How to use Keyvert

Getting started

Keyvert fixes text you typed with the wrong keyboard language. You type, notice it's gibberish, tap ⇧ ⇧, and Keyvert retypes it in the language you meant.

Install

1. Open Keyvert-1.0.dmg and drag Keyvert onto the Applications folder.
2. Open Keyvert from Applications, Launchpad or Spotlight. There's no window. Keyvert lives in the menu bar, at the top right of your screen.
3. macOS asks you to allow Accessibility access. Choose Open System Settings, then switch Keyvert on under Privacy & Security ▸ Accessibility. Why Keyvert needs this
4. Choose your two languages in the Keyvert menu under Languages. If you type Hebrew and English, you can skip this; that's the default.

If macOS says it can't verify Keyvert the first time you open it, open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You only need to do this once.

The menu bar icon

Keyvert shows the language you're typing in right now, for example EN or HE. Click it to open the Keyvert menu. Sometimes it adds a short note:

Fix text typed in the wrong language

Typed akuo, nv akunl? when you meant שלום, מה שלומך? Tap ⇧ Shift twice, quickly, without pressing any other key. Keyvert:

1. deletes what you just typed,
2. retypes the same keys as they come out in your other language,
3. switches your keyboard to that language, so you can keep typing, and
4. if you're switching between a left-to-right and a right-to-left language, adjusts the writing direction.

It works the same in both directions: Hebrew gibberish becomes English, and English gibberish becomes Hebrew. It works in any app where you type, including browsers, WhatsApp, Slack, Mail, Notes and Word.

What counts as "what you just typed"

Everything since your last click, Return, Tab, arrow key, app switch or keyboard-language switch. Backspace is taken into account, so text you deleted won't come back. If you'd rather convert one word at a time, choose Convert ▸ Last word only. More

If you've clicked somewhere since typing, Keyvert no longer knows which keys you pressed. Select the text and tap ⇧ ⇧ instead. Convert selected text

Undo a conversion

Tap ⇧ ⇧ again right after converting. Keyvert puts back exactly what you typed and switches the keyboard back. You can flip back and forth as often as you like until you type something else.

With three or four languages (Keyvert Full), each tap moves the same text on to the next language, and after the last one it comes back to exactly what you typed. For example, with English, Hebrew and Russian: English → Hebrew → Russian → English.

Convert selected text

To fix text you typed earlier, or text you pasted, select it and tap ⇧ ⇧. Keyvert works out which of your two languages the selection is in and converts it to the other one.

Keyvert briefly uses the clipboard to do this (copy, convert, paste). Whatever you had on the clipboard is put back right after.

Choose the shortcut

In the Keyvert menu, open Shortcut and pick one:

Holding Shift to type capital letters never triggers Keyvert. Only quick taps on their own count.

Convert a phrase or a word

Open Convert in the Keyvert menu:

• Whole phrase (default): converts everything you typed in the wrong language since your last click, Return or language switch. Text you'd already typed in the right language stays as it is.
• Last word only: converts just the last word. Useful when you mix languages in one sentence.

Choose your languages

Keyvert converts between your keyboard languages: two with Keyvert Lite, and up to four with Keyvert Full (and during the free month). Open Languages in the Keyvert menu:

• First Language and Second Language list the keyboards already set up on your Mac. Pick one for each.
• Third Language and Fourth Language (Keyvert Full) add more languages to the cycle. Tapping ⇧ ⇧ converts to the next language in the order First → Second → Third → Fourth → First. Choose None to remove one.
• Other Language… lists every keyboard that comes with macOS, more than 250 of them. Search by name, such as Russian, Arabic or French. If the one you pick isn't set up yet, Keyvert offers to add it to your keyboards.
• Add a Keyboard Language… adds a keyboard to your Mac without changing your pair.
• Open Keyboard Settings… opens macOS's own keyboard settings, where you can also add or remove keyboards.
• Automatic (Hebrew ⇄ English) goes back to the default pair.

The menu shows your languages at the top, for example Converting: Hebrew ⇄ ABC, or Hebrew → ABC → Russian with three. If you type in a keyboard that isn't one of them, Keyvert converts it to your first language.

Input methods that build characters from several keystrokes, such as Chinese Pinyin and Japanese Kana, can't be converted key by key, so they aren't listed.

