User Guide & FAQ

Last updated: February 2026

Welcome to useBrief! useBrief is a discreet, notch-based meeting and presentation assistant for macOS. It keeps your notes, talking points, and session timelines perfectly visible to you, without blocking your screen or getting lost behind other windows.

What is useBrief?

useBrief drops a floating HUD (Head-Up Display) directly under the macOS menu bar (near the notch/camera), allowing you to see your "Cards" (notes) while you present or video chat.

The app consists of two main parts:

The Editor window: Where you organize your meetings into "Sessions" and write your "Cards".
The Notch Panel: The floating translucent window that stays on top of other apps during your meeting.

1. Organizing Your Notes

 Sessions and Cards Session: A collection of notes for a specific meeting, presentation, or task.
Card: A single page or topic within a Session. You can flip through Cards as your meeting progresses.
 

The Rich Text Editor

When creating a Card, you can use the built-in rich text editor to format your notes:

Bold, Italic, and Underline text.
Create bulleted lists.
Change text alignment (Left, Center, Right).
Highlight text with different colors.
Adjust the font size larger or smaller.

Dictation (Microphone)

Don't want to type? Click the Microphone icon in the editor toolbar to speak your notes out loud.

Note: The first time you do this, macOS will ask for Microphone and Speech Recognition permissions. You must approve these in your Mac's System Settings for dictation to work.

2. The Notch Panel (HUD)

When you are ready, click Start Session in the Editor. The Notch Panel will appear at the top of your screen.

The Notch Panel is divided into:

Top Bar: Shows the current Session name, a global timer, a button to end the session, and a button to toggle the Hotkey Legend.
Card Strip: Shows numbered pills representing all the Cards in your Session. The active Card is highlighted.
Content Area: Displays the content of your currently selected Card.

Minimal View

If you want useBrief to take up even less space, you can toggle Minimal View. This hides the top bar and card strip, leaving only the pure text of your current Card floating on the screen.

Pass-Through Clicks

If you position the useBrief panel over an area where you occasionally need to click (like browser tabs), you can turn on "Allow Clicks to Pass Through" in the Settings. When enabled, the panel will become "ghosted" to your mouse—you can see it, but clicking will click whatever is behind the panel instead. You will need to use Keyboard Shortcuts to navigate your cards when this is enabled.

3. Keyboard Shortcuts

useBrief is designed to be operated entirely via keyboard shortcuts, so you never have to move your mouse away from your presentation.

You can view the active shortcuts at any time by pressing ⌥ / (Option + /) to bring up the Hotkey Legend View, or by clicking the keyboard icon in the panel's top bar.

All shortcuts can be customized in the useBrief Editor under the "Shortcuts" tab.

General Operations

Toggle Notch Panel: ⌥ H (Hide/Show the floating HUD)
Open Editor: ⌥ E
Toggle Hotkey Legend: ⌥ /
Toggle Minimal View: ⌥ M
Expand Panel Drawer: ⌥ ↓ (Option + Down Arrow)
Collapse Panel Drawer: ⌥ ↑ (Option + Up Arrow)

Navigation

Move quickly between your talking points without breaking eye contact.

Next Card: ⌥ → (Option + Right Arrow)
Previous Card: ⌥ ← (Option + Left Arrow)
Jump to a Specific Card: ⌥ 1 through ⌥ 9

Sizing and Appearance

Adjust the size and visibility of the panel on the fly.

Increase Width: ⌥ =
Decrease Width: ⌥ -
Increase Height: ⌥ ]
Decrease Height: ⌥ [
Increase Opacity: ⌥ . (Make background darker)
Decrease Opacity: ⌥ , (Make background transparent)

Tips & Best Practices

Auto-Scroll Long Cards

If you have a very long Card with lots of text, you don't need to manually scroll while you present. Open the Editor, locate the Card in your list, and toggle "Auto-scroll on this card". When you reach that Card during your presentation, useBrief will smoothly scroll the text for you at a reading pace.

Managing Screen Space

If the panel feels too large, remember you can press ⌥ [ to shrink the height, or ⌥ ↑ to collapse the panel drawer entirely so only the title bar shows. This is great for when you are just listening to a speaker and want your screen real estate back.

Troubleshooting & FAQ

Q: The microphone icon won't let me record. It just stays as a gray microphone with a slash through it.

A: macOS is likely blocking useBrief from accessing Speech Recognition or your Microphone. Open your Mac's System Settings > Privacy & Security and ensure useBrief is toggled ON for both Microphone and Speech Recognition.

Q: Why doesn't the Notch Panel respond when I click it?

A: You likely have "Allow Clicks to Pass Through" enabled in the Appearance Settings. Turn this off if you want to click the panel with your mouse.

Q: How do I change a Keyboard Shortcut?

A: Open the Editor (⌥ E), go to the Shortcuts tab on the left. Click the 'x' next to an existing shortcut, then hold down your new modifier key (e.g., Option ⌥ or Command ⌘) and press the letter you want.

Note: macOS requires a modifier key! You cannot map a global shortcut to a single letter like "M" without Option or Command.

Q: I messed up my shortcuts. Can I go back?

A: Yes! Go to the Shortcuts settings tab and click Reset to Defaults at the top right. This instantly restores every shortcut to its original factory setting.

Q: Where did my Session name and timers go?

A: You are likely in Minimal View. Press ⌥ M or toggle Minimal View off in the Appearance settings to restore the full HUD layout.

Q: Where does useBrief store my data? Is it in the cloud?

A: useBrief is a 100% local macOS app. All of your sessions, cards, and notes are saved directly on your Mac. Nothing is sent to the cloud, ensuring your private meeting notes stay completely private.