Mac
How to Compress (Zip) Files and Folders on a Mac
Matt Cone January 8, 2021
If you own a Mac, you’ll eventually need to transfer files and folders to others. To do that, you’re going to want to shrink - or compress - the files so they take up the least amount of space possible. That way, it will be easy to move your files via email, FTP, or even with an instant messaging application. In the past, Mac users had to rely on an expensive application called Stuffit to compress files and folders.
How to Make an Alias (Shortcut) on a Mac
Matt Cone January 7, 2021
If you’ve ever wished you could have a single folder in two different places at once, you should consider creating an alias, which is known as a shortcut on Windows-based operating systems. An alias looks like a folder, but when you double click it, you open the actual folder it points to. It’s literally a shortcut to a different directory on your Mac. Many people create aliases for their most commonly used folders, such as Documents or Applications, and move those aliases to the Desktop.
How to Kill a Process on Your Mac
Matt Cone January 7, 2021
In a previous tutorial, we discussed how to force quit Mac apps. That procedure works in most situations, but sometimes the hidden components of an application, referred to processes, can stop responding and slow your Mac down. Fortunately, you can use the Activity Monitor application that comes with every Mac to stop, or kill, processes on your Mac. Here’s how to kill a process on your Mac: Open the Activity Monitor application (it’s in Applications → Utilities).
How to Check Your Apple Bluetooth Keyboard's Battery Life
Matt Cone January 7, 2021
The Apple Bluetooth keyboard is one of those rare, indispensable devices I couldn’t live without. It’s wireless, it’s portable, and I love typing on it. There’s only one problem: When the keyboard’s batteries run out of juice, it stops working. This can be an issue when I’m working away from home or trying to meet a tight deadline. Fortunately, there’s a quick way to check the keyboard’s remaining battery life. Here’s how to do it:
How to Output Stereo Audio in Mono
Matt Cone January 5, 2021
Recently I replaced my aging Bose QC25 headphones with a pair of AirPods Pro headphones. Both products are a major upgrade from the stock earbuds that ship with iPhones, but the high-quality audio output also means that you can hear every imperfection in the music. For example, older tracks that were recorded in mono sometimes have output that is only audible in one channel, which means that you can only hear the music in one ear.
How to Force Quit Mac Apps
Matt Cone January 4, 2021
Under normal circumstances, you can quit applications on your Mac by pressing the Command and Q keys or selecting Quit from the application’s menu. But sometimes an application is frozen and just won’t quit. When that happens, you can force quit the application on your Mac to completely close it. Here’s how to force quit Mac apps: From the Apple menu, select Force Quit. The window shown below appears. Find the unresponsive application in the list and click it.
How to Change Your Mac's DNS Servers
Matt Cone January 4, 2021
Your Mac uses something called the Domain Name System (DNS) to access websites. It’s a system invisible to you, the user, and most people don’t even know it exists. But if the DNS servers you’re using are slow or unavailable, websites will load slowly or won’t load at all. That’s why it’s important to learn about DNS and consider changing your DNS servers. In this tutorial, we’ll show you everything you need to know about DNS to speed up surfing and ward off potential problems.
How to Switch the Control and Command Keys
Matt Cone January 3, 2021
One of the most subtle differences between a Mac and a PC is also one of the biggest: the functionality of the control key on the keyboard. When you buy a Mac, you’ll need to start using the command key instead of the control key. For example, instead of pressing Control-S to save and Control-C to copy like you did in Windows, you’ll have to press Command-S and Command-C to do the same thing in macOS.
How to Open the Library Folder on Your Mac
Matt Cone January 3, 2021
Your Mac contains thousands of hidden files and folders that you’ll probably never need to access. We explained how to access all hidden files and folders in another tutorial, but there’s an easier way to access one of most important hidden folders on your Mac, called the Library folder. The user’s Library folder, which is different than the root Library folder at the top-level of the hard drive, contains hundreds files that store important preferences and settings for many of the applications on your Mac.
How to Change Your Mac's Startup Disk
Matt Cone January 3, 2021
When your Mac turns on, it loads the operating system on the designated startup disk, a hard disk or partition containing the macOS operating system. Normally, the startup disk is set as the hard disk inside of your Mac, but you can use an external hard drive, USB thumb drive, or DVD as your startup disk. Changing Your Mac’s Startup Disk with System Preferences Here’s how to change your Mac’s startup disk: