Useful Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - April 2022

[MacRumors]

Mac apps often don't receive as much attention as apps designed for iPhones and iPads, so we have a regular video series that is designed to highlight some of the useful Mac apps that we've come across over the past few months. Our April picks feature apps for quickly accessing websites, adjusting external display settings from the menu bar, using a Windows-like "alt-tab" tool, and more.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.​

• WebCatalog (Free) - WebCatalog is a handy app that's designed to turn websites into desktop apps so you can access all of your favorite website content in one handy place. It offers up self-contained, distraction-free windows and is an alternative to using browser tabs. WebCatalog is free to use, but it offers a limited number of apps. To unlock unlimited apps, you need to pay $40.
• AltTab (Free) - AltTab is a simple app that is based on the Windows "alt-tab" windows switcher. With the tool, you can customize your controls to mimic how alt tab works on Windows, quickly swapping between your open app windows and manipulating them with simple keyboard commands.
• MonitorControl (Free) - As the name suggests, MonitorControl is a straightforward menu bar app that lets you adjust the parameters of an external display. You can tweak brightness, contrast, volume, and more.
• Raycast (Free) - Raycast is kind of an all-in-one extendable launcher or Spotlight replacement app that offers a bunch of features for writing scripts, activating shortcuts, searching for files, controlling your system, writing quick notes, opening links, launching apps, tracking clipboard history, and much more.
• CleanShot X ($29) - CleanShot X is a screen capture tool that's ideal for taking screenshots and videos. It's simple to capture whatever you want on your screen, annotate it, and send it off, plus there's a cloud component that saves everything in one spot. It can do screen recordings and capture screenshots even if the content doesn't fit all on one screen. There's a $29 one-time payment option that unlocks a year of updates, or users can pay $8 per month for continual updates.

Know of a great Mac app that we haven't highlighted yet? Let us know in the comments below and we might feature it in a future video. For more of our Mac app picks, check out our Mac apps archive.

Article Link: Useful Mac Apps Worth Checking Out - April 2022

 

[tonywalker23]

Don't get a new Mac often, but when I do, or when I do a fresh install with new OSes, they get these...

 

[RedTheReader]

Has anyone here actually replaced Alfred with Raycast?

 

[sentiblue]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

Linear Mouse.
As someone who moved over to macOS about 2 years ago, I just can’t get used to how strange mouse movement feels in macOS.
Linear Mouse makes it feel like it does in Windows ?
It also doesn’t mess up your tracking speed and scrolling direction settings if you switch between mouse and trackpad.

 

[iHorseHead]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

 

[anthogag]

SoundSource is a good MacOS app for redirecting sound output per app.

 

[dwfaust]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

Word. And why in the name of all that is sacred would anyone want to use macOS to emulate Windows?

 

[iHorseHead]

Word. And why in the name of all that is sacred would anyone want to use macOS to emulate Windows?

Mac doesn't show live preview. Windows does.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

I honestly like mission control better

 

[FightTheFuture]

I honestly like mission control better

Me too - Mission Control is three finger swipe up or Control + Up, by default in case anyone was wondering.

 

[dwfaust]

Mac doesn't show live preview. Windows does.

Still not interested.

 

[julesme]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

Alt + Tab in MS Windows lets you cycle through separate windows for each app (i.e., cycle through documents, browser windows, etc.) as well as cycle through open system folders.

I'm not advocating for installing this third party app, but there's a clear difference between Alt + Tab and Command + Tab.

 

[Ethanmenzel]

All command+tab needs on mac are previews, and it would be perfect.

 

[Starfia]

Is Raycast as free as it looks? Its publicity page looks like the publicity page of an app with a business model.

 

[No5tromo]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

And despite Windows showing the window preview I prefer the way Mac does it, the app icon makes me identify the app much faster than some tiny preview. Having said that windows management in Windows is overall better.

 

[bunty]

Alt + Tab in MS Windows lets you cycle through separate windows for each app (i.e., cycle through documents, browser windows, etc.) as well as cycle through open system folders.

I'm not advocating for installing this third party app, but there's a clear difference between Alt + Tab and Command + Tab.

I use Command + Tilde a lot to switch between an app's open windows. Some call the Tilde key the Grave key I think.

 

[star-affinity]

And despite Windows showing the window preview I prefer the way Mac does it, the app icon makes me identify the app much faster than some tiny preview. Having said that windows management in Windows is overall better.

Fully agree on that. It can also become really messy to find the right window when one has a lot of them open.

But it still doesn't hurt to have both which is why I've been trying out AltTab as of late, and it seems to work well. The only problem I see is that there's no live update of the tile – they show what a window looked like upon pressing alt-tab.

I'd also like to mention SteerMouse which I like a lot with its capabilities to program mouse button behavior on a per app basis.

 

[mansplains]

Of this list I use CleanShot (non-cloud) and do enjoy it. MakeTheWeb makes another tool called PixelSnap and if you buy them together, you get 20% off. PixelSnap is handy for some interface design.

 

[apples_arrogance]

Raycast is great software, however they are storing the snippets in some obscure inaccessible format. I wish the snippets were just txt files that could be kept in sync across macs and edited with any texteditor. But that is currently not possible.

 

[Galley]

I use CleanShot X at least 20 times per day at work.

 

[ozzieslashflea]

TinkerTool! https://www.bresink.com/osx/TinkerTool.html

 

[Byte-64]

Command TAB does exactly what AltTab does in Windows. Why do we need an app?

Not exactly the same. Cmd + Tab in Mac OS circles through the programs and brings the foremost instance (or the first, I am not sure) to the foreground. Alt + Tab in Windows circles through all instances of programs. So, if you have 3 instances of a program open, you can circle through those 3. Something which I believe does not work with Mac (at least not with Cmd + Tab). I can be wrong though ?‍♂️

 

[Chorx]

Cleanshot X. Greenshot, with a pricetag.

 

[4jasontv]

Me too - Mission Control is three finger swipe up or Control + Up, by default in case anyone was wondering.

I like Mission Control, but I wish there was a magnification option, à la the dock.