On a Mac, Aurora puts an item in the menu bar. Click it, or press ⌃⌥A in any app, and a panel opens with the picture on your desktop and everything you need to change it.
What’s in the panel
- The picture on your desktop, with its name and where it came from: a collection, the presets, or Not saved for a surprise.
- Next puts up another picture straight away, from whatever is chosen below it.
- Keep saves a surprise or a preset you like, so it isn’t lost when the next one comes along.
- Your collections, Presets and Surprises. Choose one to pick pictures from, then click any picture to put it on your desktop.
- Change Picture sets how often a new one goes up by itself: Never, Every Hour or Every Day. The line beneath says when the next one is due.
- Open Aurora, Settings… and Quit Aurora.
From any app
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Open Aurora’s menu bar panel | ⌃⌥A |
| Put up the next picture | ⌃⌥⌘A |
These two work wherever you are, without Aurora’s window in front. Turn them off in Settings › General › Menu Bar if they clash with another app.
Closing and quitting
When you close Aurora’s window, Aurora leaves the Dock and stays in the menu bar, so the picture can keep changing. Pressing ⌘Q does the same. To quit Aurora completely, choose Quit Aurora in the panel.
To keep a daily or hourly change going after you restart your Mac, turn on Open at Login in Settings › General › Menu Bar. Aurora then starts quietly in the menu bar, without opening a window.
Hiding it
If you would rather not have Aurora in the menu bar, turn off Show in Menu Bar in Settings › General › Menu Bar. Set as Desktop Picture and the daily change in Settings still work while Aurora is open.