Open Flick
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌥Tab | Opens Flick with your previous window selected. Let go straight away and Flick switches to it without showing the panel. |
| ⌥⇧Tab | Opens Flick with the last window in the list selected. |
| ⇧⌘Space | Opens Flick straight into search, from anywhere. Press it again to close. It works even with the switcher shortcut turned off. |
With the ⌘ trigger, it's ⌘Tab and ⇧⌘Tab, and wherever this page has you hold ⌥, hold ⌘ (⌥Tab or ⌘Tab?). You can change the search shortcut in Settings › Shortcuts. New to Flick? Start with how to switch windows.
While you hold the trigger
These work until you let go of ⌥. A fast first letter, typed before the panel appears, still reaches Flick rather than the app you're leaving.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tab ⇧Tab | Move down and up. Hold Tab to keep moving at your Mac's key repeat rate; the list wraps around at both ends. |
| ↓ ↑ | Move down and up. |
| ⌥` | Moves up. ⌥⇧` moves down. |
| ⌥1 to ⌥9 | Switches straight to that row, even before the panel appears. While you're searching, picks that result. More about number keys |
| Any letter | Starts a search with that letter, or adds it to your search. Every letter types while you hold ⌥, so ⌥W types w. |
| Return | Starts a search that stays open after you let go. While you're searching, switches to the selected result. |
| → | Shows the selected app's windows (with Group by app) or a browser window's tabs. While you're searching, it moves the cursor instead. |
| ← | Goes back to the full list. While you're searching, it moves the cursor instead. |
| ⌥Esc | Closes the actions menu, goes back from an app's window list or a browser window's tabs, or else closes Flick without switching, even before the panel appears. It doesn't clear a search: ⌥Delete removes one character at a time. |
| Let go of ⌥ | Switches to the selected window or tab, or opens the selected app. If nothing matches your search, Flick closes. To keep a typed search open instead, set When you let go while searching to Keep the list open in Settings › Shortcuts. |
In ⌘Tab modeThe keys are the same with ⌘: ⌘1, ⌘`, ⌘Esc. One difference: every letter types except ⌘W, ⌘M, ⌘H and ⌘Q, which act on the selected row, and ⌘K types k (⇧⌘K opens the actions menu).
Once the list stays open
A search you start with Return, the search shortcut, Search Windows in the menu bar menu or a click on Enter to search stays open after you let go, and so does the list if you let go while the actions menu is open. Letting go then does nothing. These keys are the same in both modes.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Return | Switches to the selected result or row. |
| ↓ ↑ | Move down and up. Tab, ⇧Tab, ⌃N and ⌃P work too. |
| ⌘1 to ⌘9 | Switches to that row or result. |
| ⌘` | Moves up. |
| ← → | While you're searching, move the cursor in the search field. Otherwise, → shows an app's windows or a window's tabs and ← goes back. |
| Esc | Clears the search, goes back from an app's window list, or closes Flick. |
Window actions
These act on the selected row. Flick stays open and the list updates.
| Action | Holding ⌥ | Holding ⌘ | List stays open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close the window | ⌥⇧W | ⌘W | ⌘W |
| Minimize the window | ⌥⇧M | ⌘M | ⌘M |
| Hide its app | ⌥⇧H | ⌘H | ⌘H |
| Quit its app | ⌥⇧Q | ⌘Q | ⌘Q |
| Open the actions menu | ⌥⇧K | ⇧⌘K | ⌘K |
Quit is a normal quit, so the app can ask you to save. Close and minimize work on window rows only, not on an app with no windows.
Opened from the keyboard, the actions menu starts on Activate and shows each item's key: the four above, plus A for Close All Windows of App, O for Hide Others, F for Force Quit App… and I for Ignore App. Or move with ↑ and ↓ and press Return. Force Quit asks first: Return confirms, Esc or ← cancels. Esc, or the K shortcut again, closes just the menu. After a right-click, the menu shows no keys and letters go to the search. What each action does
Editing a search
- While you hold ⌥, letters type as plain letters (⌥A types a, not å), and ⌥⇧ with a letter types the capital, except the action keys above. In ⌘Tab mode, ⇧⌘ with a letter types the capital too; only ⇧⌘K acts. ⌥Delete removes one character, not a word, so you can fix a typo before you let go.
- Once the list stays open, the search field works like any text field: ⌘A, ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘X, ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z edit it, and ⌥ with a key types the character it usually does, such as œ for ⌥Q on a US keyboard.
- Return and Esc act once per press. Holding them down doesn't repeat.
- While an input method is composing text, such as Japanese or Chinese input, every key goes to the input method until you finish.
- Number keys go by their position, so they pick rows on AZERTY too. Where a number-row key types a letter, such as é, ⌥ and that key types the letter, and ⌥⇧ and that key picks the row. See Flick on other keyboard layouts.
The front app's windows
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌘` | In ⌘Tab mode, lists just the front app's windows. On by default; ⇧⌘` does the same, moving back. |
| ⌥` | In ⌥Tab mode, the same once you turn on Switch between the front app's windows in Settings › Shortcuts. Off by default, because on many keyboard layouts ⌥` types accents. |
A quick tap flips to the app's previous window. Hold the modifier and tap ` to move down, add ⇧ to move back, and let go to switch. Typing searches only that app's windows; number keys and window actions work as usual. Switching the front app's windows
The mouse
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Click a row | Switches to it. |
| Point at a row | Selects it, but only once the pointer moves. |
| Right-click or Control-click a row | Opens the actions menu for that row. |
| Click a count | Shows that app's windows or that browser window's tabs. |
| Click “Enter to search” | Starts a search that stays open. |
| Click the gear | Closes Flick and opens Settings. |
| Scroll | Scrolls the list without changing the selection. |
| Click outside the panel | Closes Flick without switching. |
Questions
Can I change these keys?
Two of them. You choose the trigger, ⌥Tab or ⌘Tab, and you can record any search shortcut that includes ⌘, ⌥ or ⌃, both in Settings › Shortcuts. The keys inside the panel are fixed.
Why does ⌥W type a w instead of closing the window?
Since Flick 1.1, every letter types while you hold ⌥, so searching for “mail” never minimizes a window on the way. The window actions moved to ⌥⇧W, ⌥⇧M, ⌥⇧H and ⌥⇧Q. In ⌘Tab mode, ⌘W, ⌘M, ⌘H and ⌘Q still act.
Can I use Flick without a mouse?
Yes. Everything in the panel works from the keyboard, the actions menu and its confirmation included.
Still stuck?Email [email protected] with your macOS version, your Mac and what you've tried, or visit the Support page.
