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Dimble 0.3.3: Missing menu bar icons, Notification Center shortcut issues and icon flashing #103
Description
What happened
Hi!
First of all, thank you for adding the Small Dot option in version 0.3.3! It's exactly what I was hoping for. Apart from the issues below, Dimble works really well on my Mac.
Unfortunately, I've encountered a few problems.
1. Sleep Focus icon disappears or becomes inaccessible
I'm referring to the built-in macOS Sleep Focus icon, which I use with my Apple Watch, not the Mac's sleep/wake functionality.
- The Sleep Focus icon disappears from the menu bar and cannot be revealed or accessed.
- With Screen Recording permission enabled for Dimble, the interface becomes noticeably less smooth, and the Sleep Focus icon is completely missing.
- When I disable Screen Recording permission, the icon briefly appears, but I still cannot interact with it.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ad06e5a6-f93e-4c92-b1c7-186b17411d30
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d44aa33b-1bd4-44af-9ad6-936b9d87ccbc
2. ChatGPT Classic menu bar icon is missing
Whenever Dimble is running, the ChatGPT Classic menu bar icon is completely missing. I cannot reveal or access it.
3. Notification Center keyboard shortcuts don't work
I've assigned F8 to "Show Notification Center" in macOS System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Mission Control.
However, while Dimble is running, pressing F8 does not open Notification Center.
I haven't assigned a Notification Center shortcut in Dimble. I also tried assigning a different shortcut within Dimble, but Notification Center still wouldn't open.
It seems Dimble may be interfering with the system's Notification Center keyboard shortcut.
4. Hidden icons briefly flash when clicking the clock
When I click the macOS clock to open Notification Center, Dimble briefly reveals the hidden menu bar icons as well.
The icons disappear again almost immediately, but the flashing is noticeable and distracting.
Ideally, clicking the clock should open Notification Center without revealing any hidden icons.
This might be related to the issue addressed in #93, but it still occurs on my system with version 0.3.3.
System information
- Mac mini M4
- macOS 27
- Dimble 0.3.3
- External LG 38-inch monitor (3840 × 1600)
I've attached screenshots and screen recordings demonstrating the issues.
Thanks again for your excellent work and for being so responsive to feature requests!
Dimble and macOS versions
0.3.3 (81)
Display setup
External display(s)
Log (optional)
No response
Screenshot or recording (optional)
No response
Activity
fif7y commentedon Oct 27, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, glad the Small Dot is what you were hoping for! Your two recordings explain most of this, it all comes from the same thing. While Dimble hides your icons, macOS takes a few of its own items off the bar and refuses some clicks and shortcuts, whatever the allowlist says.
1- Sleep Focus. It's in Visible in your recording, but macOS removes Apple's Focus item as soon as Dimble hides icons, so no reveal can bring it back. Dimble has its own Focus item for this. Turn it on in Settings › Menu Bar › Dimble items › Focus, it shows Sleep and lets you switch Focus in a click.
2- ChatGPT Classic. Its icon comes from a small helper app that Dimble can't name when it tells macOS which icons to keep. So macOS hides it with the rest. For now, add it in Settings › Menu Bar › App launchers. The next beta should spot it on its own and offer the launcher in the layout editor.
3- Notification Center shortcuts. Dimble doesn't catch F8, macOS refuses its own Notification Center shortcut while icons are hidden. Dimble's shortcut in Settings › General › Open Notification Center gets around that, but it's set to None in your screenshot. ⌥⌘N is free on most Macs. If you'd rather keep F8, turn it off in System Settings first, then record it in Dimble. Otherwise macOS takes the key before Dimble sees it.
You mentioned another shortcut didn't work either, which one was it? If it still doesn't open, attach ~/Library/Logs/Dimble/dimble.log right after you try.
4- The flash. To open Notification Center, Dimble has to lift the hide for a split second, macOS refuses the click otherwise. With Screen Recording on, it covers the bar with a picture of itself during that moment. Your second recording is the one without Screen Recording, so nothing covers it and every click flashes. The first one doesn't. Turning Screen Recording back on should fix it.
Could you tell me more about what feels less smooth with Screen Recording on? Is it the panel opening, or the reveal?
