Turn it on
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Open Settings › Shortcuts
Click the Flick icon in the menu bar, choose Settings, then click Shortcuts in the sidebar.
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Find Front App's Windows
The group is there only while Enable switcher shortcut is on. The front app's windows come with the switcher shortcut, so with it off, Flick doesn't respond to ⌘` or ⌥`.
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Turn on Switch between the front app's windows
With Command ⌘ + Tab as your trigger, it's already on. With Option ⌥ + Tab, it starts off. Flick keeps a separate choice for each trigger, so if you change triggers, check it again.
The key follows your trigger: ⌘` with ⌘Tab, ⌥` with ⌥Tab. Not sure which suits you? See ⌥Tab or ⌘Tab. Flick uses the key that types ` on a US keyboard. If your layout puts something else there, see keyboard layouts.
⌥` and accentsWith the ⌥Tab trigger, Settings checks your keyboard layout. If ⌥` types accents on it, you'll see this warning: “On your keyboard layout ⌥` types accents (⌥` then e makes è). While this is on, ⌥` switches windows instead, in every app.” If you type those accents, leave it off. macOS's own ⌘` keeps working in ⌥Tab mode.
Use it
Holding the key opens the panel with a header naming the app and its window count, such as “Safari · 4 windows”. An app with a single window switches to it without showing the panel.
| What | With ⌘Tab | With ⌥Tab |
|---|---|---|
| Flip to the app's previous window | Tap ⌘` | Tap ⌥` |
| Open the list, move down | Hold ⌘, tap ` | Hold ⌥, tap ` |
| Move back up | ⇧⌘`, which also opens the list at its last window | ⌥⇧`, once the list is open |
| Switch to row 1 to 9 | ⌘1 to ⌘9 | ⌥1 to ⌥9 |
| Close or minimize the selected window | ⌘W ⌘M | ⌥⇧W ⌥⇧M |
| Clear a search, or close without switching | Esc | Esc |
| Switch to the selected window | Let go of ⌘ | Let go of ⌥ |
A quick tap goes to the window you were in before this one. If none of the app's windows has focus, say you just minimized its last open one, it goes to the one you used last. Letting go takes you to the window's Desktop, and a minimized window comes back from the Dock first. The actions menu and the other window actions work as in the main list.
What's listed
- Only the front app, the one whose name is in the menu bar. The same kinds of windows count as in the main list, so floating palettes and Picture in Picture stay out.
- Your list settings don't narrow it. With a license, it covers the app's windows on every Desktop, in full screen and minimized, most recent first and never grouped, whatever the main list's settings. What's listed
- Nothing for some apps. An app with no windows, an app on your Ignored Apps list and Flick's own Settings window get no list. When ⌘` or ⌥` does nothing
Search inside one app
Type while the list is open and search stays within that app's windows, ranked the same way as the main list. It helps most in an app with many windows: hold ⌘ and tap `, press Return to start a search, let go, type part of a project or document name, and press Return. Starting with Return matters with ⌘Tab: while you hold ⌘, ⌘W and ⌘M close or minimize the selected window, ⌘H and ⌘Q hide or quit the app, and ⌘1 to ⌘9 switch to a row, instead of typing. With ⌥Tab, every letter types while you hold ⌥, so you can type and let go; only ⌥1 to ⌥9 switch to a row. With a license, a browser's own tabs are searched too, if you turned that browser on in Settings › Browser Tabs. There's no Apps section here, so nothing launches by mistake.
In the free version
The list shows the app's windows that are among your 5 most recent windows, and your Show minimized windows and Show only the active Space settings still apply. A line under the header counts the rest, such as “3 more Safari windows beyond your 5 most recent”. Click it to open Settings › License. If none of the app's windows are among your 5, the header reads “Safari · No windows”, with that line under it. A license unlocks every window.
Questions
Does Flick's ⌘` replace the one in macOS?
Only with the ⌘Tab trigger, and only while Flick runs: quit it and macOS's ⌘` is back. How the two differ
Can I keep ⌥Tab and still use ⌘` for Flick?
No. In ⌥Tab mode, ⌘` stays with macOS and Flick's version is ⌥`. To get Flick's on ⌘`, switch the trigger to ⌘Tab.
Can I change the key?
No. The front app's windows always use your trigger and `. The search shortcut is the one shortcut you can set yourself.
Still stuck?Email [email protected] with your macOS version, your Mac and what you've tried, or visit the Support page.
Sources
Checked on .
- Mac keyboard shortcuts, Apple Support
