Open Beam → Settings to configure the app independently of an individual project. Beam 1.2.0 organizes these options into General, Sync, Preview, License, and Logs.

Startup and menu-bar operation

  • Enable Start Beam at login when Hotfolder projects should be monitored after macOS starts.

  • Disable Show Beam in Dock to run Beam from the menu bar only. You can reopen the main window from the menu-bar icon.

  • Choose the preferred menu-bar icon and project-title size under Interface.

Automatic app updates

Beam checks for app updates in the background at most once a day. Disable Automatically check for updates when you prefer manual checks from the Beam menu.

Server-component updates are separate. Beam detects those per project and displays Update Servers in the project list when required.

Screenshot previews

Under Preview, choose the screenshot source and where previews should appear:

  • Show screenshot in project list controls sidebar previews.

  • Show screenshot tile in main window controls the larger project preview.

  • Screenshot delay waits after the page loads before capture and helps with lazy-loaded images or client-side content.

Use Refresh Preview from the project actions after publishing. When a project has no local source folder on the current Mac, Beam shows a configuration message instead of waiting indefinitely.

Favicons

Under General → Interface, show or hide favicons independently in the project list and project header. Beam retrieves the favicon from the public website and uses a generated placeholder when no suitable icon is available.

Notifications and sounds

Beam can show macOS notifications and play separate sounds for successful and failed publish or backup operations. Choose and preview each sound under General → Notifications.

License and moving to another Mac

The License tab displays the registered email and available seats. To move a license seat:

  1. Open Beam → Settings → License on the old Mac.

  2. Choose Deactivate This Mac… and confirm.

  3. Activate Beam on the other Mac with the licensed email address and key.

Deactivation returns the old Mac to demo mode but leaves its projects and settings unchanged.

Logs

The Logs tab can show only the current session and optionally clear logs when Beam launches. Include relevant log lines in a support request, but never include passwords or license keys.