Getting Started

Everything you need to get up and running with Overview in a few minutes.

Installation

1. Open the downloaded .dmg and drag Overview.app to your Applications folder.
2. Launch Overview from Applications or Spotlight (⌘ Space).
3. If macOS prompts you to confirm opening a downloaded app, click Open.

First Launch

A setup checklist appears the first time Overview opens. It confirms that the background helper can run and that the necessary permissions are in place. Work through each step and press Continue — it won't appear again.

Permissions

Accessibility — lets Overview read the active project name from Resolve's window title. Grant access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

If you enable Start at Login, Overview also registers as a login item. You can review or remove this at any time in System Settings → General → Login Items.

Overview Interface

The main window is split into two panels: the Project Sidebar on the left, and the Overview Panel on the right.

Project Sidebar

The sidebar lists all tracked projects, ranked by total tracked time with the most-worked project at the top. Each row shows the project name, colour swatch, and cumulative duration.

• Search — Filter the list by project name in real time.
• Right-click — Access project info, recolour, merge, or archive a project.
• Multi-select — Hold ⌘ or ⇧ to select multiple projects.
• Archive button — The icon in the bottom-right corner opens Archived Projects directly.

Project Info

Right-click any project in the sidebar and select Project Info to open a detailed view of that project — including in-depth totals and a full history of every logged session.

Overview Panel

The right-hand panel shows charts and session detail for the selected day.

Weekly Chart

A stacked bar chart showing tracked time for each day of the current week. Each colour segment represents a project. Today's column is highlighted. Use the ‹ › arrows to step through previous weeks, or the calendar button to jump to a specific date.

Session Timeline

An at-a-glance view of every session for the selected day, positioned accurately along the time axis. Hover any block for full session detail, including project name, start/end time, and duration. Render sessions appear as hatched overlapping blocks when the Show Render Sessions appearance option is on.

Daily Totals

Below the timeline, a table lists each project worked on that day with its individual total.

Projects

Overview tracks your Resolve projects automatically — no setup needed per job.

How Tracking Works

When Resolve is running, a lightweight background process monitors the active project and logs the session. A session starts when a project becomes active and closes when Resolve switches projects, goes idle, or quits.

Merging Projects

If a project was renamed mid-job, it will appear under two entries. Merge them so time is combined into a single total.

1. Right-click the source project in the sidebar.
2. Choose Merge Into… and select the target project.

To undo, right-click the target project and choose Unmerge.

Archiving Projects

Completed projects can be archived to keep the sidebar focused on active work. All data is preserved — nothing is deleted.

1. Right-click the project in the sidebar.
2. Choose Archive Project.

To restore, open Settings → Archived Projects, right-click the project and select Unarchive Project.

Settings

Open Settings with ⌘ , or from the Overview menu.

General

• Start at Login — Overview launches automatically on login and begins tracking without opening the main window. If turned off, Overview will only track when the main window is open.
• Hide Untitled Project — Excludes Resolve's default empty project from appearing in the interface and totals.
• Project Logs — Opens the folder where session log files are stored — useful for backup or auditing.

Appearance

• Theme — Auto (follows macOS), Light, or Dark. Applied immediately.
• Show Seconds — Includes seconds in all time displays throughout the app.
• Show Render Sessions — Renders shown as hatched sessions in the timeline.
• Revert Custom Colors — Resets all manually changed project colours back to their defaults.

Tracking & Time

• Default Workday Length — Sets the length of a workday used to calculate totals (8h, 10h, 12h, or custom). Doesn't cap or limit tracking.
• Totals Include Render Times — Off by default. Enable to count render sessions in project totals.
• Idle Detection — Pauses tracking and ends the current session after the Mac is inactive for a set period.
• Smart Detection — Bases idle detection on Resolve activity rather than overall computer use. Recommended.
• Idle Time — How long before idle detection triggers.

Archived Projects

Browse all archived projects with their total time. Restore entries from here. Use the search field to filter large archives.

License

Information about your Overview license and how to manage it.

Activating Your License

After purchasing Overview, your license will register automatically. If it doesn't appear straight away, try restarting the app. Your license is linked to your purchase and doesn't require manually entering a key.

Managing Your License

Open the License page in Settings to view your current license status and check your renewal date. From here you can also manage or update your license details if needed.

Tips

A few habits that'll help you get the most out of Overview.

Keep project names consistent

Overview identifies projects by the name Resolve shows in its title bar. If a project gets renamed, use Merge to combine the two entries into a single total.

Turn on Smart Detection

If you regularly work across multiple apps alongside Resolve, Smart Detection ensures only genuine working time is counted.

Archive completed jobs

Once a project wraps, archive it. The sidebar stays focused on live work, and the data remains accessible whenever you need it.

Start at Login for uninterrupted tracking

With Start at Login enabled, tracking begins the moment you sign in — even if you never open the Overview window.

Troubleshooting

If something isn't working, open the setup checklist via Help → Setup in the menu bar. It runs four checks and highlights anything that needs attention.

Setup Checklist

• 1
  DaVinci Resolve Installed

  Checks that DaVinci Resolve is installed at the expected location on your Mac.

  If this fails, Resolve may not be installed or may have been moved from the Applications folder. Clicking Fix will open the Blackmagic Design download page so you can install it.
• 2
  Resolve Connection

  Checks that Resolve is open and the tracking engine can communicate with it.

  Make sure Resolve is running with a project loaded. If the check still fails, go to Resolve → Preferences → System → General and enable External scripting using local. You can also try enabling Start at Login in Overview's General settings, or quit and relaunch Overview to restart the tracking engine.
• 3
  Accessibility Permission

  Overview requires Accessibility access to read the active project name from Resolve's window title.

  Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and make sure Overview is enabled. Clicking Fix will take you there directly.
• 4
  Background Helper Running

  The background helper (OverviewHelper) is the process responsible for tracking sessions and monitoring idle state.

  If the helper isn't running, quit and relaunch Overview. Enabling Start at Login in General settings ensures the helper starts automatically on every login.