What Are the Best Mac Tips, Tricks, and Timesavers?

Macs are powerful machines that can make work and play easier than ever before. But to get the most out of your Mac, you need to learn its tips, tricks, and timesavers. In this article, we’ll explore some of the best Mac tips, tricks, and timesavers so you can be more productive and have more fun with your Mac.

1. Utilize the Spotlight feature to convert units of measurement

Unit conversions in Spotlight is a great way to quickly and easily convert units of measurement and currency. With the latest macOS High Sierra update, Spotlight now has the ability to provide specific unit conversions with just a few keystrokes. For example, one can type the amount they want converted followed by the unit of measure they want it converted to – like “13 stone in pounds” – and get an immediate result. Alternatively, you can type what you need without adding any unit shorthand; typing ‘£1,110’ will bring up a list of available conversion options such as Dollar, Yen, and other world currencies. If your desired currency isn’t listed among the suggestions already given you can specify exactly which one you need; all you have to do is enter something like “£1,110 to AUD” and get your answer.

2. Interact with your Mac by speaking and listening!

Before macOS Sierra launched in 2016, the Mac’s ability to understand voice commands was impressive with its built-in Dictation feature. Now, however, there’s an even better option – Siri. Siri on Mac is the same voice assistant that millions of iPhone users have grown accustomed to. All you had to do was either hold down Command and Space for a couple seconds or simply click the Siri button on your Dock or Menu Bar. And if you happen to have one of the newer type of Macs like the 2018 MacBook Pro, all you have to do is say “Hey Siri” and it will be at your service.

This version of Siri can go further than simply answering standard questions about weather conditions or who’s playing in a certain game; it is much more useful with being able to toggle system functions such as turning Wi-Fi or Bluetooth off and on, as well as being able to look up individual files being stored in the system by asking Siri about them. In essence, among other features that make it convenient for users, making use of this technology helps shorten times for individuals looking for specific things through traditional methods.

3. Run Windows

If you need to run Windows on your Mac but don’t want to sacrifice your macOS setup, then virtualization applications such as VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop or VirtualBox are a great choice. With these apps you can easily install and run Windows without having to partition your hard drive or boot the system into a separate operating system. This allows for a much smoother user experience and also allows you to quickly access features from both operating systems without spending additional time rebooting. As an added bonus, it’s much easier for users to switch between macOS and Windows using applications like Parallels Desktop than using Boot Camp Assistant.

For more intensive processes like gaming that require maximum power from your computer hardware, Dual-booting with Boot Camp Assistant is the best solution. By selecting this option in the Apple Menu, users will be guided through a few simple steps which will enable them to run Windows natively on their machine alongside the existing macOS operating system. It’s important to note that running two operating systems at once requires some extra storage space in order for both to function properly, so be sure make room for two different installations before continuing with this option.

4. Hide/show menu bar automatically

The menu bar has been a feature on the Mac since its release in 1984, providing an easy way to access various menus in application software. OS X El Capitan introduced the ability to hide this menu bar, allowing users more screen real estate while keeping the same level of accessibility when needed. To enable this feature, users must open System Preferences and go to General, then they can tick off “Automatically hide and show the menu bar.” This allows them to quickly summon the menu bar by simply hovering a pointer towards the top of their screen without taking up space all of the time.

Aside from providing extra space for apps or windows, this is especially helpful for multitouch Macs where huge fingerprints often cover up the menu bar when inadvertently pressed. It also gives users that are used to other operating systems like Windows and Linux something familiar to look at and use. All in all, hiding and showing your Mac’s Menu Bar is an efficient way of gaining extra space while still having menus available with very little effort.

5. Type exotic characters

In today’s world, people are often surprised by just how many special characters they can type into their Mac with ease. Something like a café is easily typed in with either the Option+E (⌥+E) then E combination or by choosing to hold down the E until other variations are offered if you’re running OS X 10.7 or later. Through accessing the Edit menu of many apps and selecting Special Characters at the bottom, users have an array of symbols available for them to drag into their own documents. However, it should be noted that not all applications or even operating systems support these specialized Unicode characters; but more can appear with a simple click of the cog allowing users to access additional options. All in all, it’s pretty amazing to see how far modern technology has come to provide us with such exotic characters – and even better they’re part of our convenient cross-platform standard!