Tips & Tricks

Tips and tricks for all things Apple! Whether you want to learn tips for a Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or much more, you will find many tricks, tips, tutorials, and excellent walkthroughs for Apple devices and software here.

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Clear Versions History & Auto-Save Cache Data in Mac OS X

Feb 20, 2012 - 6 Comments
OS X Versions Cache and Auto-Save

New versions of Mac OS X include the Versions feature and Auto-Save ability, this lets users restore back to previous editions of a file by creating a constant sequence of saved file states while they are being worked on. All around, Versions and auto-save are useful, but they can also leave traces of sensitive documents … Read More

How to Uninstall XCode

Feb 20, 2012 - 16 Comments
Uninstall Xcode

Included below are new simple instructions for uninstalling modern versions of Xcode. Deleting old versions of Xcode is covered as well, this is a thorough guide to uninstall Xcode from any Mac regardless of version and Mac OS X release. Xcode is Apple’s developer suite for iOS and Mac OS X, it’s necessary if you … Read More

How to Dual Boot OS X 10.7 Lion & OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

Feb 19, 2012 - 25 Comments
Create a Partition for OS X Mountain Lion

OS X Mountain Lion is Apple’s latest Mac operating system that is complete with a bunch of new features that iOS users will find familiar. It’s looking like a great addition to the Mac OS family, but for the time being it’s still in Developer Preview, has a fair amount of bugs, and isn’t quite … Read More

Send Any File to an iOS Device from Mac OS X with iMessage

Feb 19, 2012 - 7 Comments
Send Files to iOS from Mac with iMessage

A little-known feature of iMessage lets any Mac send files to another iMessage user (or yourself) using an iOS device, and vice versa. Yes, this means iMessages can function as a full-fledged file transfer app for both Mac OS and iOS users, providing for simple transferring of files, pdf’s, text and rtf documents, movies, pictures, … Read More

Remove All Music from iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Feb 18, 2012 - 55 Comments
Remove All Music from iPhone

If you want to delete all music from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can handle the entire music removal process directly on the iOS device itself, you don’t need to sync to iTunes or do anything fancy. Do be warned however, this deletes every single song and album from the Music app and … Read More

Install OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview on Old Unsupported Macs

Feb 18, 2012 - 33 Comments
Unsupported Mac running OS X 10.8

If you read the OS X Mountain Lion system requirements and got discouraged that the next version of OS X won’t support your computer, don’t give up hope for that old Mac quite yet! A crafty MacRumors Forums member has managed to get OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview working on an officially unsupported mid-2007 … Read More

How to Make a Bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion USB Install Drive

Feb 17, 2012 - 109 Comments
OS X Mountain Lion Bootable Installer

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be offered exclusively through the App Store, familiar territory for Apple since OS X Lion was provided the same way. Thankfully it’s still possible to create a bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion installer from any USB drive, be it a flash key or external hard drive. By creating … Read More

Create Custom Screen Savers from a Flickr Image Feed on Mac

Feb 17, 2012 - 12 Comments
BigFlickrFeed RSS url

Flickr has an endless supply of beautiful photos that make for fantastic automatically updating image screen savers in Mac OS X. All you need is a good Flickr stream and you can easily create a new screen saver from it for your Mac.

How to Use AirPlay Mirroring on a Mac with OS X

Feb 17, 2012 - 44 Comments
AirPlay Mirroring on a Mac

Apple TV owners have an extra incentive to upgrade their Macs to the latest versions of OS X; AirPlay Mirroring. With AirPlay Mirroring, you can stream the Mac desktop and whatever application is on screen to an HDTV wirelessly through the Apple TV, making it easier than ever to watch videos from a Mac or … Read More

How to Uninstall Messages and Restore iChat to Mac OS X

Feb 17, 2012 - 18 Comments
iChat

Alright so you downloaded iMessages for Mac beta and decided it was a little too beta for every day use, and now you want to use iChat again right? As you probably noticed, when you install Messages it replaces iChat, but that doesn’t mean that iChat is gone for good, and uninstalling Messages Beta is … Read More

Change the Default Screen Shot File Name in Mac OS X

Feb 16, 2012 - 18 Comments
Change Screen Shot File Name in Mac OS X

Screen shots taken in Mac OS X save to files prefixed with “Screen Shot” in the file name, but the names of screenshots can be changed to anything else. We’ll use a defaults write command to adjust the naming convention of screen shots taken on the Mac. This can be helpful for many purposes, and … Read More

How to Completely Delete Applications from Mac OS X with AppCleaner

Feb 15, 2012 - 17 Comments
AppCleaner

We have shown you how to uninstall Mac apps before, but some applications can leave residual elements around in the form of preferences, plist files, caches, logs, and even the origin DMG or PKG installer. If you want to thoroughly remove all traces of an application but don’t want to dig around in various directories … Read More

Fix for Mac OS X Not Remembering Wireless Networks

Feb 15, 2012 - 18 Comments
Mac OS X Forgets Wireless Network

Sometimes, Mac OS may not remember wireless networks that have been joined or connected to before. This may be due to an error, or it may be because of a settings option. In this article we’ll discuss what to do if you find that a Mac is not remembering wi-fi networks as expected, including the … Read More

Set the Volume Level to a Hidden Ultra Low Setting in Mac OS X

Feb 15, 2012 - 10 Comments
Mac audio

Mac OS X has a hidden super quiet volume setting that is somewhere between completely muted and the lowest volume level, here’s how to access it: Use the Volume Decrease key (F10 or F11) until the volume is muted, signified by the volume graphic with a slash through it Now press the Mute key (F9 … Read More

Disable Installation of Apps on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Feb 15, 2012 - 3 Comments
Disable App Installation in iOS

You can prevent the installation of new apps onto an iOS device by enabling a restriction setting. There are plenty of reasons to want to disable app installing, but this is a particularly effective kid-proofing feature before letting a youngster use an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to prevent any accidental charges or purchases. Disable … Read More

How to Force Quit App in iOS 6 on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Feb 14, 2012 - 26 Comments
Force Quit an App on iPhone

Rarely, you will need to force quit an iOS app. While iOS is generally very stable, every once in a while you’ll encounter a third party app that misbehaves. iOS apps can freeze or become stuck, and you’ll usually know instantly because the iPhone or iPad becomes unresponsive to touch behavior, or something within the … Read More

Speed Up Mission Control Animations in Mac OS X

Feb 14, 2012 - 27 Comments
Speed Up Mission Control Animations

Boosting the speed of Mission Control animations can make Mac OS X feel a bit faster when switching between windows, spaces, and apps within the feature. It’s easy to do and reversible if you decide you don’t like it, launch the Terminal to get started. These defaults commands work in Lion, Mountain Lion, and beyond. … Read More

Use a MacBook Air/Pro in Clamshell Mode with Mac OS X Lion

Feb 13, 2012 - 12 Comments
Bluetooth wake from sleep option

Using a portable Mac with the lid closed is frequently called clamshell mode, and using clamshell has been made easier than ever since the introduction of Mac OS X Lion. There are actually two different methods, the first is for using a MacBook closed lid with or without external input devices attached, and the second … Read More

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