Capturing On-Screen Content

When you record a meeting privately with the Groupthink desktop app, it captures what people say. On-screen content capture adds what people show, the figure on a dashboard, the number on a slide, the line item in a spreadsheet, so those details land in the meeting recap instead of disappearing when the call ends.

Groupthink reads the text off the window you choose on your Mac. Only that text, with the window title and app name, is sent to Groupthink. The picture of your screen never leaves your Mac.

What gets captured, and what doesn't

• You pick one window to capture. Groupthink reads only that window, not your full screen, and not any other app.
• Groupthink extracts the text visible in that window and adds it to your meeting. The screenshots themselves stay on your computer and are discarded once the text has been read.
• Captured content is saved with the meeting and shown under a Shown on screen section in the recap. It's private by default, the same as the rest of your private recording.

Before you start

On-screen content capture is available in the Groupthink desktop app for macOS. The first time you use it, you'll grant Screen Recording permission (steps below).

Capturing a window

1. Start a private recording from a meeting in the desktop app, the way you normally do. Window capture needs a recording on your Mac. In a meeting recorded by the bot in the call (Public with Bot), the control reads Window capture needs "Private with App" and no window can be picked.
2. In the meeting header, find the capture control that starts Also capture a window and ends its text goes to Groupthink, and click it.
3. Choose the window you want to capture. Each option shows a thumbnail so you can confirm you've picked the right one. If you'd rather record audio only, choose Skip for audio only.
4. The control reads "Starting capture: [window name]" for a few seconds, then updates to "Capturing: [window name]". Groupthink reads that window every few seconds and adds new text to the meeting.
5. To stop capturing the window without ending your recording, click the X on the capturing label. Your audio keeps recording.

If the control says a window is not being captured

When a window is not being read, the control says why. Click the control to do what the table says, or click its X to dismiss the message. Hover over the control for more detail.

The control says	Ends with	What it means	What to do
Window capture needs "Private with App"		The meeting is recorded by the bot in the call, not on your Mac.	Start the notetaker with Private with App.
Window capture needs Screen Recording permission	Open Settings	macOS isn't letting Groupthink read windows.	Click the control to open System Settings. Turn on Screen Recording for Groupthink, then pick the window again.
Not capturing: no recording on this Mac	Try again	Groupthink isn't recording this meeting on your Mac right now.	Once the recording is running, click the control and pick the window again.
Window capture didn't start	Try again	The recording on your Mac may still have been starting up.	Wait a few seconds, then click the control and pick the window again.
Couldn't start reading that window	Try again	Groupthink asked to read the window and nothing came back.	Click the control and pick a window again.
Couldn't read that window	Reconnect	The window may have closed, or macOS stopped Groupthink reading it.	Click the control and pick a window again.
Screen capture stopped	Reconnect	Capture stopped on its own. The window may have closed.	Click the control and pick a window again.
Capture may be stalled	Reconnect	The captured window has gone quiet.	Capture may come back on its own, and the message then clears. If it doesn't, click the control and pick a window.
Didn't switch windows	Try again	You tried to switch to a different window and Groupthink did not switch.	Click the control and pick the window again.

These messages are about the window only. None of them stops a recording that is already running.

Granting Screen Recording permission (macOS)

The first time you capture a window, Groupthink checks that macOS lets it read windows. If it does not:

1. If the window list says macOS Screen Recording permission is required, click Open System Settings.
2. Under Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, turn on Groupthink.
3. Back in Groupthink, click Refresh to load your windows.

If your windows still don't appear, quit and reopen Groupthink so the permission takes effect, then start capturing again. If macOS offers Quit & Reopen, choose it. Otherwise press ⌘Q and click Quit when Groupthink asks, or choose Quit Groupthink Completely from the menu bar. Closing the window with the red button is not enough: that leaves the app running in the menu bar. See Closing and quitting.

macOS sometimes resets this permission after an app update, so if your window list is suddenly empty, re-check this setting.

Where captured content shows up

Text read from the window is added to the meeting alongside the transcript. In the recap, a Shown on screen section lists what Groupthink pulled from that text. The line under the heading starts Captured from your screen during this meeting and, when the window had a title, names the window it came from, so you can tell it apart from what was said out loud. A shared dashboard or slide often holds the most concrete detail in a meeting, so this is usually where the specific numbers and names end up.

If the capture has nothing to show, the Shown on screen section says why in one line instead of disappearing:

The recap says	What it means
Still reading what was on screen, with a note that it will show when done.	Groupthink is still working through the text, during the meeting or just after it. The recap updates by itself.
Your screen was captured, but there was no text on it we could read.	The window held no readable text, or only private content that was set aside.
Your screen was captured, but nothing on it was worth keeping.	The text was read, but none of it belonged in a recap (an inbox or a settings page, for example).
Couldn't read what was on screen in this meeting.	Reading the text failed. Groupthink retries on its own for a while, so the content may still appear.

If you didn't capture a window in the meeting, there's no Shown on screen section at all.

Availability

• macOS desktop app only. It isn't on the web app or the Windows desktop app yet.
• Full-screen capture isn't offered. Capture is scoped to a single window on purpose, so you stay in control of exactly what's read.

Related

• Groupthink Desktop App
• Troubleshooting Private Meeting Recording