Thank you! Today, I have got my new Mac Book Air M2 and I have used some of your tips when I installed this afternoon. I love the screen, which has become much bigger than on my elder Mac Book air! Greetings from Stockholm.
Thanks for a great video! A few others to add to the list. In System Preferences > General, I set "Prefer tabs" to “always” (the default is “in full screen”). While it takes a little getting used (e.g. when I compose a new message in Mail it’s added as a tab to other drafts that I’m composing), I find that the “always” option leads to a less cluttered Mac. I also set “Prefer scroll bars” to “always” in the General pane. I find that always seeing the scroll bars is very helpful for determining the size and position of the current document/page. Lastly, in System Preferences > Mission Control, I uncheck "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use”. Soaces getting rearranged based on how recently they were used can be disorientating. By turning this feature off I know exactly where to find a given space.
just bought the m1 macbook and this is the best video by far. crisp important information right away, no nonsense intros and outros. soothing voice :) and learnt a lot from your past videos as well. I do appreciate that you kept chapters in videos, its time saving and useful. thanks tom!
The Dock belongs on the Left. That way you can have a Browser, or other App open the full height of the screen - and you do not have to worry about tweaking it and the Dock pushing itself out and then having to wait for it to hide itself again. The Right is bad because most of the pop-up help-texts flow to the right, also we are naturally, in the English system programmed to read from Left to Right.
Oh wow, I didn’t know about the iPad second screen thing! I often use my iPad next to my Mack for reference’s, now I can just flow across to it! These tips are so useful, and this guy speaks so clearly and proficiently, top marks.
Hi PHT, I am an 83 year old man and a follower of your videos, which I find extremely useful. I am currently on Mojave on my 3 year old desktop Mac, but I am frightened to upgrade to Monterey in case errors occur which I can't deal with, or which may cause a major problem with my computer. Can you suggest ways I can safely do this, as I need a lot of re-assurance at my age, and I am not very technical. Many thanks. Terry Davis
I've watched several of your videos, but this one got me to like and subscribe. Learned a couple of very helpful little things that will make my daily Mac use much better. Thank you!
Great video As a new Mac User former Windows there are many things to change especially in the finder which often in my opinion doesn't t deserve this name.
Very nice video, it would be useful to have a video from you showing us how you organise the folders in your Mac if you use this for both working and private life
Thank you so much for this helpful video! I already had 70% set up following your advice but some were new to me, even after decades of working with Macs! Maybe I put a little bit too little interest in new features of a new OS.... thanks for being so elaborate and clear in speech and in "how to" 🙏
Thank you. I’m hoping to move from my late 2012 iMac to a new M1 iMac later this year. A video on the best way to migrate the contents of my music and Photos libraries and my keychain data would be very useful.
Time machine. Create a TM backup of your old Mac on an external drive. Then plug the drive into the new Mac and us Migration Assistant, included in MacOS, and restore your new Mac from the TM back of your old Mac. Depending on the amount of data on your old Mac and the speed of the external drive will determine how long the restore will take. When done your new Mac will be a clone of your old Mac.
In the Finder view options, I uncheck the box "Show icon preview" for all views (Icon, List, Column). I also do that for the Desktop. While it may seem like a convenient feature, it means that its constantly using memory to generate preview icons of all your images and documents even when the windows (or the Desktop) are not in the foreground. For those users who keep a lot of files on the Desktop (unlike me), this can negatively impact performance quite a bit. You can always still just use the space bar to call up a document preview when you select it in Finder.
First & foremost for me is disabling the 'Caps Lock' key. It's easy to do, & equally easy to undo... but couldn't imagine anyone ever wanting to re-enable it. Caps can still be typed as always... but can't be 'locked' on. From the Apple menu go to System Preferences/Keyboard/Be sure 'Keyboard' is selected in the upper horizontal menu/then near the lower Right select 'Modifier Keys'/change the 'Caps Lock' pull down menu to 'No Action'/click 'Ok' and the deed's done. Never looked back in my case. Same procedure if you ever want it back.
I organize my text documents by date. List view is set to this option. I also have two folders in my sidebar. One is the folder where my docs go anther is for templates. (the enclosing folder is locked). When a new year starts I simply drag the folder for a new year into my docs folder and I’m good (after renaming).
