How to Use Transforms (Beta)
Last updated: July 24, 2026
Available on: Mac and Windows (rolling out gradually). Polish is also available on iOS with a 10-word minimum.
Transforms let you rewrite text with AI — change tone, restructure, polish, or run your own custom prompts. Select text anywhere, press a shortcut, and Flow rewrites it in place.
Default shortcuts
Polish: Opt+1 (Mac) / Win+Alt+1 (Windows).
Prompt Engineer: Opt+2 (Mac) / Win+Alt+2 (Windows).
View Diff: Opt+O (Mac) / Win+Alt+O (Windows).
Rebind View Diff either from the Transforms tab (click the View Diff shortcut pill at the top) or from Settings → Keyboard shortcuts. Polish and Prompt Engineer can only be rebound from each transform's card on the Transforms tab — they do not appear in the Settings shortcuts dialog.
Note: Transform shortcuts don't register until you first visit the Transforms tab, click Try it out, or toggle Transforms on. This keeps international keyboard characters (ñ, ö, etc.) working normally before you opt in.
Set up Transforms
Open the Transforms tab in Flow.
Click Try it out to launch the guided demo.
Highlight the sample text in the demo email editor and press Opt+1 (Mac) or Win+Alt+1 (Windows) to run Polish.
Click Turn on Transforms to enable the feature.
The Turn on Transforms button only appears after you complete a successful demo transform. Once Transforms is on, the opt-in toggle at the top of the Transforms tab controls whether the feature is active. Turning it off grays out the rest of the settings and removes the Polish and View Diff shortcuts from your keyboard.
Configure a transform
You can have up to 9 transform slots. Slot 1 is fixed as Prompt Engineer; slots 2–9 are customizable. A + Create your own card appears whenever you have fewer than 9 slots configured.
A separate Polish card at the top controls the base Polish behavior, with 5 default toggle rules and up to 5 custom instructions of 50 words each.
Click any transform card to open its configuration modal.
Set a name (required for custom prompts).
Write a prompt describing what the transform should do.
Assign a keyboard shortcut.
Add writing samples (optional — see the next section).
Warning: There are no Save or Cancel buttons. Changes auto-save, but a transform is only saved once both a prompt and a keyboard shortcut are set. Closing the modal with any required field missing silently discards your changes.
Before any changes, the indicator shows Auto-save on. While typing, the indicator shows Saving…, then Saved, then a Last saved Xs ago timestamp. If saving fails, a red error indicator appears with a retry message. Each modal also includes a Reset button that restores defaults for that specific transform. The Reset Defaults button on the main Transforms page resets all transform settings after a confirmation step.
Add writing samples
Writing samples teach a transform what your finished writing should sound like. They're scoped to each individual prompt.
Limit: up to 5 writing samples per prompt.
Length: each sample must be 50–500 words.
Renaming: renaming a prompt carries its samples over.
Deleting: deleting or resetting a prompt removes its samples. Default Polish samples are always preserved.
Scoping: only samples for the active prompt are sent. Samples tagged to other prompts aren't included.
Storage: samples sync between Mac and Windows but are not available on iOS. When Privacy Mode is on (Share Usage Data off), writing samples and custom transform prompts stay local to that device — they are not uploaded or synced between your Mac and Windows devices. Under enterprise Zero Data Retention policies, samples are kept on-device.
Turn on auto-polish after dictation
Flow can automatically apply a transform to every dictation.
Click the chevron up icon (▲) in the Flow status bubble to open the dropdown.
Turn on Auto Apply After Dictation at the top of the dropdown.
Select Polish, Prompt Engineer, or any custom prompt you've saved.
Your selection persists across restarts. The bottom of the dropdown has a Configure transforms link (Settings icon) that opens the Transforms tab. When the picker is collapsed, clicking the circle opens the dropdown; only when the picker is expanded or hovered does clicking the circle trigger the currently selected transform.
When a non-default transform is active, the status bubble shows the first two letters of the prompt name in uppercase (for example, SU for a prompt named "Summarize"). Otherwise it shows the polish wand icon. While a transform is processing, the status area shows: Using Polish for the default; Using {name} for short custom prompt names; just the name (no prefix) for medium-length names; and Using style for very long names.
Note: If auto-polish fails or times out, Flow falls back to pasting the original unpolished dictation.
See what changed
After a transform, press Opt+O (Mac) or Win+Alt+O (Windows) to open the diff viewer. The diff viewer shows:
Inline diff: highlighted background for additions, strikethrough for removals.
Change count: a badge that reads "1 Change" or "N Changes". Each added or removed segment counts individually — replacing a single word counts as 2 changes.
Primary action: Accept edits, Configure Polish, or Undo, depending on context.
Icon buttons: Copy, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, and Retry.
Copy: shows a Copied! tooltip after clicking.
Retry: re-runs polish on your original text, not on the polished result.
Use transforms in Scratchpad
Inside the Scratchpad, transforms have their own bar at the bottom of the window — separate from the global keyboard shortcuts.
Suggestion chips: three context-aware chips at a time, generated by AI based on your note content. Chip labels are chosen dynamically — they are not from a fixed list.
Refresh: the circular refresh icon next to the chips reshuffles the chip set.
Custom prompt: the free-text input (Follow up or ask a question) lets you write a one-off transform. Press Enter or click the up-arrow to apply. Shift+Enter inserts a newline instead of submitting.
Scope: transforms apply to highlighted text if any is selected, otherwise to the entire note.
Versioning: in the Version history dropdown, chip transforms appear as Transform; free-text custom-prompt transforms appear as Custom transform.
Images: images attached to the note are preserved across transforms.
