Five Essential Apps for Your Mac

[mujtaba.mir]

My must have apps:

1. 1Password
2. Little Snitch
3. Paste (surprised no one has mentioned it yet)
4. TripMode (I have to travel a lot for work, so keeps roaming data at check)
5. Transmission
6. Paragon NTFS

 

[yellow8]

You forgot to mention PDFZone in the list

 

[UKPoliticsGuy]

I don't think it is supported in the latest versions of macOS
But Amphetamine is

I use to use Caffeine all the time but the app died off a long time ago, Amphetamine is in the Mac App Store and is free and better in every way, switch to that instead.

I thought you were both making a 'druggy' joke about doing drugs rather than taking caffeine but you're right! haha! Thank you!

P.S. Caffeine worked for me even on 10.13.2

 

[Janichsan]

Is there a File Manager app that lets me copy a file's directory path as easily as Windows File Explorer does?
i.e., 1) Click on the path line. 2) Copy.

Yes. The bog-standard Finder: Click on the file or folder icon. Press ⌥+⌘+C. Done.

 

[joris538]

The author of DeskCover loves to mention that it’s a HazeOver replacement. It’s actually a knock off. I don’t mind the competition, but it’s a wonky copycat down to UI layout, menus, description text and even a keyboard shortcut.

Please try out the original app instead and see for yourself that it actually helps:
https://hazeover.com

Thanks for the tip, tried both and HazeOver is much more convenient (couldn't even isolate 1 window with DeskCover). Also, it has already been mentioned numerous times, how the hell is BetterTouchTool not mentioned in the main article?

Also, LastPass is essential for me. Never tried 1Password, but a password manager is really essential.

 

[CJM]

Alfred is one of the reasons I can't leave macOS.

Also iStat Menus.

Why Alfred over Spotlight Search? They appear to be the same thing.

Keychain is free and from an established company

Right! Why use a different password manager? Okay, it's Mac only, but then I just use KeePass with a cloud-stored, encrypted file for compatibility with Windows. That's free and open source.

I've just picked up Magnet, that's a steal for 99p and something I miss from Windows.

One of my essential apps: SteelSeries ExactMouse, if you use a standalone mouse but despise mouse acceleration. Free.

 

[MacGizmo]

Why Alfred over Spotlight Search? They appear to be the same thing.

Not even close. Search is just one (and quite frankly, the least important/impressive) thing Alfred does.

 

[TheFluffyDuck]

Wait. Does airdrop work for some people?

 

[MacGizmo]

Is there a File Manager app that lets me copy a file's directory path as easily as Windows File Explorer does?
i.e., 1) Click on the path line. 2) Copy.

Yes, it's called the Finder... it's built-in to the macOS.

Simply right-click on a file either while holding the Option key down or press the Option key after you right-click on the file. The item about half way down will change from Copy "XYZ" to Copy "XYZ" as Pathname.

 

[sirozha]

No it's not. Read their security papers. The cloud data is stored on Amazon AWS S3 buckets. Each record is stored as an encrypted object in S3 - essentially hundreds of encrypted 'blobs' distributed over S3. Even if a person were to get one of those blobs, they would have to decrypt it (very unlikely due to the way your master password derives the actual encryption key i.e. your master password doesn't encrypt the object - it is used to generate a large random string which is used to encrypt the object).

The major issue with trusting your data to these people isn't someone hacking in their servers (they don't own any), or getting your data (that's the point of encryption - expect it to be stolem) but to a dodgy company introducing a backdoor that sends your details to a government or third party. As Agilebits is a privately owned Canadian company who have been around for a very long time - it's unlikely to do this. Not sure about the others.

You can read white papers all year long. What was not considered possible to hack just a few years ago has been hacked and information stolen. Multinational corporations that spend tens of millions of dollars each year on cyber security were hacked as though they had no security, and their client information was stolen. The database of all Americans who had FBI background checks was stolen from the US government. All of this happened in the last five years.

There’s no way in hell that a consumer who needs a password management system can evaluate these third-party companies’ security protocols and procedures based on their white papers. I don’t envy those IT engineers who specialize in security nowadays. They are amatures trying to play in a premier professional league, and as a result are a laughing stock of the hackers employed by state actors.

My solution is to go with Apple rather than a small company whose security is impossible to evaluate.

 

[ChrisCW11]

So, all these apps are designed to help you declutter and arrange stuff on the desktop, or help you to move/copy files. Seems to me that these "Top" apps address glaring holes in the UX of macOS.

If you need to install more then one "declutter" apps, you are doing it wrong, both the user and the maker of the OS, period.

 

[AppleInLVX]

Call me old fashioned, but what is the benefit of DeskCover over Hide Others (⌥⌘H)?

Learned something new today...
Thank you.
[doublepost=1517317308][/doublepost]

I would add Hazel. Which is incredible at automating stuff easily - I have all my receipts automatically sorted and named by Hazel. I would also add odrive with is a pretty cool google drive / dropbox interface.

