For Mac
Thorn Writer
A small Mac app that lives in the menu bar. Switch it on, press chords on your keyboard, and the words are typed into whatever app you are using: an email, a document, a browser, a note.
How it works
- Open Thorn Writer. A keyboard icon appears in the menu bar. The app stays out of the Dock.
- Allow it to type. The first time, macOS asks you to turn on Thorn shorthand under Accessibility in System Settings. The app needs that to watch for chords and to type the words for you.
- Switch Writing on. Use the switch in the menu, or press Control-Option-T. Press the same keys to switch it off again.
- Click where you want the words, then press a chord. The word is typed at the cursor, in the app in front.
Writing is off when the app opens, and while it is off your keyboard behaves as usual. While it is on, the letter keys are chord keys, so use Control-Option-T when you want to type normally.
The keys
The chords are the ones in the iPhone app, on the keys where your fingers already rest. Press the keys of a chord together and lift. The word is typed when the last key comes up.
| Row | Mac keys | Thorn keys |
|---|---|---|
| Top, left hand | Q W E R T | S K P T R |
| Top, right hand | Y U I O P | -R -T -P -K -S |
| Middle, left hand | A S D F G | Z G B D L |
| Middle, right hand | H J K L ; | -L -D -B -G -Z |
| Bottom, left thumb | X C V | # A O |
| Bottom, middle | B | TH |
| Bottom, right thumb | N M , | E U # |
The # keys work as they do in the app. On its own, left # (X) picks the second spelling of a word that has several, and right # (,) picks the third. Held with other keys, they write numbers and marks. How it works has the details.
Turn on Key guide in the menu to keep a small map of these keys on screen while you write.
Undo, delete and moving about
These work as in the app, on the keys above.
| Chord | Mac keys | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Both Z | A and ; | Undoes the last stroke. |
| Both D | F and J | Deletes the word at the cursor. The Delete key does the same. |
G -B | S and K | Steps back through the words. |
B -G | D and L | Steps on. |
Thorn Writer can only undo, delete and step through what it has just typed. It starts a fresh phrase when you click with the mouse or press a key that is not a chord key. A shortcut such as Command-C is passed straight through to the app and also starts a fresh phrase.
Your words
Thorn Writer uses the shared word list and the words you have added under My words in the iPhone app. They come across through iCloud, so use the same Apple Account on both. Open the app on your phone once and leave it open for a moment. Words you add later appear on the Mac by themselves.
There is no place to add words on the Mac yet, so add them on the phone. A word that is not in the list is typed as its sounds, as in the app.
Good to know
- A longer word may change as you finish it. A word of several chords can show its first chords as sounds, then turn into the word when the last chord lands.
- The keyboard has to report every key in the chord. Most keyboards manage a chord of a few keys. One that reports many keys at once is better for longer ones.
- It types into the app you are using, by sending keystrokes. An app that does something unusual with its keys may not take them well, so try it in yours.
New to Thorn? How it works explains the keys, and Reference shows the chord for any word.
Thorn Writer does not record what you type or send it anywhere. Privacy says more.
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