The Floating Action Bar
How to use Dori's system-wide Floating Action Bar for 1-second captures, voice dictation, and drag-and-drop parsing without switching apps.
The Floating Action Bar is Dori’s elevated quick-access HUD on macOS. Designed to eliminate context-switching, it lets you capture thoughts, record voice memos, drop files, and execute universal actions from anywhere on your desktop without opening the main portal window.
1. Global Hotkeys & Access
You can trigger the Floating Action Bar from any application or workspace:
| Shortcut | Action | Scope |
|---|---|---|
⌘ + Shift + Space |
Toggle Floating Action Bar | Global (System-wide anywhere on macOS) |
⌘ + J |
Toggle Floating Action Bar | Inside Dori Desktop App |
⌘ + Shift + V |
Start Voice Dictation | Global (Instant local Whisper recording) |
Esc |
Dismiss Floating Action Bar | Returns focus to previous application |
2. Instant Drag-and-Drop Catching
You don’t need to manually upload files or copy-paste text:
- Drag any file or web URL (PDF, image, document, YouTube link) over your screen.
- The Floating Action Bar presents a visual drop overlay:
📥 Drop file to capture into Dori. - Drop the file—Dori automatically runs local parsing via Markitdown or Whisper and indexes the content into your vault.
3. Hands-Free Voice Dictation
Press ⌘+Shift+V to record quick thoughts on the go:
- Voice audio is transcribed locally using embedded Whisper models on your Mac CPU at $0 token cost.
- Structured commitments, meeting notes, or tasks are automatically extracted and indexed into your active vault.
4. Steering & Universal Actions
The Floating Action Bar doubles as a steering bar:
- Type a natural language command (e.g. “Prep for my 3 PM meeting with Alex” or “Draft update to investor project”).
- Executes unified Universal Actions across your vault without breaking your active flow.