I’m pleased to announce a second TestFlight for version 4.1 of Time Out, my popular break reminder app for Mac. 🎉
This update includes several more big improvements:
- Renamed the Break Name page to Info and updated it.
- Added an Overview on each break’s Info page.
- Added Ask Apple Intelligence above the overview.
- Added Generate Text… to the Text theme editor, using Apple Intelligence on supported Macs.
- Added Generate Image… to the Images theme editor, using Image Playground where available.
- Added a nice custom color picker.
This pre-release build is available via Apple's TestFlight. Want to help test it? Install the TestFlight. It is open to all — but note that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).
I would appreciate any help in testing this update. If you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.
Read on for full details.
Info page and shortcuts
- Renamed the Break Name page to Info and modernized it with SwiftUI, keeping the break name, label color, mini pie chart option, global start shortcut, and comments together.
- The label color now uses the new color picker (see below).
- Modernized the Shortcuts page and keyboard shortcut recorders.
Break overview and explanations
- Added an Overview on each break’s Info page, showing its current state, latest reported status, schedule, natural-break behavior, priority, rules, and appearance settings.
- Click Show Overview to expand the overview, which starts collapsed, or Hide Overview to collapse it again.
- Click a settings row anywhere to reveal and highlight the relevant controls. A pointing-hand cursor indicates clickable rows.
- Added Ask Apple Intelligence above the overview. Type a question or choose a suggestion from the field’s dropdown, then click Explain for an on-device explanation on supported Macs. Questions include why a break was missed, why the next break is later than expected, what resets the countdown, and which days and times the break can run.
- The Ask About Break… command in the break’s Options menu opens the question field. Explanations use the recorded scheduler status and distinguish configured rules from observed matches.
- Refresh captures the latest settings and state. Copy puts a complete text copy of the overview on the clipboard, including the submitted question and answer when there is an answer.
- The factual overview works without Apple Intelligence. It shows a snapshot of the current configuration and latest reported state, rather than a complete history of earlier breaks.
Text themes
- Added Generate Text… to the Text theme editor, using Apple Intelligence on supported Macs to create reminders, affirmations, jokes, or other short text for breaks.
- Describe the subject, tone, and style, choose from 1 to 20 rows, then click Generate and Add. Existing text helps guide the results and avoid duplicates.
- New text appears as it is generated. Click Stop to keep completed rows, then edit and reorder the text like other theme content.
Image themes
- Added Generate Image… to the Images theme editor, using Image Playground where available. Select an existing image to use it as inspiration, or generate a new image without a selection.
- Double-click an image, or choose Edit Image… from its contextual menu, to edit it with Image Playground and replace the image in the theme.
- On macOS 27 with compatible Apple Intelligence support, generated images are automatically given descriptive filenames based on their contents.
Color picker
- Added a compact color popover for break label colors, theme backgrounds, flash actions, and text themes, with a continuous spectrum and a row of common color swatches.
- Use arrow keys for fine adjustments, or Shift-arrow for larger steps. Hold the keys to repeat.
- Adjust opacity where supported, with a checkerboard preview showing transparency.
- Enter RGB or RGBA hex colors using 3, 4, 6, or 8 digits, with an optional
#and alpha last. RGB-only input preserves the current opacity. - Click Show Colors… to open the full macOS Colors window, or ⌥click the color button to open it directly.
- Includes VoiceOver color descriptions, opacity percentages, Lighter and Darker actions, and announcements for invalid hex input.
Want to help test it?
This pre-release build is available via Apple's TestFlight. Install the TestFlight. Note that it requires macOS Tahoe (26.0 or later).
Once it is in general release, it will be available via the Mac App Store, Setapp, and directly from the Dejal website, as usual.
Again if you experience any issues, or have any suggestions for improvements, please contact me.