According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, in 2020 Apple Macs had the highest customer satisfaction score of any personal computer.
Apple fans appreciate Mac computers because they are quiet, sleek and their software is easy to use. But did you know that there are a number of Mac secrets that even the most seasoned Mac users don’t know about?
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Get ready to have your mind blown. Below are 10 amazing Mac hacks that’ll make your life way easier.
Simple MAC Hacks to Know
1. Reduce Eye Strain By Inverting Colors
You may not know that Mac computers come with the option to invert colours. This is really helpful for those who struggle with sore eyes from staring at the screen for too long.
This feature is also helpful if you’re working outside and the weather is too sunny. To turn on the ‘Invert Colors’ option, go to Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Accessibility and then press Command + Option + Control + 8.
2. Stop Your Mac From Sleeping When Idle
We’ve all had this happen to use. You’re working on something important or downloading an important file. You leave your computer to make a cup of coffee or get a snack and when you come back, your Mac has gone into sleep mode.
Stopping your Mac automatically sleeping when idle is really easy. Open up the Terminal command line application, type in “caffeinate” and press enter. Done!
3. Take Screenshots
Having a screenshot function is very useful. You can use it to share interesting/funny things with your friends or keep records of important information. Here’s how to take screenshots on a Mac:
- Screenshot your whole screen by pressing Command + Shift + 3
- Screenshot part of your screen by pressing Command + Shift + 4
When you press Command + Shift + 4, you’ll be able to use your cursor to create a custom window. Alternatively, you can press the spacebar and click on a specific app window. A screenshot of this window will then be made.
Screenshots are saved as image files to your desktop.
4. Rename Multiple Files At Once
If you have a lot of files that you need to rename, it can take a long time. But thanks to this awesome Mac feature, you can save time by renaming more than one file at once.
Select all the files you wish to rename and right-click on them. Then select ‘Rename X items’. A window will then open that allows you to choose a filename for the entire group of files. You can also choose how each file is differentiated (e.g. by adding numbers).
5. Check the Meaning of Words
Have you ever spotted a word that you don’t know, but been too lazy to look up its meaning? Well, Mac makes it easy to check the meanings of words in the dictionary.
Simply highlight the word you want to look up and tap your trackpad with three fingers. The dictionary definition for that word should now pop up. If there’s no dictionary definition, then your Mac will show you the term’s Wikipedia entry instead.
You can also do this without a trackpad by highlighting the word, moving your cursor over it, and pressing Control + Command + D.
6. Annotate PDFs and Images
It’s really handy to be able to annotate PDF files and images. Luckily, this is super easy to do with Mac’s inbuilt Preview app.
First, open up the PDF file or image (it should automatically open in Preview). Next, select ‘View’ from the top menu and then click ‘Show Markup Toolbar’. This toolbar gives you various options for editing your file. You can draw over the file, add text to it, and more.
7. Paste Text Without Formating
So you tried to copy and paste some information from online into your Pages file and now the formatting is all wonky? Rather than wasting time manually correcting the font and font-size, you can paste text without formatting in the first place.
To do this it’s very simple. Instead of pressing Command + V to pastelike, you would normally, press Command + Shift + V.
8. Use Spotlight as a Calculator
Did you know that the Mac search facility, Spotlight, can also be used as a calculator? That’s right, instead of opening the Calculator app, you can type your equation into Spotlight itself.
Spotlight can also be used for doing unit conversions. For example, if you type in $50, Spotlight will display a list of conversions for various currencies.
9. Type Emojis on Mac
Do you miss those cute emojis on your iPhone? Good news – you can use them on your Mac too! The emoji keyboard on Mac works with most apps and text inputs. To bring it up, press Control + Command + Spacebar.
10. Display the Date in the Top Right Corner
Having the day and date display in the top right corner of your screen is handy for keeping track of your appointments. On the other hand, you may find it distracting and want to turn it off. Either way, it’s easy to do.
Click the apple logo at the top left of your screen, and select ‘System Preferences’. Then click on ‘Date and Time’ and then ‘Clock’. You should now see checkboxes labelled ‘Show date’ and ‘Show the day of the week’. Check or uncheck these as you please.
There are so many great Macbook hacks, that we can’t mention them all! Luckily other companies such as https://setapp.com/how-to/in-depth-guide-to-the-task-manager-for-mac, have done a great job of explaining them.
Master These Mac Hacks
There’s no question that people love using Mac computers. They look great, they’re fast and they are built for ease of use. But underneath that smooth, shiny exterior is a number of secrets and cute features that even the most die-hard Mac fans don’t know about.
These Mac hacks can help work more efficiently and increase your productivity. If you enjoyed these tips and tricks, be sure to share this post with your friends.
