Detectors & triggers
A trigger is an event MacWatcher can react to. Under Settings → Detectors you enable the triggers you care about and decide what each one does.
Available triggers
Section titled “Available triggers”| Trigger | Fires when… |
|---|---|
| Screen locked / unlocked | You lock the Mac or unlock it |
| Wake | The Mac wakes / the lid opens |
| Sleep | The Mac is about to sleep / the lid closes |
| Shutdown | Logout, restart, or power-off |
| Power unplugged / plugged | AC power is disconnected / connected |
| Volume mounted | A disk or USB drive is attached |
| USB attached / removed | Any USB device is connected / disconnected |
| Bluetooth connected / disconnected | A Bluetooth device connects / disconnects |
| Input detected | Keyboard or mouse activity (experimental) |
What a trigger can do
Section titled “What a trigger can do”For each trigger you can independently turn on:
- Capture — take a photo when it fires.
- Arm — switch MacWatcher into away mode when it fires (for example, screen locked arms automatically).
- Disarm — leave away mode when it fires (for example, screen unlocked disarms).
When does it capture? (the gate)
Section titled “When does it capture? (the gate)”Each trigger has a gate:
- When armed — only captures while away mode is on (the usual choice).
- Always — captures every time it fires, armed or not.
A typical setup: screen locked arms away mode, USB attached / wake capture when armed, and screen unlocked disarms. Power-unplugged is a great anti-theft trigger for a laptop in a café.
See also Capture & evidence for burst length and where photos are saved.