The menu bar panel

Click the menu bar item and a panel drops down, 340 points wide. The background agent draws it, so the panel is there while the main window is closed. From top to bottom:

Example data.

Status row

The status line is a short sentence. A symbol in front of it is a pause mark while paused, a checkmark shield while protecting, and a shield with an exclamation mark otherwise.

• While protecting: “Protected · Ask mode”, or Learn, or Strict.
• A timed pause: “Paused until 3:40 PM”, in the short time style.
• Pause until restart: “Paused until restart”.
• A pause with no clock: “Paused”.
• Otherwise a protection title: “Waiting for the filter”, “Saved, but not applied”, “Unblock held”, or a shorter label such as “Protection Off”, “Needs Approval”, “Not Installed”, “Reconnecting”, “Agent Off”, “Settings Unreadable” or “Not Answering”.

A change you just asked for shows under that line, in words such as “Switching to Strict…”, then “Applied”, “Waiting for approval” or “Saved; waiting for filter”.

Beside the status is the pause menu, then a menu named Mode and profile (the button is a chevron; that name is its help and accessibility label).

Pause menu

Pausing stops Outbound enforcing your rules for a while. Speed limits stay on, and the filter resumes on its own. The menu offers:

• Allow everything for, then 15 Minutes, 1 Hour and 4 Hours
• Until the Network Changes, disabled when this Mac has no current network. Its help says it resumes when this Mac joins another network, and after 4 hours at the latest
• Until Restart

While a pause is running the menu leads with Resume Now, then Extend the pause and the same five choices. The menu ends with Turn Off Network Filter… while the filter is on, or Turn On Network Filter while it is off. See Pausing and turning off the filter.

A separate banner above Control Center repeats the pause and offers Resume. That banner is the one that says “Paused until the network changes” when the pause is tied to the network. Its help says “Rules are paused; speed limits stay on. Outbound resumes on its own”.

Example data.

Mode and profile

The Mode section lists Learn, Ask and Strict, with a tick on the mode in force once the filter has confirmed it. A stored mode that is not in force reads “Learn · waiting for approval” or “Learn · not confirmed” (and the same for Ask and Strict). If your organization sets the mode, the section is disabled and the footer reads “Your organization sets the mode”. Otherwise the footer is one sentence:

• Learn: “Unknown connections are allowed and recorded for review.”
• Ask: “Outbound asks you about each unknown connection.”
• Strict: “Unknown connections are blocked and recorded for review. VPN apps you have installed stay connected; turn this off in Trusted.”

The modes themselves are explained in Operation modes.

The Profile section of the same menu lists No Profile, each profile you have, and Edit Profiles…. A profile that is stored but not in force is marked “waiting for approval” or “not confirmed”, the same way a mode is. See Profiles.

Answers waiting to apply

When answers you gave are queued while Outbound reconnects, a line reads “N answers waiting — they apply when Outbound reconnects”.

Focus

While a Focus silences connection alerts, a line reads “Alerts silenced by Focus”. See Shortcuts and Siri.

Held changes, issues, and waiting alerts

When an unblock is waiting, a row reads “An unblock is waiting for your approval” and opens the Overview.

When Outbound has a problem to report, a row shows that problem in one line and opens the Overview. Its help says “Opens the Overview, where each problem has its way out.”

While the alert window is minimised and requests are waiting, a row reads “1 connection is waiting for you” or “N connections are waiting for you”, with Answer to bring the alerts back.

The pause banner described above sits here, after those rows.

Trackers today

Once a known tracker has been contacted today, a line reads “Trackers today: N from M apps”. Click it to open the Tracking Report.

Control Center

Below those rows is Control Center: a grid of widgets you choose, for live traffic, the last 24 hours, recent blocks, the apps using the network, DNS, your profile and more. The starting layout has the map, Live Rate, Rate History, Active Apps and Recently Blocked. Click Edit Widgets to change it, or Open as Window to keep Control Center open in a window of its own.

Click a recent block to open the rule that decided it. If that rule has changed or been removed since, Outbound says so.

Speed Limits

When at least one app has a speed limit, a Speed Limits (N) menu follows Control Center. It lists each limited app; choose one to open it in the Network Monitor. Remove All Speed Limits clears every limit.

The bottom rows

• Open Network Monitor (⌘O)
• Manage Rules…
• Outbound Settings… (⌘,)
• Something Not Working?…
• Report a Problem…
• Quit Background Agent while the agent’s menu is up, or Quit Outbound in the main app. Quitting the agent asks you to confirm first. The row’s help says “The filter keeps applying your rules while the app is closed.”