or minimize all windows of an app, macOS does not switch to the next app. Check the app name in the top left corner of the screen. HazeOver dims everything because the front app has no focused window. Highlighting a window from a different app would be misleading.

HazeOver dimming state and settings can be controlled with Shortcuts app in macOS Monterey and newer, Focus Filters in macOS Ventura and newer, and AppleScript in any macOS version. Combine that with other apps and system settings to set up your perfect environment. For example, you can enable HazeOver dimming, turn on Dark Mode and Do Not Disturb with a single keyboard shortcut.

Check out the detailed HazeOver Automation Guide →