Aside from using apps like Photoshop, one of the best ways to make a contact sheet on the Mac is to use Automator to generate the thumbnail sheet as needed. But because Automator requires the usage of an OS X scripting utility, it’s beyond the comfort level of many users, and it also takes time … Read More
The Twitter for Mac client has a peculiar feature (bug?) which causes the app image cache to grow endlessly and without limitation. That means the Twitter image cache folder can easily become several gigabytes in size unbeknownst to the end user, and those cache files are also stored in virtual memory, which can cause unnecessary … Read More
Apple has released the second version of the OS X Yosemite Public Beta. Mac users who opted in to participate in the public beta program for Yosemite are recommended to install the update. Alongside Public Beta 2 is also a new beta version of the redesigned iTunes 12. Both updates focus on bug fixes and … Read More
Every Mac which has the Pages app for Mac OS X installed includes a little Easter Egg that few know about; a famous Steve Jobs speech, tucked away in a little unassuming folder. Technically, it’s two different Steve Jobs speeches, the famous text from the Crazy Ones Think Different campaign, and arguably the even more … Read More
How often have you had a file open in one application on your Mac, only to need it opened in another OS X app instead? Fairly often, right? When confronted with that situation, most Mac users will do one of two things; go back to the Finder file system and re-open the file in the … Read More
Saving a file or document as a PDF is easily done from almost anywhere in Mac OS by using the print to PDF feature, which is part of the Mac Printer service, but to trigger it you have to go to the Print menu and then specifically select to ‘print’ the file as a PDF … Read More
Apple has released the 6th developer preview build of OS X Yosemite to those registered with the Mac Developer Program. The update arrives as build 14A3429f, likely includes feature refinements and bug fixes, and is recommended for all Yosemite Dev Preview users to install. OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 6 can be downloaded from the … Read More
Few Mac users seem to know it, but the Finder window toolbars of Mac OS X can be customized to serve as a quick-launch panel. You can store almost anything in the Finder toolbar, whether it’s an app, a directory, automator action, network share, a website bookmark, or even a frequently accessed document. Adding items … Read More
The user path is the series of directories that command line programs are searched in order to run. For example, if you type ‘iostat’ into the terminal, then iostat will be run from /usr/sbin because “/usr/sbin” is part of your $PATH. Accordingly, users who frequently use the command line may need to adjust or add … Read More
Apple has released a small update to Safari for Mac OS X, versioned as Safari 6.1.6 and Safari 7.0.6. Both updates contain important security fixes and improved memory handling, and Apple recommends that all Mac users install the updates.
Typically you can download anything from the Mac App Store without incident, that’s the way things are supposed to work. Sometimes things aren’t so hunky-dory, and one of the more peculiar errors from the App Store is the incredibly vague “We could not complete your purchase – Unknown Error” message.
Every app in the iWork suite offers optional password protection of files created, modified, or opened within their respective application. In practice, this means that no user will be able to open or access the file and view the contents on their Mac or iOS device without entering the password first. Password protecting iWork documents … Read More
Did you know you can start printing any file directly from the desktop of a Mac? While most users open a file and then print it from the application of which the file was built in, that’s not actually necessary, instead printing can be initiated from anywhere in the Finder of OS X. This often … Read More
When you set up a new Mail account in Mac OS X, you typically enter the service provider, email address, and the email accounts password once, then everything just works, right? Well, generally, but sometimes things aren’t so simple, and a frustrating issue that some users encounter is Mail app repeatedly asking for their password, … Read More
Adjusting the Preferences and Settings of Mac apps is common and often a necessity to get things just right for you, particularly if you’re using an app for the first time, or setting up a new Mac. Rather than fish around in the menu items to find the Preferences or Settings menu option, you can … Read More
The Microsoft Word document format is widely used in many corporate and educational environments, particularly where the Windows platform is dominant. For Mac users who work with the Pages app for word processing, a simple option to improve cross-platform document readability and compatibility is to save (or export) a Pages file as a Word .doc … Read More
Though many Mac users don’t use iCloud for their primary document storage, those users who do know that the iCloud document browser found within an Open or Save dialog box window can become cluttered with files rather quickly. A simple solution is to make folders for the iCloud documents, which is easy to do but … Read More
OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 5 has been released to developers who are in the Mac Developer Program. The latest build is “recommended for all users” and focuses on bug fixes and improvements to the developer build of OS X. The build number is 14A314h.
