Find the window by the file it has open

Type the name of a file, or of a folder it's in, and Flick's search finds the window showing it, even when the title doesn't say so. It works with any window whose app reports its document, and the names never leave memory.

Free version: 5 most recent windowsFlick 1.1Updated

How to use it

How it works.

An app can tell macOS which file each of its windows shows. When it does, Flick reads that path along with the window's title, and window search looks at its names: the file itself and the folders above it.

  1. Open search

    Hold ⌥, tap Tab and start typing, or press ⇧⌘Space from anywhere.

  2. Type a file or folder name

    “taxes” finds the TextEdit window showing ~/Documents/Taxes 2026/receipts.rtf, though its title names only the file. Add a word to narrow it down, such as “taxes receipts”: each word can match a different name.

  3. Let go

    Release ⌥ to switch to the window. In a search that stays open, press Return.

The details.

Which names count, which apps take part, and where these matches land in your results.

Which folder names count

The file's name and up to 8 of the folders above it, nearest first. Folders nearly every file shares are skipped, so “doc” doesn't find everything in Documents: Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library, Movies, Music, Pictures and Public at the top of your home folder, the containers that apps and iCloud Drive keep files in (the folders inside them count), and folders named with a long ID, like Mail's attachment folders. On another drive, the drive's name counts too. Elsewhere, such as in system or temporary folders, only the file's own name does.

Apps that report their document

Whether a window reports its file is up to its app. TextEdit does, as in the example above, and so do Preview, Xcode and Terminal, which reports the folder a window is working in. Windows that don't are still found by their title. To test an app, open a file kept in a folder you made whose name isn't in the window's title, such as ~/Projects/Q3/plan.pdf, then search for that folder (“q3”). Web pages don't count, only files on your Mac. Notes for particular apps: Preview, Xcode and Terminal.

How these matches rank

These names aren't shown in the list, so they match only where your letters appear together, never by initials or scattered letters. They also rank no higher than a match in the middle of a name, so a window whose app name or title starts with what you type comes first. Bold letters mark matches in names and titles only. See how search ranks results.

Privacy: in memory only

Flick reads these names over Accessibility, the same permission it uses for window titles. They stay in memory on your Mac, and are never shown, saved, logged or sent anywhere. Flick never opens the file itself. See what Flick reads.

In the free versionDocument names are searched too, within your 5 most recent windows. When a search matches windows beyond those 5, Flick tells you how many, never which, and a license unlocks every window.

Questions.

Why doesn't a file's name find its window?

Its app may not report the window's document, or the name you typed is a folder that's skipped, such as Documents or Downloads. The window also has to be in the list: your filters apply to search, and the free version searches only your 5 most recent windows.

Does Flick read what's inside my files?

No. It reads only the file's location as the app reports it, and searches the names in that path. It never opens or reads the file.

Does it work with Exact match?

Yes. With Matching set to Exact match in Settings › General, document names are searched as plain text, like titles, and results keep your list order.

Everything Flick does

Window search

Type part of a name or title, then let go to switch.

See the feature

Search your windows

Every way to start a search, and what each key does.

Read the guide

Flick with Preview

Find a PDF or image window by its file or folder name.

Read more

Type the file. Find the window.

No more guessing which window has it open.

Download Flick See pricing

The free version never expires and switches between your 5 most recent windows. A one-time license, from $9.49, unlocks every window and browser tabs.