Simple macOS Tips that will Turn You into a Power User
Did you just buy a new Mac? You are in for a treat — it is a breeze to work or study on your brand-new laptop. There are various macOS tips and tricks that can make using Mac a whole lot easier. From uploading movies instantly to deleting preinstalled apps, there are handy tools and features that will let you use your laptop at its full potential.
In this article, we will tell you simple yet classic tricks for not only using your Mac but becoming a power user! Without further ado, let’s get started!
Upload Movies Instantly to iTunes
We all download movies and music from the Internet using various websites and software. Adding them to your iTunes is a long process. From ensuring the visibility of the right song to dragging and dropping it onto the window, it will take a couple of minutes at the least. Want to learn the instantaneous hack? You can directly import audio and videos into iTunes.
Simply configure the application you download your movies with straight into a folder, from where they will be uploaded to iTunes immediately! Follow these three simple steps:
- Simply open your Finder
- Click Shift + Cmd + G
- Type ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/.
Voila! The folder you see will add all your files to iTunes automatically!
Uninstall Preinstalled Apps
Your Mac comes with several apps that you may not need at all. Learning how to uninstall preinstalled apps is not hard. One of the simplest ways to do so is by opening your launchpad and clicking on the app. Click and hold until the app icon starts jiggling. There will be a small cross on the top of the icon.
Click on it to delete the app. You will be prompted to confirm. Once you confirm, your apps will be deleted!
See Contact Info in One Place
Want to see everything about your favorite person in one place? A simple trick will let you see every email, instant message conversation, websites that mention them, files tagged by their name, and a lot more – all in one place!
Just go to your Contacts app, select the individual’s entry, and click Edit. In the menu, select Spotlight to access all the data you have on hand!
Lock Your Personal Files
Want to keep other people from making changes to your documents? You can do this by locking any file on your laptop. You will have to unlock the file to make any changes to the document, which is very useful if you have a Master File you want to remain untouched.
- Open the Finder.
- Select the file you want to lock.
- Press Cmd + I. It will open the info dialog box for your file.
- Select the Lock option present under General.
If you want to unlock the file, simply repeat the steps mentioned above and uncheck the Lock option. Want to keep your files hidden on Mac? There is a simple, easy way to do that. You can do it by adding a full stop in front of the file’s name. For instance, if you are saving an assignment, simply type .assignment.docx as its name, and your document will be invisible!
Switch File Between Apps While Working
Let’s say that you are editing a picture in Preview and want to use Adobe Illustrator for some effects. Take a look at the title bar. Right next to the file’s name, you will see a small icon – the proxy icon. Simply click the icon and hold it for a couple of seconds. Drag this icon to the Illustrator icon on your Dock.
The file will automatically open up in Illustrator. You can now edit your picture here!
Invert Your Selection
Let’s say that you have copied 50 pictures from your camera onto your laptop. You want to keep 46 pictures in one folder and the remaining 4 in another. Will you select 46 of them and then transfer them? No! There is a neat little trick that allows you to invert your selection. Select the 4 pictures you don’t want to transfer.
Now hold down the Command key, and with your mouse, select all the files in the folder. Voila! The magic will automatically happen. Your selection would have been inverted! Transfer the files to the other folder, delete them, and do whatever you want with them!
Final Word
We live in a tech-filled world, and it is a shame not to use your gadgets to their full potential. With the help of the macOS tips above, you can easily become a power user of Mac and make your life a whole lot easier!
