Switching barcons from indexed to friction

Symptoms

How do you change the Shimano bar-end shifters from indexed mode to friction mode?

Solutions

Shimano bar-end shifters (“barcons”) have a D-shaped wire bail on the side. Turning this bail changes the shifting from friction to index and back again. Depending on the model of shifter there should be small markings on the shifter which indicate which mode it is in.