Smart punctuation

Some keys are punctuation in one language and a letter in another. In Hebrew, for example, the comma key is ת and the period key is ץ. Keyvert checks each word against your Mac's dictionary to work out what you meant:

When Keyvert keeps a punctuation mark, it uses the other language's own version if its keyboard has one, such as ، and ؟ in Arabic and Persian. Marks that are the same in both languages, such as ? ! : " ( ), stay as you typed them.

When a language has no dictionary on your Mac, Keyvert converts each key exactly as pressed rather than guessing.

Right-to-left languages

For Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Urdu and other right-to-left languages, Keyvert can also handle direction. You'll find these options in the Keyvert menu:

Switch Writing Direction (RTL ⇄ LTR) on Convert

On by default. When you convert into a right-to-left language, Keyvert switches the paragraph to right-to-left, and back when you convert into a left-to-right one. This works in apps with a Writing Direction menu command, such as Notes, TextEdit, Mail and Pages. Web pages and most chat apps set the direction from the first letter, so the text reads correctly there anyway.

Also When I Switch Layout Myself

Off by default. Also changes the paragraph direction when you switch keyboards yourself, with the 🌐 key or ⌃ Space.

Keep Punctuation at the End of RTL/LTR Sentences

On by default. Marks like ? and . have no direction of their own, so in a left-to-right text field a Hebrew sentence's question mark can appear on the wrong side. Keyvert adds an invisible Unicode direction mark next to it, so שלום, מה שלומך? always ends with the question mark where it belongs. You won't see the mark, but a few code editors can show it. Turn this off if you don't want it.

Wrong-language warnings

Included in Keyvert Full and the free month.

Keyvert can notice a wrong-language word as soon as you finish it, when you press Space.

• Warn When Typing in the Wrong Layout (on by default): if the word you just finished isn't a word in the language you're typing, but is one in your other language, the menu bar shows what you probably meant, for example EN · שלום?. Tap ⇧ ⇧ to convert.
• Fix Wrong Layout Automatically (off by default): converts such words by itself and switches the keyboard, without you tapping anything.
• Play Sound on Warning (on by default): plays a soft sound with each warning.

Only words of two or more letters are checked, using your Mac's built-in dictionaries.

Spelling and grammar

Included in Keyvert Full and the free month.

Keyvert checks spelling and grammar in every app, including ones that don't do it themselves, such as Chrome, WhatsApp and Slack. It uses macOS's own dictionaries, so it works offline and nothing you type leaves your Mac.

Check Spelling & Grammar — ⌃⌥G

Press ⌃ Control ⌥ Option G, or choose it from the menu. Keyvert checks what you just typed, or the selected text if you haven't typed anything since your last click. A small window lists each issue:

• Red items are spelling mistakes. Blue items are grammar suggestions, with an explanation.
• Each has a menu of suggestions. Pick one, or choose Keep as is.
• Click Apply Fixes. Keyvert corrects the text in place, without leaving the app you're writing in.

Show Spelling Hints in Menu Bar

On by default. When you finish a misspelled word, the menu bar shows it with a suggestion for a few seconds, for example EN · teh → the.

Correct Spelling Automatically

Off by default. Fixes misspelled words as soon as you press Space, using macOS's autocorrect suggestions. In most apps, ⌘Z undoes a correction.

Spelling works for most languages, including Hebrew. Grammar checking is strongest in English and depends on what macOS supports for each language.

Open at login

Choose Open at Login in the Keyvert menu so Keyvert starts whenever you log in to your Mac. Choose it again to turn it off. You can also manage it in System Settings ▸ General ▸ Login Items.

Free trial and buying Keyvert

The free month

Keyvert is free with every feature for 30 days from the first time you open it on a Mac. You don't need a card or an account. The top of the Keyvert menu shows how many days are left, and the menu bar shows a reminder in the last three days.

After the free month, Keyvert still shows which language you're typing in, but converting and spelling checks pause until you subscribe.

Buy Keyvert

Choose Buy Keyvert… in the menu. A checkout page opens in your browser, already linked to this Mac. Pick Full ($9.99 a year) or Lite ($4.99 a year), then pay with PayPal or a debit or credit card. Keyvert unlocks within about 15 seconds.

