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How to use Ankylix

Ankylix lives in your menu bar and adds three keyboard modes to macOS. Each one puts a letter hint on screen — press the key and you're done. Here's how each mode works.

Contents

  1. Before you start
  2. Tiling layouts
  3. Move & resize
  4. Focus switcher
  5. Customizing Ankylix
Setup

Before you start

Two one-time steps make everything work:

  1. Grant one permission. On first launch Ankylix asks for Accessibility — that single permission covers moving and focusing windows, the global shortcuts and the keys you press inside a mode. You can check its status live in Preferences → General → Permissions.
  2. Know your triggers. Out of the box, ⌃⌥L opens tiling layouts, ⌃⌥W the focus switcher and ⌃⌥M move/resize — ⌃⌥ combinations, because nothing on macOS or in the big editors uses them. Change any of them under Preferences → Shortcuts; Ankylix warns you if a shortcut you pick is already a menu command in the app you're using.
Ankylix Preferences General tab showing Startup, Updates and a Permissions panel with Accessibility granted
Preferences → General — launch at login, automatic updates, and live Permissions status for Accessibility.
Ankylix Preferences Shortcuts tab with trigger and in-mode keys for Layout, Focus Switcher and Move/Resize, plus a keyboard layout selector
Preferences → Shortcuts — set a trigger and in-mode keys for every mode; the recorder follows QWERTY, Colemak, Colemak-DH or Dvorak.
💡 The core idea: enter a mode → read the letter hints on screen → press the key. Press esc at any time to cancel without changing anything.
Mode 1

Tiling layouts

Arrange your windows in one go, or snap a single one into place. Trigger a layout and Ankylix draws every zone with a letter hint over your screen. Press a digit to apply a whole layout — the focused window takes the first zone and your most recent windows fill the rest — or press a letter to place just the focused window there.

Ankylix tiling layout with letter hints A, B and C over a macOS desktop
Each zone shows a hint — press A, B, C… to drop the window in.
  1. Focus the window you want in the first zone.
  2. Press your Layouts shortcut. The layout you used last appears as zones, each labelled with a letter.
  3. Press 1–9 to apply the layout with that digit: every zone fills with your most recent windows on that screen, front to back. Two windows side by side is two keystrokes.
  4. Not quite right? The hints stay up — press the letter of a zone to move the focused window there, swapping with whatever is in it.
  5. Or skip the digit: cycle layouts and screens with the arrows and press ↩ to apply the one on screen, or a letter to place only the focused window.

In-mode keys

1–9Switch to the layout with that digit and apply it to your windows.
↩Apply the layout on screen to your windows.
A–ZPlace the focused window in the matching zone (swaps if the zone is taken).
↑ / ↓Cycle to the previous / next layout (configurable).
← / →Move to the previous / next screen (configurable).
escCancel.
🗂️ Choose which layouts appear: open Preferences → Layouts and move the ones you want into the Selected column. Reorder them to control the cycling order, and type a digit (1–9) next to any of them to apply it straight from the overlay — the assigned digits appear in a small legend on screen. Layouts are grouped by window count.
Ankylix Preferences Layouts tab with an Available list on the left and a Selected list on the right, each selected layout assigned a digit
Preferences → Layouts — move layouts into Selected, reorder to control the cycle, and type a digit (1–9) to assign a jump key.
Mode 2

Move & resize

A modal mode for fine-tuning the focused window from the keyboard — nudge it around, then resize it, without touching the mouse. While you're in this mode the rest of the screen dims so you stay focused.

Ankylix Move/Resize Appearance preferences: selection frame, snap-target frame and a live preview
Style the move/resize mode in Preferences → Move/Resize Appearance — selection frame, snap-target frame, corner radius and snap behaviour, with a live preview.
  1. Focus the window you want to adjust.
  2. Press your Move/Resize shortcut to enter the mode.
  3. Use your direction keys to move the window. Hold ⇧ Shift with the same keys to resize it instead.
  4. Press your exit key (or esc) when you're happy.

In-mode keys

Direction keysMove the window left / right / up / down. Bind them to h j k l for a Vim feel.
⇧ + directionResize the window instead of moving it.
Cycle keySwitch which window the mode controls.
Minimize keyMinimize the focused window.
Exit key / escLeave move/resize mode.
⌨️ Every key here is yours to choose in Preferences → Shortcuts → Move/Resize. The defaults are unset so you can pick the keys that match your muscle memory.
Mode 3

Focus switcher

Jump straight to any open window. Trigger the switcher and Ankylix puts a letter hint on every visible window across all your screens — press the letter to focus it. The letter is the app's initial whenever it can be (S for Safari, X for Xcode), so after a few jumps you stop reading the hints and just press. Prefer a list? Press ⇥ Tab to switch between the on-window hints and a compact window list. Minimized windows are one key away too.

Ankylix focus switcher: a letter hint on each open window across the macOS desktop
Every visible window gets a hint — type it to focus that window instantly.
Ankylix focus switcher in list mode: a compact All Windows panel listing each open window with its letter hint
Press ⇥ Tab to swap the on-window hints for a compact window list — same hints, list form.
  1. Press your Focus Switcher shortcut. A hint appears on each visible window.
  2. Press the letter on the window you want — it comes to the front and gains focus.
  3. Press ⇥ Tab to switch between the on-window hints and a window list view.
  4. Looking for something minimized? Press the toggle-minimized key (default ,) to reveal a panel of minimized windows, each with its own hint.

In-mode keys

Letter hintsFocus the matching window.
⇥ TabSwitch between frames (on-window hints) and the window list (configurable).
,Show / hide the panel of minimized windows (configurable).
escCancel.
Make it yours

Customizing Ankylix

Every overlay is fully themeable. Each mode has its own appearance tab where you can tune colors, text size, borders, corner radius and label position — with a live preview — and save your favourite looks as themes you can switch between.

Ankylix Layout Appearance preferences with color pickers, sliders and a live preview of the overlay
Layout Appearance — adjust the overlay and text, preview instantly, then save it as a theme.
Ankylix Window Switcher Appearance preferences with window border and label styling, a live Safari preview, and a default display mode option
Window Switcher Appearance — every mode has its own tab; style borders, labels and window-info, with a live preview.

Where to find everything:

ShortcutsSet the trigger and in-mode keys for every mode.
Layout AppearanceColors, text size, borders, label position and corner radius for the layout overlay — save and switch themes.
Window Switcher AppearanceStyle the switcher hints and window-info labels.
Move/Resize AppearanceStyle the move/resize highlight and hints.
LayoutsPick and order the layouts that show up in layout mode.
GeneralLaunch at login, automatic updates, and the Permissions panel.
Need a hand? Check the FAQ or email support@ankylix.com.