PulseNotification settings
Meeting start notifications, note-ready notifications, and what to check when notifications do not arrive.
Pulse shows a notification at the top right of the screen when a meeting is about to start and when the note for a meeting is ready. This is a window Pulse draws itself, separate from the operating system's own notifications, so whether it appears is managed in the app rather than in OS settings.
Notifications appear while the desktop app (macOS / Windows) is running. They do not appear while the app is closed, so leave it running.
Notifications for calendar events
For meetings in your calendar, a notification appears one minute before the start.
Clicking the notification does two things at once.
- The video meeting URL given in the calendar event opens.
- The note for that meeting opens and transcription begins.
A notification window with the meeting name, start time and a button to start recording, with a coloured vertical line down the left edge.
This notification only appears for events with two or more participants. It does not appear for things like blocks of working time with only you in them.
Window positioning when a meeting starts
By default, when a meeting begins the Pulse window moves automatically into a position where you can take notes beside the call. If you do not want this, turn off the meeting window positioning option in Settings > Preferences.
Notifications for calls not in your calendar
Even for a call that is not in your calendar, Pulse detects that the microphone is in use and shows a notification prompting you to record. This covers calls started on the spot from the desktop — a Slack huddle, FaceTime, or a WhatsApp call, for example.
The notification title varies with the app detected.
| App detected | Notification title |
|---|---|
| Slack | Huddle detected |
| FaceTime, WhatsApp | Call detected |
| Other apps | Meeting detected |
The body of the notification shows the name of the app using the microphone, along with buttons to start recording. To tell it apart from a calendar event notification, look at the line down the left edge: calendar events have a solid coloured line, calls not in your calendar have a dashed one.
A notification window showing the name of the app using the microphone, with a dashed line down the left edge.
If you start a call within fifteen minutes of a scheduled meeting ending, it is treated as a continuation of that event and the notification shows the meeting name from your calendar. Where a regular meeting rolls straight into a one-to-one discussion, both are treated as a record of the same meeting.
Notification when a note has finished generating
When a meeting ends, generation of the summary note begins from the transcript captured. Generation can take a few minutes depending on the length of the meeting and network conditions. If you open the note straight after the meeting and the summary is empty, there is no need to keep retrying. A notification appears when generation finishes, and opening the note then will show the finished content.
If time passes with no notification, work out whether generation itself is not progressing or only the notification is switched off. First follow “Turning notifications on and off” below to open the settings and check notifications are enabled. If they are, go on to Notes are not being generated.
Turning notifications on and off
- Settings > Notifications.
- Either switch all notifications off together, or toggle them by type. Call detection notifications can be switched off per detected app.
A screen with the overall notification toggle and per-app detection settings.
Calendar event notifications, call detection notifications and note-ready notifications are all managed on this screen. If notifications are distracting on a busy day, you can switch off only call detection and keep calendar event notifications.
- Settings > Notifications still shows the toggles as you left them when you reopen it
- With calendar event notifications off, no notification appears one minute before your next meeting
- Even with notifications off, you can still start transcription by opening the meeting's note from “Upcoming events” on the home screen
If something is not working
- No notification for a calendar event: check that your calendar is connected properly and that the meeting appears under “Upcoming events” on the home screen. If the event itself is not showing, see Connect your calendar and Calendar sync troubleshooting.
- The event is visible but no notification appears: restart Pulse.
- No notification for an event where I am the only participant: that is by design. In this case, open the event from the home screen or start recording from “+ New note”.
- No call detection notification: detection depends on the call app using the microphone. Depending on your headset or the app's own settings, it may not be detected.
- Clicking the notification does not open the meeting URL: check that the calendar event contains a meeting URL. For events without one, only the note opens.
- I clicked the notification but transcription did not start: check your audio device settings. For details see Transcription problems.
- No notification when a note finishes generating: Settings > Notifications to check notifications are enabled, then see Notes are not being generated.
- I want to stop the window moving by itself: Settings > Preferences and turn off meeting window positioning.