Talking to orma

Press ⌥ Space anywhere on your Mac and type, or ⌥ ⇧ Space and say it. Ask a question, tell orma something to keep, or ask it to do something, all in the same bar.

How to use it

• Type. ⌥ Space opens the bar at the top of your screen. When orma is in front, it opens the app’s own bar, and so does ⌘ K.
• Talk. Tap ⌥ ⇧ Space to start and again to stop, or hold it while you talk and let go.
• Keep going. Type into Ask a follow-up under the answer. Continue → opens the same conversation in the app (⌘ J in the ⌘ K panel).

What it does

• Answers from your meetings, notes, documents, saved pages and email. Each [1] in the answer points to a source listed under it. Ask what something adds up to and orma counts it: see Totals.
• Keeps what you tell it, several things at once: a task, a reminder, an event, a note, a detail about a person, a money entry. Each one lands as a row with a ✕ that takes just that one back. Undo takes back the whole request (⌘ Z in the island).
• Acts in Google Calendar and in Gmail (beta, by invite): reply, archive, label, move or rename an event, invite people, answer an invitation. Changes only you see happen at once. Anything another person receives waits for your tap. See What orma asks before it acts.
• Follows up. “Move that to Friday” moves the event orma just made. “And add Luke” asks you to confirm inviting him.
• Asks when unsure, one question in place: which of two people called Luke you meant, or what time lunch is.

While it works

orma shows one line for what it is doing now. Details shows each step. Stop ends the request before its next step, and anything already saved stays.

In the conversation in the app, open What I did under an answer. It lists what orma read, what it changed, what is waiting for you and anything that did not finish. Choose Check again and orma reads its sources afresh and leaves out anything they do not back.

Good to know

• Save as note keeps an answer. Copy copies it without the [1] marks. A question on its own is never saved.
• Ask what orma told you before, and it quotes its earlier answer from a conversation that is still open.
• A conversation stays open for 24 hours after you last used it. To end it sooner, choose ⋯ › Close conversation. Its words are cleared. What it made stays, and so does Undo.
• A question orma asked that you never answer waits in Needs you for 14 days, then shows Expired, ask again. Closing the conversation does not end its questions early.

Limits