Dim Every App but the One You're Working In on Your Mac

Most anti-distraction advice on the Mac starts with closing things: quit Slack, close the browser, hide Mail. That works until you need one of them 10 minutes later and have to reopen it, find your tabs and get back to where you were. Dimming is gentler. Everything stays open and where you left it. It just stops pulling at your eyes.

macOS doesn't do this. Apple's tip for cutting distractions is to use a Focus such as Do Not Disturb or Work, and Focus deals with notifications. The per-app options in System Settings → Notifications are Allow Notifications, Lock Screen, Persistent, Play sound, Badge app icon and Notification grouping. None of them fades an app on screen. Badges don't have one switch either: The Mac Observer notes there is no universal toggle to turn off badges during Focus, so you're left with per-app settings and workarounds.

What Zone mode does, and what it doesn't

Zone mode is one of Moor's two modes. The other is Meeting mode. In Moor's words, Zone mode "dims everything but your work tools when focusing." Your apps keep running and nothing gets quit or closed. When you turn it off, everything goes back to normal brightness.

The two Moor modes and macOS Focus each cover a different part of the problem:

One limit to know up front: Moor documents Zone mode as dimming only. It doesn't claim to block notification banners. If you also want Slack or Mail to stop popping up, keep a macOS Focus on as well. They don't overlap.

How to turn Zone mode on by hand

1. Click Moor's icon in the menu bar (the little boat).
2. Open Modes.
3. Choose Zone mode. Everything except your working apps dims.
4. When you're done, go back to Modes and turn it off.

If you can't see the boat on a MacBook with a camera notch, a crowded menu bar may be hiding it behind the notch. Hold Command and drag Moor's icon toward the clock, or open Moor from Spotlight (that opens its Settings). If you use Moor Bar, Moor's menu is in the bar's Moor menu section.

Running it without the menu

Moor has Shortcuts actions for switching profiles, Zone mode, hiding revenue, today's revenue and agents waiting. So you can put Zone mode in any shortcut you build, next to other steps. Every Moor action is also a moor:// link, so scripts and launchers can trigger it too. The Automation docs list the exact actions and links. If you use an AI agent, Moor's MCP server and local API can also change Moor's settings for you, all on your own Mac.

Pairing Zone mode with a Focus Timer

Moor's Focus Timer is one of the live widgets you can put in a dock. To add it:

1. Press Control-Option-E (or choose Edit Docks in Moor's menu bar).
2. In the Add to your docks panel, type "Focus Timer" and click it, or drag it to the spot you want.
3. Press Done, or Control-Option-E again.

The countdown and focus timer guide has more on the timer widgets.

To be clear about how they work together: Moor's documentation doesn't say Zone mode switches on and off with the timer's work and break phases. Treat them as 2 separate steps:

1. Start a work session on the Focus Timer.
2. Turn on Zone mode from Modes.
3. When the break starts, turn Zone mode off so you can catch up on messages.
4. Turn it back on for the next session.

If 2 clicks per session is too many, use the Zone mode Shortcuts action as part of a routine you start yourself. For example, a "Start focus" shortcut that turns on Zone mode, and a matching "Break" shortcut that turns it off.

Tips for a calmer screen

• Give focus its own dock. Profiles save whole Dock setups. Make a slim "Focus" profile with your editor, terminal and the Focus Timer, then switch to it with Control-Option-1 to 9 before you turn on Zone mode. That way there's less in the dock and less on screen.
• Use Meeting mode for calls. Zone mode is about attention. Meeting mode is about what other people see: it hides revenue and silences badges while you're on a call. The guide to hiding revenue while screen sharing covers the full setup.
• Keep finding things fast. Dimmed apps are still open. Control-Option-F searches your docks, apps, agents and profiles, and if Helm is on, Option-Tab lists every window. You don't need to turn Zone mode off to get to something. The shortcuts roundup collects the rest.
• Add Focus for notifications. Use a macOS Focus to stop banners and Zone mode to dim the screen. Apple's per-app Badge app icon switch in Notifications settings is there for apps whose badges you never want to see.

Other ways to dim apps on a Mac

If you want dimming at the window level with fine control, dedicated dimmers do that:

• HazeOver highlights the frontmost window or app as you switch and fades everything else. You can toggle it with a shortcut and press Fn to turn dimming off while dragging between apps. It also supports Focus Filters, so the dim level can change with the active Focus.
• Window Focus has Single Window, Per Screen and Active App modes and an exclusion list for apps that should never dim.
• Focusdim offers Dim Background, Highlight Active (a border) and a combined mode. Its free version has 2 modes with fixed settings.

If you also want blocking during timed sessions, Session can block distracting websites or apps and mute a Slack team while a session runs.

Next steps

• Read the Automation docs for the exact Zone mode Shortcuts action and moor:// link.
• Add the Focus Timer to a dock and try one session with Zone mode on.
• Set up a macOS Focus for notifications so it covers what Zone mode doesn't.

Moor has a free 14-day trial at moorapp.com.