Changelog

The original Classic Matte returns, and app exceptions behave the way you'd expect.

• Textures: Classic Matte (Legacy) brings back the original grain from before the texture was reworked, with cards in Textures and the Control Center showing which is which.
• App Exceptions: "Exclude listed" and "Only listed" each keep their own list, so apps disabled in one no longer appear as allowed apps in the other.
• macOSMenu bar: Control-clicking the icon opens the menu, just like a right-click.

Purchases no longer mean quitting Paperman.

• macOSPurchases: buying from the App Store and paying with Apple Pay no longer means quitting Paperman. Pause or snooze it, or add the App Store to your app exceptions, and it steps aside.
• WindowsTray icon: the taskbar corner setting is now on by default, so the icon is out of the overflow flyout without turning anything on.

A fix for evening schedules, and a tidier tray icon on Windows.

• Schedule: "Evening only" now follows your Circadian Rhythm evening window.
• WindowsTray icon: a new toggle keeps Paperman's icon in the taskbar corner instead of the hidden overflow flyout.

Steadier multi-display behaviour, and a first look at what's coming next.

• Multi-display: the Paperman Effect now resizes the moment your display setup changes, so connecting, disconnecting or mirroring a monitor no longer leaves an uncovered band along the top and right edges of the screen. No more quitting and reopening Paperman to put it right.
• About: a new Changelog link, so you can read what shipped easily from the app.
• Polish: general stability improvements and small visual polish.

A soft new felt surface joins the texture catalog.

• New Texture: Monastic Felt - a dense, close-cropped fiber surface with a muted warmth.

A fix for macOS Tahoe to ensure your window screenshots stay perfectly clean.

• macOSmacOS Enhancements: fixed an issue on macOS Tahoe that prevented taking a screenshot of a specific window while Paperman was on.

Upgraded window layering for a more reliable overlay experience on macOS.

• macOSmacOS Enhancements: upgraded window layering to keep Paperman smoothly above the Dock during launch, hotkey use, and tray interactions.

Beautiful new animated reveals for Textures and Desk Lamp, improved sound design, and a cleaner Settings UI.

• Delightful Animations: introducing 6 new smooth, animated reveals for texture transitions.
• Improved Sound Design: unified the notification experience across toggles and gave the Desk Lamp its own satisfying new chime.
• Settings Polish: refined the Settings panel for a cleaner, more beautifully balanced look.

Readiness for macOS 27, and steadier keyboard input across the app.

• macOSReady for macOS 27: clicking the menu bar icon opens Paperman's controls again, with right-click still going to the menu.
• macOSSteadier Keyboard Input: text fields take keyboard input more reliably, including the shortcut recorder.
• Polish: general stability improvements and small visual polish.

A reworked Classic Matte with display fidelity everywhere, and a warmer starting point for Desk Lamp.

• Reworked Classic Matte: rebuilt to solve grain scaling across different setups, with sharp, even grain on standard, high-DPI, ultrawide, curved and vertical displays.
• Resolution & DPI Calibration: no more moiré patterns, stretched pixels or blurred patches of grain as the screen changes.
• macOSLiquid Glass Synergy: blends smoothly with Liquid Glass for a crisp but soft finish, and stays light on resources so your Mac keeps up.
• PreviewQuiet Aurora by Default: Desk Lamp now starts on Quiet Aurora, a softer and cooler light than the old neutral default. If you have already tuned your own settings, nothing changes.
• Polish: general stability improvements and small visual polish.

Introducing Desk Lamp presets, a shortcut to switch the light on and off, and fixes for sleep and startup.

• PreviewDesk Lamp Ambiance: six ready-made lighting moods — Soft Candlelight, Midnight Oil, Nook Lantern, Gallery Spot, Golden Hour and Quiet Aurora. Pick the one that suits the room.
• PreviewMake It Your Own: every preset is a starting point. Tune warmth, height and spread, and edge dimming from the Adjustments section.
• Desk Lamp Shortcut: turn Desk Lamp on and off without opening Paperman (⌥⌘O by default, customizable in Settings).
• Polish: small visual refinements across Settings.

Paperman now stays with you through sleep and wake, and starts up where you expect it to.

• macOSSurvives Sleep: Paperman no longer quits when your Mac goes to sleep. Leave your machine idle as long as you like - it is still there, still running, when you come back.
• macOSReliable Wake: after waking, your paper texture is restored across your full display automatically, with no need to toggle it off and on.
• Steadier Displays: unplugging and reconnecting monitors is handled more gracefully, so your texture returns to the right place on the right screens.
• macOSOpen at Login: if you have Paperman set to start automatically, it now appears properly under System Settings → Login Items & Extensions → Open at Login, alongside your other apps.

License details for every way you bought Paperman, and a smoother update experience.

