Did you know that the average household in America owns more than two Apple products?
One of the reasons why people love Apple devices is that they’re full to the brim with hacks. From connecting your phone to your laptop and creating your own Internet of Things to using emojis on a desktop computer, there’s no denying that the products are carefully thought through to meet modern demands.
If you have a MacBook and you don’t know all of the MacBook hacks available, you could be missing out. By learning all the tips and tricks you can get more from your laptop every time you use it.
Read on to discover the hacks you need to know!
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1. Take Easy Screenshots
One of the essential MacBook tips to know is how to take screenshots. We’re all so used to snapping shots of our phone screens, but do you know how to do it on your laptop? MacBooks make it easy with this simple shortcut to capture an entire window:
- Press Command, Shift, and 4, then let go
- Press the spacebar
- Click on the window you want to take a screenshot of
If you want to capture a small section of your window, follow these steps:
- Press Command, Shift, and 4
- Drag the crosshair icon with your mouse to outline the area you want to capture
- Let go
This is one of the simplest MacBook tricks in the book, but one you’ll no doubt end up using pretty frequently!
2. Set Your Laptop to Do Not Disturb
On a lot of lists for the best MacBook apps, you’ll find ones that turn off notifications on your computer so that you aren’t disturbed while you work. But, there’s actually no need to download an app. One of the hacks already in-built will put your laptop into Do not disturb (DND) mode, and here’s all you need to do:
- Hold down the Option key on your MacBook keyboard
- Choose the Notification Centre icon from your Menu Bar and it will become shaded
As soon as this happens, your laptop is now in DND mode! You can work in peace without email alerts and update reminders popping up on your screen.
3. Digitally Sign PDFs
Being able to sign PDFs and other documents is becoming a must in the modern world. From your boss to your bank, everyone expects you to be able to pop your signature on a document over the web! But, how do you do this on a Mac?
Fortunately, Apple has made it easy. You don’t need any of the best apps for MacBook, instead open the Preview app already installed. Click Show Markup Toolbar if it isn’t already appearing, and select the button with a pen nib in a circle: the Sign button.
From here, you can create your signature using a mouse or your trackpad. Once you’re happy with the signature in the window, click Done and you’re good to go! Whenever you need to use it, simply drag it to the spot it needs to be and adjust it to size.
4. Access Your Mac Remotely
If you’re on the go and don’t have your MacBook to hand, you can access all of your systems and files through any other Mac. This is useful if you need a specific tool or program to work, or if you switch between computers frequently. Check out https://setapp.com/ to find out more.
5. Quick Access to the Dictionary
You can access the Dictionary on a MacBook no matter where you are. This is super handy if you read a lot of text that’s filled with jargon, letting you look up what niche words mean. To look up the definition of words, hover over a word or highlight it, and tap your trackpad with three fingers.
You might also get a thesaurus popping up showing you synonyms for the word, or the word translated into different languages. Useful!
6. Adjust the Volume More Specifically
If you’ve ever increased or decreased your volume and found one up or one down to be too much of a change, you’ll love this hack! You can change the volume by much smaller increments on a MacBook.
Press Shift and Option, and then press the volume up or volume down button. You’ll then be able to shift the volume up or down, getting to the exact volume you want.
7. Dictate Long-Form Content
If you write a lot on your MacBook, this hack is going to be a huge lifesaver. Rather than typing out every word you say, you can speak it and have it written up for you: that’s a game-changer! All you have to do is dictate your text to Siri and it’ll do the rest.
Voice recognition is also getting much better, making dictation to text more accurate. Give it a go and see how it works for you. Here’s how to set up dictation capabilities:
- Go to System Preferences
- Choose Keyboard
- Choose Dictation and turn it on
- Read through the different options and select the right one for you
- Create a shortcut to begin dictating
- Choose a microphone to use
Once you’ve set it up, head to a document or other text field, like a search engine. Place your cursor where you want to begin dictating and execute your shortcut. Click Done to stop dictating or click Fn once.
Learn More MacBook Hacks
From how to speed up your MacBook to inverting the colors on your screen, there are so many MacBook hacks out there! Keep learning and make the most of your laptop.
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