Mac Setup

Automatically switch to a document’s input source

Let each open document use the input source previously chosen for it, even when you switch between documents.

Open the interactive guide

System Settings

Before you start

  • Add at least two input sources and keep two test documents open.

Settings path

System Settings › Keyboard › Text Input › Edit › All Input Sources › Automatically switch to a document’s input source

Steps

  1. Open System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar.
  2. In Text Input, click Edit, then select All Input Sources in the sidebar.
  3. Confirm that at least two input sources have been added. This option appears only when more than one input source is available.
  4. Turn on “Automatically switch to a document’s input source.”
  5. Open two documents, choose a Chinese input source for one and an English input source for the other, then switch between the still-open documents and confirm that each input source is restored.

Before

When you switch between Chinese and English documents, the input source remains the one most recently used, so you may need to change it manually.

After

After you choose an input source for each open document, returning to that document restores its input source until the document is closed.

Undo the change

  • Return to Keyboard > Text Input > Edit > All Input Sources and turn off “Automatically switch to a document’s input source.”

Sources and version notes

This guide records a path review for macOS 27.0.1 on 2026-10-14; labels may differ on other versions.

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