Nebula on a Mac
Everything in the other guides works on a Mac, with a mouse or trackpad. Nebula has no keyboard shortcuts of its own; you type only in text boxes. This page covers what is special to the Mac: listening to the Mac itself and the menus.
Listen to your Mac
Nebula can follow whatever the Mac is playing: Spotify, a browser, Apple Music or anything else. Nebula only listens; it doesn't change the sound.
- On the start screen tap Listen to your Mac. Or open Music › This Mac and tap the same button. Or choose Playback › Listen to your Mac in the menu bar (a check mark shows while it is on).
- The first time, macOS asks for permission to record system audio. Allow it.
- Start the music in the other app. The picture follows it. Tap Stop listening to end.
Nothing is recorded, kept or sent anywhere. Because Nebula hears only the sound and not the song, it follows beats and loudness live. The sections, builds and drops of whole-song analysis stay at 0. If the picture stays still, see Troubleshooting.
The menu bar
| Menu | What is in it |
|---|---|
| Nebula | Hide Nebula (⌘H), Hide Others, Show All, Quit Nebula (⌘Q) |
| Edit | Undo (⌘Z) and Redo (Shift-⌘Z), then Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All for text boxes. Outside a text box, Undo and Redo step the layer you edited last (or the last cable change). |
| Playback | Next song, Listen to your Mac |
| Window | Minimize (⌘M), Zoom, Close (⌘W), Bring All to Front |
Closing the window with ⌘W quits Nebula.
Mouse and trackpad
- Double click the picture to hide or show the bars and buttons.
- Click, drag or hold on the picture to play it, on layers that respond to touch. See Layers › Touch.
- Hover over any name for a short explanation, where a finger would press and hold.
- On a slider hold Shift for half speed or Option for a tenth, for a finer move.
- Double click a slider in a cable's settings to reset it.
- Drag across the time line to set a loop; click it to jump. See The play bar.
- Right-click a scene card for its menu. See Scenes.
- Windows float over the picture. Settings › Display › Window opacity sets how much of it shows through.
- A desktop Mac, or a laptop on its charger, never goes to sleep from Auto sleep.
Scene files
Double-click a .nebula file in Finder, or open one from Mail or Messages, and Nebula opens it and puts it in My Scenes. Music files are added with Add songs on the start screen or in Music › Songs.