10 macOS Tips to Make Your Life Easier

[TheDailyApple]

This is a great tip.

That said, I find it quite frustrating when Apple hides "the rest of the features" with the click+Option key combination. This was inexplicable when they did this with the display color calibration feature (you can't even customize the display calibration settings without the Option+click action, and the UI gives zero indication that the option is even available). I understand why they want to "dumb down" the interface to give users only what they generally need and then "hide" the rest, but not even knowing that the features exist in the first place is poor design.

I think maybe a good solution would be for Apple to add some sort of X-ray functionality. It could allow users to hold down a modifier key for around 3 seconds to see an overlay of all hidden functions available. Sort of like the “tip” or “tutorial” functionality some programs have. (See example)

 

[jchap]

I think maybe a good solution would be for Apple to add some sort of X-ray functionality. It could allow users to hold down a modifier key for around 3 seconds to see an overlay of all hidden functions available. Sort of like the “tip” or “tutorial” functionality some programs have. (See example)

Yep! Sounds like what happens when you hold down the Command key on an external keyboard connected to an iPad. The available shortcuts appear. If they could bring that to the Mac, this would be useful. (There are utilities out there that sort of do this, although I'm not sure how well they work—they've been hit-and-miss for me over the years.)

This still won't solve the issue that was mentioned in the Preview output format tip given in this post, where the user has to hold down the Option key when clicking on the file format to see ALL of the available formats, not just the most popular ones.

 

[triton100]

Think of it like a mini-dock that you can access while working in a Finder window.

What situation s might u need to access the doc while in a finder window

 

[videosoul]

Mac user since 1995, and I consider myself an advanced user, yet 2, 3, 4 are new to me!!

 

[alC]

Thought I was pretty savvy with being efficient, some of these tips are Gold!
Same as a couple of posters, I haven’t commented on an article for ages.
Thanks heaps for the excellent tips 🙏🙏

 

[manofthematch]

Great tips.

But what's wrong with Apple hiding great features so that even very experienced users did not know them?!

 

[mattopotamus]

I very much agree with others. It is nice to see tips that are not just the basics most people who use a Mac for their daily driver would already know.

 

[OS X Dude]

I've used Macs since 2005 and have worked in... 'somewhere that uses Macs' shall we say and a good half of these were both new to me and useful!

 

[BreuerEditor]

You won me at #1. I had no clue that was an option, nor what ‘stationary pad’ meant. A+ on these tips!!! Keep them coming

 

[nvmls]

Gold article MR, keep it up & thanks.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Tip #11. Be a regular reader of the Mac forum on MR.

 

[craigab1]

By far, the most useful tips article I've seen here in a long time. Thank you!

 

[TinyMito]

Stationary Pad is new to me, this is useful for working from a template.

 

[diarbyrag]

Yes useful stuff, I never knew what Stationary Pad did so thanks, HOWEVER RE:TIP #9 APPLE HAVE BROKEN THE FINDER TOOLBAR.
Since forever you could add a flexible space in the finder toolbar to neatly arrange the icons depending on the window size, however since Big Sur and more, including Ventura it no longer works as they added the folder name on the side, if you drag the flexible space incon into the toolbar you just get a srtaight line and it does nothing !!! Really rubbish Idea apple, I have emailed apple support, nagged my local geniuses and even Craig F but nobody does anything about it ....

 

[NY Guitarist]

Excellent tips! Thank you Macrumors!

 

[CasinoOwl]

I'm gonna admit I rolled my eyes at the intro of this article. I mean, "life changing"? But then I learned three things I never knew... so, kudos and thanks for the great info.

 

[ss2cire]

Nifty, I honestly didnt know the resize from center of window while holding option and resize from corners, though im not sure why/when/where the would specifically be helpful.... but still neat to know.

 

[SSDGUY]

Does anyone know how to make column view in Finder behave? It is quite often adding a huge about of column width, way beyond the actual content in the list. I know I can drag it into place but why doesn't it automatically size each column to fit the content within that column?

 

[abracadaver]

Does anyone know if setting a hot corner modifier key will actually help ensure the action is carried out rather than just prevent it from happening unintentionally? I have my bottom left corner set to sleep my display, but sometimes it takes several attempts to get it to sleep. It frequently blanks and then immediately wakes so I have to try again.

I have an M1 Mac Mini with a Studio Display. The iMac I had before this never had this issue. Not sure if it's a display issue, a mouse issue, software or what. Hoping that setting a key will help out. Cool article!

 

[3xBoom]

I feel like 007 discovering that you can do {that} with a Q-modded BMW... Pretty fogging awesome.

 

[mrgraff]

What situation s might u need to access the doc while in a finder window

Not only do the buttons open the app that you've added to the Finder's toolbar, but you can also drag and drop a file on to the button. So, say you add Textedit to the toolbar. Then you're browsing for a text file of some kind and find it. Next you can drag and drop it on to the button, and the file opens. Just another way to open a file; instead of double-clicking or opening TextEdit first. Or maybe TextEdit isn't the default app, (quickly editing HTML for instance) and this is a way to use it occasionally for such files.

 

[FyrStrike]

“The first link in the returned results looks promising, so you click it. On the site you're sent to, you see another link about a related topic, so you click that, too. Then another link grabs your attention, and you decide to check it out. Soon you're distracted by some other tangential subject, and before you know it you've fallen down a rabbit hole of clicks and links”

Do people still do that these days?

I never do that. I do a search then click on relivant links in the search results. I open the first interested result in a new tab. Then scroll through it. If it’s not what I’m looking for I close the tab. Done. If it might be worth looking into I keep it open for a short while, as I go back to the original search results and open the next interesting result in another tab. If that’s more relevant and what I’m looking for the first one I left open gets closed and I read the page I like. Simple.

I don’t know about others but 99% I never click on a link in a website then click on another in that website and another and so on. I expect the search engin to find exactly what I want in its first page of search results. If not then I fine tune my keywords. Maybe it’s me just trying to dodge ads or something …

 

[jtdx99]

These are some wonderful, useful tips! Especially the hot corner customization and shortcuts in finder.

 

[dredlew]

i fail to understand how it can be super useful

would u mind sharing a screenshot of your finder pls ? genuinely curious

The app icons work just like in the dock; you either open the app from there or more likely, you select a bunch of files in the folder you’re in and drag them onto the app icon to open them. That’s faster than dragging down to the dock or right-clicking and choosing from a list of options.

 

[compwiz1202]

Next time I argue with my wife she can send this link to me to prove that I don't know everything.

Yes some of those are cool, especially the template one!