Why is this result first? Smart and Exact matching

The order Smart matching uses

For each word you type, Flick checks the app name and the window title and keeps the better of the two. From strongest to weakest:

So “code” lists Visual Studio Code above Xcode: it starts a word in one and sits inside a word in the other. The last two kinds only count for words of three characters or more, since two letters in order would match almost everything.

When you type several words, every word has to match. The weakest word decides first, so a result where every word matches at least somewhere in the text always beats one where any word only matches in pieces or by letters in order. Between results that tie on that, the one whose words match more strongly overall comes first. Typing a whole name, such as “google chrome”, counts as a match on the whole name.

Ties go to the most recent window

Type “saf” and every Safari window matches the same way, through its app name. Then the window you used most recently comes first, even if List order is set to Name A-Z. The window you just picked wins the same search next time. Flick keeps no search history: recency is all it uses.

Matches you can't see

Search also looks at two names it never shows: the app's bundle identifier (such as com.apple.Safari) and the names of the file and folders a window's document lives in. Since you can't see why they matched, they only match as typed (no initials, no letters in order), and at best they count as a match anywhere in the text. Among those, the window you used last comes first. A window whose name or title starts with your text always comes before one found only through its document. See search by document name.

• Browser tabs (with a license) follow their window: a matching tab is listed right after its window's row, or where that window sits in your list if the window itself doesn't match. Tab titles and addresses match as typed.
• The Apps section sits below the windows and is ranked the same way, alphabetically on a tie. It appears once you've typed two or more characters and five or fewer windows match at least somewhere in the text; looser matches don't count, so a vague search still offers apps.

Exact match

The note under Matching in Flick's Settings › General sums up the two choices: Smart puts the best match first and understands initials, like “vsc” for Visual Studio Code. Exact match finds only the letters exactly as you type them.

With Exact match, each word must appear as you typed it, with its letters together, in the app name, the window title, the bundle identifier or the document's names. Capitals and accents still don't matter. Results aren't ranked: they keep your list order, most recent first or Name A-Z. The Apps section puts an exact name first, then names that start with your text, then the rest. It's Flick 1.0's search, which now also covers document names. Choose it if you want results that stay in a predictable order and only ever match what you typed. The settings reference lists the other options in General.

The bold letters

The letters that matched show in bold, in the app name and the window title. With Smart, each word is bold where it matched best, and a loose match (word pieces or letters in order) is bold only when that word matched nothing better anywhere. With Exact match, each word is bold where it first appears in the name and in the title. A result found only through its document or bundle identifier has no bold letters, because those names aren't shown.

Questions