As a proud Apple customer you naturally want to get the most out of your Mac. And you just know it’s packed full of those awesome Apple extras. But who has the time to read the whole manual when it comes to learning every capability your shiny new bit of kit has?
While there’s plenty of advice out there for serious Mac users on everything from how to test your Mac’s speed to how to update Microsoft Office on Mac, here’s some of the most useful, under-the-radar features you probably never knew your Mac had.
Instant Screenshots
Many people use apps to help them capture screenshots on their PCs, but a Mac is different. With a few simple keystrokes you can easily capture what you see on your display. Simply press Command-Shift-3 to take a snapshot of your entire screen.
You can press Command-Shift-4 to capture a snapshot of the region of your choosing on the screen. The pointer for your mouse will turn into a plus symbol which you can click and drag down and to the right to create a selection. Releasing hold of the Command-Shift-4 buttons will allow the Mac to take a snapshot of the selected area.
Your snapshot will always be placed on your desktop so it is easy to find and use.
Add Emojis Anywhere You Want
By pressing the Control-Command-Spacebar you can quickly and easily add an emoji to anywhere you want, opening up your emoji possibilities from just text messages and emails to all types of documents and creations.
Word Definitions At Your Fingertips
Once you have learned to quickly find the definitions of any word on your Mac, your writing will excel and you will become a trusty wordsmith with a plethora of options at your fingertips. To see the meaning of a word you can simply hover over that word with your mouse and then tap three fingers on your Macbook mousepad or your magic mouse. The word will be highlighted in yellow and there will be a popup box underneath which contains the definition from the dictionary and the potential uses of the word with an excerpt from the thesaurus.
Cycle Through Your Open Apps
You may have several apps open at one time, and you may need to scroll from one app to another quickly. To do this, all you need to do is hold Command-Shift-Tab. Doing this will bring up a pop up on your screen, and you can then scroll through the open apps with repeated taps of the Tab button.
Hot Corners
If you go to your System Preferences page and click on ‘Desktop & Screen Saver’ you should see a button on the bottom right that says ‘Hot Corners’. Once you have clicked on this, you will be presented with a drop-down menu for each corner of your screen. There are several different options available, but the most useful ones are ‘Application Windows’ and ‘Desktop’. ‘Application Windows’ will give you the ability to shrink all of your open windows to miniature size. Once you’ve done this, you can view them all at once and select the one you wish to use – a useful alternative to cycling through your apps. ‘Desktop’ will hide all of your windows and allow you to view your desktop.
Want more tips like this plus answers to all your troubleshooting and time saving questions? Check out the official Mac support page for more advice and support.
This is a collaborative post.
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