• macOSFriendlier Updates: if Paperman is running from the disk image rather than your Applications folder, it now tells you exactly what to move and where, instead of failing part way through an update.
• License Details: your license view now recognizes Mac App Store purchases and Setapp memberships, showing your membership details and the date you started rather than asking for a license key.
• Polish: general stability improvements and small visual polish throughout.

Notch-aware overlays for MacBook displays.

• macOSNotch-Safe Overlay: the paper surface now adjusts around the camera notch as you move between windowed and full-screen apps, so your menu bar stays clean.
• macOSFull-Screen Detection: more reliable detection of full-screen apps on notched MacBooks, so the effect settles in the right place every time.
• Stability: under-the-hood reliability improvements.

Introducing Desk Lamp Mode. Bring the warm, cozy glow of physical desk lighting to your paper surface.

• PreviewDesk Lamp Mode: a brand new ambient lighting mode designed to give your screen the warm, cozy feel of sitting beside a physical desk lamp.
• Customizable Lighting: tune warmth, position, and intensity to make the lighting and ambience entirely your own.

Help & Support updates, refined license details, and overall stability improvements.

• Support > FAQ: added new answers and helpful tips in FAQ for smoother setup and everyday use.
• License Details: refined license and membership details view.
• Polish: general stability improvements and small visual polish.

Hot fix for enabling textures.

Single-instance app focus and menu bar update checks across macOS and Windows.

• Single-Instance Focus: launching Paperman while it is already running now brings your existing window to the front instead of opening duplicate processes.
• Tray & Menu Bar Update Checks: added a "Check for Updates" option to the system tray and menu bar that opens settings and checks for new versions.
• Window Reliability: improved window focusing and foreground recovery across both macOS and Windows.

Background update checks and reliability improvements.

• Updater: improved background update checks and silenced redundant notifications.
• Polish: minor UI improvements across settings.

Notch-safe overlay alignment for MacBook displays.

• macOSMacBook Notch Support: improved overlay geometry calculation to safely adjust window frames below the camera notch on modern MacBooks.
• Reliability: improved multi-monitor overlay positioning during display hot-plugging.

Automatic appearance synchronization.

• macOSAutomatic Theme Sync: Paperman now automatically switches between Daytime and Nighttime textures to match your macOS system appearance (Light / Dark mode).

Redesigned Refer tab and community sharing.

• Refer & Community: refreshed sharing tab with simplified links to share Paperman with friends and colleagues.
• UI Polish: visual updates to tabs and modal overlays.

Faster and smarter App Exceptions.

• App Exceptions Autocomplete: improved search matching, proper app casing, and full keyboard navigation (arrows and Enter) when adding apps to your exception list.

Launch on startup.

• macOSAuto Launch: easily set Paperman to start automatically when logging into your Mac.

In-app Help, FAQ, and Support.

• Help & FAQ: dedicated FAQ section in Settings answering common questions about display behavior, multi-monitor setups, and full-screen apps.
• Support: quick links to contact support or share feedback.

Collectible supporter card and license management.

• Supporter Card: collectible personalized license card with custom member titles and exportable card image.

Full-screen mode support, Setapp compatibility, and other stability fixes.

• macOSFull-Screen Mode: improved behavior and overlay compatibility when working across macOS full-screen apps and Spaces.
• macOSSetapp Compatibility: customized UI behaviors built specifically to support Setapp users seamlessly.
• macOSNative Frosted Glass UI: refreshed settings panel adopting native macOS frosted glass backdrops.
• Stability & Fixes: under-the-hood performance improvements and overall reliability polish.

Performance improvements for screenshot monitor to keep Paperman even more lightweight.

Hide Paperman from screenshots, with faster app exceptions.

• Hide from Screenshots: a new toggle keeps the Paperman Effect out of your screenshots and screen recordings.
• Faster App Exceptions: Paperman now applies or lifts much faster when switching to or from an app on your exceptions list.
• UI Polish: design polish for App Exceptions settings.

Mulberry Veil joins the Paperman texture collection, with smarter hotkey controls, and a refined intensity slider.

• New Texture: Mulberry Veil – a delicate surface with a deep plum undertone.
• Improved Hotkeys: improved keyboard shortcuts with individual enable/disable and rapid multi-hotkey toggling.
• Intensity Slider: redesigned for clarity with a beige fill indicator showing current level and a hidden handle on hover.

Introducing Vellum Mist, a soft new paper texture for a more refined reading experience.

• New Texture: Vellum Mist – a soft, semi-translucent haze that diffuses light like frosted vellum.

Introducing Painter's Press and pinned textures for faster switching.

• New Texture: Painter's Press – a textured cold-press surface with subtle tooth and depth.
• Pinned Textures: pin up to 4 favorites to the control center and switch between them in a tap.
• Texture Management: browse and manage the full collection from Settings → Textures.
• Hotkeys Toggle: a switch to enable or disable Paperman's keyboard shortcuts.
• Battery Behavior: a clearer "Turn off Paperman on battery" control.
• Intensity Feedback: a subtle indicator shows the texture and level as you adjust intensity.