Auto-refresh: editing the content automatically regenerates a fresh suggestion set as the note auto-saves.
Caching: chips are cached per note content — the same chips are shown until you edit the note.
The Scratchpad Version history dropdown shows every save labeled by source — Typed edits, Dictated, Transform, Custom transform, or Created — with relative timestamps, so you can step back to any prior version.
Notifications you might see
Hey, select text first!
Shown the first few times you trigger a Transform shortcut without selected text. The notification includes the exact shortcut you used. After that, Flow shows a shorter Select text to apply a transform reminder instead.
Want to Transform this? Highlight and press [shortcut]
A post-dictation nudge shown to new Transforms users on longer dictations. Appears occasionally after your first day of onboarding, while you're still new to using transforms.
Congrats, you did your first transform!
A one-time celebratory splash shown after your first transform outside the Flow app, with a Customize transforms button that opens settings.
Couldn't detect text in your text box
Shown when Flow can't read text from the focused field. Click into your text box and try again.
Flow can't paste right now. Text saved to clipboard
Shown when the transformed text can't be pasted into the active field. The result is on your clipboard so you can paste it manually.
Transform timed out / returned no text / cancelled
Status messages for an in-progress transform. For auto-polish runs, Flow falls back to pasting the original unpolished dictation.
{name} doesn't work while dictating
Shown if you trigger a transform shortcut mid-dictation.
{name} mode servers are busy
Shown when the transform service is experiencing high demand.
Your text looks good!
Shown when a transform completes but produces no changes.
We polished your dictation
Shown as a condensed status-bar notification when Flow silently auto-polishes a recent dictation. Tap the Reveal edit button to see what changed.
Oops, too long to polish — Try again with under 1000 words
Transforms have a 1000-word input limit.
FAQs
Why don't I see the Transforms tab in Flow?
Transforms is rolling out gradually on Mac and Windows. If you don't see the Transforms tab yet, your account hasn't received the rollout — there's no manual opt-in, and access expands over time.
Is Polish available on iOS?
Yes. Polish is available on iOS with a 10-word minimum and 1000-word maximum. Writing samples and the Translate to English re-polish option are Mac and Windows only. iOS Polish supports 5 built-in default instructions (Make text more concise, Replace words for clarity, Fix grammar spelling and punctuation, Add structure to improve readability, Match my existing tone and style), plus user-defined custom instructions. If you select text, only the selection is polished; the rest is preserved.
Why don't I see the Polish button on my Flow bar?
The Polish bubble on the Flow bar is no longer shown to all users by default. New users won't see it — you can still access Polish via the keyboard shortcut (Opt+1 on Mac / Win+Alt+1 on Windows) or through Auto Apply After Dictation. Existing users see the Polish bubble for a 7-day grace period. If you click it at least 3 times during that window, it stays visible permanently.
My Opt+1 or Opt+O shortcut isn't doing anything. Why?
Check these in order:
Confirm the Transforms opt-in toggle is on at the top of the Transforms tab.
Activate Transforms by visiting the Transforms tab, clicking Try it out, or toggling Transforms on. Shortcuts don't register until then.
Highlight text before pressing the shortcut — transforms need a selection.
What's the maximum text length for a transform?
1000 words on desktop. On iOS, Polish requires between 10 and 1000 words.
Are images in my Scratchpad note lost after a transform?
No. Images are preserved across transforms.
Can I get back to my original text after a transform?
In Scratchpad, the Version history dropdown lets you step back to any earlier save. Outside Scratchpad, the diff viewer's Undo button reverts the most recent transform.
Why didn't my new transform save?
A transform is only saved when both a prompt and a keyboard shortcut are configured. For custom prompts, a name is also required. If any of these is missing when you close the modal, the changes are discarded.
Do my custom transforms sync across devices?
Custom transform prompt slots and writing samples sync between your Mac and Windows devices, unless you have Privacy Mode enabled — in which case they stay local to each device. iOS does not sync custom prompts or writing samples.
Why are my international keyboard characters (ñ, ö) not working?
Once you activate Transforms, the Opt+key shortcuts are reserved for transforms. To get those characters back, either turn the Transforms opt-in toggle off (which removes the shortcuts) or rebind the Transform shortcuts to a different combination in Settings → Keyboard shortcuts.
Limitations and notes
Transforms is rolling out gradually on Mac and Windows. Polish on iOS is available with a 10-word minimum.
The Polish bubble on the Flow bar is not shown to all users by default. Polish remains accessible via keyboard shortcut (Opt+1 / Win+Alt+1) and Auto Apply After Dictation regardless of whether the Flow bar bubble is visible.
Up to 9 transform slots; slot 1 is fixed as Prompt Engineer.
Desktop accepts 1–1000 words per transform. iOS Polish requires 10–1000 words.
Up to 5 writing samples per prompt, each 50–500 words.
Writing samples sync between Mac and Windows but are not available on iOS. The Translate to English re-polish option is also Mac and Windows only.
Custom transform prompt slots sync between Mac and Windows unless Privacy Mode is on. Base Polish settings do sync.
Transform shortcuts only register after you visit the Transforms tab, click Try it out, or toggle Transforms on. Until then, Opt+key combos work normally for international characters.
Transform chips and the Transform bar are only available inside the Scratchpad — elsewhere in the app, use the global keyboard shortcuts.
Still stuck?
Reach out to support if:
Your shortcuts still don't work after confirming the opt-in toggle is on and you've activated Transforms.
You see a transform error not listed in the Notifications section above.
Auto-polish consistently times out or returns no text on dictations under 1000 words.
Include your platform (Mac or Windows), Flow version, and the exact shortcut or transform name involved. Visit wisprflow.ai/support to get in touch with our team.