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!
You can download it form the Apple App Store here:
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/colorful-folder/id1576476152?mt=12
I’ve been doing this for years, but I’ve never written an article about it. I have an easily accessible folder, available from anywhere, where I throw anything that is temporary. I can easily find what I need, but it doesn’t clutter other places up. Read on… it’s better than it sounds.
Continue reading ⟩I’ve just purchased a new 2020 13inch MacBook Pro and rather than use migration assistant to copy everything across I’ve started fresh. I have installed my apps one by one. So here’s a list of the first few ‘must have’ apps that I just installed…
I can’t live without it. It’s the first thing I installed as it contains all the passwords and serial numbers to my other apps and email logins etc. It’s one of the one monthly subscription apps that I’m willing to pay for.
A great password manager
I use dropbox to sync my working documents across all my computers. The free tier allows you to sync limited data across 3 computers but if you’re only syncing a few folders you can get away with it.
dropbox
Can’t live without it. Allows you to go back through your copy/paste history and find an item you pasted earlier in the day – like a browser history for the clipboard. For example writing this article I just went and gabbed the link to Jumpcut using Jumpcut, from when I installed it earlier today.
Jumpcut – multiple copy and paste
It’s quite unique but I prefer to dictate rather than type, for example I’m dictating this article right now. You can no longer buy Dragon for the Mac but it still works fine in Catalina and thankfully it’s a 64-bit app so should still work for a few more years. If you buy a second hand copy make sure that the serial number has been deregistered on the sellers computer otherwise you won’t be able to use it.
Dragon Naturally Speaking – keeping it going with Catalina
I have an extended keyboard with lots of function keys up to F15. I like to use these as shortcuts in apps but some apps do not let you use the function keys as shortcuts. Karabiner Elements lets you map keys to other keys. So for example I can map my F13 key to Option-F13 and use it as a shortcut in apps.
https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org
A fast, simple app for keeping notes synced accross computers and phones. I sync them with Simplenote on the Android and iPhone. An older app but still works with Catalina.
Notational Velocity (NValt) and Catalina
Hit the command key once and then type the name of any app or document to launch it. So fast! Probably the second app I install after 1Password.
How to use Quicksilver
Automatically mounts my Synology Network drive which contains my movies and images. From NZ!
https://www.pixeleyes.co.nz/automounter/
Allows me to easily run Applescripts. I have a great macro one to copy bible verses into any document with a single hotkey. There are times when I have used it to automate repeated tasks.
https://www.keyboardmaestro.com/main/
I can drag images onto this app and it shrinks them before I post them to a webpage. It’s free.
Most new printers have PostScript built-in although if you are trying to print to an older printer or you are in a workplace with lots of PCs they may not have built-in postscript. If this is the case the default drivers in OSX will not work.
Here’s how I got my a non Postscript Fuji Xerox printer working with my 2020 MacBook Pro running Catalina.
I needed to select LPD because IPP didn’t work.
I needed to select FX Print Driver for Mac OSX. The default DocuCentre drivers (Called FX DocuCentre-II C4300 v3016.103 PS) did not work. The specific drivers for a printer rely on the printer having Postscript, whereas the FX generic print driver does not need the printer to have Postscript installed.
“This Program can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”
Apple are getting tighter on which software they allow you to run on your computer. This is good because it avoids you getting any malware on your computer from bad software developers. But it also means that some legitimate software won’t run. If you are trying to download software from somewhere other than the Apple app store and you trust the source you are downloading your software from, here’s how to manually turn on the security settings for it to run.
Continue reading ⟩
If you get a bit bored booting up your Mac and waiting for the Apple logo, here’s a trick that will let you see what’s going on behind the scenes. It’s called verbose mode and it simply echoes to your screen everything that the computer is doing while it boots up. It doesn’t change anything about the way the computer operates, it doesn’t speed it up or slow it down, it just displays it on the screen.
To enable “Verbose mode” go into the terminal (Applications/Utilities/Terminal) and type in the following line:
sudo nvram boot-args="-v"
Apple used to have a fantastic application called OSX Server (now called MacOS Server) which allowed you to run a full server from any OSX computer. A server can allow you share files, run your own email or web server, remotely connect in to your office etc. OSX server was particularly powerful running on a Mac Mini. With OSX Mojave 10.14 Apple killed off OSX server, but it is still possible to download an older version from Apple that still works. You need need to purchase OSX server on a newer Mac running Catalina, then go to an older Mac signed in using the same Apple ID and grab the older version of Server from the Purchase history.
Here’s how.
Continue reading ⟩
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