Tips and Tricks
You can adjust your Mac’s screen resolution to make text and graphics larger so they’re easier to see, or if you have good vision, you can make them smaller so more content fits on the screen. Our tips will help.
Did you know Apple’s Podcasts app now includes written transcripts? Our tip helps you view the text while you listen, use it to navigate within the audio, search for specific bits, and more.
Want to see all your upcoming events in a list in Apple’s Calendar app on the Mac? It doesn’t have a built-in list view, but there’s a workaround.
Do you want to read the actual manuals or specs for Apple products? You can now easily find them on Apple’s new Documentation website.
If your Mac’s menu bar is a mess, you can use the Command key to rearrange the icons and remove those you never use.
It’s not hard to add a photo to a conversation in Messages, but with this tip, it’s even faster and easier!
If you want to enter more text than will seemingly fit in a text box on a Web page, you can use a trick to expand the box so you can see what you’re typing.
1Password is tremendously helpful for entering website passwords, but a little-known feature also enables it to enter your Mac login password for changing system settings, installing apps, and more.
If you’re not a fan of the new inline text predictions on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can easily turn them off and get back to typing only the words you want to appear.
Worried about the “Mother of All Breaches” that has been making the rounds in security news? We share a leak checker that can tell you if your email address was involved and recommend that you update any compromised passwords.
If you’ve ever experienced a weird situation where sound on a FaceTime Audio call moves back and forth between your AirPods, it’s because of spatial audio’s dynamic head tracking. Learn how to turn it off.
Next time you inadvertently open a large number of windows, you can use these Option-key tricks to close them all quickly.
The new Standby mode turns your iPhone into a digital picture frame, clock, or customizable widget display—and it remembers which approach you prefer in different locations.
Want an easy way to add email addresses, phone numbers, and postal addresses to Contacts? If you’ve received that information in Mail or Messages, Siri can help.
If you want to merge two folders that contain some of the same data, a little-known Finder feature can do it for you.
Has Time Machine’s hourly backup frequency been problematic for you? Starting in macOS 13 Ventura, you can instead choose a daily or weekly backup schedule.
If you very seldom want to type in all caps, disable or remap the Caps Lock key so an errant key press doesn’t turn it on accidentally.
If Mail on your Mac throws an error about being unable to send a message, always have it try again later rather than switching to a different server. Otherwise, your messages may look like spam and be blocked.
Do you sometimes wonder when or where you took a photo that iOS’s Photo Shuffle wallpaper is displaying on your Lock Screen? Us too, and here’s how to find out more.
Starting with iOS 16, Apple made it possible to extract objects from photos. You can drag objects to other apps, copy them, turn them into stickers, and more.
In Apple’s new operating systems for 2023, you can choose to invoke Siri with just “Siri” or the old “Hey Siri”—or turn the feature off entirely. We explain where to find the feature for each of your Apple devices.
Are you often late to online meetings or in-person appointments because you were too focused on your work to notice the time? The In Your Face app ensures you’ll never miss an important meeting again.
Apple’s promised double-tap gesture is now available in watchOS 10.1 for those with an Apple Watch Series 9 or Apple Watch Ultra 2. Give it a try to perform the primary action in a watchOS app without touching the screen.
Control Center brings together controls for a collection of core macOS features, but its menu bar icon is small, making it hard for some to click. Luckily, there’s a hidden shortcut to bring it up quickly from the keyboard.
Phishing isn’t limited to email and texts anymore—“voice phishing” or “vishing” was used recently in a major ransomware attack on MGM Resorts. The rise in such attacks means that requests over the phone will need much more verification.
The minimalist approach with a wireless keyboard and mouse is good most of the time, but if things go wrong, it can be handy to have a wired USB keyboard and mouse available for troubleshooting.
If you change your passcode and can’t remember it (or it was changed for you by a prankster), iOS 17 lets you use your old passcode for 72 hours. It’s a helpful backstop for the results of a memory lapse or mischievous child.
Need to enter SMS-initiated two-factor authentication codes manually in Web browsers other than Safari? Try this hidden trick for quickly copying and pasting them instead of retyping all those numbers.
If you have trouble finding things in macOS Ventura’s System Settings app, you’re not alone. We have advice to help you navigate alphabetically or jump directly to a deeply nested setting.
If you’re tired of trying to interpret how full your MacBook’s battery is from its menu bar icon, here’s how to get it to display a percentage as well.