No to much option, but I always use Alfred to replace spotlight, bartender to customize the status bar (aka hide unnecessary icons) and TinkerTool, which is a gui for all hidden command line options.
Thanks for an excellent review. The one setting that you turned on that always makes me crazy is hide/show the dock. The process feels laborious and painfully slow to me. When Ventura comes out can you please redo this video because of the forthcoming complete redesign of System Preferences into System Settings?
Thanks for the comment - I'm the opposite when it comes to the dock, I hate having it visible 99% of the time, so hiding it is ideal for me. Yes, definitely going to make some content around Ventura, as you say the overhaul of System Settings will give me some new bits to cover. 👍🏻
I pretty much change all these exact settings personally as well. Even built my site in square space ✅. The one that always gets me is when I download something for the first time and it automatically opens. The other one I like is to go into archive utility and have it delete the original zip file after unzipping.
When I set up my mac I was told to make one user profile with administrator privileges and one to use everyday that doesn’t have admin privileges. That way dangerous changes or apps wouldn’t be added to the computer without checking first
Whats the difference between having an admin account and a user account? Apps and changes still require confirmation (password, touch ID) when you're inputting them, even on an admin account.
Great video and thanks for the the clear explanations. I would suggest a disclaimer/WARNING on the "Optimize Storage". Not all user know or understand iCloud drive and once turned on can be a pain in the arse if you run out of the 5gb of storage then have to pay for extra storage. Personally I fee that Google Drive is a better solution vis iCloud. That's just my 2cents worth. Thanks again. Cheers
Can you please do a tutorial on Mac trackpad the regular and the outside large one. “Mac Trackpad Tips”and show it in action. You are a great teacher 😊
Does anyone else have this problem with 'tap to click'? I had to turn mine off because of too many times when I was 100% certain I wasn't making physical contact and it activated. Very annoying. According to the IT guy I queried it with, it was the heat or energy from my hand/fingers hovering but not touching trackpad.
Main thing I want from dock settings is for recent apps to just be in Stage Manager or Mission Control instead of making my dock full. Like on iPad. 😭. Also: good tips. I do most of these and the ones I don’t are good additions.
Hello Tom, while I was toggling off some notifications on my (German) Macbook, as you recommended in this video, I came across an App called "Kerberos". I have no idea how it got onto my computer, but do you know what it might be and if I should keep it or not? Thanks for your help!
Thank you for the great info, I'd love to hear what anti virus you use ? recommend for a mac, I did have bitdefender, but removed it, didn't like them auto renewing even though I ticked not to do that, Thanks M
TQ for the very clear, easy to follow useful tips. I had implement many of it into my 2 Mac. I have one 13" Mac in the house, and one 16" in the office. I adopted the iCloud Drive feature saving all my files in the cloud, so regardless from where I open my Mac, I can access all the files. QUESTION: Is there anyway I can configure the Favorite Menu Sidebar Files to sync it automatically on both Mac's? so when I make changes in the Favorites Menu in one Mac (adding, moving or deleting sidebar file) it will be sync when I open the another Mac? Now I have to do it manually and it is quite troublesome.
Try rebooting both machines, and ensure that both are on the same network, and logged in as you. It definitely works - I'm typing this on my M1 Pro MacBook, but using the keyboard and trackpad I've got wirelessly connected to my Mac Studio. It jitters every now and then, and sometimes takes a moment to connect, but it's a killer feature.
hey, thanks for this super interesting video! I'll be using some of the tips. Just wondering whether anyone has come across a good way to easily block all but one website within safari, and block all apps but safari and word, for example? as a student who has to access readings online and then makes notes on them on word, I need these these 2 things open but find myself mindlessly googling stuff and would like to stop the temptation by being unable to open a new tab in safari and googling. most website blockers in settings seem to be for individual websites but just wondering whether there's a way to turn them all off (and then turn them on again when I want to)? thanks!
Command Shift 3 still exists, as does Command Shift 4, it's just that they perform specific types of screenshots. Command Shift 5 is a really good cover-all.
