Actions
Edit selected text with the Actions panel or your voice, or dictate instructions to draft new text at the caret.
Actions helps you edit existing text or draft something new. Select text in a supported app, including an editable Epilude note, then click the small Actions indicator to choose an edit and review the result. You can also hold your Actions hotkey and speak a command: selected text is edited, while a supported editable caret with no selection receives a new draft.
Actions uses cloud AI
Actions needs an internet connection, a signed-in account, and an eligible subscription or trial. It isn't included in the Pay Once plan. Running an action sends the selected text and the action's instructions to Epilude's cloud model, including any instructions you type or speak. Actions still uses the cloud when Dictation is in Local mode; changing Dictation's model does not change Actions.
Turn on the selection panel
Open Settings → Actions and turn on Show Actions beside selected text. You can also click Settings on the main Actions page. This setting is off by default and applies to this Mac. You don't need to set up voice Actions or grant microphone access to use the panel.
If asked, click Allow Accessibility access and enable Epilude in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, then return to Epilude. This permission lets Epilude find the selection and replace it in apps that support it.
Turn the same setting off to stop showing the indicator and close the panel. It does not delete your saved actions or turn off voice Actions.
Hide the panel in specific apps
In the panel's chooser, open Selection panel options (the gear beside Manage actions) and choose Hide panel in [app name]. The panel closes and stops reading selections in that app. Voice Actions is unaffected. The same menu offers Actions settings….
You can also open Settings → Actions → Hidden in apps → Add app… and choose an application. Click Show again beside an excluded app to restore the panel there, then select text again. Exclusions apply to the whole app, not individual browser sites, and are stored on this Mac.
Edit with the selection panel
Highlight some text
Select text in a supported app or an editable Epilude note. A small indicator appears beside the selection, usually near its first line. Its position can change to fit the available space.
Click the indicator
Click to open the panel. Hovering does not open it. Neither selecting text nor opening the panel sends it to the cloud.
Choose what to do
Choose a built-in action, choose a saved command under Your actions, or type an instruction in the edit field and submit it. For example: “Make this email warmer without making it longer.” Processing starts when you run a command, not when you open the panel.
Review and use the result
Switch between Original and Result to compare them. Choose Replace selection to apply the result or Copy to put it on your clipboard and paste it yourself. The panel never applies a result automatically. After a successful replacement, it closes immediately so you can continue writing; there is no extra confirmation screen.
While an action runs, Cancel returns you to the chooser without changing the original text. The close button dismisses the panel from any step; Escape closes it from the chooser. Switching to another app also dismisses it and cancels pending work.
Keyboard navigation
Click the indicator to open the panel; the instruction field receives keyboard focus. Press Down Arrow to browse actions, then use Up/Down Arrow to move between them and Return to run the focused action. Tab and Shift-Tab move between other controls, including the panel options and language picker.
In a result preview, ⌘C copies the result and ⌘Return replaces the selection after the usual safety checks. Escape cancels a running command or returns from its setup/result to the chooser; press it again to close. An ordinary Return does not automatically accept a newly generated result. These keys apply inside the open panel, not as global hotkeys in your editor.
The result's More actions menu offers Run again and Back to actions. Each command uses the original selection captured when you opened the panel, not the previous generated result. To edit a result further, apply it and select the updated text for a new action.
Replacement depends on the app
Some apps expose selected text but don't allow Epilude to replace it directly. Use Copy and paste the result where you want it. If the original selection or text has changed, Epilude refuses to replace it rather than guessing where the result belongs. Copy deliberately replaces your clipboard contents. Undo support for direct replacement depends on the app you are editing in.
Built-in actions
Built-ins are always available in the selection panel. They cannot be edited or deleted and don't use any of your 20 saved-action slots.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Check grammar | Corrects spelling, grammar, and punctuation with minimal wording changes. |
| Rewrite | Improves clarity and flow. |
| Friendly | Gives the text a warmer tone. |
| Professional | Uses a more neutral, professional tone. |
| Shorten | Removes unnecessary wording while keeping the meaning. |
| Summary | Condenses the main idea into a short paragraph. |
| Key points | Extracts the most important takeaways as bullets. |
| List | Organizes the selection into a bulleted list. |
| Table | Arranges the details in rows and columns. Apps with rich text, such as Notes, Pages and Mail, receive a real table when you replace or copy; plain-text apps and Epilude notes receive a Markdown table. |
| Translate | Translates into a language you choose. Select the language, then click Translate selection. |
| Compose… | Drafts something using the selection as context. Write a brief, then click Create draft. |
The panel's Compose option starts with selected text. For example, select meeting notes and ask it to draft a follow-up email. Creating the draft only generates a preview; it doesn't send an email or replace your notes until you choose to apply it. To draft without a selection, use voice Actions at an editable caret as described below.
Review generated text before using it, especially names, numbers, and translations. No changes suggested means the action returned the original text, not that Epilude has verified every detail.
