--- title: "Install & Set Up Universal Display Magnet on Mac" description: "Find your purchase, install and activate the app, allow the two permissions it needs, then fix your displays, save a workspace or link your Macs." url: https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/getting-started lang: en --- # From purchase to your first layout Download the app from your purchase, activate it, allow two permissions, then pick one thing to fix first. ## The short answer 1. Buy Universal Display Magnet. Polar then shows your purchase in its customer portal: download the ZIP and copy your license key. 2. Unzip it, move **Universal Display Magnet** to your **Applications** folder and open it. 3. Paste the key and click **Activate**. 4. Allow **Device Control and Data Access** (called Accessibility on older versions of macOS) and **Local Network**. 5. Choose a first task: fix your display arrangement, save a workspace, or link your Macs. ## Get the app and your license key Buy Universal Display Magnet from the [download page](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/download). After checkout, Polar, the payment provider, takes you to your purchase in the Polar customer portal. There you can: - **Download the ZIP.** One file runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. - **Copy your license key.** The app asks for it when it first opens. You can come back to the portal later with the email address you bought with. [License and updates](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/license-and-updates#find) explains how. ## Install and activate 1. Open the ZIP from your Downloads folder to unzip it. 2. Drag **Universal Display Magnet** into your **Applications** folder, then open it from there. 3. The window asks for your license. Paste the key into **License key** and click **Activate**. Activation needs an internet connection. Until the app is activated, its window and menu bar panel show only the license form, and it changes nothing on your Mac. Your license covers three Macs. ## Allow the permissions Universal Display Magnet asks for two permissions: - **Device Control and Data Access**, to see and move other apps' windows. Turn on Universal Display Magnet under **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Device Control and Data Access**. Older versions of macOS call this list **Accessibility**, as Apple's guide [Allow accessibility apps to access your Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/allow-accessibility-apps-to-access-your-mac-mh43185/mac) does. - **Local Network**, to find and sync with your other Macs. Click **Allow** when macOS asks. It never asks to record your screen. You can check the first permission at any time under **Settings → Permissions** in the app. ## Choose your first task Pick the one that brought you here. You can do the others later. ### Fix your display arrangement 1. Open **Displays**. Your monitors appear as you have them now. 2. Drag each display to where it really sits on your desk. It snaps flush against its neighbors. **Snap All** pulls every display together at once. 3. Click **Apply**. The new arrangement takes effect right away. 4. Choose **Keep** within 15 seconds. If you don't, it goes back to the old arrangement, so a mistake can't leave you with screens you can't use. Once kept, the arrangement is saved for this set of monitors and put back when they reconnect, wake or get moved by macOS. More on [display arrangement](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/features/display-arrangement). ### Save a workspace 1. Put your apps' windows where you want them, on each display and Desktop. 2. Choose **Save Workspace…** in **Workspaces** or in the menu bar, name it, and choose which apps to include. 3. Restore it any time from the menu bar, the Dock menu or its own shortcut. To put windows back on the right Desktop, the app uses the macOS **Switch to Desktop** shortcuts (⌃1…⌃0). If they are off, choose **Enable ⌃1…⌃0** in **Workspaces**. Restoring a workspace opens its apps that aren't running before moving their windows; automatic restores never open apps. More on [workspaces](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/features/workspaces). ### Arrange several Macs 1. Install Universal Display Magnet on each Mac and activate it. 2. Link the Macs once with Universal Control under **System Settings → Displays → Link to Mac or iPad**. 3. Open **Universal Control**. Every Mac's displays appear. Drag the other Macs' displays where they sit, and **Undo Last Change** if you need to. The Macs find each other on your network and sync on their own. The guide [Universal Control between Macs](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/guides/universal-control-two-macs) goes step by step. ## Good to know - **Closing the window** keeps Universal Display Magnet running in the menu bar, so shortcuts, snapping and sync keep working. Choose **Quit** in the menu bar panel to stop it. - **Open at login.** It opens at login from then on. Turn that off with **Launch at login** under **Settings → General**. - **Scrolling Windows** is optional and off by default. To see it without moving your real windows, open **Scrolling Windows** and choose **Take the Tour**. While it's on, window snapping and automatic window snapshots pause. ## If something goes wrong These are three different problems with different fixes. ### The app won't open - Check that your Mac runs macOS 14 or later. See [compatibility](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/compatibility). - Unzip the download first, then open the copy in **Applications**, not the ZIP or a copy left in Downloads. - The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it should open normally. If macOS still refuses, download the ZIP again from the portal. If that doesn't help, email us the exact message macOS shows. ### It asks for permission again - Open **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Device Control and Data Access** and check that Universal Display Magnet is listed and on. - If it's on but the app still asks, remove it with **−**, add it again and reopen the app. - Keep only one copy of the app, in **Applications**. ### The license isn't accepted - Paste the whole key, with no spaces before or after it. - Activation needs the internet. "Cannot reach Polar right now" means the connection failed, not the key. - "Polar could not activate this license" usually means every activation on your license is in use, on three Macs. Deactivate one first; [License and updates](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/license-and-updates#move) shows how. - "This license or activation is no longer valid" means Polar refused it. Check the purchase in the customer portal, then email us. Still stuck? Email support@clevermechanisms.dev with your macOS version, your Mac models and what happened. ## Questions, answered ### Where do I find my license key? In your purchase in the Polar customer portal, next to the download. Once the app is activated, it also shows the key under **Settings → License** with **Show License Key**. ### Do I need more than one Mac? No. Display arrangement, workspaces and window snapping work on one Mac. More Macs add the Universal Control arrangement and sync. ### Why didn't my new arrangement stay? After **Apply**, choose **Keep** within 15 seconds. If you don't, the old arrangement comes back on purpose. ### Does it ask for Screen Recording? No. It needs **Device Control and Data Access** (Accessibility on older versions of macOS) and **Local Network**, nothing else. ### How do I stop it from opening at login? Turn off **Launch at login** under **Settings → General**. ## Read next - [License and updates](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/license-and-updates) - [Compatibility](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/support/compatibility) - [Display arrangement](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/features/display-arrangement) - [Workspaces](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/features/workspaces) - [Universal Control between Macs](https://universaldisplaymagnet.app/guides/universal-control-two-macs) **Buy for $9.99:** https://buy.polar.sh/polar_cl_Eun4k8w0lqOhFoU3xI4NvwdweeUAlVw0lkte145VZ95 --- Universal Display Magnet is independent software by [Clever Mechanisms](https://clevermechanisms.dev). It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Apple Inc. Apple, Mac, macOS, Mac Studio, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, Safari and Finder are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Email support: support@clevermechanisms.dev