OneCentrate/Switch/Overview

SWITCH USER GUIDE / OVERVIEW

About
Switch

Switch brings apps, time, sound, and your environment together as one state you can return to whenever you need it.

Instead of listing everything you need to do, prepare the conditions for what you want to do now. Select a Switch card to begin the flow, then control time and sound together while it is running.

01

What you can include in a Switch

The Switch editor on Mac showing the mode name, category, and detailed settings
A Switch can include a theme, timer, sound, integrations, and the devices where it runs.

Name and category

Give each Switch a name and a short description. Organize it under a category such as STUDY, WORK, CREATE, or RECHARGE, or add it to a category you created.

Add a Switch you use often to Favorites so it is easier to find.

Theme

Use a photo or included artwork as the background, or create the card with a single color. The theme appears on both the Switch card and the active screen.

Timer

Switch supports three timer types.

  • Countdown: Run for a set amount of time, then move to a break when needed.
  • Count Up: Keep showing how much time has passed since you started.
  • Deadline: Show the time remaining until a particular time.

When a countdown finishes, you can end the Switch, repeat the same flow, or continue with another Switch. With Count Up, you can also have OneCentrate suggest a break after a set amount of time.

Turn on the pre-alert to hear a sound 15 seconds before focus or break time changes. You must also turn on Settings > NOTIFICATIONS / SOUNDS > Allow 15-Second Pre-Alert Sound.

Sound

Add music and ambient sound to a Switch. You can also choose whether to use sounds when the Switch starts or ends and when focus changes to a break.

These settings do not select a particular effect. To use effects, check Allow Start & End Sounds, Allow Focus & Break Transition Sounds, and Allow 15-Second Pre-Alert Sound for each device in Settings > NOTIFICATIONS / SOUNDS.

You can control music and ambient sound separately while the Switch is running.

Apps and webpages

Set the apps or webpages you need to open when a Switch starts.

For example, connect a writing app to a writing Switch, or a class app or course page to an online class Switch. If you do not connect anything, you can use the Switch with only its timer and sound.

On Mac, you can also keep the display from turning off while the Switch is running.

Devices

Choose whether a Switch can run on Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. Its card may still appear on a device you did not select, but you cannot start it there and OneCentrate shows a device support message.

The apps a Switch can open and the active screen it provides may vary by device.

02

When a Switch starts

An active Switch screen showing the timer and music and ambient sound controls
Control time and sound together while a Switch is running.

Select a card on the Switch screen to start that mode. Only one Switch can run at a time on a device.

The active screen shows the following information and controls:

  • The current Switch name and description
  • Elapsed or remaining time
  • The current focus or break stage
  • Pause and Resume controls
  • End
  • Extra time, when enabled
  • Music and ambient sound controls

Pausing stops the timer together with music and ambient playback. To continue, select Resume on Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

When you end a Switch, its duration and how it ended are saved in Switch history.

03

Start automatically at a set time

You can set an automatic start time for each Switch. The Switch starts when that time arrives.

If several modes are scheduled for the same time on one device, only the first mode found attempts to start. Give each mode a different auto-start time.

04

Connect with ki.log

You can connect one Switch mode to one ki.log list. Only active, unarchived lists appear in the connection list.

Today's record is added only when the timer completes or the Switch successfully transitions to another Switch as configured. Ending an active Switch yourself does not add a completion record.

05

Use Switch across devices

Choose the devices where a Switch can run when you create it.

  • Mac: Use Mac-specific options such as opening apps and keeping the display on.
  • iPhone: Open apps or webpages and, when supported, follow the timer in a Live Activity.
  • iPad: Start a Switch together with a note-taking or document app, or a webpage.
  • Apple Watch: Start, pause, or end the timer from your wrist. Each action provides a short haptic, and syncing may be delayed depending on the connection to iPhone.

A Live Activity appears when a Switch with Live Activity enabled starts on a supported iPhone and Live Activities are allowed on the device.

Starting the same card directly on different devices creates separate runs for each device; it does not automatically create one shared progress state. Ownership moves only when a handoff suggestion appears and the destination confirms that the conditions match.

If a device is missing from the list, open OneCentrate on that device with the same iCloud account, then refresh the device list in Settings > MY APPLE DEVICES.