FixNote keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac, in any layout

Which keyboard shortcuts does FixNote have, and will they still work if you switch to another keyboard layout? Here is the full list for Windows and Mac: app-wide shortcuts, editor shortcuts, system-wide shortcuts that work from any app, how to change them, and picking several notes at once, plus a short explanation of how the app recognizes a key.

The main shortcuts

On Windows shortcuts start with Ctrl, on Mac with ⌘. The table shows the Windows version; on a Mac, read ⌘ for Ctrl.

Shortcut	What it does
Ctrl+K	Opens search and commands: recent notes, search by words and by meaning, new note, today’s note
Ctrl+D	Opens today’s note
Ctrl+N	Creates a new note (desktop app)
Ctrl+J	Opens and closes the assistant
Ctrl+Shift+Space	Starts and stops dictation
Ctrl+\	Hides and shows the sidebar
Ctrl+[ and Ctrl+]	Go back and forward
Esc	Cancels dictation, closes a dialog or ends picking notes

Ctrl+N only works in the desktop app. In a browser it opens a new window, and a web page can’t take it over, so in the web app you create a note with Ctrl+K and the “New note” command, or give that command a shortcut of your own (see below).

In the desktop app Ctrl+F opens search too. You can also go back and forward with Alt+← and Alt+→ (Option on a Mac) or with the side buttons of your mouse. Ctrl+K lists notes that match your words first, then notes that are similar in meaning; the search page explains how both work.

If you press Ctrl+Shift+Space while the assistant’s input has focus, your words go into the question. Otherwise they go into the open note, or into a new one. Speech is recognized on your device; see voice notes.

Editor shortcuts

Shortcut	What it does
Ctrl+B	Makes text bold
Ctrl+I	Makes text italic
Ctrl+Shift+S	Strikes text through
Ctrl+E	Formats text as code
Ctrl+Alt+1 and Ctrl+Alt+2	Turn the line into a level 1 or level 2 heading
Ctrl+Shift+8	Starts a bulleted list
Ctrl+Shift+9	Starts a checklist
Ctrl+Shift+E	Opens “Ask AI…” for the selected text

The right-click menu shows the same shortcuts next to each command, so there is nothing to memorize up front. Ctrl+Shift+E opens a box where you ask the AI to rewrite, shorten or fix the selection. The result appears as a change you accept or reject; AI edits shows what that looks like.

Why shortcuts work in any keyboard layout

When you press a key, the browser reports two things: the character it produced and the physical key. On a Russian layout the K key types “л”, but its code is still KeyK. Many apps only look at the character, so Ctrl+K on a Russian layout becomes an unknown Ctrl+Л and nothing happens.

FixNote checks both. Ctrl+K, Ctrl+J and even Ctrl+[ work without switching back to English, on Russian, Spanish and other layouts alike. Editor shortcuts such as Ctrl+B are recognized by the key as well.

Shortcuts that work from any app

The desktop app has four more shortcuts that work while FixNote is hidden in the tray or another app is in front. They bring the window up and do the rest there.

Windows	Mac	What it does
Ctrl+Alt+N	⌃⌥N	Opens FixNote with a new note
Ctrl+Alt+R	⌃⌥R	Opens FixNote and starts a voice note; press again to finish
Ctrl+Alt+K	⌃⌥K	Opens FixNote with search
Ctrl+Alt+Space	⌃⌥Space	Shows FixNote, or hides it when it is in front

On a Mac these use Control and Option (⌃⌥), not ⌘: few apps use that pair, while ⌘ shortcuts belong to the app in front. A browser tab can’t hear keys while another app is in front, so the web app doesn’t have these.

Changing shortcuts

Open Settings → Shortcuts. It lists the app-wide shortcuts and, in the desktop app, the system-wide ones. Click a shortcut, press the new keys, and that’s it; Esc cancels. A shortcut is tied to the place of the key on the keyboard, so one you set on a Spanish layout works the same after switching to Russian.

FixNote doesn’t let one combination run two commands: if the keys are already taken, it says by which command. It also refuses keys that the system, the browser or the editor keeps for themselves, such as Ctrl+C. Each system-wide shortcut can be switched off on its own, and if another program already holds its keys, the settings say so and you can pick others. Every shortcut has a reset button, and “Reset all shortcuts” brings back the defaults.

The changes are kept on that device. The editor shortcuts from the table above can’t be changed.

Picking several notes

In a list of notes, Ctrl+click (⌘+click on a Mac) starts picking, and plain clicks then check and uncheck notes. On a phone, a long press starts it. You can pin the picked notes, move them to a folder, send them to Tidy up or delete them. Deleting can be undone from the notification; shared notes are left as they are and are deleted one at a time.

Esc or the “Done” button ends picking.

The tray and menu bar icon

When you close the FixNote window on a computer, the app moves to the Windows tray (the menu bar on a Mac) and keeps running. From the icon’s menu you can create a note, start a voice note, open today’s note or search, and record a call without looking for the window. The system-wide shortcuts above do the same from the keyboard. Launching FixNote again shows the window that is already open instead of starting a second copy.

To start, open FixNote, press Ctrl+D and write one task in today’s note. Then press Ctrl+K, type a word from that task and check that the note comes up.