How Tansei works

Getting started

Tansei is a one-time purchase.

Download Tansei for Windows free from the Microsoft Store, then buy a license key from tansei.io. Your key arrives by email.

1. Buy Tansei. Your license key arrives by email.
2. Activate it. Paste the key into the Activate screen when you first open Tansei.
3. Open the shelf. Press Alt+T from any app to show or hide Tansei.

One license covers one PC at a time. There is no free trial.

After activation, a short welcome shows you the basics and Tansei docks to the right side of your screen. The main shortcut to remember is Alt+T. You can change it in Settings.

You can also use the Tansei icon in the system tray:

• Click it to show or hide the shelf.
• Right-click it for Full View, recording controls, Settings, and other options.

Moving to another PC. Your license covers one PC at a time. If you change computers, get in touch and we can move your license. To use Tansei on two PCs at the same time, you need a second license.

Using Tansei on Mac. Mac and Windows are separate purchases. A Windows key does not activate the Mac app, and a Mac key does not activate Windows.

The shelf

Tansei has three views:

• Compact shelf. Your everyday view. Search is at the top, pinned items stay close, and recent items appear below.
• Full View. More room, with a sidebar, list or grid view, and item details. Open it with the expand button.
• Lightbox. Opens an image, video, or voice memo in a larger view without leaving Tansei.

By default the shelf sits on the right of your screen. You can move it to the left in Settings. Tansei reserves space for the shelf, so maximized windows stop at its edge instead of sitting underneath it.

Hide and resize the shelf

When you hide Tansei, a slim tab stays at the edge of the screen.

• Click the tab to bring the shelf back.
• Drag a file onto the tab to open Tansei and add it.

Drag the inner edge of the shelf to make it wider or narrower. Tansei remembers the width separately for each display. With more than one monitor, choose where Tansei appears in Settings, or use Move to Next Display from the Add menu.

The toolbar

The shelf header includes:

The shelf opens slim, so you will usually see a shorter header with the rest in a menu. Widen the shelf and the full set appears.

Filter your shelf

The filter is inside the search field.

Click the funnel on the right of Search to filter by pinned items, a file type, a group, or a tag. The funnel turns magenta while a filter is on.

Adding things to Tansei

The easiest way to add something is to copy it.

You can also:

• Take a screenshot.
• Pick a color from your screen.
• Write a note.
• Record your screen.
• Record an audio memo.

Sensitive information

Tansei masks things that look sensitive, such as passwords, API keys, and card numbers. The original value is still there when you copy it.

Choose what gets saved

Go to Settings → Capture → Automatically save what I copy, and choose whether Tansei saves links, images, and plain text.

Files and colors always save. Screenshots, manual pastes, and anything you drag in are never filtered.

Using your shelf

Copy something back out

Click an item to copy it, then paste it where you need it. You can also drag an item straight into another app or File Explorer.

Move a file off the shelf

Hold Shift while dragging a file out to move it instead of copying it. The file leaves the shelf and lands where you drop it, and an Undo option appears afterwards.

This works on the shelf and in Full View, one item at a time, and not from the Archive.

Preview an item

Double-click an item to preview it, or hover a row for a quick look.

Reorder items

Drag items up or down to change their order.

More actions

Right-click any item for its full menu: copy, edit, pin, tag or group it, archive, or delete. For files you can also choose Open or Show in File Explorer.

Images

Right-click an image for extra options. Copy Text in Image copies words found inside it.

Edit Image lets you draw, highlight, add arrows, add text, blur information, crop, rotate, and flip. You can export an edited copy as PNG, JPEG, or PDF to your Downloads folder.

Organizing

You do not need to organize your shelf. Tansei works well as a simple list of recent items. When it gets busy, Search, Pins, Groups, Tags, Archive, and Delete can help.

Archive and delete

Tansei keeps your items in three places:

1. Shelf. What you are using right now.
2. Archive. Things you are finished with for now. They stay saved and can be restored anytime.
3. Deleted. Removed permanently.

Archive or delete an item

With a row selected, press Delete to move it to the Archive, and Ctrl+Z to undo the last archive or delete. To delete something permanently, right-click it and choose Delete.

