# Troubleshooting

> Fixes for common problems: missing windows, a black window, permissions and meeting apps.

Source: https://curtains.app/help/troubleshooting/

Find your problem below. Each fix starts with the likeliest cause.

## Curtains Presenter isn't in the share list

Work down this list.

1. **You're still in a draft.** A draft is Studio's private stage, and it has no Presenter yet. Click **Go Live**. See [Drafts and Go Live](https://curtains.app/help/drafts-and-go-live/).
2. **You ended the session.** **End** closes Curtains Presenter. Go Live again to open it.
3. **You closed the standby Presenter during a call.** Curtains doesn't reopen it for that call. Go Live to open it.
4. **Your meeting app's picker was already open.** Close it and open it again. It lists windows when it opens.
5. **You chose Entire screen.** Choose a window instead, and pick **Curtains Presenter**. See [Sharing in your meeting app](https://curtains.app/help/sharing-in-your-meeting-app/).
6. **The Presenter is minimized.** Meeting apps can share a covered window, but not a minimized one. Restore it from the right end of the Dock.
7. **Your meeting is full screen in its own Space.** Curtains Presenter opens on your regular desktop and doesn't follow it. Leave full screen, or Go Live from Studio, then pick it.
8. **Your meeting app can't see other windows.** On macOS, the meeting app needs Screen Recording permission too. Check **System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen Recording**.

If a call is on and you want it ready in advance, check **Settings › Calls › Open Curtains Presenter when a call starts**. See [Call detection](https://curtains.app/help/call-detection/).

## Screen Recording permission

Curtains can't see your windows until macOS allows it. Studio's Sources list then shows a banner, "Screen Recording permission needed," and lists test patterns instead of your windows.

*Image: A banner at the top of Studio's Sources: “Screen Recording permission needed. Curtains can't see your windows yet, so test patterns are listed instead.”*

## 1. Ask for access

Click **Allow access**. macOS shows its prompt only once. Choose Allow in it.

## 2. Switch Curtains on

If you dismissed the prompt, click **Open System Settings** in the banner. Switch **Curtains** on in **Privacy & Security › Screen Recording**. On macOS 15 and later the list is called **Screen & System Audio Recording**.

*Illustration: System Settings at Privacy & Security, Screen Recording, with the switch next to Curtains turned on.*

## 3. Restart Curtains

macOS needs Curtains to reopen once for the permission to take effect. Click **Restart Curtains** (or **Restart now**).

If the switch is on but Curtains still can't see windows, switch it off and on again, then restart Curtains.

On newer macOS versions, macOS may ask you from time to time to confirm that an app can still record your screen. If it takes the permission away mid-session, Studio says "Screen Recording permission was lost" and names the window it can't capture. Allow it again in System Settings and restart Curtains.

Windows doesn't need this permission.

### Accessibility

Resizing other apps' windows and **Bring to front** need a second permission, **Accessibility**. Without it, Curtains still shares your windows, but can't resize them, and Bring to front switches to the app without always picking that window. Open **Settings › Windows** and click **Open Accessibility settings**, then switch Curtains on in **Privacy & Security › Accessibility**. Come back to Studio and it picks up the change.

## A window is black or frozen

- **Black.** The window is probably protected: video from streaming services, and some password fields, render black. macOS gives Curtains what it shows, and Curtains has no way around it. Show that content in another window, or in a screen share outside Curtains.
- **Dimmed, with a "Minimized" badge.** The window is minimized. Viewers see its last frame, dimmed. Restore the window and it goes live again.
- **Gone from the canvas.** The window was closed, or its app quit. Curtains removes it and says so. Pick it again in Sources.
- **Black or empty after a permission change.** See Screen Recording permission above.
- **No preview in Sources.** Sources lists work apps by default, and windows of other apps have no preview until you open the **Hidden** section. See [Apps in Sources](https://curtains.app/help/hidden-apps/).
- **Blurred.** A window you added with **Prepare** joins blurred, with a **Reveal** button. See [Blur and hide](https://curtains.app/help/blur-and-hide/).

A window covered by other windows stays live, and so does one you move to another display.