+1 for Hazel. My day to day would be so much more tedious without it. I actually forgot about it until I read your suggestion. The thing is rock-solid and all but invisible. It's the kind of thing you have no idea how essential it is until it's gone. Would pay MUCH more for it (if you're out there Mr. Noodle--thank you for your work, and please don't ever go SaaS on me--I swear I'll support you through ownership).

 

[WristyManchego]

PopClip, by far. That little application would keep me on macOS alone.

What benefit does PopClip have over right-clicking on a word and pressing "Look Up ****". Or Cut or Copy or Paste or Search with Google for that matter? The built-in lookup also gives you access to Wikipedia, Maps & Stocks.

Try 'Look Up' on these: TLS.AX, 1 Price Avenue Cupertino.

 

[pier]

Wow, I did not realize that. I thought software not on the Mac App Store would probably be malicious. i.e., So it's not like I need to jailbreak my Mac to load them? ;-).

Coming from the world of iOS, aren't you?

I am used to moving 1 page up or 1 page down via a single keystroke, done without conscious thought on all my Thinkpad laptops:

Even in the world of PCs the Thinkpad configuration is quite rare on laptops. PageUP/Down keys are most commonly available in full sized keyboards. Full sized Apple keyboards do have these dedicated keys.

Another app you could try is Karabiner which allows you to customise your keyboard: https://pqrs.org/osx/karabiner/

I’ve tried to get into Alfred, but would just rather use spotlight. I know Alfred does other things but I have not found that I need them.

What about clipboard history? Once you try it there's no going back.

 

[AZhappyjack]

Another useful utility is Paparazzi... it will save an entire webpage (not just what's visible on your screen) as a png, tiff or pdf file.

https://derailer.org/paparazzi/

 

[indros]

Unclutter seems nice, but I'd vote Alfred any day for the persistent clipboard, program launching, pre-programmed text snippets, and much, much more.

Apps designed for the Mac often don't get as much attention as apps for iOS, even though there are dozens of super useful, must-have Mac apps out there.

In our latest YouTube video, we took a look at five of the most useful Mac apps that may have gone under your radar. If you don't already own these apps for organizing and sharing files, they're well-worth checking out.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

All of the Mac apps featured in our video are listed below, with prices and links.

Unclutter ($9.99) - As the name suggests, Unclutter is designed to clean up your desktop. It's an app that's designed to store notes, files, and everything copied to your clipboard. You can drag everything that's on your desktop into Unclutter for a neat, organized desktop that still offers easy access to all the temporary files and information you need.

DeskCover (Free) - If you often work with multiple windows open but dislike distraction, DeskCover is an app worth looking at. It automatically highlights the active app window while dimming everything else in the background, plus it allows you to hide everything stored on your desktop with a single mouse click.

Dropzone 3 ($9.99) - Dropzone makes it easier to copy, move, and share files with unique, customizable actions that let you organize your data with simple drag and drop gestures. Drag a file into an application listed in Dropzone and you can copy it, share it to a social network, AirDrop it, and do tons more.

Bartender 3 ($15) - Bartender 3 is a super popular Mac app that lets you rearrange and hide icons on the menu bar of your Mac. With Bartender, you can put the menu bar items you use most often front and center, while hiding all the rest behind the Bartender icon for a much more streamlined menu bar. Bartender 3 is the only app on our list that you'll need to download outside of the Mac App Store.

Magnet ($0.99) - Magnet is designed to let you rearrange all of your open app windows into an orderly layout for a clean, organized desktop. It's called Magnet because your app windows will snap right into place.

Do you have favorite must-have Mac apps that aren't in our video? Let us know what they are in the comments and we might feature them in a future video.

Article Link: Five Essential Apps for Your Mac

[doublepost=1517324660][/doublepost]Fantastical. Spendy, but the natural language parsing for new events when you use a calendar a lot is gold.

I cannot recommend these enough:

- Alfred 3: this is a great Spotlight replacement. The powerpack is definitely worth it for those who like to automate actions on their Mac.
- Fantastical 2: best calendar/reminders app I have ever used. Period.
- Scroll Reverser: Free utility. Allows scrolling direction to be different on trackpads and mouses. Install it once and forget about it.
- IINA: Free open-source media player. While still in alpha, this app is as stable as QuickTime and reads any media file you throw at it. It supports the latest and greatest MacOS features (for instance, Picture in Picture). As it stands, the only missing feature is AirPlay support. Much better than VLC at this point.
- PDF Expert: I love preview. Still, this app just replaced it for viewing PDFs. Packed with advanced features (edit PDFs, search across multiple docs at the same time, split view, thumbnails view, and much more).

[doublepost=1517324797][/doublepost]I don't know that Alfred is better, but for a while it was the only one of the two with active developers and community. Once I switched I couldn't switch back.

