1. Before you start
1.1. What does KeyTiler do?
KeyTiler is a macOS menu-bar app that moves the active window into a screen area you choose. Pick a position from Quick Palette or Layout Panel, or press a global shortcut. It acts on the window you are already using and does not touch the rest of your apps.
1.2. Which version of macOS does the current Preview support?
The current Preview targets macOS 15 and later. KeyTiler is distributed outside the Mac App Store because its window-management use of the macOS Accessibility API is not accepted by the store.
1.3. Which languages does KeyTiler support?
The current KeyTiler version supports 12 interface languages and language variants: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Arabic. The KeyTiler website is currently available in English and Simplified Chinese.
1.4. Are KeyTiler’s translations human-reviewed?
When meanings differ, use the English interface as the semantic reference. The Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese localizations have been manually proofread. The other nine interface languages were translated with AI and are not yet proofread, so they may contain errors, omissions, or awkward wording. If you spot a translation issue, let us know.
1.5. What does Preview mean here?
Preview is KeyTiler’s pre-1.0 release stage for validating functionality, compatibility, and user experience. It is not a commercial trial, a promise of a permanent free channel, or a statement of final pricing. A Stable Release begins at version 1.0.
2. Install KeyTiler and grant the required permission
2.1. How do I install the Preview?
Download the DMG file, open it, and drag KeyTiler.app into Applications. Launch KeyTiler from Applications; it stays in the menu bar. The first launch may ask for this permission. On macOS 27 and later, you can also open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Device Control and Data Access. Earlier macOS versions use System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
The permission name changed in macOS 27
macOS 27 renamed this permission in System Settings to “Device Control and Data Access”. Earlier macOS versions use “Accessibility”. Both names refer to the same macOS permission.
2.2. Why does KeyTiler need this permission?
macOS requires this permission before an app can read the window information needed for a layout and move another app’s windows. KeyTiler uses it only for the window-management actions you ask it to perform.
2.3. Where do I grant the permission?
On macOS 27 and later, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Device Control and Data Access. Earlier macOS versions use System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. Find KeyTiler.app and turn it on. If KeyTiler was already running when you flipped the switch, quit and reopen it before trying a layout action again.
2.4. What should I check if a window does not move?
Confirm that KeyTiler.app is enabled in the Device Control and Data Access list. On earlier macOS versions, check the Accessibility list. Also confirm that the intended window is active and that you are using a supported macOS version. You can revoke the permission from the same System Settings pane at any time.
3. Three ways to arrange a window
KeyTiler gives you three controls: Quick Palette, Layout Panel, and direct global shortcuts. All three act on the window that was active when you triggered them. The tutorial compares them in detail.
4. Quick Palette
4.1. What is Quick Palette?
Quick Palette is a mouse-only layout selector. Press ⌃ + ⌥ + Z and it opens near your pointer, showing positions and layout diagrams for the active window. Common actions are visible right away; advanced combinations such as Thirds, Sixths, and Four Strips expand only when you need them.
4.2. How do I use Quick Palette?
- Activate the window you want to arrange.
- Press ⌃ + ⌥ + Z to open Quick Palette.
- Move the pointer over a zone. The highlight previews the area the window will fill.
- Click to apply.
Press Esc, press ⌃ + ⌥ + Z again, or click outside the palette to cancel.
4.3. Why does nothing happen the first time I hover?
A pointer that was already resting over a zone before the palette opened does not count as a selection. Move the mouse after the palette appears; choosing starts with the first movement. Hovering changes only the preview — the real window moves when you click.
4.4. Which positions does the center ring offer?
Eight common positions: left, right, top, and bottom halves, plus the four screen quarters. Each zone points in the same direction as the window’s final position, so you never have to read a label before choosing.
4.5. Where are Thirds, Sixths, and Four Strips?
Around the outside of the palette. Rest the pointer briefly over one of their base zones and that family’s combined diagram expands. You can still click the base zone itself, or move into the expanded diagram and pick a combination — for example, Thirds has three individual zones plus two 2/3 combinations, and Four Strips can merge its two middle strips into a centered half. On a portrait display, these layouts switch to the matching vertical arrangement.
4.6. Does Quick Palette support multiple displays or the keyboard?
Quick Palette works on the display that contains the active window and offers no target-display picker. Apart from opening, closing, and Esc to cancel, it has no keyboard selection and no VoiceOver support. Use Layout Panel when you need keyboard control or want to move a window to another display.