Read the selection aloud
When Narrator is available for your account/build, the chooser also includes Narrate. It closes the Actions panel and reads the captured selection with your configured Narrator voice, using Narrator's existing player and adding the selection to its library. It does not rewrite or replace the text.
Narrate uses Narrator's own model and plan rules, not the Actions editing model. A local Narrator voice reads on your Mac; a cloud voice sends the text for speech generation and uses your cloud voice allowance. Availability, downloads and errors are handled by Narrator as usual.
Save and manage your own actions
Open Actions in the main app, or click Manage actions in the panel. Your saved actions appear at the top of the same card as the built-ins. Click Add action to save a name and instructions. Use the edit or delete control beside a saved action to change or remove it.
Saved commands appear as inline rows under Your actions in the panel. Pinned saved actions appear above instead. With voice Actions set up, you can also say a saved action's name or number while holding the Actions hotkey. The same saved instructions are used in both places. Built-ins don't change your saved shortcut numbers or reserve their names; a saved action with a matching name remains separate in Your actions.
An edit applies to future runs; it doesn't change a command already processing. The built-in list itself does not create numbered voice shortcuts, though you can still speak a plain-language request such as “Fix the grammar.”
Pin frequently used actions
Click the pin beside any built-in or saved action in the main app to keep it at the top of the selection panel. You can pin up to three actions; unpin one to make room for another. You can also right-click an action in the panel's main list to pin or unpin it.
Pins appear in the order you pinned them and are saved on this Mac. Renaming or editing a saved action updates its pinned entry. Deleting it removes it from the pinned list. Pinning does not duplicate the saved action, use a saved slot, or change its spoken shortcut number.
Use voice Actions
Voice Actions is a separate way to run edits, with a different review workflow: it replaces the selection after processing rather than opening the panel's preview.
Open Actions in the sidebar and complete the voice setup to choose a hotkey and try an edit. The default Actions hotkey is ⌃⌥E.
- Highlight the text you want changed.
- Hold your Actions hotkey and speak the instruction, such as “Make this shorter” or “Translate to French.” You can also say a saved action's name or number.
- Release the hotkey. Epilude processes the command and inserts the result over the selection, restoring the clipboard used by the voice workflow.
A quick tap with nothing spoken cancels a voice run. After an insertion, use the target app's normal Undo command, usually ⌘Z, if needed.
Draft new text at the caret
Click into a supported editable field without selecting text, hold your Actions hotkey, and say what you want written, such as “Write a short poem about rain.” Release the hotkey to generate and insert the draft there. This also works in editable Epilude notes. It inserts text only; it does not send a message or submit a form.
Keep the field, caret and document unchanged while it processes. If you move the caret, change fields/windows, or edit the document, insertion is refused. Password fields and fields that don't expose a verifiable editable selection range are unsupported. An unavailable caret position for the dot does not necessarily prevent composition: insertion uses the text range, not screen coordinates.
Composition sends your instruction, not the surrounding document, to the Actions model. A temporary local document snapshot is used only to check the insertion target. If your instruction needs source text, such as “Shorten this,” select that text first. Saved actions can also be used, but their instructions must make sense without a selection.
Troubleshooting
- No indicator appears: Check Show Actions beside selected text, Hidden in apps, sign-in, and Accessibility permission. Select non-empty text in another app and pause briefly. Password fields, very large selections, and apps that don't expose a usable selection are not supported. The indicator is hidden during dictation or voice Actions. After dismissing it, change the selection to show it again.
- The panel appears but replacement fails: Keep the original app, text, and selection unchanged. Some apps only support copying results. Use Copy rather than repeatedly trying to replace the text.
- The action failed or timed out: Check your connection, sign-in, and plan or trial availability. Use Try again or Back to actions. Failed or cancelled panel requests don't change the source text.
- No changes suggested: Try a different action or a more specific typed instruction.
- A saved action is missing: Check that it is saved on the Actions page, then reopen the panel. Built-ins and saved actions are listed separately in the panel.
- Actions asks for a subscription: Actions requires an eligible subscription or trial, even when Dictation runs locally. Switching Dictation to Cloud does not change your entitlement.
Privacy and history
With the selection setting enabled, the panel reads supported selections through macOS Accessibility, or directly from Epilude's own note editor, to position the indicator. Panel discovery does not use your clipboard and does not send the selection to the cloud until you run an action. Voice selection discovery may use Copy; composition instead checks its destination locally. Opening or cancelling the panel does not modify the source text.
A successful Replace selection is recorded in local Actions history with the original and result. Copying or closing the panel does not create an applied-action history entry.
Next steps
- Local Mode: Understand which features run on your Mac and which use the cloud.
- How Epilude handles your data: Learn about permissions and local storage.
- Adjusting your hotkeys: Choose keyboard keys or extra mouse buttons for Actions and other voice workflows.
- Shortcuts: Expand trigger phrases while dictating; these are separate from saved Actions instructions.