For this guide and the accompanying YouTube video, we asked MacRumors readers on Twitter and YouTube for their favorite and most useful macOS tips, which we have compiled below. Some of them are more basic and will work for all users, while others are a little more advanced. Check out our video to see them in action, or read the guide for a quick overview.
Workstation and application management
- Activate Spotlight for search – To display a practical search interface that will allow you to find files on your Mac, simply use Command + Space. Spotlight can do all kinds of things, from localizing files to solving basic math questions and solving basic questions.
- Switch between applications – To switch between your open applications, press Command + Tab. Hold down the Command key, then press Tab to cycle through open applications. Let go when the app you want is highlighted.
- Close applications in the application selector – When you are in Command + Tab view, press the Q key with the command pressed to close an open application.
- Hot corners – If you are not already using Hot Corners, they are worth checking out. You can define tasks that will occur when your mouse is over a specific corner, such as launching Mission Control, viewing the desktop, etc. Configure them in System Preferences> Mission Control> Hot Corners.
- Advanced hot corners – If you want to use hot corners but you found yourself accidentally activating functions, hold down the Option key while configuring a hot corner. From there, the Hot Corner will only activate if you hold down the Option key.
- Hide a window – To quickly hide a window on the desktop, simply press Command + H. The application will disappear in the background, but you can recover it by clicking on the icon on the dock or by using Command + Tab.
- Hide all windows – You can hide all windows except for the window of the application you are currently using by pressing Option + Command + H.
- Switch from one application to another – If you have several windows open for an application like Safari, you can switch between these open windows using Command + the Tilde key (~).
- Switch between multiple offices – If you use several workstations, you can quickly switch between them by pressing the Control button, then the left or right arrow.
Manage files
- Quick opening of files – To open a folder in Finder or on your desktop, hold down the Command key and press the down arrow. To go back, simply hold down the control and press the up arrow key.
- Clean your desk – For those with macOS Mojave or later, on a messy desktop, right click and choose “Stacks” so that your Mac automatically organizes everything by file type.
- Instant file deletion – If you want to delete a file and bypass the recycle bin on the Mac that saves files before deleting them, simply select a file and press Option + Command + Delete at the same time.
- Create an automatic duplication file – If you want to create a duplicate file by clicking on a specific file, right click, select “Get Info”. then check the Stationary Pad box. Each time you open this file, it actually opens a duplicate of it, which is great for similar models and file types.
Screenshot
- Video screenshots – Shift + Command + 3 takes a screenshot, Shift + Command + 4 allows you to select an area of the screen to capture, but Shift + Command + 5, a less known option, brings up an interface that allows you to record your screen or part of your screen.
- Cleaner screenshots – When you use Shift + Command + 4 to select an area of the screen, if you press the space bar, the icon changes to camera. From there, you can click on any open window to get a screenshot of the window or interface item like the dock or the menu bar.
Safari
- Picture in Picture of Safari (YouTube) – You can watch a video in Safari while you are doing other things. To do this with YouTube, right-click twice on a video currently playing to display a menu offering the image-in-image function.
- Safari Picture-in-Picture Pt. 2 – If the right click method does not work to output a video or if you are not watching YouTube, there is another method. When playing a video, look for the audio icon in the Safari toolbar, right-click it, and it should bring up a picture-in-picture option.
- Easier link copying – If you want to copy the current URL to Safari, press Command + L to highlight the URL bar, then press Command + C to copy. It’s faster than using a mouse.
Force Touch Trackpad
- A look – When using a Mac with a Force Touch trackpad, if you click and hold on something like a website link or a YouTube video, you can see a little preview of the content to see what it is without having to leave the current page that you’re on.
- dictionary – If you see a word you don’t know, highlight it and press it with the Force Touch trackpad to get a dictionary definition.
- Rename folders and files – If you force Touch on a folder or file name, you can quickly rename it. Tap a folder or file icon and you can see a preview of the file.
Apple Watch and Mac
- Unlocking with Apple Watch – If you have an Apple Watch, you can use it to unlock your Mac, which is a very useful feature for those who don’t know it. To configure it, open System Preferences> Security & Privacy, then turn on Unlock Mac with Apple Watch.
- Apple Watch password authentication – For those who have macOS Catalina and an Apple Watch, the Apple Watch can also be used as an alternative to a password, so you don’t need to type passwords frequently.
Notification Center
- Quickly activate DND – If you hold down the Option key and click the Notification Center icon in the upper right corner of your Mac’s menu bar, you can turn on Do Not Disturb.
Keyboard tips
- Alternative mouse control – There is an option to control your mouse cursor with your keyboard, and it can be activated in accessibility. Open the accessibility settings and under Pointer control, choose the Other control methods tab. From there, activate Activate Mouse Keys and select to activate Mouse Keys when you press Option five times. When you press Option x5, the mouse keys light up and you can use the keyboard to move the mouse.
- Quick access to function key parameters – When you press one of the function keys to activate the mission control, brightness, multimedia playback, etc., if you keep Option pressed when you press, you can access the corresponding parameter options in Preferences System for these keys. Note: This does not work on Mac Touch Bars.
Share more tips
Do you have any other useful Mac tips and tricks that we haven’t covered here? Let us know in the comments and we may highlight them in a future video.