[Idea] Radial Menu for Choosing Post-Processing While Recording

[megachweng]

Hi, Love using Handless. Had an idea I'd love your thoughts on.

The Problem

Post-processing prompts are bound to hotkeys, so you have to decide before you start speaking. If you change your mind mid-sentence — say you wanted prose but now want bullet points — you're stuck.

The Idea

A small radial menu at the cursor when you press the record hotkey. You speak normally, then just move your mouse toward an option before releasing:

• Move toward a star → post-process with that prompt (Correct, Improve, Restructure, etc.)
• Don't move (stay in center) → plain transcription, same as today
• Move toward Cancel → discard recording

Users who don't move their mouse get exactly the same behavior as today. Zero friction added.

Prototype

I built a working SwiftUI prototype called Constellation

it has the full interaction model with hold-to-select, animations, and configurable options

preview.mp4

Would love to hear what you think! Happy to iterate based on your feedback.

[megachweng]

My initial thought was to keep Constellation and the existing Overlay as two separate, independent components.

But on second thought — would having both create unnecessary distraction for the user?

Maybe just integrate Constellation's functionality into the existing Overlay rather than introducing it as a standalone element.

curious to hear your thoughts on this

[ElwinLiu]

This is actually a very smart idea! I thought about it (flexible prompt selections) before, but didn't come up with a good solution. How do you think about this UIUX:

Currently, when the user clicks the recording button, a cancel button and a check mark appear.

My idea is that when the user hovers the cursor over the check mark, we show multiple options next to it. The options are:

1. Click the check mark to perform the regular default finish.
2. Select the prompt template.

How do you think about it?

[megachweng]

Totally agree with integrating this into the Overlay!
One thing though — the current overlay is fixed in position and relatively small.

On a larger screen, the user would still need to move their cursor precisely to the checkmark to pick a prompt.

Would it be worth having the overlay follow the cursor instead? That way the options are always right where the user is, and they wouldn't need to travel across the screen to reach them.

Also since the Notch is fixed and can't move, its overlay would probably need more design to make this work well there too.

[ElwinLiu]

Totally agree with integrating this into the Overlay! One thing though — the current overlay is fixed in position and relatively small.

On a larger screen, the user would still need to move their cursor precisely to the checkmark to pick a prompt.

Would it be worth having the overlay follow the cursor instead? That way the options are always right where the user is, and they wouldn't need to travel across the screen to reach them.

Also since the Notch is fixed and can't move, its overlay would probably need more design to make this work well there too.

From a UI/UX perspective, this may not be the optimal option. Making the overlay appear wherever the cursor is could cause problems because the cursor is usually in a crucial area of the user’s screen. If the overlay UI pops up there, it will block the content and may cause additional trouble.

Personally, I always read the screen while I talk. If the overlay blocks the content, it can be difficult to navigate.