Troubleshooting

Most issues come down to permissions, sign-in, or an unsupported field. Here are the common ones and how to fix them.

Where to find BlinkWrite

BlinkWrite runs from the menu bar, not in the Dock. There's no main window to look for.

The menu bar is the strip at the very top of your screen. On the left: the Apple menu and app menus. On the right: status icons (Wi-Fi, battery, the clock, and others). BlinkWrite is the small eye icon on the right (highlighted above). Click it to open the menu.

Suggestions aren't appearing

Work through these in order:

1. Is BlinkWrite paused? Click BlinkWrite's eye icon in the menu bar (top right of your screen) and check the menu. If you see Pause as an option, BlinkWrite is running. If you see Resume instead, it's paused. Click Resume to turn it back on.
2. Are both permissions granted? Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and confirm BlinkWrite is turned on under both Accessibility and Screen Recording. Both are required. Without them, BlinkWrite can't read context.
3. Are you signed in with an active trial or subscription? Click BlinkWrite's eye icon in the menu bar to check. The assistant is off if there's no active plan. See Billing & plans.
4. Give it a moment. Completions and corrections appear when you pause typing; proactive drafts appear a moment after you focus an empty reply box.

Rephrasing isn't triggering

Rephrasing is a double-tap of Tab: press Tab twice in quick succession. If only a single accept happens, try tapping the two presses a little faster. Make sure there's text in the field to rephrase. See how rephrasing works.

The rephrase mode shortcuts do nothing

Shift + 1 through Shift + 5 select modes only while the rephrase dialog is open. Double-tap Tab in your paragraph first. Then click a mode or use its shortcut. The modes are Shorten, Improve, Formal, Friendly, and Custom, in that order.

The rephrase dialog shows a checkmark instead of Tab

The preview matches the text in your app. BlinkWrite keeps the phrase visible in the inactive text color and shows a checkmark because there is no change to apply. You can try another mode or enter Custom instructions.

Custom instructions do not submit

Click Custom below the result to open the instruction field beneath the modes. The field needs instructions before you can submit it. The limit is 1,000 characters. Enter a shorter instruction, then press Enter or click the arrow button. The cursor stays in the field so you can revise the instructions.

A suggestion accepted when I only meant to indent / move focus

A single Tab accepts the suggestion that's currently showing. If no suggestion is visible, Tab behaves normally. Press Esc first to dismiss a suggestion, then Tab will act as usual.

Proactive drafts aren't showing in a conversation

Proactive drafts appear when the reply box is empty and there's a message waiting for your response. BlinkWrite intentionally holds back when a reply doesn't make sense, for example when the last message was sent by you, or the message isn't directed at you.

I want to turn BlinkWrite off temporarily

Click BlinkWrite's eye icon in the menu bar (top right of your screen) and choose Pause. Choose Resume to turn it back on. See Controls & shortcuts.

Still stuck?

Reach out to support with your macOS version, the app you were using, and a description of what happened.