Quicksilver.
Am I the only one left who uses it?
I don't know to use my Mac without it.
I can't fathom how Alfred could be better.
I don't know what I'll do when the developers holding it together decide it's not worth it anymore.

 

[jephrey]

Good suggestions... I use my mac mostly for audio editing (a little video) and maintaining a badass music and movie library. Since I use full screen apps and swipe between full screens, many of these apps only sound interesting, not essential to my workflow. Some of the others mentioned as essential for me and anyone using their mac to watch and store audio and video.

All Free:
VLC
Handbrake
xACT-convert from flac and others to ALAC, create fileset md5s, shntool
Subler-video tagging, info pulled from internet (someone mentioned iFlicks which I may try but Subler does a great job)

*No audio tagger, I tag in iTunes but curious if there's one that could quicken my workflow. I wrote a program that would automatically tag a folder of songs using a text file and a picture for the album art with some code called atomic parsley. I'm sure I could dig back into VB and try to figure that out again for what I'm trying to do but maybe low on patience for that. For audio files, I use the "show" tag. This tag can no longer be changed in the "get info" window of iTunes. I fill an unused tag for all the tracks as a batch and then use a little script (dougscripts IIRC) called "this tag that tag" to move cut the contents from that tag and move it to the "show" tag. I suppose I'd just like a tagger that I can drop a set of audio files into and access every tag including those tags available for video, in a neat UI. What's the must-have?

 

[Ronlap]

Bartender 3 is a lifesaver for people who use projectors with their laptops. Since the projectors usually have lower resolution than the internal screen, Mac OS automagically hides icons and you need to unplug to see them again. Bartender makes this problem go away.

 

[R10k]

I know it’s been mentioned but... Divvy...

 

[D.T.]

"Essential" - what a word?

No Mac is "essential" - and certainly no app

es·sen·tial
əˈsen(t)SHəl/
adjective

1. 1.
   absolutely necessary; extremely important.
   "it is essential to keep up-to-date records"
   synonyms: crucial, necessary, key, vital, indispensable, important, all-important, of the essence, critical, imperative, mandatory, compulsory, obligatory; More

My Mac is _essential_ in my profession that includes iOS development.

My must have apps:

1. 1Password
2. Little Snitch
3. Paste (surprised no one has mentioned it yet)
4. TripMode (I have to travel a lot for work, so keeps roaming data at check)
5. Transmission
6. Paragon NTFS

re: bolded

I'm using ClipMenu which has become a must have, I think I originally looked at Paste, but went for the less frills, free option It's not technically supposed anymore, but since it was opensource, a new developer has taken over maintaining it (which is of course awesome).

Clipy (formerly ClipMenu):

https://github.com/Clipy/Clipy (Git/Source)
https://clipy-app.com/ (App Binaries)

Er, so I guess I'm saying Clipy as an essential, even though I'm still using ClipMenu (which runs perfectly fine on 10.13.2 ...)

Nice shoutout for Little Snitch

 

[Weaselboy]

Why Alfred over Spotlight Search? They appear to be the same thing.

https://www.alfredapp.com/powerpack/

Alfred does much more than just replicate Spotlight. This link shows some of the other features. I use workflows and snippets to automate a lot of repetitive tasks.

 

[ignatius345]

I’ve tried to get into Alfred, but would just rather use spotlight. I know Alfred does other things but I have not found that I need them.

Yeah, Spotlight has gotten way better over recent years. I've been using Alfred long enough now that I've got a bunch of custom stuff set up that really streamlines things for my workflows. It does a whole host of insane stuff that lets you really keep your hands on the keyboard a lot.

But yeah, I get it, if I was looking at a lot of these features for the first time I'd be like "I'm getting along just fine without this, thanks". I think that's how stuff like this becomes "essential": people get used to using it and then it's essential... for them.

 

[JGRE]

Non one of these apps is essential. I've been us Macs since 1985, and I've never used any of these apps. I'm sure they are very helpful, if a user needs one. That said, not one is "essential"; which mean "absolutely necessary" or even "extremely important".

The only "essential" Mac program is an alternative browser to Safari, since some sites will not work with Safari.

That is partly correct and I am surprised to have to switch to Chrome for certain websites. After so many years of having Safari around, you would expect to be able to surf anywhere. Is this Apple or the website developer?

But MS Office and a pdf-converter are pretty 'must haves' too.

 

[pier]

Quicksilver.
Am I the only one left who uses it?
I don't know to use my Mac without it.
I can't fathom how Alfred could be better.
I don't know what I'll do when the developers holding it together decide it's not worth it anymore.

I used it for years, but the project went almost dead around 2010-2011. Then I switched to Alfred and I've been a fan ever since.

Another contender is Launchbar. Anyone using it?

https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html

 

[poi ran]

Homebrew (for reasons too many to mention) , and IINA - the only video player that works well on my 4K Retina screen I reckon as it doesn't default to resizing video.