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Discover Alter’s superpowers. These features transform how you work with your Mac.

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Interacting with Your Apps

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AppSense - Understanding Your Mac

Unlike traditional screen capture methods, AppSense reads actual data directly from macOS applications, allowing Alter to access information beyond what’s visible on your screen.

Deep Integration

Access app data, not just screenshots

Context Awareness

Understand what you’re working on automatically

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Current Application

Alter automatically suggests using your active window as context:
1

Look for the suggestion

Click Current Application below the prompt box
2

Or use keyboard

Press ↓ then Enter to select it

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Follow Mode

Follow Mode is a core feature of Alter that enables real-time synchronization of data from your active applications, documents, and files during chat sessions.

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How It Works

Follow Mode continuously monitors the state of applications and files you’re working with, providing Alter with comprehensive context about your current workflow at each turn of your conversation.
Working on a landing page copy? While you make changes and have Alter as your Marketing Coach, Alter sees the changes you made without you needing to explain what you did.

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Using Follow Mode

1

Add context

Add the applications or documents you wish to include to the context list
2

Start chatting

Alter automatically tracks the state of the selected applications
3

Ask questions

Ask about content even if it’s not currently visible on screen
4

Keep working

Interact with the selected apps or update documents while chatting
Pro tip: Follow Mode is perfect for long-form content creation. Add your document to context once, then keep writing while Alter provides feedback in real-time.

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Interacting with Files and Folders

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Drag-and-Drop Support

Drag and drop files or folders onto The Hub or Alter’s notch, or use Right Click > Add to Alter.

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Supported File Types

Documents

.xlsx, .docx, .pdf, .txt, .md, .org, .rtf

Images

.jpg, .png, .heic, .gif, .tiff, .svg

Web Content

.html, URLs, dragged text

Emails

.eml, Apple Mail messages

Audio

.mp3, .wav, .m4a, .aac, .flac

Code

All programming languages, config files, scripts
Special features: Directory drops, OCR for images and PDFs, automatic text encoding detection.
When dropping an image file, make sure to use a model with vision capability (like GPT-4O or Gemini).

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Video: Chat with Files

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Automatic Transcription

When adding audio or video files, Alter automatically transcribes them for you.

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Features

Instant Processing

Audio and video files are transcribed automatically when dragged into Alter

Batch Processing

Drop multiple files simultaneously for parallel transcription

Interactive Content

Ask questions about the content once transcribed

Smart Detection

Audio files are automatically treated as meeting content

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How to Use

1

Drop files

Drag and drop your audio or video file(s) onto The Hub or Alter’s notch
2

Wait for transcription

Transcription begins automatically - no manual action required
3

View transcript

Click on the file in your context to see the transcription
4

Ask questions

“What did Steve say in his speech?” or “Summarize the key points”

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Workspaces

Workspaces are a powerful feature that allow you to save, organize, and automatically refresh collections of folders, files, and apps for efficient AI-assisted workflows.

Faster Responses

Retrieve only relevant files for your queries

Cost Efficient

Reduce processing costs with intelligent indexing

Handles Large Projects

Work with large folders and codebases efficiently

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How Workspaces Work

Workspaces create an indexed map of your selected resources. Files are automatically converted:
File TypeConversion
PDFsMarkdown with page markers
DOCXMarkdown format
XLSXMarkdown/CSV format
ImagesOCR text extraction
DirectoriesRecursive processing
Audio & video files are not supported by workspaces yet. Transcribe them first by dropping into Alter.

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Editing Files in Workspaces

Edit or create individual files using natural language:
  • Modify code
  • Update documentation
  • Refactor functions
  • Create new files from scratch
Security First: All editing operations are sandboxed using Seatbelt policies with security checks for safe execution.

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Creating a Workspace

1

Open The Hub

Press Shift + Cmd + H or select from menu bar
2

Navigate to Workspaces

Find the Workspaces section in the sidebar
3

Create new

Click the + button in the workspace picker
4

Add files

Use “Add Files” button to select folders and files

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Workspace Storage

Workspaces are stored locally at: 
~/Library/Application Support/Alter/Workspaces/
Each workspace contains:
  • Workspace definition (.alterworkspace)
  • Your files and folders
  • Cached converted files for fast access

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Video Tutorial

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Interacting with YouTube Videos

When visiting a YouTube video page:
  • Alter notifies you with an option to summarize
  • The video’s transcript is automatically added to your context
This only works if the YouTube video has transcripts available (most do, but not all).

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Video Tutorial

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Alter Actions - Workflows

Alter Actions are advanced prompts configured with triggers and instructions.

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Creating Actions

Action Editor

Accessible from the menu bar for full control

Quick Create

Type “Create > Alter Action” in the prompt box
Built-in actions cannot be edited but can be duplicated and customized.

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Bespoke Model Selection

Assign specific AI models to individual actions for precise control.

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Why Use Different Models?

Use local models for sensitive tasks while keeping cloud models for general queries
Assign fast, tool-optimized models like Qwen3 for automation while using creative models for writing
Use lightweight local models for simple tasks and reserve powerful models for complex operations

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Setting Up

1

Open Action Editor

Click the three dots in Alter window
2

Select action

Choose the Alter Action to customize
3

Go to Advanced

Find the “Advanced” section
4

Choose model

Select the specific model for this action
5

Save

The action now uses your chosen model

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Action-Level Tool Customization

Choose exactly which tools each action can use.

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Benefits

Faster Execution

Limit tools to only what’s needed

Better Accuracy

Prevent AI from choosing irrelevant tools

Context-Aware

Create specialized workflows per action

Cost Efficient

Reduce token usage

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Configuration

1

Open Action Editor

Click three dots → “Action Editor”
2

Select action

Choose the Alter Action
3

Find Tools section

Look under “Advanced” settings
4

Choose tools

Select specific tools or disable all

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Tool Set Strategies

  • Minimal: One or two tools for focused actions
  • Grouped: Related tools for specific workflows
  • Full Access: All tools for general-purpose actions
  • No Tools: For creative or analytical tasks
Pro Tip: Start with all tools disabled for new actions, then add only what you need. This ensures optimal performance and prevents unexpected tool usage.