Many people refuse to buy a Mac, claiming they are not very customizable and lack the tricks they were used to with their Windows machines. In fact, there are plenty of tricks Mac users can take advantage of – you just have to know where to look for them! There is a variety of hidden tricks on Mac devices that can help make your experience even better.
7 Must-Have Hidden MacBook Tricks
If you are looking for the best hidden Mac features, you have come to the right place. Here are 7 useful Mac features that are hidden from the eyes of users, but can make life much easier for users.
1. Dark Mode
Apple’s addition of a dedicated dark mode to the Mac was, as the topic states, ‘Crazy’. It exposed Mac users to a whole new level of convenience and accessibility when it comes to working or browsing late at night. With the dark mode activated, all applications compatible with this feature will switch from bright colors to nearly black shades. This makes Mac menu colors more comfortable for viewers’ eyes and relieves unnecessary strain caused by overexposure to blue light. Activating dark mode on your Mac is actually quite simple; simply open System Preferences and click General. You’ll be presented with three options: Light, Dark, or Auto – the latter two activating the dark mode feature while auto adjusts this setting according to the time of day.
2. VPN
The standard way to launch any website is through a browser and a personal internet connection. Many users don’t know how unsafe it is. To increase the security and anonymity on the network, it is worth using a VPN tool. With VPN Argentina, you can even increase your internet speed. Another advantage of using a VPN is access to any content, no matter what region it is designed for. Even region-locked content can be accessed easily thanks to the many VPN servers available. As such, a VPN has many uses to help empower your Mac and maintain your privacy.
3. IPhone Screen Mirroring
Screen mirroring an iPhone to a Mac is an effective and easy trick that I frequently use, but it seems to be vastly underrated. While there are several third-party apps that perform the same function, all you really need are two simple clicks – first, open up the Control Centre of your iPhone, then click on the Screen Mirroring icon in order to connect with the same Wi-Fi network as your Mac. Once you select the corresponding name of your Mac device, you’re ready to get rolling! This is one small step that can make large tasks easier, so why not give it a try?
4. Remove Unused Settings
Looking at the image, it’s quite evident that classic System Preferences has a lot of points that most users don’t use. To declutter my computing experience, you can choose to hide some of those lesser-used settings by following a few simple steps. By first going to System Preferences then selecting View then clicking Customize, and unchecking all the settings I don’t need on a page. Following this up with a click on Done at the top and voila. Using the settings menu will become much more convenient due to less confusion.
5. Quick screenshots
When discussing hidden MacBook tricks, I would like to mention one frequently used feature that other applications usually use and that is taking screenshots. Taking a screenshot on the Mac is an incredibly useful feature and thankfully, there are just a few keyboard shortcuts to help users capture whatever they need. But one of my favorites is CMD+Shift+5. This combo brings up an intuitive toolbar that gives you complete control over what content is captured, allowing you to start and stop recordings as well as choose what screenshots are saved and where. With this combo, all you have to remember is the single command – there’s no guesswork involved.
As a result of pressing the key combination, you will receive a screenshot, but it still needs to be shared. It is worth remembering that if you upload a picture to a free file-sharing service without a VPN extension, you can catch a virus and calculate the user by IP. The solution is VeePN, to which we return again. To have no doubts about the quality of a VPN service, read the reviews. It is reasonable to use it always and on all devices that connect to the Internet. Even if it happens infrequently.
6. File Preview
When trying to determine whether or not a file is necessary on your Mac, Quick Look is an invaluable tool. Instead of double-clicking on each file and waiting for it to open in its default application, simply select the file(s) you would like to preview and click Spacebar. This will generate a quick preview that allows you to easily see what the file is without going through the full process of opening it. To view multiple files at once, select all the files before pressing Spacebar, then utilize the left and right arrow keys to switch between them. Quick Look is a great way to quickly assess if the file is necessary or just taking up space on your Mac.
7. Quick Trash Empty
The last item in the Mac tricks you don’t know the collection is a quick trash bin empty. For many users, dealing with their system trash bin can be an inconvenience. After all, who really has the time to open up a window and manually delete items? Thankfully though, if you’re using macOS, clearing that pesky bin is as easy as remembering a short keyboard shortcut. Simply pressing ‘⌘+Shift+delete’ on your Desktop (or Finder) will produce a menu where you’re able to quickly and easily empty your trash bin. Now deleting junk from your computer is no longer time-consuming or difficult – thanks, macOS!
Conclusion
The Mac is a powerful and versatile machine, capable of much more than most users realize. The tips listed above are just a few of the many hidden tricks available to Mac users, but with these seven tips, you can get more out of your device’s capabilities.