4.7. Quick Palette gets clipped at a screen edge. What can I do?
Near a screen edge, Quick Palette adjusts the position and expansion direction of its advanced combinations. If there is still not enough room, some content may be clipped — Layout Panel is the better option in that case.
5. Layout Panel and shortcuts
5.1. How do I use Layout Panel with a mouse?
Open Layout Panel, choose a layout family, select the display when more than one is connected, and click the zone you want. KeyTiler then applies that choice to the active window.
5.2. How do I use Layout Panel without a mouse?
Open the panel with its global shortcut. Use number keys to choose a display, Tab or Shift + Tab to change the layout family, and a hotkey shown in the UI to choose a zone.
5.3. What is a direct global shortcut?
A direct global shortcut applies a familiar position without opening any panel. The current version provides direct Halves and Quarters positions, plus general actions such as Maximize, Center Window, and moving to the next or previous display. Panel-mode shortcuts simply open the panel in a chosen layout family; they do not create a second layout system.
5.4. How does KeyTiler handle multiple displays?
Layout Panel reflects the connected display arrangement. When more than one display is available, choose the display first (the current one by default) and the zone second. The available display geometry changes with the current arrangement.
5.5. Can I change or disable a shortcut?
Yes. In Preferences > Shortcuts you can record a new binding for a layout action, disable an action you do not need, or restore every action to its default. If a binding conflicts with a macOS system shortcut, KeyTiler reports the conflict instead of silently changing the system shortcut.
5.6. What are the default global shortcuts?
The complete default map is below. These bindings are reference values, not fixed requirements: every action can be changed in Preferences > Shortcuts.
Quick Palette
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Quick Palette | ⌃ + ⌥ + Z |
Layout Panel
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Open Layout Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + X |
| Open Halves Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + Y |
| Open Quarters Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + U |
| Open Thirds Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + I |
| Open Sixths Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + O |
| Open Four Strips Panel | ⌃ + ⌥ + P |
Halves
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Left Half | ⌃ + ⌥ + ← |
| Right Half | ⌃ + ⌥ + → |
| Top Half | ⌃ + ⌥ + ↑ |
| Bottom Half | ⌃ + ⌥ + ↓ |
Quarters
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Top Left Quarter | ⌃ + ⌥ + H |
| Top Right Quarter | ⌃ + ⌥ + J |
| Bottom Left Quarter | ⌃ + ⌥ + N |
| Bottom Right Quarter | ⌃ + ⌥ + M |
General
| Action | Default |
|---|---|
| Maximize | ⌃ + ⌥ + Return |
| Center Window | ⌃ + ⌥ + C |
| Next Display | ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + → |
| Previous Display | ⌃ + ⌥ + ⌘ + ← |
6. Preview, updates, privacy, and contact
6.1. What happens when a Preview expires?
Preview Expiration is the lifecycle deadline embedded in a Preview Release. After it expires, the normal global layout shortcut workflow is disabled until you install a current Preview or Stable Release. The menu bar, About, Preferences, update check, and migration entry points remain available so you can recover.
6.2. What is Preview Migration?
Preview Migration means moving from the Preview Release currently installed to a newer Preview Release or to the 1.0 Stable Release. It describes release availability and continuity; it is not a commercial upgrade, trial conversion, or pricing promise.
6.3. Does KeyTiler install updates automatically?
No. You can choose Never, Weekly, or Monthly background update checks, or start a check manually. A check only looks for a newer release; a user-confirmed update session is required before an update is installed. If the app’s update access expires, Manual DMG Migration through the website is the update-availability fallback.
6.4. Is Product Usage Analytics required?
No. Product Usage Analytics is off until you explicitly allow it in the first-launch consent window or General Preferences. When enabled, KeyTiler records coarse, aggregate layout-usage counts in a local ten-day rolling window; it does not intentionally send window titles or content, foreground app names, raw shortcuts, display names, coordinates, or hardware fingerprints.
6.5. Where can I send a contact request?
Use the contact page for compatibility issues, product suggestions, product support, privacy requests, or Terms and Preview License questions. Share what you expected, what happened, and the KeyTiler or macOS version if you know it. The contact flow does not require an email address and does not accept screenshots, logs, or attachments.