Can’t transfer photos from an iPhone to your Macbook wirelessly!
I have an iPhone 13 and a new model 14inch m1 MacBook Pro. I’d love to copy the photo’s from my iPhone to my MacBook Pro. I can’t find a way to do it easily. The only option seems to be using a lightning to USB cable, but even then the processes painfully slow. There…
How to import a list of contacts into iCloud
I have a list of contacts in a numbers document that contains their first name, last name, phone and email. This will also work for an excel file, or a CSV file. I wanted to import them into my Apple Contacts on my iPhone so I can email and ring them. This process was much…
How to Change the Colour of Folders in OSX
There is no simple built-in way to change the folder colour in OSX. But this free app does it. Drag a folder onto it and it will change it’s colour! Colourful Folder You can download it form the Apple App Store here: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/colorful-folder/id1576476152?mt=12
How to get in fast on the Apple refurbished store
The Apple refurbished store is a great way to buy as new Apple computers for 10% off. But sometimes it can be hard to get the computer you are after. My tip is to use ‘Changetower’ which monitors websites for changes and get it to email you an alert when your items appears. Here’s a…
Dragging emails into the OSX reminders app
Here I blogged about how great the Apple Reminders app is for managing tasks in the GTD workflow. What I didn’t mention is that you can drag emails straight into the reminder app and it will link the email to the task. Here’s how. The Reminders app needs to be open. Grab an email from…
GTD with Apple reminders
I’ve previously used Things by Cultured Code and Todoist, Wunderlist and others. But recently I’ve given Apple Reminders a run and I must say it’s surprisingly good. After 6 months, it’s become my favourite place to organise my tasks. It’s got great integration with Siri. ‘Hey Siri, add a reminder to plan for holidays.’ It…
Showing a preview of your image on the desktop file icon – broken
You can get previews of your images on the OSX desktop like this: Mine were broken and just displaying the generic preview icon. Here’s how I fixed it.
How to remove duplicate photos from your Apple photo library.
Here’s how to remove duplicates from your Apple Photo Library. 1. Download a free app called ‘Duplicate File Finder Remover’ Any app like this will do that finds duplicate files in the finder. 2. Find your Photos Library. It’s in your home user folder in a folder called ‘Pictures.’ Control-click on it and select ‘Show…
How to fix your Fuji Xerox Printer in Monterey 12.3.1
I just upgraded to OSX Montery 12.3.1 and it broke my printer. The printer just comes up with an error saying ‘Filter Failed.’ I downloaded the new Fuji Xerox drivers but that did not fix it. I reset the printing system (Apple’s suggested fix) but that did not fix it either. In the end I…
Fastest way to transfer data from your old MacBook to your new one.
The first time you start up a new Apple computer it asks if you want to transfer data from another computer. If you select yes, it opens Migration assistant, and gives you the option to connect to another computer. There are various ways you can connect. Some are very slow! Some are fast. The slowest…
Why your USB-C cable may not work to connect your MacBooks together.
When I unboxed my new MacBook Pro I booted it up and followed the prompts to connect my old MacBook Air to transfer my old files across. For some reason it did not recognise my old MacBook Air. I used the USB-C cable that came with my new MacBook Pro to connect the two computers…
Incredible ‘holiday’ focus mode
I’ve never found a good way to block out business calls from my iPhone on Holidays. Quite often I’ve just turned my phone off. Apple’s new ‘focus’ mode is very powerful and allows you to stop all incoming calls and notifications, then just let through calls that you want. They don’t appear at all!
Help my iCloud is full!
I just received this email form Apple telling me that my iCloud is full.
How to use the free version of wptouch on WordPress
This is very technical! This website macintoshhowto.com uses a wordpress plugin called wp-touch. It has a bug in it. I needed to fix it to get the site working. Here’s how to fix it.
How to merge 2 pdf files in Apple OS 11 Big Sur using Preview
Merging pdf files in Big Sur is the easiest it’s ever been. You just need to be in thumbnail view and drag one pdf fiel into the other one, save, and they will merge. Double click any pdf file. (It will open on Preview) Select View Thumbnails in the sidebar. Drag any other pdf file…
Google Calendar and OSX
I’ve been a long time user of Apple Calendar but I’ve switched to Google calendar for 2 main reasons: It’s easier to access on different devices You can set colors for events. I’m now using a Pixel phone and the Google calendar works flawlessly on the Pixel phone, and iPhone, as well as an OS…
The Apple Airtag security hole – why you need to be cautious if you find a lost Airtag.
I’m always getting clickbait about a security vulnerability with Apple, or a new virus or something. Pretty much all of them are irrelevant to the average user. But this one is something to be aware of, not because it’s particularly nasty, but becuase it’s so simple to do. This is the kind of hack your…
How to get an extra 500MB in dropbox
The free dropbox plan comes with 2GB of data. If you invite someone new to dropbox, both they and you get an extra 500MB, up to 16GB for free. If you’re a first time dropbox user… Use this link to get an extra 500MB. (I get an extra 500MB too!) https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/AAA3n8zVBn-K5wTvyPpkd3lSmcuDaUNWgS8?src=global9 If you are an…
How to rsync from Siteground to backup your website using OSX.
This is quite technical, but I’m putting it here so I don’t forget, and for anyone else who may be helped! Rsync is a file copying protocol that allows you to copy an entire directory. It’s like an automated version of ftp, but it uses the SSH protocol not ftp. Here’s how to make a…
How to change the colours of individual bars in an Apple numbers graph
There are preset colour sets for graphs in Apple numbers spreadsheet. It’s easy to apply a preset set of colours for a graph. But how do you customise the individual colours of bars or lines within a graph? This took me ages to work out! The trick is to click on the graph, then click…
iblog
I am releasing the macintoshhowto wordpress theme for public use. It’s is a wordpress theme that has been running on this site since 2010. I’ve made several improvements since then, many to make it responsive to mobile devices and also to make it faster. The original free iBlog theme has been removed from public distribution.…