Sonoma: how to show the input source popup before I select a textbox and starting to type?

I am a Chinese people and I've been using English and Chinese interchangeably. So very often I will search in English in Safari, and after a second, typing a document in Chinese.


Therefore I never know whether my input method is to my expect.


It happens all the time when I will stumble typing a few Chinese Pinyin, but the input method was English, and it can't recognize Pinyin and turn them into Chinese characters, then I have to delete these few letters, switching the correct input method and type them again. Vice versa, it's the same situation when I want to type English while the system was at Chinese.


I know that I can easily check my current input method from the menu bar-control centre, but that would require a long distance of moving my eyeballs which is very disturbing when you are focus on sth as simple as typing. And I have tried this useless "Automatically switch" function, it just makes the situation even worse.



The macOS Sonoma actually provides a handy tool to show the current input method under my cursor but only when I switch input method proactively, which was not the right time for me. What I hope is that it can popup every time I select a textbox, so that I can check and change to the correct input method without losing to much attention of what I will type. And right now there isn't anyway in settings to determine when it should appear.


Great Thanks!

MacBook Air, macOS 14.1

Posted on Nov 18, 2023 2:52 AM

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8 replies

Nov 18, 2023 3:08 AM in response to EthanPixar

A casual glance at your menu extras area on the right-side should reveal the current input method icon. If you are referring to the nagging blue input language icon that appears (when it wants to) below the text input cursor in Sonoma, you have little control over that Apple mischief.


Using cmd+space bar (on Monterey now, not Sonoma) to open a floating, semi-transparent, input method selection panel and advancing by holding the cmd key while tapping the space bar should get you to the correct input language. Pressing and holding the option and shift keys, while tapping the space bar allows one to choose the input language in reverse.

Nov 18, 2023 3:28 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thank you so much!

Actually I know all these shortcuts but they all force me to do one extra step before just typing comfortably with the right language, which is actually the same case for glancing at the menu bar.

I hope that there is a way to let the system automatically provide me with that information without me bothering myself to check it out,


and, yes, I am talking about this close to smart design of showing the input method below the cursor, but system provides nothing to decide when it should appear and do it job.


Nov 18, 2023 7:27 AM in response to EthanPixar

EthanPixar wrote: The macOS Sonoma actually provides a handy tool to show the current input method under my cursor but only when I switch input method proactively, which was not the right time for me. What I hope is that it can popup every time I select a textbox

Very interesting that you find this tool useful! Most users seem to hate it, so some effort has been spent to find ways to get rid of it.


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Sonoma: how to show the input source popup before I select a textbox and starting to type?

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