Use the number keys
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Open Flick
Hold ⌥ and tap Tab. Each of the first nine rows shows its key, dimmed, at the right edge, such as ⌥3.
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Press the row's number
Keep holding ⌥ and press 1 to 9. Flick switches to that window straight away; you don't have to let go first.
Which modifier you press depends on whether you're still holding the one you opened Flick with:
| Keys | When |
|---|---|
| ⌥1 to ⌥9 | While you hold ⌥ after ⌥Tab, including while you type a search. |
| ⌘1 to ⌘9 | Once the list stays open after you let go: a search you started with Return or ⇧⌘Space, for example. ⌥ and a number would type a character there (⌥3 is £ on a US keyboard). |
| ⌥⇧2 | On layouts where a number key types a letter, such as é on the 2 key of a French keyboard. See below. |
If you chose ⌘Tab as your trigger, hold ⌘ instead of ⌥: ⌘1 to ⌘9 throughout, or ⇧⌘ with a key that types a letter (see below). The rest of Flick's keys are in every keyboard shortcut.
Which rows they pick
- The rows you see, counted from the top. With the usual most-recent-first order, row 1 is normally the window you're in and row 2 the one you used before it.
- While you search, the numbers pick from the results. They never pick from the Apps section (apps that aren't open); use the arrow keys and Return for those.
- In a detail list, such as an app's windows with Group by app, or a browser window's tabs, they pick from that list.
- A number with no row does nothing. The free version lists your 5 most recent windows, so 6 to 9 have nothing to pick there.
Want a number to mean the same window?Most recent first means rows move as you switch. Set List order to Name A-Z in Settings › General and rows are sorted by app name, then window title, so a number usually keeps pointing at the same window: it moves when windows open, close or change their titles. Flick lists every window as its own row, so two Safari windows are two numbers.
Before the panel appears
The panel shows about 70 milliseconds after you press ⌥Tab, if you're still holding ⌥. Flick listens for ⌥1 to ⌥9 from the moment you press ⌥Tab, so a fast ⌥Tab followed by a number switches without the panel appearing, and the number never reaches the app you're in. It's the same idea as a quick tap of ⌥Tab, which flips back to your previous window, but for any of the first nine rows.
On AZERTY and other layouts
The number keys go by their place on the top row, not by what they type. On a French AZERTY keyboard, the key that types & is 1 and the key that types é is 2. Keys on a numeric keypad don't pick rows.
Every letter types into Flick's search while you hold ⌥, so a number key that types a letter on your layout types that letter: holding ⌥ and pressing the é key searches for é. To pick the row with such a key, add ⇧ (⇧⌘ with the ⌘ trigger). On French AZERTY that applies to the 2, 7 and 9 keys (é, è and ç), so row 2 is ⌥⇧2; Czech layouts, whose number row types ě, š, č and other letters, use ⌥⇧ on most of it. The hints show it, such as ⌥⇧2, and VoiceOver reads “Option-Shift-2”. Once the list stays open after you let go, ⌘ and the key always picks the row. More in using Flick with a non-US keyboard.
Hide the hints
Turn off Show number shortcuts in Settings › Shortcuts. It's in the Default Mode group, or in Search Mode while the switcher shortcut is off. Its note says it plainly: “Rows 1 to 9 show the key that switches to them, such as ⌥3. The keys work either way.” Turning it off hides the hints only, and VoiceOver stops reading each row's key (“Option-3”) at the end of the row. See Flick with VoiceOver and the keyboard and every setting.
Questions
Can I change the number keys?
No. Rows are always the trigger and 1 to 9, or ⌘ once the list stays open. The only shortcut you can record in Flick is the search shortcut.
Do they work in the front app's windows?
Yes. The list of one app's windows, which you open with ⌘` when your trigger is ⌘Tab, or with ⌥` if you turned it on, takes number keys just like the main list. See switch between the front app's windows.
I pressed ⌥ and a number and a character appeared in my app. Why?
Flick wasn't open: the number keys only work after ⌥Tab, while you still hold ⌥. Pressed on its own, ⌥ and a number goes to the app in front as usual.
Still stuck?Email [email protected] with your macOS version, your Mac and what you've tried, or visit the Support page.
