Translate selected text on Mac

Easy Write translates text where you are writing: select a passage in a supported Mac app, choose the translation shortcut, and review the result in the same workflow. It uses Apple's on-device model, so translation processing does not require sending your selected text to a translation service.

Version check, 23 October 2026: the current release is Easy Write 2.0, available as a signed, notarized DMG. These instructions cover its Bar, two-way translation, custom actions, and replacement safeguards. Older 1.x shortcuts are labeled as legacy below. Check the official release listing when moving between versions.

Start with a short, editable passage

You need an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 26 or later, with Apple Intelligence enabled and its model ready. Download the Easy Write 2.0 DMG, open it, and drag Easy Write to Applications. Follow the setup guide for installation and the new Accessibility grant needed when upgrading from 1.x. Homebrew installation is not live.

For a first translation, use a disposable note rather than an important message:

1. Open Easy Write and grant its requested Accessibility permission.
2. Open Settings from its menu-bar icon and set your home and target writing languages.
3. Type a short sentence in an editable app and select that sentence.
4. Press Option–Command–K to open the Easy Write Bar and choose a language and tone, or use Option–Command–T for two-way Translate with your current settings.
5. Read the entire result before sending or saving the message. Check names, dates, numbers, and who is doing what.

These are the 2.0 defaults. Your own bindings may differ. If another app intercepts a combination, change it in Settings → Shortcuts. Choosing an explicit formal or informal tone in the Bar makes the relationship to your recipient part of the instruction.

The useful change is fewer manual transfers between your draft and a separate translator. There is no measured time-saving claim here: the benefit depends on your writing habits and whether your app supports the workflow.

Choose the relationship before the shortcut

Formal and informal describe forms of address, not translation quality. When writing German, an explicit choice helps distinguish Sie from du. It cannot decide your relationship with the recipient for you.

Illustrative example, not a recorded app output or benchmark:

Both ask for a draft. The pronoun and verb change together. Read the German formal and informal translation guide for object pronouns, possessives, and the difference between singular du and plural ihr.

Plain translation is useful when you want to preserve an existing tone. It is less explicit when the source is ambiguous: English “you” does not tell the model whether the recipient is one person, several people, or someone addressed formally. In legacy 1.x, Option–Command–T means formal translation, Option–Command–I informal, and Option–Command–P plain. Do not carry that interpretation of T into 2.0: it now means two-way Translate.

Translate something you are reading

An incoming email or webpage is different from a draft: you want to understand it without editing the original. In 2.0, Option–Command–E normally reads into your configured home language in a popup. If the selection already reliably matches that language, Read switches to your target writing language; it uses English as a fallback when both language settings match. Legacy 1.x used this shortcut to read into English.

Select a complete sentence or short paragraph so the model has context. A single word may have several meanings. Text in an image or scanned PDF is not the same as selectable text; this guide does not promise OCR or screen translation.

If selection capture is unavailable, try a selectable text view or a plain-text document you control. Do not assume a visible highlight means every app exposes usable selection information.

Understand the 2.0 review and replacement controls

The Easy Write Bar, opened with Option–Command–K, lets you choose language, tone, or an action next to a supported selection. Its result preview is a place to compare the generated text before choosing whether to replace your draft.

The direct Option–Command–T command can reverse direction when the selection is confidently identified as already being in the target language. Short or ambiguous passages may not trigger reversal. Check the actual result instead of assuming language detection has understood the passage correctly.

Preview-before-replace is available but off by default. Enable it deliberately if you want to inspect shortcut results before changing a draft. Easy Write also verifies the original app, window, field, selection range, and selected text before sending a replacement. If these cannot still be verified, it presents a review card instead. Its “Paste sent” message reports a sent keystroke, not proof that another app accepted the edit.

Privacy and realistic limits

Easy Write 2.0 captures selected text through Accessibility. An app must expose its selection; unsupported capture fails without translating unrelated clipboard contents. This is an implementation boundary, not a guarantee that every Mac app works.

Translation and actions run locally. In 2.0, optional update checks are separate network activity and do not include selected text; the update host still receives ordinary connection metadata. Opt-in history is off by default; enabling it saves originals and results in unencrypted local JSON. Keep it off if you do not want that content retained.

Review important writing for meaning as well as tone. For a first real task, choose a short draft, confirm the target language, translate, and compare the result against the original before sending. If setup or capture fails, use the setup and troubleshooting guide.