Archiving does not delete anything, so it is the safest way to clear your shelf.

Restore an archived item

Open Archive, find the item, and move it back to the shelf. Inside the Archive the row menu also offers Delete permanently.

Choose Empty Archive to delete everything in it. Tansei tells you how many items that is first.

Tidy automatically

Turn on Tidy automatically and unpinned items older than three days move from the shelf to the Archive.

You can also limit how much Tansei keeps: the shelf holds Everything, 50, 100, or 200 items, and the Archive holds Everything, 100, 200, or 500. When a limit is reached, the oldest go first.

Pinned items are never tidied automatically.

Screenshots and recording

Open Capture from the shelf header, or right-click the Tansei tray icon.

Take a screenshot

• Capture Area. Drag around part of a screen.
• Capture Window. Click the window you want.
• Capture Whole Screen. Choose the display you want.

With more than one display, hover over one in the menu and Tansei highlights that screen, so you know which you are choosing.

Record your screen

• Record Screen. Video only.
• Record Screen with Voice. Your screen and your microphone.
• Record Screen with Sound. Your screen and the sound your PC is playing.
• Record Audio Memo. Your microphone, without the screen.

Tansei only records sound when you choose an option that includes it. A short countdown appears before recording starts, and recordings land on your shelf showing a still frame from the video.

While recording

Use Pause, Stop, or Discard from the shelf header or the tray icon.

• Pause stops for a moment, then continues in the same file.
• Stop saves the recording.
• Discard ends it without saving.

Recordings stop after 30 minutes and the file is kept. Tansei warns you two minutes before. Start another recording if you need to carry on.

Transcripts

Right-click a recording or voice memo and choose Transcribe.

Tansei makes the transcript on your PC. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.

The recording appears at the top with timed lines underneath. You can click a line to jump to that point, follow the highlighted line as it plays, search for something that was said, edit the words, or copy the whole transcript.

Transcript shortcuts

Use the speed button beside the scrubber to switch between 1x, 0.75x, 1.25x, and 1.5x.

Edit a transcript

Click any line and edit the words directly. Press Enter to move to the next line, then choose Save when you are done. Each line keeps its own timing.

Choose Copy transcript to copy the whole thing with its timestamps.

Write a transcript yourself

If Tansei cannot pick up any speech, you can type or paste the transcript instead.

Start a line with a time such as 0:12 to link it to that point in the recording. Leave the times out and the text is still searchable. You can also paste .vtt or .srt subtitle content.

Once a recording has a transcript, you can find it by searching for words that were said.

Tansei shows an estimate before it starts and a live percentage while it works, and you can keep using Tansei while it runs.

Trimming

Right-click a video or audio file and choose Trim.

Set the new start and end, then play it to check.

• Save a copy keeps the original and adds the trimmed version to your shelf.
• Replace original replaces the file. Tansei asks first.

If the recording has a transcript, the transcript is trimmed and retimed with it.

Text in images

Tansei reads text inside screenshots so you can find them through Search. Search for words from an error message, for example, and Tansei can find the screenshot with it.

This happens on your PC. To copy the text yourself, right-click an image and choose Copy Text in Image.

Tansei does not keep text that looks like a password, API key, or card number. The image itself is unchanged.

This uses a Windows language pack. On a Windows edition that ships without it, the feature is not offered.

Keyboard and mouse

Anywhere

On the shelf

Full View

Writing a note

Editing an image

Capturing

Esc cancels a capture or recording.

Shortcuts do not run while you are typing in Search or writing a note. Press Ctrl+/ at any time for the full list, or open Settings → All keyboard shortcuts.

Settings

Open Settings from the Add menu or the Tansei tray icon. Settings are split into three pages.

General

• Open Tansei at login. Start Tansei when your PC starts.
• Shortcut. Choose the shortcut that opens Tansei from anywhere: Alt+T, Ctrl+Alt+T, Ctrl+Alt+R, Ctrl+Alt+G, Ctrl+Alt+S, or Off. If another app is already using it, Tansei tells you.
• All keyboard shortcuts. See every Tansei shortcut.
• License. See your activation status or enter a key.