## A window won't resize

**Fit all windows** and **Fit to cell** leave some windows as they are, and say which, like "Couldn't fit Notes (minimized) to the layout." The reasons are:

| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| minimized | Restore the window. |
| not on screen | Bring the window onto a display. |
| full screen | Leave full screen. |
| runs as administrator | Windows only. Curtains can't resize a window that runs with higher rights. |
| window closed | Pick the window again. |
| you sized it | Automatic fit leaves a window you resized yourself alone until the next layout change. Run **Fit all windows** to fit it. |
| needs Accessibility permission | Allow Accessibility, as above. |
| the app refused | Some apps limit their window's size. Curtains can't change that. |
| test pattern | Test patterns have no real window. |

See [Fit and resize windows](https://curtains.app/help/fit-and-resize-windows/).

## Curtains Presenter is minimized

Meeting apps can share a window that is covered, but not one that is minimized, so viewers lose your windows when the Presenter is minimized. Restore it from the right end of the Dock. Curtains Presenter can stay behind Studio. Just don't minimize it.

## Viewers can see Studio

Open **Settings › Privacy & updates**. If the choice is **Never hide**, switch to **Automatic** or **Always hide**. If you're sharing your entire screen, share the window **Curtains Presenter** instead. See [Screenshots and screen sharing](https://curtains.app/help/screenshots-and-screen-sharing/).

## The floating remote doesn't show

The remote appears only while a session is running and Studio isn't in front. It doesn't show in a draft. Check these:

- **Settings › Calls › Show floating remote when Studio isn't in front** is on.
- You haven't chosen **Hide remote**. Press `⌃⌥R`, or choose **Show remote** in the menu bar menu, to bring it back.

See [Floating remote and menu bar](https://curtains.app/help/floating-remote-and-menu-bar/).

## A shortcut doesn't work

If macOS or another app has already taken a shortcut, Curtains shows "Some hotkeys are unavailable" and names it. Choose a different shortcut in **Settings › Shortcuts**. See [Keyboard shortcuts](https://curtains.app/help/keyboard-shortcuts/).

## Update errors

Open the **Account** page and look under **Updates**. **Check now** asks the server for the latest version. If one is found, click **Install and restart**.

| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Couldn't reach the update server. Try again later. | Your Mac couldn't reach updates.curtains.app. Check your connection, and any firewall or VPN, then click **Check now**. |
| Couldn't download the update. Try again later. | The download failed partway. Click **Check now** and try again. |
| The update didn't pass its signature check, so it was not installed. Try again later. | Curtains only installs updates signed with its own update key. It refused this one. Try again later, or download Curtains again from the [download page](https://curtains.app/download/). |

If the page says "Automatic update checks are off", turn **Check for updates** back on in **Settings › Privacy & updates**. **Check now** works either way.

## Activation problems

First check which Mac and which email you used. Then look for your message.

- **Nothing opens after Sign in.** Your browser may have blocked the link back to Curtains. On the activation page, click **Copy pass**. In Studio's **Account** page, click **Paste pass**, paste, and click **Activate**. See [Activate a device](https://curtains.app/help/activate-a-device/).
- **"Start from Curtains" on the website.** You opened the page without the details Curtains sends. Click **Sign in** on Studio's Account page.
- **The code expired.** The code Curtains sends works once and lasts 15 minutes. Click **Sign in** again.
- **"You're on Free" on the website.** The email you signed in with has no paid plan. Sign in with the email you bought with, or click **I just bought a plan, check again**.
- **"This account has all its devices."** Remove a device on the page, then activate again. See [Devices](https://curtains.app/help/devices/).
- **"This plan is no longer active."** The purchase was refunded or has ended.
- **"This pass is for another device."** You pasted a pass made for a different Mac. Click **Sign in** from Curtains on this Mac.
- **"That isn't a Curtains pass."** Copy the whole pass from curtains.app and try again.
- **"This pass has expired. Renew it on curtains.app."** Click **Renew** on the Account page. See [Billing and renewals](https://curtains.app/help/billing-and-renewals/).
- **"Your computer's clock is behind."** Set the right date and time. Curtains treats a pass as expired while the clock is more than a day behind the latest time it has seen.
- **"This pass needs a newer version of Curtains."** Update Curtains, then try again.
- **"The system keychain is unavailable."** Your pass works, but Curtains can't save it in the macOS keychain, so it would be gone when Curtains quits. Click **Store in settings folder** to keep it as a file there instead. Anyone with access to your user account could read that file.

If a plan still shows as Free after you fix these, contact support.

## Related

- [Install and permissions](https://curtains.app/help/install-and-permissions/): the first-run steps.
- [Sharing in your meeting app](https://curtains.app/help/sharing-in-your-meeting-app/): where to find Curtains Presenter.
- [FAQ](https://curtains.app/help/faq/): short answers.