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Mac Selected Text Actions with OnText

· 3 min read
gityeop
gityeop
Creator of OnText

OnText is a Mac app for copying, searching, translating, and automating selected text. Select text in a supported app, press F2 to open the action panel, then click an action or press its assigned key.

How to Run an Action on Selected Text​

  1. Grant OnText Accessibility permission in macOS System Settings.
  2. Select a word or passage and press F2 to open the floating panel.
  3. Click an action in the panel or press its assigned key.

OnText opens the panel when you press its trigger shortcut. To change F2, open Preferences → General → Behavior and set a new Trigger Shortcut. See Keyboard Shortcuts.

What You Can Do With Selected Text​

OnText includes common actions out of the box:

  • Search Google for the selected text in your default browser.
  • Copy it to the clipboard.
  • Open the selected text in Google Translate.
  • Count characters.
  • Show it in Large Type.

For custom workflows, you can create actions that open URLs, run shell scripts, run AppleScript, trigger macOS Shortcuts, or send the text to Inline AI.

To set up a custom action, open Preferences → Actions, add an action, and choose its type. You can assign it a keyboard shortcut and an icon. A regex rule can make the action appear only when the selection matches a pattern. See Custom Actions.

Example: Search With a URL Action​

Create a URL action with this template:

https://www.google.com/search?q={text}

When you trigger the action, OnText URL-encodes the selected text and opens the search in your default browser.

Example: Rewrite With Inline AI​

Select a paragraph, open OnText, then use Inline AI with a prompt such as:

Rewrite this in a concise professional tone.

Use Command-R to replace the original selection with the response, or Command-C to smart copy the result.

When This Workflow Fits​

Selected text actions work best when you repeat the same small operations many times a day:

  • Searching terms while reading.
  • Translating snippets while researching.
  • Formatting text while writing.
  • Sending text into scripts, Shortcuts, notes, or AI prompts.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Which versions of macOS does OnText support?​

OnText requires macOS 13.0 Ventura or later.

How can I check whether OnText works in a specific Mac app?​

Select a short line of text in that app and press your OnText shortcut. Try Copy in the panel to check whether OnText captured the selection. If the panel does not appear, check Accessibility permission and the Excluded Apps list. See Permissions.

Which OnText actions work offline?​

Copy, Character Count, and Large Type run on your Mac and work offline. The default Search and Translate actions send selected text to Google in your browser. Custom actions that use a website, cloud AI provider, or other remote service may also send text or other request data to that service. See the Privacy Policy.

If you are setting up OnText for the first time, follow First Steps.