Overlay Tabs in Pluely v1: Reorder Ask and Listen

Overlay Tabs is the Pluely v1 Settings section that controls the order of the Ask and Listen tabs in the overlay, and which one greets you first when the overlay opens. The setting describes its own purpose plainly: to "reorder the Ask and Listen tabs and pick which one the overlay opens on," with changes that "apply to the overlay window instantly."

What it does

Inside Overlay Tabs, you see the Ask and Listen tabs listed in their current order, each with controls to move it:

• Move up / Move down — shifts a tab's position relative to the other, changing which one appears first in the overlay's tab strip.
• Set primary — marks a tab as the one the overlay "Opens first" when you bring it up. The tab you set as primary displays a Primary badge next to it in the list, so you can see at a glance which one currently has that role.

Because changes here "apply to the overlay window instantly," you do not need to close and reopen Pluely to see the new order — switch the primary tab or reorder the list, and the very next time you look at the overlay it reflects your change.

How to reorder tabs and set the primary tab

1. Open the Pluely Settings window ("Manage your settings") and go to Overlay Tabs.
2. Use Move up or Move down next to a tab to change its position relative to the other tab.
3. Select Set primary on whichever tab — Ask or Listen — you want the overlay to open on first.
4. Confirm the change by looking for the Primary badge next to the tab you chose.
5. Switch to the overlay window; the new order and primary tab apply instantly, with no restart required.

Why the primary tab matters

The primary tab is the one that "Opens first" — in practice, it is what you see the instant you bring the overlay forward, before you click anything else. If you spend most of your time asking Pluely questions about what is on your screen, setting Ask as primary means you land straight in that mode every time. If you rely on Pluely mainly to transcribe conversations, setting Listen as primary saves you a click every single time you summon the overlay.

A Pluely Pro feature

Reordering the tabs and choosing the primary tab is a Pluely Pro feature. On plans without Pro, attempting to reorder or set a primary tab shows an Upgrade to unlock prompt instead of applying the change. The Ask and Listen tabs themselves are still both available and usable in their default order on every plan — Pro specifically unlocks customizing that order and the primary-tab choice, not the tabs' underlying functionality.

When to reorder versus leave the default

If you use both Ask and Listen about equally, the default order is usually fine and there is little reason to change it. Reordering pays off most when your usage clearly leans one way — for example, someone doing back-to-back interviews where Listen mode runs continuously benefits from Listen being both first in the list and set as primary, so there is zero friction between opening the overlay and having the transcript already in view.

Related

See Ask mode and Listen mode for what each tab actually does, and Keyboard shortcuts for summoning the overlay in the first place. For the full list of Settings sections, see the Settings overview.