# Control Center

> The panel at the top right for the things you change every day: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Focus, Dark Mode, brightness, sound, music and quick switches.

Source: https://wolos.org/manual/control-center

## What it is

Control Center is the panel that opens from the icon with four small squares near the right end of the menu bar. It holds the switches you reach for many times a day, so you do not have to open System Settings for them: the network, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Dark Mode, the brightness of the screen, the volume, the music that is playing, and a grid of tiles.

![Control Center: 1 Wi-Fi (Wonderland), 2 Bluetooth (On), 3 Focus (Off), 4 Dark Mode (Off), 5 the Display slider at 72% and 6 its arrow, 7 the Sound slider at 64% and 8 its arrow, 9 Now Playing (White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane), 10 the tiles: battery 82%, Screen Mirroring, Night Shift, Screenshot, Record and Stay Awake.](/img/manual/controlcenter-annotated.png)

## Why WolOS does it this way

Small changes should take one click, like the light switches by the door. Everything in Control Center is also in System Settings with all its options; Control Center has only the part you change often. It opens at once and closes with Escape or a click anywhere else.

## How

### Open and close it

Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar. Press **Escape** or click the icon again to close it.

### What each part does

The numbers match the picture above.

1. **Wi-Fi** shows the network you are on. Click the round icon to turn Wi-Fi on or off (this may ask for an administrator's password); click the name for the list of networks.
2. **Bluetooth** shows whether it is on. Click the icon to turn it on or off; click the name for your paired Bluetooth devices.
3. **Focus** keeps notification banners quiet; click it to choose for how long. See below.
4. **Dark Mode** switches the whole desktop and your apps between light and dark. See [Dark Mode](/manual/dark-mode).
5. **Display**: drag the slider to make the screen brighter or darker.
6. The arrow at the end of the Display slider opens the Display page: Night Shift, Screen Mirroring and the keyboard light.
7. **Sound**: drag the slider for the volume. The number above it is the volume in percent; 100% is the speaker's normal full level.
8. The arrow at the end of the Sound slider opens the Sound page, where you choose the speakers, headphones and microphone.
9. **Now Playing** shows the song or video that is playing, in any app, with buttons for back, play or pause, and next.
10. **The tiles**, one switch each: the battery (with its charge), **Screen Mirroring**, **Night Shift**, **Screenshot**, **Record** (the screen as a video), and **Stay Awake**. Click a tile to switch it; a tile that is on is filled with the accent colour.

### Join a Wi-Fi network

Click the name next to **Wi-Fi** (1). The **Networks** page lists the network you are on (with **Connected**) and those nearby; a lock means it needs a password.

![The Wi-Fi page: the Wi-Fi switch on, Wonderland Connected, Rabbit Hole 5G and Tea Party, Other Network…, and Wi-Fi Settings….](/img/manual/controlcenter-wifi.png)

1. Click a network. If it has a lock, you see "Join “…”" with a **Password** field.
2. Type the password and click **Join**.
3. For a network that hides its name, click **Other Network…**, type its **Network name** and password, and click **Join**.

**Wi-Fi Settings…** at the bottom opens System Settings > Wi-Fi, where you can forget a network.

### Choose where sound plays

Click the arrow at the end of the Sound slider (8). The page lists **Output** (speakers, headphones, a TV) and **Input** (microphones), each with its own slider and mute button. Click a device to use it; the tick moves. Wireless headphones show the way their sound is sent (the codec) under their name.

![The Sound page: the output slider and AirPods Pro (AAC) ticked, MacBook Speakers and HDMI Display; the input slider and Yeti Nano ticked, Built-in Microphone; and Sound Settings….](/img/manual/controlcenter-sound.png)

### Brightness, Night Shift and a second screen

Click the arrow at the end of the Display slider (6). The page has **Brightness**, **Keyboard Brightness** (on laptops with a lit keyboard), **Night Shift** and **Screen Mirroring**. Screen Mirroring shows the same picture on a second screen or projector; with only one screen connected it says "No other display".

![The Display page: Brightness and Keyboard Brightness sliders, Night Shift (Off), Screen Mirroring with No other display, and Displays Settings….](/img/manual/controlcenter-display.png)

### Quiet for a while: Focus

Click **Focus** (3). Choose **Do Not Disturb** and how long: **For 1 hour** or **Until tomorrow morning**. While it is on, banners stay away and wait in Notification Center; a moon appears in the menu bar. Click **Off** to end it early. See [Notifications](/manual/notifications).

![The Focus page: Do Not Disturb (Off), For 1 hour and Until tomorrow morning.](/img/manual/controlcenter-focus.png)

### Pair a Bluetooth device

Click the name next to **Bluetooth** (2) for **Devices**: the devices you paired before, with **Connected** next to the one in use. Click one to connect it. To pair a new one, put it in pairing mode (see its manual) and open System Settings > **Bluetooth**. See [Sharing and devices](/manual/sharing).

### Choose what Control Center shows

System Settings > **Control Center**. **Always Shown** lists Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Focus, Dark Mode, Display and Sound. Under it, each other part has a switch: Now Playing, Battery, Keyboard Brightness, Accessibility Shortcuts and the rest.

![System Settings > Control Center: Always Shown (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Focus, Dark Mode, Display, Sound) and the switches for Now Playing and Battery (on), Keyboard Brightness and Accessibility Shortcuts (off).](/img/manual/settings-controlcenter-wide.png)

Plugins can add tiles of their own. A plugin tile that runs something does so only after you allowed it; see [Plugins](/manual/plugins).

### The same switches on the keyboard

| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Super+N | Night Shift on or off |
| Ctrl+Super+D | Do Not Disturb on or off |
| Ctrl+Super+I | Stay Awake on or off |
| Shift+Super+5 | The screenshot toolbar, the same as the Screenshot tile |
| The volume and brightness keys | The same as the sliders; a sign in the middle of the screen shows the new level |

## A worked example

Alice arrives at a café. She clicks Control Center, clicks **Wi-Fi**, picks "Café Hatter", types the password from the menu card and clicks **Join**. She plugs in her headphones, clicks the arrow at the end of the Sound slider and ticks them. Then she clicks **Focus** > **Do Not Disturb** > **For 1 hour**, so nothing interrupts her while she writes. When she leaves, the hour has passed and banners show again on their own.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| "No networks found" | Wi-Fi is off or no network is in range. Click the Wi-Fi icon to turn it on, move closer, or use **Other Network…** for a hidden name. |
| "“…” didn’t accept that password." | Check the password, including capitals, and type it again. |
| "Bluetooth is unavailable" | This computer has no Bluetooth, or it is switched off in the computer's own settings. A small USB Bluetooth adapter adds it. |
| "No paired devices" | Nothing was paired yet. Put the device in pairing mode and open System Settings > Bluetooth. |
| "No other display" on Screen Mirroring | Only one screen is connected. Connect the second one, then try again. |
| A slider moves but nothing changes | The device does not let the computer change it (some external screens set their own brightness). Use the buttons on the device. |
| No sound from the headphones | Open the Sound page (8) and tick them under Output. See [Sound](/manual/sound). |
| A tile you want is missing | Turn it on in System Settings > Control Center. |