10 macOS tips to make your life easier

macOS is a powerful operating system, but it can be daunting to learn all of its features. It’s a good idea to explore and play with your Mac’s settings – there are countless ways to customize it to your liking! Here are 10 macOS tips to help you get the most out of your Mac:

1. Use keyboard shortcuts

macOS has many keyboard shortcuts that can save you time and effort. For example, you can press Command-C to copy text, Command-V to paste it, and Command-Tab to switch between apps.

Yes, macOS has many different keyboard shortcuts. Here are some of the most common:

Command-C: Copy text.
Command-V: Paste text.
Command-Tab: Switch between apps.

Command-Space: Open Spotlight.
Command-F: Find text.
Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the entire screen.

Command-Shift-4: Take a screenshot of a selected area.
Command-Shift-5: Take a screenshot of a window or menu.
Option-Command-Escape: Force an application exit.

You can find a full list of keyboard shortcuts in macOS by going to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.

Here are some tips for using keyboard shortcuts:

Learn the most common shortcuts. They’re the ones you’ll use the most, so it’s worth taking the time to learn them.
Prepare a page. If you have a lot of keyboard shortcuts to remember, you can create a page to keep next to your computer.

Use them as often as possible. The more you use keyboard shortcuts, the more natural they will become.

Once you start using keyboard shortcuts, you might ask “how did you ever live without them?” They’re a great way to save time and be more productive on your Mac.

2. Take full page screenshots

This is true! You can take a screenshot of an entire page on a Mac by pressing Command-Shift-3. This will save the screenshot to your desktop as a PNG file.

Here are a few more ways to take screenshots on your Mac:

Take a screenshot of a selected area. To do this, press Command-Shift-4 and then click and drag to select the area you want to screenshot.
Take a screenshot of a window or menu. To do this, press Command-Shift-4 and then press the space bar. This will turn the cursor into a camera icon. Click on the window or menu you want to screenshot.

Take a scrolling screenshot. To do this, press Command-Shift-5. This will open the screenshot toolbar. Click the full screen button and then click the capture scroll button. This will allow you to scroll down a web page or document and take a screenshot of the whole thing.

3. Use hot corners

Hot corners are a great way to quickly access certain macOS features. Here’s how to set them up:

Go to System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver.

Click on the Hot Corners tab.
For each corner, you can choose an action to take when you move the pointer to that corner.
Available actions include:
- Task Control: Shows all your open windows and spaces.
- Launchpad: Opens the Launchpad app.
- Notification Center: Opens the Notification Center.
- Screen saver: Activates the screen saver.
- Put the display to sleep: Put the display into sleep mode.
- Lock Screen: Locks your Mac.

Once the hot corners are set, you can use them by moving the pointer to the corner of the screen and holding it there for a few seconds.

Here are some tips for using hot corners:

Choose actions you use often. This will make them more useful.

Set different actions for different corners. This will give you more flexibility.
Use modifier keys with Hot Corners. This allows you to perform more complex operations. For example, you can set the top left corner to activate task control with the Option key pressed, allowing you to quickly move to a specific space.

4. Create a keyboard shortcut

You can create a keyboard shortcut for any action you can do in macOS. Here’s how to do it:

Go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts.
Click the App Shortcuts tab.
In the menu title field, type the name of the action you want to create a shortcut for.

In the Hotkey field, tap the keys you want to use as the shortcut.
Click the Add button.

Your new keyboard shortcut will now be available. You can use it by pressing the keys you set in the Hotkey field.

Here are some tips for making keyboard shortcuts:

Use short key combinations that are easy to remember. This will make them easier to use.
Avoid using keys that you use for other shortcuts. This may cause confusion.

Use modifier keys to create more complex shortcuts. This allows you to create shortcuts for actions that would otherwise be difficult to do with a single key combination.

Yes, you can set certain apps to open automatically when you log into macOS. Here’s how to do it:

Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.

Click on your user account in the list.
Click the Login Items tab.
Click the + button to add an app to the list of login items.

In the Add Item dialog box, select the app you want to open automatically.
Click the Add button.

The app you selected will now open automatically upon login.

Here are some tips for setting up login items:

Only add apps you use often. This will prevent your Mac from running slow.
Avoid adding apps you don’t trust. These apps may run malicious code when activated.

You can remove login items at any time. To do this, select the item in the list of login items and press the – button.

