Browser Launcher
Keyboard shortcut and modifier key
Set the global launcher shortcut and the modifier key that forces the launcher on any link.
BrowserFairy has two keyboard controls, and they live together in one place. Both deal with the Browser Launcher, but they do different jobs, so it is worth keeping them straight.
Open the Keyboard settings
- Click the BrowserFairy icon in your menu bar (the status area at the top right of your screen).
- Choose Settings… from the menu, or press
⌘,. - In the Settings window, click Keyboard in the sidebar on the left.
You will see two rows, Browser Launcher modifier key and Browser launcher shortcut, with a Reset to defaults… button below them. The next two sections explain each row.
Browser launcher shortcut (the global hotkey)
This is a system-wide shortcut that opens the Browser Launcher as a standalone browser picker, with no link attached. Its subtitle reads Global shortcut to open Browser Launcher as a standalone browser picker.
The default is ⌥⌘B (hold Option and Command, then press B). It works from any app, even when BrowserFairy is not the app you are using. When you press it, the launcher pops up under your pointer showing your browsers, and you pick one to open a fresh window.
Change the shortcut
- In the Browser launcher shortcut row, click the recorder button. It is labeled Record.
- The button changes to Recording. Press the key combination you want, for example Control, Option, and the J key together.
- BrowserFairy captures the combination and shows it in the button. That is now your global shortcut.
Clear the shortcut
The recorder also shows a Clear control. Clicking it removes the shortcut entirely and turns the global hotkey off. After that, you can still open the launcher from the menu bar Browser Launcher… item or by holding the modifier key while clicking a link, but no key combination will open it on its own.
Pick a combination nothing else uses
Because this shortcut works in every app, choose a combination your other apps and macOS do not already claim. If pressing it does nothing, another app or a system shortcut is probably catching it first. Try a different combination, or hold a different modifier such as Control.
Browser Launcher modifier key (hold while clicking a link)
This row is a popup, not a recorder, and it does something different. Its subtitle reads Hold this key when clicking a link to always show Browser Launcher, even if a rule matches.
Normally, when you click a link in Mail, Slack, or any other app, BrowserFairy checks your rules and opens the link in the matching browser automatically. The modifier key gives you an override. Hold it down while you click a link, and BrowserFairy skips its rules and shows you the launcher so you can choose a browser by hand for that one link.
The default is Option. To change it, click the popup and choose one of:
- ⌥ Option
- ⌘ Command
- ⌃ Control
- ⇧ Shift
An example
Say you have a rule that sends every google.com link to Chrome. Most of the time that is exactly what you want. But once in a while you want to open one of those links in Safari instead. Hold your modifier key (Option, by default) while you click the link. Your Chrome rule is ignored just for that click, the launcher appears, and you can pick Safari yourself.
The modifier key is not the shortcut
These two controls are easy to mix up. The Browser launcher shortcut (⌥⌘B by default) opens an empty picker for a new window. The Browser Launcher modifier key (Option by default) is a key you hold while clicking a link, to force the picker for that specific link. They are set separately and can be different keys.
Reset to defaults
If you change either control and want to start over, click Reset to defaults… below the two rows. This restores the modifier key to Option and the global shortcut to ⌥⌘B in one step.
Where to go next
Once your keys are set, see Browser Launcher for how the picker itself works, including number-key selection, type-to-jump, and choosing a profile.