Questions about RibbonKeys

The apps

Which apps does RibbonKeys work with?

Excel, Word and PowerPoint for Mac, on macOS 13 or later. Other apps, Outlook and OneNote among them, get no letters. How it works in each: Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

Does it do the same in all three?

In all three it puts the Windows letters on the tabs and buttons of the ribbon, on the items of the menus they open, and on the groups a narrow window folds up. Excel gets more: letters on its dialogs, the menu keys of Excel 2003, letters on the tabs it adds for a table, a chart or a picture, and Ctrl+U for underline. The letters are listed per app: Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

What happens when Microsoft changes the ribbon?

RibbonKeys works by reading the ribbon, so after an update of Excel, Word or PowerPoint that changes it, letters can be missing or wrong until RibbonKeys has been updated too. Write to [email protected] with the sequence that no longer works.

Licences

Does one licence cover Excel, Word and PowerPoint?

Yes. A licence is for a Mac, not for an app: on that Mac it covers all three.

What happens when the trial ends?

The trial runs for 7 days from the first time you open RibbonKeys, and asks for no account and no card. After it the letters are switched off until that Mac has a licence: €3.99 a month or €59.99 once, including VAT, bought under Settings…, on the Licence tab.

Can I use one licence on two Macs?

A Monthly or Lifetime licence covers one Mac at a time. To move it, open the Licence tab on the new Mac, choose Enter Licence Code… and enter the code from the old Mac; Move Licence to This Mac… then moves it. You can do that twice in any twelve months, and after that by writing to support. The old Mac keeps working until it next checks its licence.

Where do I find my licence code?

On the Licence tab, under Settings… in the RibbonKeys menu, with a Copy button beside it. If the Mac with the code is gone, write to [email protected] from the e-mail address you paid with.

How do I cancel?

A monthly subscription sold through Link is cancelled from the link in the e-mails about the purchase, or with Manage Subscription… on the Licence tab. It then runs to the end of the month you paid for. The terms of sale have the details, the right of withdrawal among them.

Working offline

Does RibbonKeys work without an internet connection?

Yes. The letters are drawn and pressed on your Mac, and the trial is counted on your Mac too. A paid copy confirms its licence when it is opened and about once a week, and keeps working without a connection for at least three weeks.

What does it go online for?

To check its licence, to look about once a day for a new version, and to download that version when you choose to install it. Nothing else.

Privacy

Does RibbonKeys read my documents?

No. It does not read the cells of a sheet or the text of a document or slide. It reads the names and positions of the ribbon's buttons and menu items, and in Excel of the menu bar and of the controls of an open dialog, to know where to draw the letters and what to press. It keeps none of it and sends none of it.

Does it record what I type?

No. macOS passes key presses to RibbonKeys while it runs, which is how it notices the tap on Option. It acts on them only in Excel, Word and PowerPoint, and only during a letter sequence, and it neither records nor sends them.

What does it send?

Its licence code, to check that it has been paid for. A paid copy also sends a code that stands for the Mac and the name of the Mac, so that a licence is in use on one Mac at a time. When it looks for an update, it sends the version you have. There is no tracking and no account. The privacy page has all of it.

Updates

How does RibbonKeys update?

About once a day it looks for a new version. When there is one, it shows a window, and Install Update downloads it, checks its signature, replaces the app and opens it again. The Accessibility permission stays. Check for Updates… in the RibbonKeys menu looks at once, and while an update waits the menu offers Install Version… with its number.

Do updates cost anything?

No. Every copy is offered the new versions, during the trial too, and a Lifetime licence includes the updates published for RibbonKeys.

I have an old copy. How do I get the newest?

Versions 0.1 and 0.2 do not install updates themselves: they say when a newer version is out and offer its download. Later versions install updates as above. The download below is always the newest version.