Tag: osx
Make a new file in a folder
There’s a free app that lets you create a new Pages document, or any file, directly from your current folder with just one click.
How to change the default settings for a printer in OSX
OK this is way more complicated than it should be! I wanted to set the default colour for all my printing to black and white. Here’s how to do it.
New Mac won’t boot into safe mode!
I was trying to boot my 2021 MacBook Pro into safe mode. (This is like a checkup that can fix some minor issues). For years the way to boot into safe mode was to hold down the shift key while the computer starts up. This has changed with the newer silicon Macs. Here’s the new…
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
Great productivity tip: create a tmp folder.
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.
My essential Mac apps
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… 1Password. I can’t live without it. It’s the first thing…
Printing to a Fuji Xerox printer using Catalina
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…
Allowing programs from unidentified developers
“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…
How to import photos from a Pixel phone with OS X Mojave
Make your Mac bootup screen more interesting
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…
How to get an old version of MacOS server
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…
A warning about notifications from websites
If you get a warning like this be very careful about clicking ‘Allow.’ I’ve noticed that lots of websites have been asking to send me notifications. What you may not realise is that these notifications do not come through your web browser. They come through the OSX built-in notifications that appear on the right of…
How to download Apple software updates to reduce your internet usage.
Apple as usual have been putting out software updates regularly, but some of them are very big. Software update 10.13.5 is over 2GB and 10.13.4 was 2.5GB. We have 4 Macintosh computers in our household so when they each download it, that ads up to approx 10GB of downloads. This is not a problem if…
How to delete an application in OS X
In OS X you can install software using the App Store but there is no option there to uninstall the software. Here are two ways to delete software in OS X.
High Sierra update
On October 31 Apple released the first update to High Sierra, OSX 10.13.1. There were a few teething issues with High Sierra 10.13 so the release of 10.13.1 might be a good time to upgrade. My ‘Software Update would not find High Sierra or the upgrade. I went to ‘Software Update’ only to be told ‘No…
How to make a bootable Thumbdrive of OS X
It’s very handy to have a bootable version of OS X on a thumb drive. I have written how to do this using a program called DiskMaker X, and I have written about how to do it from the command line here, but after doing this a few times I find the most reliable method is the…