6. Use Mission Control to see all open windows

Task Control is a great way to see all your open windows at once. You can access this by pressing F3 or swiping up with three fingers on your trackpad.

Here are some things you can do in Mission Control:

See all your open windows. When you first open Mission Control, you’ll see a thumbnail of each window that’s currently open.
Go to another window. To switch to another window, just click on its thumbnail.
Group windows together. If you have multiple windows open from the same application, you can group them together by clicking the + button in the upper-right corner of the Task Control window.

Create a new desktop. If you need to work on multiple projects at the same time, you can create a new desktop for each project. To do this, click the + button in the upper left corner of the Task Control window.
Move a window to another desktop. To move a window to another desktop, simply drag it to the desktop thumbnail you want to move it to.

7. Use multiple desks

Multiple desktops are a great way to stay organized on your Mac. You can get different desks for different tasks, such as work, school or personal use. This can help you avoid distractions and focus on the task at hand.

Here’s how to use multiple desktops on your Mac:

To create a new desktop, press Control + Option + Up Arrow.
To switch to another desktop, press Control + Left Arrow or Control + Right Arrow.

To move a window to another desktop, drag it to the desktop thumbnail you want to move it to.
To delete a desktop, click its thumbnail, and then click Delete.

Here are some tips for using multiple desktops:

Use different colors for different desks. This will help you identify which desktop you are on.
Use Mission Control to see all your open windows at once. This will help you find the window you are looking for.
Group windows together. If you have multiple windows open from the same application, you can group them together by clicking the + button in the upper-right corner of the Task Control window.

8. Digital signature on your documents

You can digitally sign documents on your Mac using the Preview app. Here’s how to do it:

Open the document you want to preview.
Click the Markup toolbar button (if the Markup toolbar is not displayed, click the View menu and select Show Markup Bar).

Click the sign button.
If you have already created a signature, you can select it from the list. If you haven’t created a signature yet, you can create one by clicking the Create Signature button.
To create a signature using your trackpad, click the trackpad button and then sign the trackpad.

To create a signature using your camera, press the camera button and then sign your name on a piece of paper.
Once you’ve created your signature, click the Finish button.

Your signature will now be added to the document. You can move it and resize it as needed.

Here are some tips for digitally signing documents:

Use a secure signature. You can use a digital certificate to create a secure signature. This will ensure that your signature cannot be tampered with.
Keep your signature private. Do not share your signature with anyone else.

Use a recent version of Preview. The latest version of Preview supports the latest digital signature standards.

9. Split your screen for multitasking

You can split your screen on Mac to multitask. It’s a great way to be productive and easy to do.

Here are some ways to split screen on your Mac:

Use Split View. Split View allows you to open two windows side by side. To use Split View, hold the pointer over the green full screen button in the top corner of a window. You will see options to go full screen and swipe the window left or right. Choose which side of the screen you want the window on. The other half of your screen will then display other open app windows that support Split View.
Use Mission Control to drag windows to the sides of the screen. To do this, open Task Control by pressing F3 or swiping up with three fingers on the trackpad. Then, drag the window you want to split to the left or right side of the screen.
Use the space bar to switch between apps. To do this, hold down the spacebar and then click on the app you want to switch to. Once you’ve moved to an app, you can use Command + Left Arrow or Command + Right Arrow to move the window to the left or right side of the screen.

Once you’ve split the screen, you can resize the windows by dragging the dividing line between them. You can also move the windows by dragging them to different parts of the screen.

10. Add a guest user to your Mac

Here are the steps on how to add a guest user to your Mac:

Open System Preferences.

Click on Users and Groups.
Click the Guest User tab.
Press the +” button.

Enter a name for the guest user.
Click the Create Account button.

Now the guest user will be created. They will be able to log into your Mac without entering a password. the guest user will have limited access to your Mac. They can only access the internet and open pre-installed apps.

Here are some things to keep in mind when adding a guest user to your Mac:

Guest users cannot change system settings. This means they can’t install new apps, change your desktop wallpaper, or make other changes to your Mac.
Guest users cannot access your files. This means they can’t see your documents, photos or other files.

Guest users cannot log in remotely. This means they can’t log into the Mac from another computer.

If you need to give someone temporary access to your Mac, adding a guest user is a great way to do it. They’ll have limited access to your Mac, so you can be sure they won’t be able to change anything important.