---
title: "Use, move and hide the Action Bar"
summary: "What the Action Bar at the bottom of the screen shows, which buttons it has, and how to move it, hide it for an hour and bring it back."
url: "https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/action-bar"
product: "MediSync Dictate"
platforms: ["windows","macos"]
access: "public"
updated: "2026-11-11"
version: "Dictate 0.4.0-beta.6"
---

# Use, move and hide the Action Bar

What the Action Bar at the bottom of the screen shows, which buttons it has, and how to move it, hide it for an hour and bring it back.

The Action Bar is the small handle at the bottom centre of the screen. It stays above every program. Move the mouse over it and it opens. During a dictation it shows that Dictate is listening.

## What the Action Bar shows

| State | What you see |
| --- | --- |
| At rest | A short handle |
| Mouse over it | The MediSync logo, a **Dictate** button and a **Start taking notes** button |
| Call detected | One action: **Start taking notes** |
| Note recording | A small dot. With the mouse over it: the time, **Pause** or **Resume**, **Live notes** and **Stop** |
| Smart Find | A row with the files found |

Move the mouse over a button and a small label names it and its shortcut.

- The **Dictate** button starts a hands-free dictation. A click on the square in the bar ends it.
- The **Start taking notes** button starts a note. [Notes](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/notes) explains it.
- While no calendar is connected, the bar shows a **Calendar** arrow. It opens the **Connect your calendar** card. [Connect a calendar](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/connect-calendar) explains it.
- With **Add to the Action Bar** on the **Scratchpad** page, the bar gets a scratchpad button. [Scratchpad](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/scratchpad) explains it.

When Dictate detects a call in Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Webex, a Slack huddle or the browser, the bar offers **Start taking notes**. The X **Hide** closes the offer.

## Move it

Drag the Action Bar with the mouse to another place. You can also grab it by a button. While you drag, the screen dims and three drop zones appear: bottom centre, left edge and right edge.

- Dropped on the left or right, the bar stands upright at that edge.
- Dropped anywhere else, it stays where you let go.
- `Esc` while dragging cancels.

Dictate remembers the place, also on a second screen.

## The right-click menu

Right-click the Action Bar.

| Entry | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Hide for 1 hour** | Hides the bar for one hour |
| **Microphone** | Chooses **Automatic** or a connected microphone. Also **Mute microphone** and **Microphone settings …** |
| **Paste last dictation** | Puts the last dictation where the cursor is |
| **Copy last dictation** | Puts the last dictation on the clipboard |
| **Dictation history** | Opens the **Home** page with your dictations |
| **Settings** | Opens the settings |

With **Mute microphone** on, Dictate records nothing. A running dictation is cancelled.

## Hide it and bring it back

After **Hide for 1 hour** the notice `Action Bar hidden for 1 hour.` shows for a moment, with **Undo**. After one hour the bar comes back by itself.

To bring it back earlier, click the Dictate icon in the Windows taskbar or the Mac menu bar and choose **Show the Action Bar again**.

You can dictate while the bar is hidden. During a dictation the display shows as usual.

## Notices above the bar

Short notices with one button appear above the Action Bar:

- a microphone was disconnected or plugged in. For a new microphone, **Use it** switches to it.
- the microphone cannot start or another app is using it
- a dictation heard nothing: `Nothing heard. Check the microphone.`
- the microphone is muted, with **Unmute**

If Dictate hears no sound for 4 seconds during a dictation, the bar shows `No sound from the microphone`. See [Windows blocks the microphone](https://help.medisynchealth.ai/en/dictate/microphone-blocked) for help.

## Settings

Under **Settings › System › App**:

- **Always show the Action Bar**: on by default. When it is off, the bar shows only during a dictation, while a note records, when a call is detected, before a meeting and for notices.
- **Action Bar look**: **Classic** or **Glass**. Glass shows the background through the bar. Only Windows computes the refraction; on a Mac the bar stays frosted.

If the bar should not show when you share or record your screen, turn on **Hide from screen capture** under **Settings › Notes**.