QuickDraw
Support
How do I use QuickDraw?
Hold the Option key and draw a letter with one finger on your trackpad. There's no need to click. Let go of Option and the app for that letter opens. With a mouse, hold Option and move the mouse to draw.
Where is the app?
QuickDraw lives in the menu bar at the top of your screen (the pink speech bubble). It has no Dock icon. Click the bubble to see your letters, add new ones or open Settings.
How do I add or change a letter?
Click the menu bar icon, then Add a letter. Choose what it should do, fill in the details, then pick a letter. To change one, hover over it and click the pencil.
What can a letter do?
Open an app, open a website, open a file or folder, run a Shortcut from Apple's Shortcuts app, or copy a piece of text. For text, QuickDraw copies it and you press ⌘V to paste.
How do I draw an arrow on screen?
Hold the Control key and move the pointer, no clicking. A glowing arrow follows you, and when you let go it gets an arrowhead. Nearly straight lines snap straight. Arrows fade after a few seconds, so there's nothing to clean up. Turn it off in Settings → General if you don't need it.
A letter isn't recognized
Everyone writes a little differently. Open the menu, click Practice your letters, choose the letter and record it two or three times the way you naturally draw it. QuickDraw keeps your three latest drawings of each letter.
Draw the letter in one stroke, reasonably large, and without lifting your finger.
Nothing happens when I hold Option
- Make sure QuickDraw is running: the pink bubble should be in the menu bar.
- Move the pointer while holding Option. Just pressing Option does nothing, so typing special characters still works normally.
- If another app also uses "hold Option and draw" (for example, Sidekick), turn its gestures off so the two don't both respond.
Can QuickDraw start when I log in?
Yes. Open Settings from the menu bar icon and turn on Launch at login.
Does QuickDraw need special permissions?
No. It doesn't ask for Accessibility or Input Monitoring, and it collects no data. See the Privacy Policy.
Contact
Email a.farouk9@gmail.com and include your macOS version and what happened. We usually reply within a couple of days.