Global shortcuts
These work while any app is in front, as long as Typeme is running.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌥D | Open the panel for the selected text. By default this is the shortcut for the Translate action, so it runs Translate immediately. |
| ⌥S | Region capture. Drag a rectangle; Apple Vision OCR reads it on-device and opens the panel. |
Shortcuts belong to actions, not to the app as a whole. Each action can have its own global shortcut; the first action that has one is the primary shortcut shown in the menu. If you give Reply a shortcut, pressing it on a selection runs Reply directly, with no action switching.
Turning an input method off under Settings › Input unregisters its shortcut. That is the quickest way to stop a conflict without deleting anything.
Inside the panel
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Tab / ⇧Tab | Move forward or back through actions without running one. The action name appears briefly under the buttons and becomes the default next time. |
| Return | Run the selected action. Use it after editing the source text. |
| ⌘1 ⌘2 ⌘3 | Run the first, second, or third action. |
| ⌘C | Copy the result when no text is selected in the result area. |
| ⌘Return | Write the result back into the original app and close the panel. |
| ⇧Return | Insert a newline in the source text instead of running. |
| ↑ / ↓ | Recall the previous panel when the cursor is on the first or last line. |
| ⌥↑ / ⌥↓ | Recall the previous panel regardless of cursor position. |
| Esc | Close the panel. Clicking outside, or pressing the shortcut again, does the same. |
| ⌘, | Open Settings. |
History
Every time you close the panel, the source text, the result, and the selected context are kept in a local panel history — up to 50 screens. The oldest entries are dropped first; very long text is dropped by total size.
- ↑ walks backwards through recent panels; ↓ walks forward.
- Pressing ↓ past the newest entry returns you to the screen you were on before you started browsing.
- ⌥↑ and ⌥↓ do the same at any cursor position.
- The history is local and is not written to the daily log.
Change a shortcut
- Region capture — Settings › Input. You can also disable selection, screenshot, or other input methods there.
- Action shortcuts — Settings › Actions, select an action, and record a new shortcut. The Translate action owns ⌥D by default.
- Conflicts — if another menu-bar app already owns a combination, macOS does not tell you; the other app simply wins. Pick a combination with ⌃ and ⌥ to stay out of the way of common app shortcuts.
Menu-bar menu
Click the menu-bar icon for the actions that do not have a shortcut: open Settings, open the context folder, open the log, and quit. The icon itself is a status indicator — a triangle means Accessibility permission is missing for the running build.
Questions
Why does ⌥D run Translate instead of opening an empty panel?
The shortcut belongs to an action. Translate owns ⌥D by default, so it runs immediately. If you would rather the panel open and wait, turn off run automatically in Settings › Actions. The panel then opens with the last action selected.
Can two actions share a shortcut?
No. Assigning a combination to one action removes it from the other.
Is the panel history shared between Macs?
No. It is stored locally in the app's preferences, not in the context folder.
Do shortcuts work when the panel is open?
Panel keys work while it has focus. Pressing the global shortcut again closes the panel. ⌘, opens Settings from the panel.