TigerCat-hu commentedon Oct 28, 2026
Unfortunately, Dimble won't let me assign F8 as the Notification Center shortcut, even after disabling the shortcut in macOS System Settings. Everything else is fine, so I'll leave it as it is for now and wait for future updates. Thanks again!
Dimble log file: https://mab.to/t/rNWuSNds8e0/eu1 (MyAirBridge link)
The link will remain active for 48 hours and the file will be automatically deleted afterward.
Hope this helps with debugging!
fif7y commentedon Oct 28, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, good catch! I hadn't thought of the function keys. Dimble only takes a shortcut with ⌘, ⌥ or ⌃ in it so a plain key can't type into every app, but F1 to F12 don't type anything.
The next beta should let you record F8 on its own, please confirm once you try it.
#103: a function key can be a shortcut on its own
Merge roster (#103 function keys, #108 held bar out of Mission Contro…
TigerCat-hu commentedon Oct 29, 2026
Wow, okay. I look forward to it!
fif7y commentedon Oct 29, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, 0.3.4-beta.1 is out. You can record F8 on its own now in Settings › General › Open Notification Center. If F8 is still set for Notification Center in System Settings, turn it off there first, Dimble refuses a key macOS still uses.
ChatGPT Classic should also show up on its own in the layout editor now, with a launcher you can add. Please confirm both once you try it!
TigerCat-hu commentedon Oct 30, 2026
Hi!
Thanks for the update! I can confirm that F8 now works correctly.
Regarding ChatGPT Classic, I've attached a screenshot showing that two ChatGPT icons are detected in the layout editor, but both appear faded out. The ChatGPT Classic icon still doesn't appear in the actual menu bar.
Interestingly, when I open Notification Center, the ChatGPT Classic icon briefly flashes into view before disappearing again.
Also, clicking the clock to open Notification Center sometimes behaves inconsistently while I'm making a screen recording. Without screen recording, it works normally.
Hope this helps, and thanks again for the quick fixes!
Kepernyofelvetel.2026-10-30.-.7.00.06.mov
A clock click's blink keeps the assertion down until its press is in,…
fif7y commentedon Nov 1, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, glad F8 works now!
1- ChatGPT Classic. The faded tile with the "!" is ChatGPT Classic, that's Dimble spotting its helper app. Hover it and click Add a launcher, then turn off ChatGPT Classic's own menu bar icon in its settings. You get a Dimble icon that opens it and hides with the rest.
It flashes in when you open Notification Center because Dimble lifts the hide for that click, and macOS only shows it while nothing's hidden.
2- The clock during a recording. I can see it in your video, and I hadn't tested clock clicks while recording. Dimble lifts the hide for a split second so macOS takes the click. Sometimes the bar redrawing put the hide back before the click went through. macOS refused it, the panel showed up late and your next click closed it. The next beta should fix it, please confirm once you test it.
3- The flash. In your video all the hidden icons flash on each clock click, ChatGPT Classic with them. That's what happens without Screen Recording, nothing covers the bar during the click. Is Screen Recording still off for Dimble?
Version 0.3.4-beta.4, build 85: panel and row presses during a Live A…
fif7y commentedon Nov 2, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, the clock fix from point 2 is out in 0.3.4-beta.4. Dimble should offer it on its next update check. Let me know if a clock click during a recording still comes in late.
fif7y commentedon Nov 7, 2026
Hey @TigerCat-hu, 0.3.4 is out with everything from this thread. F8 on its own for Notification Center, ChatGPT Classic in the layout editor with a launcher you can add, and clock clicks that no longer come in late while you're recording.
Sleep Focus is the one that stays as it was. macOS takes its own Focus item off the bar as soon as icons are hidden, so Dimble's own Focus item is the way to get Sleep back. It's in Settings › Menu Bar › Dimble items.
Update and let me know if it's all good now. If anything's still off, attach a log here and I'll reopen it.
And if Dimble ever comes up in a chat about Mac apps, a mention is always welcome!
fif7y#103: a bundle-less host that has run a while is marked on one s…
Merge fif7y#104 launch pictures and fif7y#103 one-sighting mark into …