macOS offers excellent features that help improve user experience to a great extent. No matter what version you are using, Apple adds some unique functional capabilities in each new edition of the operating system. Coming from Apple, no wonder the OS keeps surprising us with its solid stability, without being bloated with unnecessary applications and features. If you own a Mac and looking forward to the most useful features and tips that will help to improve your productivity while using the OS, here you go.
1. Explore More With Spotlight
Spotlight performs a wide range of operations than just launching apps and finding files. You can do quick calculations and easy conversions directly from the Spotlight. It often prevents you from opening Safari and then searching for the right answer.
Press Command + Spacebar, and you can convert Fahrenheit to Celsius or centimeters to meters. Type in kind: JPG to search with specific criteria, or use the keyword define to get a definition of a word, or get a weather forecast of a particular location by typing weather California.
2. Use Microsoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher allows you to design different kinds of marketing material for web as well as print media. It integrates well with Office 365 and is considered useful for software design. But the software was available only for Windows computers.
But is publisher available for mac computers? Well, not exactly, but there are a plethora of Microsoft Office Publisher app alternatives you can download for Mac. The program allows full-time designers to create brochures, books, and other print media.
3. Make Quick Notes
You should be familiar with the popular Keychain that stores the password credentials for all your online accounts, including the website passwords. You can also use it to keep your notes secure, as no one can gain access to keychain data.
Once you save the notes in the Keychain, they will become password-protected. On navigating to the notes from the New Secure Note Item in the File under Applications, you will be able to see the title of the notes. You can access the notes only after providing the password.
4. Save Multiple Files in One PDF
If you have a lot of images or PDF files and you find it difficult to manage them all together, don’t worry; your Mac has the solution. You can save multiple JPGs or PDFs into one single PDF to save them in an organized manner for easy management.
Open any of the PDFs stored on your computer and press Command + Shift + Option + S keys to open the Save As dialog box, and then save the files as PDF on a desired location on the hard drive. Next, navigate to Edit, click Insert, and then select Page from File to put together pages or images from other files.
5. Copy & Paste Text Between Devices
Macs and iPhones are great to work on. These devices offer some exceptional features that make you more productive in the workplace. You can use your Mac and iPhones together to make the most out of the features.
You can copy the text on your Mac and paste it on your iPhone or vice-versa. Make sure to turn on the Wifi and the Bluetooth on both devices to enable this feature to work. Also, you need to sign in to the same iCloud account to use this feature.
6. Sign Documents in Preview
Not too far ago, signing a PDF used to involve a variety of manual tasks where you needed to download, print, sign, and scan your document. With macOS, you can sign the PDF digitally, bypassing the printing or scanning process using the Preview app.
You can sign the PDF in different apps and programs following appropriate procedures. You need to put your signatures on plain white paper and then scan them using the Camera app. When done properly, add the scanned copy of your signature to the PDF or other documents.
7. Use Split View for Multitasking
You can work on two different apps by placing them side by side without any lags or distractions. To use this feature, navigate to the upper left corner of the window, then click and hold down the green-colored full-screen button.
From the menu, tap on Tile Window to Right of Screen or Tile Window to Left of Screen, and then the app will be placed on that particular part of the screen. This process works on OS X Catalina. In El Capitan or the later versions, click can hold down the green buttons and then drag the window to either the left or right side of the screen.
8. Magnify Your Screen
If you are finding it difficult to see the tiny elements of the screen, use Zoom to magnify the screen. You need to enable it from the Accessibility menu. To enable Zoom magnification in macOS, click on the Apple logo, select System Preferences, and tap on Accessibility.
Select Zoom from the left-hand column under the Vision section. Tick mark the checkbox available next to Use keyboard shortcuts to Zoom or select Use scroll gestures with modifier keys to zoom. Once the option is enabled, the feature will activate immediately.
9. Capture Video or Image Screenshots
To click the screenshot of the entire screen, press Shift + Command + 3 keys. If you want to capture a selected area of the screen, press and hold down the Shift + Command + 4 keys. Also, you can use Shift + Command + 5 keys to bring up an interface that allows you to record the entire or partial screen.
For a cleaner screenshot of the selected portion of the screen, press the Spacebar along with Shift + Command + 4 keys, and the icon will turn into a camera. Thereafter, click on any open window to capture the screenshot of that particular window, such as the menu bar or the Dock.
10. Unlock Mac With Apple Watch
Do you know that you can use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac computer? It allows you to unlock the device within close proximity without tapping the computer. To set up the feature, open System Preferences, click Security & Features, and then toggle to enable Unlock Mac with Apple Watch.
On the macOS Catalina or later, you can use Apple Watch as an alternative to password protection. It saves you from typing in the password over and over again each time you want to turn on your device.
11. Utilize the Hot Corners feature
Hot Corners allows the user to modify the four corners of the MacBook as a trigger that can be configured to perform certain actions. It is useful because it can be used no matter what you are doing on the computer. You can configure these corners by following the steps mentioned below:
- First, click on the Apple Menu.
- Now go to System Preferences.
- Here, click on Desktop and Screen Saver and choose Screen Saver.
- Then select Mission Control and choose Hot Corners.
- Finally, indicate a corner and assign an action to it, such as showing notifications, Launchpad, or even locking the screen.
12. Create a list of your Calendar Events
Although there are apps that can aid you with the same function, you can do the same with your inherent calendar app. The feature is popular because many people prefer to look at a vertical list of upcoming events rather than the native interface.
All you have to do is open the calendar app and click on the search bar in the upper-right corner. Then type in two double quotes (“”), and it will quickly show you all the upcoming events in the form of a list.
13. Convert Images using Finder
Yes, you can always convert images the traditional way by using an app. However, if you are open to learning a quick trick, it will allow you to convert images using the Finder on your macOS. It allows you to convert an image or a selection of images at once using the quick action feature of the Finder. All you have to do is
- Select an image or a collection of images.
- Perform a Ctrl+click and choose Quick Actions.
- Finally, choose Convert Image.
14. Use the Split Screen Feature
The split-screen feature is very useful, especially if you have a large enough screen. But even without it, you can make the most of it, especially if you are someone who values multitasking. The MacBook also comes with a split screen feature, but sadly, it is mostly overlooked.
However, if you are interested, you can follow the steps below to split your screen on MacBook:
- First, you need to have at least two or more apps open on your MacBook.
- Then, move your cursor to hover over the maximize button on one of the apps.
- On the new popup, choose the Tile Window to the Left or Right of the Screen option.
- Finally, click and drag to change the size of each of the apps sharing the screen.
15. Text Replacement
MacOS also offers a built-in text replacement feature that allows users to type a shortcut, which the OS will automatically expand for them. It is a very convenient feature that saves time and allows for much faster typing. Once you add the shortcut, you can use it in the Message app and emails.