You can subscribe anytime during the free month. You're not charged until the month ends, so you never lose free days.

Refresh License

Keyvert checks your license automatically every few hours. Choose Refresh License to check right away, for example just after paying.

One license, one Mac

Each subscription covers one Mac. Your license is linked to that Mac's hardware ID; only an anonymous, one-way code is used, never your name or serial number. Reinstalling Keyvert keeps the same license and the same trial.

Move License from Another Mac

Got a new Mac? On the new one, choose Move License from Another Mac… and enter the subscription ID (it starts with I-) and the email address from your PayPal receipt. Keyvert unlocks on the new Mac, and the old one stops converting the next time it checks in. You can move a license up to 3 times a year. After that, email support@keyvert.io.

Internet connection

Keyvert does its work entirely on your Mac and only goes online to check your license. It needs to connect once within 7 days of first opening it, to start your free month. After that it works offline, and a paid license stays valid offline until its renewal date.

Full and Lite plans

The free month includes everything in Full. On Lite, Full-only items in the Keyvert menu are marked Full; choosing one explains what it does and offers to upgrade.

Switch plans

• Lite to Full: choose Upgrade to Full… in the Keyvert menu. Full features start right away and a new yearly Full subscription begins; your Lite subscription stops renewing.
• Full to Lite: choose Switch to Lite…. You keep Full until the end of the year you've paid for, then Lite starts at $4.99 a year. Nothing is charged until then.

Renewal and cancelling

Automatic renewal

Your plan renews automatically once a year, on the same date, so Keyvert never stops in the middle of your work. PayPal emails you a receipt for each payment. The top of the Keyvert menu shows the next renewal date, for example Full · renews Oct 19, 2027.

Cancel your subscription

1. Choose Cancel Subscription… in the Keyvert menu. A page opens on keyvert.io, already linked to this Mac. (Away from your Mac? Go to keyvert.io/cancel and enter the subscription ID and email from your PayPal receipt.)
2. Tell us why you're leaving. Choose any reasons that apply and, if you like, add a comment. It helps us make Keyvert better.
3. If you're on Full, you'll see the option to switch to Lite at half the price instead. Otherwise, choose Cancel subscription.

Cancelling stops all future payments right away. Keyvert keeps working until the end of the year you've already paid for; the menu then shows Active until and the date. After that date, converting pauses.

Changed your mind?

Choose Resubscribe… in the Keyvert menu before your paid year ends. The new subscription starts when the current year ends, so you're never charged twice.

Payment method

To change the card or account PayPal charges, choose Payment Method (PayPal)…. It opens PayPal's automatic payments page.

Run Language Self-Test

Checks Keyvert against every keyboard built into macOS, more than 250, even ones you haven't set up. For each keyboard it takes real words from the macOS dictionary, simulates typing them on the wrong keyboard, converts them back and checks the result. It tests punctuation and right-to-left direction too.

It takes a minute or two. Then a report opens in your browser and is saved on your Desktop as Keyvert-Language-Test.html. You don't need to know the languages: mismatches are spotted automatically. If you report a problem, attaching this file helps.

Privacy and permissions

Why Accessibility permission?

To notice which keys you press, and to retype text when you tap ⇧ ⇧. Without it, Keyvert can't do either.

What happens to your typing

• Keyvert does not keep anything you type. It holds only the last few hundred key presses in memory, so it can retype them, and erases them whenever you click, press Return or switch apps.
• Nothing you type ever leaves your Mac. Keystrokes and text are never saved to disk and never sent to keyvert.io or anywhere else.
• Spelling and grammar use your Mac's built-in, on-device dictionaries.
• Converting selected text briefly uses the clipboard and then restores what was there.
• Password fields are protected by macOS, so Keyvert never sees what you type in them.

The only thing Keyvert sends: your subscription information

To start your free month and check your subscription, Keyvert sends keyvert.io an anonymous ID for your Mac (a one-way code made from its hardware ID), the Keyvert version, the macOS version and your system language, and gets back your license status. Never anything you type. See the full privacy policy.

Keyboard shortcuts

Troubleshooting

Contact support

Email support@keyvert.io. It helps to include your macOS version, your two languages, and for license questions your subscription ID (it starts with I-). For a conversion problem, attach the report from Run Language Self-Test.