# Sounds and haptics

> Turn PlexiDesk's sound effects on or off, set their volume, add a click as you type, keep things quiet while you work in a widget, and test haptics.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-sounds-haptics
Section: Settings and integrations > Look and feel
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-15

PlexiDesk uses short sounds to confirm what you do: a chime as a widget drops into a section, a tone when you finish a desk, a beep when a timer ends. You can turn them all off, set their volume, keep them quiet while you work inside a widget, and add a soft click as you type. Haptics add a small physical or audible tap when you press SpeedDeck buttons.

## Before you start

- Sounds and haptics are on every plan.
- These settings are kept on this computer.
- New installs start with **Sound effects** on at 70% volume, and **Keyboard click** off.

## Open the sound settings

1. Click the gear at the right-hand end of the header to open Settings.
2. Click the **Advanced** tab.
3. Scroll to **Sounds**, below **Connected apps** and **Browser extensions**. **Haptics** is just below it.

## Turn sounds on or off

Tick or untick **Sound effects**. Unticked, PlexiDesk makes no sound effects at all, and the other sound settings are greyed out.

### Volume

Drag the **Volume** slider. The percentage beside it shows the level. It sets the volume of every sound effect, keyboard clicks included, relative to your computer's own volume.

## Keyboard click

Tick **Keyboard click** to hear a soft sound each time you type a letter, number or symbol anywhere in PlexiDesk. Shortcuts, arrow keys and keys pressed with `⌘`, `Ctrl` or `Alt` make no click.

When it is ticked, choose a style. Click a style to choose it and hear it.

| Group | Styles |
| --- | --- |
| **Tactile** — physical key feel | **Soft tap** (low gentle thump), **Mechanical** (crisp keyboard click), **Typewriter** (hollow ring with body), **Bubble** (playful pop), **Marimba** (warm wooden tone) |
| **Ambient · spacey** — low impact and breathy | **Whisper** (breathy hush, barely there), **Vapor** (air drift with a soft pad bloom), **Stardust** (sparkling twinkle), **Crystal** (bell-like shimmer), **Halo** (pillowy pad swell) |

**Soft tap** is chosen to begin with.

## Quiet while working in a widget

Tick **Quiet while widget active** to hold back sound effects while you are working inside a widget, such as typing in a sticky note or browsing in a Browser widget. Sounds come back when you click back onto the desk.

## Sounds you may hear

With **Sound effects** on, sounds play when, for example:

- a widget drops into a section, or leaves one
- you add a new section
- you mark a desk as done
- you open a widget in focus mode
- you start a short focus session, such as with **5 min** on a Task link
- a Timer widget has 60, 30 and 10 seconds left, counts down its last five seconds, and finishes
- you press a SpeedDeck button
- you switch to or from the **Futuristic** theme

The soft ping when you grab the desk to drag it has its own switch: **Sonar feedback on grab**, under **Canvas navigation** on the same tab. See [Canvas navigation settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-navigation-settings).

## Haptics

Haptics give a small tap of feedback when you press a SpeedDeck button. See [SpeedDeck widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/speeddeck-intro).

- **A soft click sound** plays for each tap. It follows **Sound effects** and **Volume**, and plays even when **Quiet while widget active** is ticked, because it confirms a press.
- **On a Mac with a Force Touch trackpad,** PlexiDesk can also pulse the trackpad, where your Mac allows it.

The label beside **Haptics** shows what this computer supports: **native** means trackpad pulses are available, and **audio fallback** means you get the click sound only. While it is checking, it says **checking…**.

To feel each kind of tap, click the test buttons under **Haptics**: **light**, **medium**, **rigid**, **success** and **warning**.

## Common questions

**I hear no sounds at all.** Check that **Sound effects** is ticked and **Volume** is above 0%, and that your computer is not muted. If **Quiet while widget active** is ticked, click an empty part of the desk and try again.

**Keyboard click does not play.** Check that **Sound effects** and **Keyboard click** are both ticked. Keys pressed with `⌘`, `Ctrl` or `Alt`, and keys such as the arrows, make no click.

**Haptics says audio fallback.** Trackpad pulses are not available on this computer, so haptics play as a soft click sound. On Windows, haptics are always the click sound.


## Related

- [Settings overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-overview)
- [Canvas navigation settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-navigation-settings)
- [Light, dark and colour themes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-appearance)
- [Timer widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-timer)