Capture

• Automatically save what I copy. Turn automatic clipboard saving on or off.
• Choose what gets saved. Links, images, and plain text, each with its own switch. Files and colors always save.
• Tidy automatically. Move unpinned items over three days old into the Archive.
• Include Tansei in screenshots. Hidden by default.
• What Tansei keeps. Set shelf and Archive limits, or empty the Archive.

Shelf

• Theme. Automatic, Light, or Dark.
• Text size. Default, Large, or Larger. The new size applies the next time Tansei starts.
• Solid background. Turn off shelf transparency.
• Dock to. Put the shelf on the left or the right.
• Show on display. Choose which monitor Tansei appears on. Only shown with more than one display.
• Where captures are saved. Screenshots and recordings go to Documents → Tansei. Choose Change Folder for new captures; existing items stay put.
• Storage. Remove unused files, open the Tansei folder, or open the logs.

Accessibility

Tansei has three text sizes: Default, Large, and Larger. Windows’ own text-size setting works on top of that.

Turn on Solid background if you prefer the shelf without transparency. Tansei also switches to a solid background automatically when Windows High Contrast is on, and uses your High Contrast colors.

You can use the shelf entirely with the keyboard, and item actions are available to Windows Narrator.

Tansei uses its own magenta accent for selected rows, checkboxes, and text selection, rather than the Windows accent color.

Permissions

Tansei only asks for access when a feature needs it.

Microphone

The microphone is used only for Record Screen with Voice and Record Audio Memo. Windows asks the first time you use one.

If microphone access for desktop apps is off, Tansei gives you a button that opens the right Windows Settings page: Privacy and security → Microphone → Let desktop apps access your microphone.

Screenshots and screen recording

No extra permission is needed. Tansei uses Windows’ built-in screen capture, and Windows may show a yellow border around the screen while recording.

Recording PC sound

Record Screen with Sound records what your PC is playing. It does not use your microphone and needs no microphone permission.

Transcripts and text in images

Both run entirely on your PC. No account and no permission are required.

Staying up to date

Tansei for Windows is installed through the Microsoft Store, so Windows handles updates for you.

To check by hand, open the Microsoft Store, go to Library, and choose Get updates.

Your shelf and your license stay the same after an update. See what changed in each version on the updates page.

If you also use Tansei on Mac

Tansei works much the same on both, with a few differences.

• Moving a file off the shelf. Hold Shift on Windows. Mac uses Option.
• Undo. The message after moving a file includes Undo. Ctrl+Z undoes an archive or delete, but not a drag-out.
• Global shortcut. Windows uses Alt+T. Mac uses Option+T.
• Tray icon. Windows uses the system tray beside the clock instead of the Mac menu bar. Click to show or hide, right-click for Full View, Settings, Report a Bug, Rate Tansei, and Quit.
• Files. Windows uses File Explorer and saves captures to Documents → Tansei, and you can change where new captures go.
• Shelf space. On Windows the shelf reserves part of the desktop, so maximized windows stop at its edge.
• Hidden tab. Click the edge tab to bring the Windows shelf back. Unlike Mac, it does not appear on hover.
• Previewing. Double-click on Windows. Mac uses the Space bar.
• Transcripts. On Windows you request one from the item’s menu. There is no automatic transcription setting.
• Recording sound. Windows can record the sound your PC is playing, and can pause and resume. Recordings stop after 30 minutes.
• Text in images. Windows reads text in screenshots automatically, so you can find them through Search.
• Buying Tansei. Windows and Mac are separate purchases with separate keys. On Windows, activation always uses the key sent to your email.

Getting started

Tansei is a one-time purchase.

If you buy directly from tansei.io, your license key arrives by email. On first launch, paste the key into the Activate screen or use the activation link in the email. One license covers one Mac. There is no free trial for new installs, although coupon codes can be used at checkout.

If you got Tansei from the Mac App Store, it unlocks automatically once you are signed in with the Apple ID that bought it, so there is no key to enter. On another Mac, use Restore Purchases.

After activation, a short welcome introduces the basics and Tansei docks to the right side of your screen.

The main shortcut to remember is ⌥T. Press it from any app to open or hide Tansei. You can change the shortcut in Settings. You can also use the menu-bar icon to show or hide the shelf; right-click it for capture, recording, Settings, and other options.

