What's included
The free version is the same app you'd buy, so a license unlocks it in place. It has:
- Switching. Hold ⌥ and tap Tab, a quick tap back to your last window, and the ⌘Tab mode if you prefer it.
- Search. Smart matching by app, window title, initials and document names, plus the Apps section for opening apps that aren't running.
- Everything else. Number keys, the actions menu, the front app's windows, Group by app, the window locator, every setting, and updates.
- No strings. No account and no expiry date. Use it on as many Macs as you like, at home or at work.
Browser tabs are the one feature that needs a license. The side-by-side table is on the pricing page.
How the 5 are chosen
The 5 are what you used most recently. Switch to a window any way you like, with Flick, a click or the Dock, and it joins the 5 while the oldest drops off. What fills the slots:
- Every window is its own slot. Three Safari windows use three.
- A running app without windows uses a slot too. It shows as a row with “No windows” under its name. Turn off Show apps without windows in Settings › General to keep all 5 for windows.
- Your filters come first. Ignored apps, minimized windows while Show minimized windows is off, and other Spaces' windows while Show only the active Space is on never use a slot. An app whose windows come forward by themselves can push yours out: ignore it, and its windows stop taking slots.
- Sorting doesn't change which 5. With List order set to Name A-Z, you still get your 5 most recent, sorted by name. Group by app groups within the 5.
These settings are explained in choose what Flick lists.
The note at the bottom of the panel
In the free version, a short note sits at the bottom of the panel, beside the gear. It gives counts and never names a window:
| The note says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Free version · 5 of 23 windows | 5 windows are listed, out of the 23 that pass your filters. |
| Free version · 5 most recent windows | Nothing is held back: every window that passes your filters is in the list. |
| Free version · 2 more matches | Your search found results, and 2 more matches are beyond your 5 most recent. |
“5 of 23” counts windows only, so if a running app without windows takes a slot, it reads 4 of 23. “More matches” counts apps without windows too. Click the note to open Settings › License.
Searching beyond the 5
Search looks through the same 5, but tells you when a match is outside them. If nothing in your 5 matches, No matches comes with “2 matching windows are beyond your 5 most recent. A license unlocks every window.” It says “windows and apps” when some are running apps without windows. Click the line to open Settings › License.
To reach a window outside the 5, bring it forward another way, such as a click or the Dock: it's then your most recent, so ⌥Tab lists it. The Apps section isn't limited: typing an app's name still finds apps you haven't opened.
The front app's windows
With the ⌘Tab trigger, ⌘` lists the windows of the app you're in; with ⌥Tab, ⌥` does once you turn on Switch between the front app's windows in Settings › Shortcuts. It works in the free version too, among your 5 most recent. When more of that app's windows are beyond them, a line under the app's name says so, such as “3 more Safari windows beyond your 5 most recent”, and a click opens Settings › License. With a license, it lists every window of that app, on every Space and minimized ones included.
Unlock everything
A license is a one-time purchase, from $9.49 for 1 Mac, that unlocks every window on every Space and browser tabs. You don't reinstall anything: choose Enter License Key from Flick's menu bar menu (or open Settings › License), paste your key and click Activate. Every window appears at once, and your settings stay as they are. Then turn on the browsers you use in Settings › Browser Tabs. Prices for 2 and 3 Macs are on the pricing page, and if a key won't activate, see license activation problems.
Questions
Does the free version stop working after a while?
No. It never expires, and it gets the same updates as everyone else.
Can Flick show me which windows are beyond the 5?
No. It shows how many, never which. Titles stay out of the free version's notes on purpose.
What happens if I remove my license or get a refund?
That Mac goes back to the free version, with your settings just as you left them. Browser tabs stop, and the browsers you turned on come back if you activate the Mac again. More in without a license.
Does the free version go online?
Only if you allow update checks, or ask for one. Until then it makes no network requests at all.
Still stuck?Email [email protected] with your macOS version, your Mac and what you've tried, or visit the Support page.
