HazeOver Productivity Tips & Tricks

HazeOver runs in the background and adds a translucent dark layer behind a window you’re using at the moment. When you switch to a different window, HazeOver automatically shades the previously used window. You can select 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 letting HazeOver use Accessibility features of your Mac. HazeOver will react instantly when you switch between windows and detect a focused window even more reliably.

You only need to follow these steps once, when there’s a corresponding option in the app:

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

In macOS Ventura or newer:

• Turn on HazeOver switch in the app list.

In earlier versions of macOS:

• Click the lock at the bottom left corner of System Preferences window to allow changes;
• Select 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 HazeOver menu bar icon and scroll to adjust dimming intensity. Scrolling down to the minimum will disable HazeOver.

Toggle HazeOver dimming by double-clicking HazeOver icon in the menu bar. Or press ^⌥⌘H (Control, Option, Command and H) to turn HazeOver on or off. This keyboard shortcut can be changed in the Advanced app settings.

HazeOver can either highlight a front window on each connected screen or it can dim all secondary displays (those without keyboard focus). The latter option can let you more easily recognize which display is currently in focus. You can disable dimming completely on a particular display using “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.

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

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

When you close or minimize all windows of an app, macOS does not switch to the next app. See 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 a detailed HazeOver Automation Guide →