The shelf

The shelf shows up in three ways.

• Compact shelf. The everyday view. Search sits at the top, recent items appear below, and pinned items stay at the top. If you make the shelf narrower, the header becomes a Shelf actions menu, the three stacked lines.
• Full View. Open it with the expand button in the header. It gives you more room, with a sidebar, a list or grid view, and item details on the right. Switch between list and grid, and change the sort, from the top of Full View.
• Lightbox. Open an image or video in a larger view without leaving Tansei.

By default, Tansei sits on the right side of your screen; you can move it to the left in Settings. When hidden, it can leave a slim tab at the edge: hover it to peek at the shelf, or drag a file onto it to open Tansei and add the file. If you use more than one display, you can choose which screen Tansei appears on.

The toolbar

The buttons in the shelf header, left to right:

Adding things to Tansei

The easiest way to add something is to copy it. Text, links, images, files, colors, and code appear on the shelf automatically when you copy them.

You can also:

Sensitive items like passwords, API keys, and card numbers are masked on the shelf. Copying still gives you the original value.

Calendar invites become date tiles you can open in Calendar.

Using your shelf

Click an item to copy it back to your clipboard, then paste it wherever you need it. You can also drag an item straight into another app or Finder.

For files, hold ⌥ Option while dragging to move the file out of Tansei instead of copying it. The file lands where you drop it and disappears from the shelf. Press ⌘Z if you want it back.

Press space to preview an item, or hover over a row for a quick look. Drag items up or down to reorder them.

Right-click any item for its full menu: copy, rename, edit, pin, tag or group it, archive, or delete.

With an image, the same menu adds Copy Text from Image to lift the words out of a screenshot, and Edit Image to mark it up.

For more file actions, open an item’s preview (space) or Full View: Save a Copy to your Downloads folder, Show in Finder, or open it in its usual app.

Organizing

You do not need to organize your shelf. Tansei works well as a simple list of recent items. When it starts getting busy, Search, Pins, Groups, Tags, Archive, and Delete can help keep things manageable.

Archive and delete

Tansei keeps your items in three places:

• Shelf. What you are using right now.
• Archive. Things you are finished with for now. They stay saved and can be restored anytime.
• Delete. Removes an item permanently.

Archive or delete an item

With a row selected:

• Press ⌫ to move it to the Archive.
• Press ⌘⌫ to delete it permanently.
• Press ⌘Z to undo the last archive or delete.

Archiving does not delete anything, so it is the safest way to clear items from your shelf.

Restore an archived item

Open Archive from the toolbar, find the item, and move it back to the shelf.

While you are inside the Archive, ⌫ deletes the selected item permanently. Empty Archive permanently deletes everything in the Archive.

Let Tansei tidy automatically

Turn on Tidy automatically and unpinned items older than three days will move from the shelf to the Archive.

You can also set an archive limit. When the Archive reaches that limit, Tansei removes the oldest archived items first, including images.

Pinned items are never tidied automatically.

Recording and transcripts

Click Capture in the shelf toolbar, or right-click the Tansei icon in the menu bar.

• Record Screen records video only.
• Record Screen with Audio records your voice, system sound, or both.
• Record Audio Memo records your voice.

System sound is anything playing on your Mac, such as a video, call, or app. It uses the same permission as screen recording. Tansei’s own sounds are not recorded.

Your audio choice is made each time you record. Tansei does not remember it.

If you have more than one display, hover over a display in the Capture menu and that screen lights up.

Recordings are saved to your shelf.

While recording

Screen recordings start with a 3-2-1 countdown. Click Cancel to stop before recording begins.

A red border shows which screen is being recorded. It turns amber when paused.

The menu bar shows REC and the recording time. Click it to Pause, Resume, Stop & Save, or Discard the recording.

Audio memos show Pause, Cancel, and Stop at the bottom of the shelf.

Pause and resume

Pause to skip anything you do not want recorded. Resume when you are ready.

Stop & Save Recording saves everything as one video.

Discard Recording deletes the recording without saving it.

Transcripts

Right-click a recording and choose View transcript to transcribe it.

