How do I ask Viora about what is on my screen?
Ask Viora about selected text or a screen capture without leaving your Mac app. Learn the shortcut and read the answer in the Agent Card.
Written by Nexmoe
Updated
When you need to understand something you are reading, you can ask about it without copying it into a separate chat window. Viora reads the content you point at and answers next to it.
Ask about selected text
- Select the text you have a question about.
- Hold Fn and ask your question, such as “explain this in simpler terms.”
- Release the key.
- Read the answer in the Agent Card.
The Agent Card shows the passage Viora read and which app it came from, so you can check that it used the right context before you trust the answer.
Asking is different from editing. A question leaves your document alone and puts the answer in the Agent Card. An edit replaces the text you selected. If you meant to rewrite something, see editing selected text.
Ask about something you cannot select
Charts, images, design mockups, error dialogs, and apps that block text selection cannot be highlighted. For those, hold Fn and drag to capture that part of the screen, then ask your question about the captured area.
Viora asks for permission before reading screen content. Approve the request if you want it to continue.
Questions that get useful answers
| What you are looking at | What to ask |
|---|---|
| A long email thread | “What are the action items here?” |
| A product spec | “What are the risks in this design?” |
| A block of code | “What does this function do?” |
| A customer complaint | “What is the main issue?” |
| A meeting transcript | “Summarize the key decisions.” |
| A contract clause | “Explain this in simpler terms.” |
| An error dialog | “What is causing this?” |
Point at one thing at a time. A question about a specific paragraph gets a sharper answer than a question about a whole document.
The answer used the wrong context
Look at the Selection chip at the top of the Agent Card. It shows the text Viora actually read. If that does not match what you meant, reselect the passage and ask again.
If the chip is missing entirely, Viora had no selection to work with and answered from the question alone. Check that the text was still selected when you pressed the shortcut, since clicking elsewhere first clears the selection.
Viora is cloud-assisted, not offline. Answers can be wrong or incomplete, so check anything you plan to act on, especially legal, financial, or medical wording.