Introducing our new texture 'Saddle Linen', along with better keyboard control, and the usual round of small improvements.

• New Texture: Saddle Linen – a coarse, natural linen weave with warm earthy tones.
• Shortcuts: new shortcut to cycle through textures (⌥⌘T on macOS, customizable in Settings).
• Accessibility: improved keyboard navigation and focus rings across all controls.

Introducing our brand new texture 'Sunbaked Parchment', smarter intensity memory, and a redesigned texture picker.

• New Texture: Sunbaked Parchment – a warm, aged paper texture with subtle grain in light mode and deeper warmth in dark mode.
• Texture Picker: redesigned as icon cards in both the control center and Settings → Texture, making it easier to browse and switch.
• Per-Texture Intensity: each texture now remembers its own intensity separately for light and dark mode.
• Intensity Step Buttons: click the sun icons beside the slider in the control center to nudge intensity up or down by 1%.
• Theme Indicator: a "Now" indicator shows which theme (Daytime or Nighttime) is currently active.

Snooze, faster shortcuts, and a friendlier home for feedback.

• Snooze: tap the bell badge in the control center for a 1, 5, 10, or 15 minute break (also in Settings → Protection).
• Snooze Shortcut: new global shortcut to toggle Snooze with configurable duration (⌥⌘\ on macOS).
• Hotkeys Tab: all keyboard shortcuts now live in their own settings tab for easier customization.
• Support: a settings tab to share feedback or leave an App Store review in one tap.
• Reliability: external displays now re-apply Paperman automatically after unplug and replug.
• Edge Polish: removed a faint hairline at the screen edge that could appear at higher intensities.

Intel Mac Support: Paperman now runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.

• macOSIntel Mac Support: full native support for both Apple Silicon and Intel-based Mac systems.
• Bug Fixes: fixed a crash that occurred when downloading the license card.
• macOSMenu bar icon is now properly sized for the macOS status bar.
• Design Polish: layout and design improvements in About and Sidebar sections.

Portrait Display Fix: fixed an issue where the paper texture only covered a part of the screen when the main display was rotated to portrait.

• Added a small tip in the monitor picker explaining what to do if the texture misbehaves after changing display arrangement.
• Settings Panel Polish: cleaner icons across Protection and Circadian Rhythm.
• More consistent card layouts between tabs.
• Overall design improvements.

App Exceptions — Allowlist Mode: you can now switch App Exceptions to an allowlist. Paperman only activates in the apps you choose, instead of staying active everywhere except your exceptions.

• Battery Behavior: new battery settings let you control how Paperman behaves when you're unplugged. Choose to pause automatically below a set battery percentage.
• Texture Intensity Slider: fine-tune how strong your paper texture appears with a new intensity slider in the Texture settings tab.
• Improved Shortcut Reliability: keyboard shortcuts now use system-wide global shortcut handling, making them more stable and consistent across different apps and workflows.

Multi-monitor support improvements.

• Improved overlay covering the full screen at launch on external displays when using mixed-DPI setups.
• macOSImproved display arrangement in Settings matching macOS display layout.

Multi-monitor reliability fixes.

• macOSOverlay windows now recover correctly after sleep, wake, Space transitions, and display reconnects.
• Monitor selections are remembered by screen geometry, so your setup survives display reorders and resolution changes.

Early Supporter Badge: new License Card design that proudly displays your early supporter status.

• Performance & UI: extensive refinements to the interface and core performance for a smoother experience.
• Stability: fixed minor issues with theme scheduling.

Paperman brings more customization to your reading experience with a new texture: "Whisper Weave."

• New Texture: Whisper Weave – an ultra-fine texture designed for maximum comfort during long reading sessions.
• Per-Theme Textures: choose different textures for Light and Dark modes.
• Multi-Monitor & Panels: enhanced multi-monitor support and draggable control panel.
• Scheduling: refined theme scheduling and "Auto" mode improvements.

Full Multi-Monitor Support: select and manage specific external monitors for your overlay displays.

• Customizable Workspaces: your controls and settings panels are now fully draggable and position-persistent.
• Refreshed Interface: enhanced layout in the About section with updated design attribution.
• Display Engine: refactored display logic to make handling primary displays and unconfigured monitors smoother.

Paperman's controls and settings have been refreshed for a cleaner, calmer experience.

• Refreshed Controls: new Dark Green UI with improved pause/resume behavior, better app-specific disabling, and cleaner settings layout.
• Protection Schedule: toggle directly turns the Paperman effect on or off.
• Polish: shortcut improvements, paper sound preference, and general refinements throughout the control panel.