To watch the recording with its transcript, choose Preview, then Transcript. Click any line to jump to that point in the recording.

You can also search your shelf for words said in a recording.

Use Copy to copy the full transcript. Open … to:

• Edit transcript
• Transcribe again
• Save as file

If there is no transcript, choose Add Transcript to type or paste one yourself.

Transcription happens on your Mac. Your audio is not uploaded.

Turn on Show transcript with recording in Settings to show the transcript whenever you preview a recording.

To reframe a screen recording, right-click it and choose Crop Video. It crops the picture, not the length, so your transcript and its timestamps stay correct.

Keyboard and mouse

Shortcuts do not run while you are typing in search or writing a note.

Settings

Open Settings from the + menu or the menu bar. Settings are split into three tabs.

General

• Open at login. Start Tansei when your Mac starts.
• Shortcut. The key that opens Tansei from anywhere (default ⌥T).
• Keyboard shortcuts. A reference list of every shelf shortcut.
• License. Your activation status, and where to enter a key.

Capture

• Automatically save what I copy. Turn automatic saving on, or pause it.
• Choose what gets saved. Save links, images, and plain text automatically, or not.
• Tidy automatically. Move unpinned items over three days old into the Archive.
• Include Tansei in screenshots. Keep the shelf visible when you capture, or hide it.
• Show link previews. Add a title and thumbnail to saved links.
• Clean tracking from links. Strip utm and similar from saved links.
• Peek on hover. Glance an item’s contents by hovering, without clicking.
• Show transcript with recording. See the transcript beside the video.
• Shelf and archive limits. How much to keep before older items move on.

Shelf

• Theme. Automatic, light, or dark.
• Text size. Default, Large, or Larger.
• Solid background. Turn off the shelf’s transparency.
• Dock to. The left or right edge of your screen.
• Show on display. Which monitor the shelf lives on.
• Leave a tab at the edge. When the shelf is hidden, keep a tab on screen and hover it to bring the shelf back.
• Storage. Remove unused files, or open the logs.

The display option only appears if more than one monitor is connected.

Accessibility

Tansei supports three text sizes: Default, Large, and Larger.

Turn on Solid background if you prefer the shelf without transparency. Tansei also does this automatically when macOS Reduce Transparency or Increase Contrast is enabled.

If macOS Reduce Motion is on, Tansei removes its animations.

The shelf can be used by keyboard, and item actions are available to VoiceOver.

Permissions

Tansei only asks for a permission when you use a feature that needs it. It uses three macOS permissions. Tansei does not require Accessibility permission.

Screen Recording

Used for screenshots and screen recordings. On newer versions of macOS, this appears under Screen & System Audio Recording. The same permission covers your Mac’s own sound, so Record Screen with Audio › With System Sound asks for nothing extra.

macOS asks the first time you use capture. If access is off, Tansei gives you a button that opens the correct System Settings page. If Tansei does not appear in the list, click +, choose Tansei, switch it on, then reopen the app.

If you downloaded Tansei directly, make sure it is in your Applications folder. Running it from the DMG or Downloads can cause macOS to open it from a temporary location, which can stop the screen-recording permission from appearing or sticking correctly.

Microphone

Used only when a recording includes your voice: Record Screen with Audio › With Voice, Record Screen with Audio › With Voice and System Sound, and Record Audio Memo. macOS asks for permission the first time you use one of them. If you deny microphone access while starting one, Tansei offers Record without voice so you can carry on. Recording with system sound on its own never uses the microphone.

Speech Recognition

Used only for transcripts. This permission is separate from Microphone and Screen Recording, and it stays off until you use transcripts.

You can manage any of these permissions later under System Settings › Privacy & Security.

Staying up to date

If you bought Tansei from tansei.io, the app checks for updates automatically. You can also choose Check for Updates… from the menu bar.

Highlighted is the Tansei icon. It lives with your other icons at the top right of the screen. Right-click it for Check for Updates, Settings, and more.

When an update is available, you can see what changed before installing it. Your shelf and license stay the same after updating.

If you installed Tansei from the Mac App Store, Apple handles updates through the App Store, so Tansei does not show its own updater.