Archie
Archie
/EN

Setting up your Archie writing shortcuts and presets: a 2-minute guide

Set up a system-wide writing shortcut on Mac or Windows in 2 minutes. Step-by-step guide to install Archie, configure your trigger keys, pick a preset, and fix text in any app.

To set up a writing shortcut on Mac or Windows in 2 minutes:

  1. Install Archie from the home page.
  2. Open Settings and find the Shortcuts panel.
  3. Pick or customize your trigger keys (defaults: Ctrl+Space for correction and Ctrl+Shift+Space for reformulation on both Mac and Windows).
  4. Select any text in any app, press the shortcut, and get a corrected or reformulated result instantly.

That is the whole setup. Everything below explains the steps in detail and covers common issues.

Why a system-wide shortcut changes things

Most writing tools live in a browser tab or a sidebar extension. They correct text in that one context and nothing else. The moment you switch to Slack, a PDF comment field, your email client, or a code editor, you are on your own again.

Archie is a system-wide AI writing assistant for Mac and Windows that corrects and reformulates text in any app via a keyboard shortcut, with offline voice dictation as a free secondary feature.

One shortcut. Any app. That is the idea this guide helps you set up.

Step 1: Install Archie

Download Archie from the home page. The installer is standard: run it, follow the prompts, and Archie will appear in your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows).

No browser extension required. The app runs at the operating-system level, which is why it can reach any text field anywhere.

Step 2: Grant accessibility permission on Mac (Windows skips this)

On macOS, any app that reads or modifies text system-wide must request Accessibility permission. Archie will prompt you on first launch.

To grant it:

  1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
  2. Find Archie in the list and toggle it on.
  3. If Archie does not appear in the list, click the + button and add it manually from your Applications folder.

On Windows, no special permission step is needed; the app is ready to use once installed.

If you skip this step on Mac, Archie will launch but the shortcut will have no effect. See Troubleshooting below if you missed it.

Step 3: Learn the default shortcuts

Out of the box, Archie uses two distinct shortcuts:

PlatformShortcutWhat it does
Mac + WindowsCtrl+SpaceCorrect selected text
Mac + WindowsCtrl+Shift+SpaceOpen the reformulation modal on selected text

These defaults were chosen deliberately:

  • No app conflict: Ctrl+Space and Ctrl+Shift+Space are not claimed by major apps (Spotlight uses ⌘ Space; common shortcuts like Ctrl+C/V/Z are untouched).
  • Easy to remember: correction is one key combo, reformulation adds Shift to the same base.

If you have a conflict with another tool (window managers, Alfred, PowerToys), see Step 4.

Step 4: Customize your shortcut

Open Settings in Archie and navigate to the Shortcuts panel. You can assign any key combination you like to the correction trigger, separately to the reformulation trigger, and separately to the voice dictation trigger.

Tips for picking a good shortcut:

  • Prefer modifier + single key combinations (e.g., ⌃⌥ E, Ctrl+Alt+E) rather than chords that overlap with common OS actions.
  • Test it in a text field before saving: press the combination and see if anything else fires first.
  • If you use a window manager on Mac (Raycast, Alfred, Magnet), check its shortcut list first.

Changes take effect immediately, no restart required.

Step 5: Pick your reformulation preset

The default shortcut corrects your text. But Archie goes further: it can also reformulate text according to a target style, using reformulation presets.

A reformulation preset tells Archie how to rewrite your text: not just fix mistakes, but transform the register, length, or intent. The built-in options are:

  • Professional: tightens and formalises the tone. Good for emails, reports, Slack messages to stakeholders.
  • Casual: relaxes the tone. Good for DMs, social posts, anything that should sound human.
  • Summary: condenses the selected text into a shorter version.
  • Custom: write your own instruction (e.g., "Translate to Spanish", "Make this more assertive"). This is where you create your own reformulation presets.

To use reformulation: select the text you want to rewrite, then press the reformulation shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+Space). A modal appears with all available presets. Pick the one you want and the text is reformulated immediately.

You can create as many custom presets as you need and they will all appear in that modal, ready to select by context: one for client emails, another for internal notes, another for social posts.

See the features overview for a complete list of what each preset does.

Step 6: Your first real use

Let's try it end-to-end:

  1. Open any app (Slack, Gmail, Notes, Word, Notion, anything with a text field).
  2. Type a rough sentence. Something like: "hey can you send me that report asap i need it for the meeting tomorrw"
  3. Select that text.
  4. Press your correction shortcut (Ctrl+Space by default).
  5. Watch the selection get replaced with the corrected version in place.

That is it. The result appears where your cursor was, inside the app you are already using. You do not switch contexts, open a new window, or paste anything.

If you want to see how the correction was applied and adjust it, click the Archie menu bar icon. A brief history of recent corrections is there.

For more examples of what Archie can rewrite, see the email rewrite examples article.

Step 7: Voice shortcut (dictation without selection)

Archie also has a dedicated voice dictation mode: press the correction shortcut (Ctrl+Space) without any text selected, and Archie starts voice dictation instead.

What happens:

  1. A small recording indicator appears.
  2. Speak your text.
  3. Press the shortcut again to stop.
  4. The transcribed text is typed at your cursor position, inside whatever app you are in.

Dictation runs on-device using a Parakeet model. It does not send audio to a server. It is free, unlimited, and works without an internet connection.

The correction shortcut behaves differently depending on context: select text and it corrects; press with no selection and it dictates. You can also assign a fully separate shortcut to dictation in Settings if you prefer them distinct.

Learn more about the voice feature.

Troubleshooting

The shortcut does nothing on Mac

Almost always an Accessibility permission issue. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, find Archie, and make sure the toggle is on. If Archie is listed but toggled off, turn it on. If it is not listed, click + and add it.

After granting permission, try the shortcut again; no restart required.

Conflict with another app

If pressing your shortcut triggers something else (a window manager, a launcher, another writing tool), there is a conflict. Open Archie Settings → Shortcuts and assign a different combination. Common safe fallbacks: ⌃⌥ W, ⌃⌥ E, or Ctrl+Alt+W on Windows.

"Nothing happened": shortcut fires but no correction appears

Three things to check:

  1. Is text actually selected? Archie needs a selection to correct. If nothing is selected, it starts dictation instead.
  2. Is the cursor in an editable field? Archie cannot edit read-only text (e.g., a PDF viewer, a locked document).
  3. Is the app sandboxed? A small number of sandboxed Mac apps restrict system-level input. Try in another app first to confirm the setup works.

Text inserted in the wrong place

This can happen if the cursor moved between pressing the shortcut and the result returning (e.g., you clicked somewhere else while waiting). The fix: after pressing the shortcut, keep your focus on the same text field until the result appears. Correction is fast, usually under a second on a good connection, so this is rarely an issue in practice.

Where to go from here