macOS offers a super simple and fast way to convert images, directly from the Finder. Thanks to the handy Quick Actions feature, Mac users are able to convert any images from anywhere in the Finder, with just a few clicks.
This is a powerful and useful feature that is often overlooked. Here’s how it works:
• From Finder, locate the image you want to convert
• Right-click, control-click, or two-finger click on the image you wish to convert, and go to “Quick Actions” and then select "Convert Image" from the menu
• Select the file format type you wish to convert the image to and select the image size (choose "Actual Size" if you do not want to resize the image), choose whether or not you wish to preserve metadata, then click on the "Convert" button
The image will convert almost instantly and appear in the same folder with the same file name as the origin image. This Quick Action image conversion tool is super fast and powerful, but is limited to JPG, PNG, and HEIF/HEIC formats. If you wish to convert to additional image file formats, you will have to use Preview.
Many apps automatically save versions of documents as you work on them. Apple offers a built-in feature for its document-focused apps, like Pages and Numbers, and a framework that some other developers tie into as well. It resembles Time Machine, but doesn’t require that you are using a Time Machine backup.
A version is saved automatically every hour, or more frequently when you’re making many changes, when you open, save, duplicate, lock, rename, or revert a document. You can also explicitly save a version.
To browse, restore, duplicate, and delete versions:
1. Open the document, then choose File > Revert To > Browse All Versions.
2. Click tick marks along the timeline to browse versions.
3. Display the version you want, then do one of the following:
• Restore your document to this version: Click Restore
• Duplicate this version in a new document: Press and hold the Option key, then click Restore a Copy
• Delete this version: Move the pointer to the top of the screen to show the menu bar, then choose File > Revert To > Delete This Version
• Leave your document as is: Click Done
To revert a document to the last opened version:
Open the document, choose File > Revert To, then choose Last Opened, Last Saved, or Previous Save
To explicitly save a version:
Open the document, then choose File > Save. To save the document using a different filename, location, or format, press and hold the Option key, then choose File > Save As
Browsing history is a record of every webpage you visit. Your browser stores the URLs for every page, except when you use private browsing mode. Browsing history can help improve your browsing experience (e.g. as you start typing a URL in the address bar of your browser, previously visited URLs display in a dropdown list that match what you're typing), but it also exposes your browsing habits. If other people use your Mac from time to time, or you get family members looking over your shoulder as you surf the web, you may want to delete your browsing history on a regular basis.
You can manually clear your browsing history in Safari at any time. Two of the ways to clear all your browser history are:
• Choose "Clear History" from the Safari application menu
• Choose "Clear History" from the History menu
but be aware that the name "Clear History" is misleading. Clicking "Clear History" also deletes other website data, like cookies and the entire browser cache. However, there is a way to clear your browsing history without losing website data.
Simply choose the Safari or History menu, but press and hold down the Option key before selecting the "Clear History" option. You'll see the option change to "Clear History and Keep Website Data". Keep the Option key pressed and select that option.
Apple specifies ambient operating temperatures for most Macs as between 50°F and 95°F (10°C and 35°C), this means that anything above 95°F (35°C) goes beyond the conditions the Mac was specified to function within. Does that mean you can’t use your computer in intense heat? Most likely not, it just means you have to find ways to help keep it cool. With that in mind, here are some tips to keep a portable Mac cool when faced with blazing temperatures.
• Avoid using a Mac on a bed or fabric surface. Anything soft doesn’t allow for sufficient heat dispersion and can even block the air ventilation on many portable Macs, try to always use a Mac on a hard surface of wood, metal, or glass.
• Use a laptop stand. On hot summer days a laptop stand can mean the difference between having the fans blasting or not having them on at all. Anything that raises a Mac away from a base surface allows for heat to radiate out and for air to flow around it, cooling the hardware. Some laptop stands have built-in fans that blow directly onto the underside of a computer, these can be very effective.
• Raise the rear of a MacBook. No laptop stand? Make do with what you have, and try placing the rear of the Mac elevated by a hardcover book or something similar. It’s not as effective as a laptop stand, but this promotes airflow and can make a significant difference in keeping hardware cool.
• Place a Mac at the edge of a table or desk. No stand and no book to raise the computer with? Try hovering the rear end of a MacBook over the edge of a desk or surface to increase air flow where Macs blow out their heat.
• Use a fan. Yes, a standard room fan. This may sound silly but if you’re in an environment without air conditioning, pointing a fan onto a Mac will blow cool air onto it and help disperse heat. If you’re using a Mac in temperatures over 90°F (32°C), this is one of the best things you can do to not only keep yourself cool but also your computer.
• Keep away from the sun. Again this may seem like common sense, but using a computer in direct sunlight places an unnecessary burden on the fans. Even on reasonably mild sunny days the sun can cause fans to go into overdrive, it’s best to avoid direct sunlight completely.
Finally, a quick word of advice: if you’re in extreme heat and you don’t have any method to cool down your Mac, do yourself a favor and don’t use it at all until you get out of the crazy weather. Heat is one of the most detrimental forces to anything electronic and overheating can lead directly to reduced lifespan of hardware, diminished battery capacity, and other problems. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Whether you're feeling the pinch as hard drive space runs low or you're just wondering where all your disk space went, it's easy to find large files in macOS by using the built-in search tools.
Here's what to do:
• From the macOS Desktop, open any new Finder window
• Hit Command+F to bring up Search
• Click on "Kind" filter and select "Other", then select "File Size" from the attribute list
• Click on the second filter and choose "is greater than"
• In the third space, enter the size to search for anything greater than (ex: 100) and choose either MB or GB as the final filter
The file and app list below will automatically update as anything larger than the specified file size is found on the hard drive. Be sure that "This Mac" is selected if you're getting limited results, though you can also use the search limiters to find large files contained within single folders or user directories.
Want to use this feature to track down large files often? Click on the "Save" button in the upper right corner and you'll turn the File Size search into a Smart Folder that can be easily accessed from the sidebar for easy future retrieval, plus that folder will constantly be updated with large files only, making it a very useful way to instantly find any big item laying around on a Mac.
A common pit of enormous files is the user Downloads folder, when using the file size search don't be surprised if you run into a fair amount of .dmg and .zip files sitting idly in there that have long been forgotten.
