Around the world, OS X is becoming one of the most popular operating systems, with a market share of nearly 16 percent. If you’re the proud owner of a new MacBook and have just joined this cohort, welcome! You’ve made a fantastic choice.
Yet we understand that for new users, macOS can sometimes be tricky, especially if you’re used to Windows. That’s why today we’re going to look at some Mac hacks that can get you zipping around your new OS like a pro.
Put these Mac tips and tricks to use, and you’ll discover more functions of your new favourite OS, learn some key shortcuts, and will be able to use your Mac to its fullest.
Are you ready to take the apple’s first bite and start? Then read on!
1. Learn How to Take Screenshots
Screenshots are handy. You can easily share a meme, news headline, or anything else with your friends and family. Taking a screenshot on Mac is incredibly easy.
All you need to do is hold down command + shift + 3. This takes a screenshot of your entire screen, which will be saved to your desktop.
If you want to take a screenshot of a particular window you’re using, for instance, if there’s something private in another window that you don’t want to share, you should hold down command + shift + 4. Then let go and hit the spacebar. Then click on the window you want to screenshot, and you’re done!
If you only want to screenshot a small area of your screen, hold down the command + shift + 4 and use the cursor to select precisely what you want to screenshot.
2. Use Emojis in Your Messages
You can use emojis in all of your messages on a Mac. The Mac comes with an emoji keyboard ready to use in your notes.
To access it while you’re typing a message, you need to hit command + ctrl + space; then, the emojis will appear. Every emoji you can think of is ready to use, and you can scroll through it to your heart’s content.
If you’re having trouble finding the right emoji that you want to use, you can use the built-in search box to see it!
3. Use Siri
If you love using Siri on your iPhone, then you’re in luck! Your favourite digital assistant is also present on the Mac.
However, while on your iPhone, you need to say “hey Siri” to wake them up and ask them a question. You need to click the icon on the Dock before you can ask them anything.
However, if this isn’t your liking, you can set up voice commands to use Siri as you would on your iPhone. To do this, go to Settings and click “system preferences.” From here, please scroll down to Siri and select it.
Now that you’ve got access to the Siri settings, you can hit the checkbox that says “listen for ‘hey Siri.'” Then you’ll have to configure Siri so that it recognizes your voice.
4. Enable Do Not Disturb
The “do not disturb” setting on the iPhone is a fantastic way to get a little “me time” away from the world of constant notifications. While most laptops don’t prominently feature the same setting, the MacBook does!
You need to access the menu bar to turn on do not disturb. Then select the notification center and watch it gray out, which means notifications won’t come through and disturb you.
5. Speed Up Your MacBook
Over time, your MacBook can get full of temporary files and other junk. Knowing how to clear system storage and speed up your MacBook is essential for a fast MacBook.
To clear temporary files off your Mac, you’ll need to close any other apps and open up Finder. Hold down shift + command + G, then type in ~/Library/Caches/ and hit the “go” button.
You’ll find an extensive selection of temporary files and caches from your apps here. You can manually delete the stores when you’re sure what you want to delete to clear space.
6. Send Text Messages From Your Mac
We’re all used to using IM and email from the desktop, but did you know that you can send text messages through your Mac, too? To do this, you’ll need to open up the Messages app and sign in using the same Apple ID you use for your iPhone.
If you’ve already synced your iPhone’s contacts with your Macbook, you can then go right ahead and search for a contact’s name in the “to” field and send a message. If you still need to, you’ll need to enter their phone number to send a text message.
Please note that by default, this only works with iMessage, so you won’t be able to send texts to people who don’t use iOS.
7. Look Up Words in a Snap
Have you encountered a word you don’t recognize and want to look up in the dictionary fast? macOS makes it very easy to do this: all you need to do is hover over the word and tap the touchpad with three fingers.
This will highlight the word and bring up a dictionary definition, and it’ll also bring up a thesaurus definition!
Put These Mac Hacks to Good Use
If you put these Mac hacks into use, you’ll soon be getting even more out of your Mac than before. We’ve just scratched the surface of awesome Mac tricks, too, so explore the system thoroughly, and you’ll discover even more to love about your new system.
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