Thank you! Today, I have got my new Mac Book Air M2 and I have used some of your tips when I installed this afternoon. I love the screen, which has become much bigger than on my elder Mac Book air! Greetings from Stockholm.
I got mine yesterday love it
Thanks for a great video! A few others to add to the list. In System Preferences > General, I set "Prefer tabs" to “always” (the default is “in full screen”). While it takes a little getting used (e.g. when I compose a new message in Mail it’s added as a tab to other drafts that I’m composing), I find that the “always” option leads to a less cluttered Mac. I also set “Prefer scroll bars” to “always” in the General pane. I find that always seeing the scroll bars is very helpful for determining the size and position of the current document/page. Lastly, in System Preferences > Mission Control, I uncheck "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use”. Soaces getting rearranged based on how recently they were used can be disorientating. By turning this feature off I know exactly where to find a given space.
just bought the m1 macbook and this is the best video by far. crisp important information right away, no nonsense intros and outros. soothing voice :) and learnt a lot from your past videos as well. I do appreciate that you kept chapters in videos, its time saving and useful. thanks tom!
The Dock belongs on the Left. That way you can have a Browser, or other App open the full height of the screen - and you do not have to worry about tweaking it and the Dock pushing itself out and then having to wait for it to hide itself again. The Right is bad because most of the pop-up help-texts flow to the right, also we are naturally, in the English system programmed to read from Left to Right.
Except if your iPad is on the left.. it won’t open the dock, the pointer becomes the iPad pointer, and same on the right if placed on that side.
You’re wrong. The dock goes on the bottom without hiding.
That’s it. End of discussion.
@@Frankie5Angels150
UltraMaroon
Thanks for that 3 fingers windows drag configuration, loved that!!
Oh wow, I didn’t know about the iPad second screen thing! I often use my iPad next to my Mack for reference’s, now I can just flow across to it! These tips are so useful, and this guy speaks so clearly and proficiently, top marks.
Hi PHT, I am an 83 year old man and a follower of your videos, which I find extremely useful. I am currently on Mojave on my 3 year old desktop Mac, but I am frightened to upgrade to Monterey in case errors occur which I can't deal with, or which may cause a major problem with my computer. Can you suggest ways I can safely do this, as I need a lot of re-assurance at my age, and I am not very technical. Many thanks. Terry Davis
I've watched several of your videos, but this one got me to like and subscribe. Learned a couple of very helpful little things that will make my daily Mac use much better. Thank you!
Great video As a new Mac User former Windows there are many things to change especially in the finder which often in my opinion doesn't t deserve this name.
I changed 3 things on my Mac based on this video! So, helpful video for me for sure!
Vertical space is premium… I prefer the dock on the left/right so that way I am able to use all of the available vertical space.
Good stuff as always. I appreciate your thoroughness and clear, concise explanations. And thanks for including chapter markers!
Great help! I am iMac user day one and yet learning today new functions…
Very nice video, it would be useful to have a video from you showing us how you organise the folders in your Mac if you use this for both working and private life
Being able to add select folders to my finder favorites menu will be a game changer. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this helpful video! I already had 70% set up following your advice but some were new to me, even after decades of working with Macs! Maybe I put a little bit too little interest in new features of a new OS.... thanks for being so elaborate and clear in speech and in "how to" 🙏
I have my dock on the side. As I don’t like the hidden option, putting it to one side gives you relatively more screen space to use.
Thank you. I’m hoping to move from my late 2012 iMac to a new M1 iMac later this year. A video on the best way to migrate the contents of my music and Photos libraries and my keychain data would be very useful.
Time machine. Create a TM backup of your old Mac on an external drive. Then plug the drive into the new Mac and us Migration Assistant, included in MacOS, and restore your new Mac from the TM back of your old Mac. Depending on the amount of data on your old Mac and the speed of the external drive will determine how long the restore will take. When done your new Mac will be a clone of your old Mac.
In the Finder view options, I uncheck the box "Show icon preview" for all views (Icon, List, Column). I also do that for the Desktop. While it may seem like a convenient feature, it means that its constantly using memory to generate preview icons of all your images and documents even when the windows (or the Desktop) are not in the foreground. For those users who keep a lot of files on the Desktop (unlike me), this can negatively impact performance quite a bit. You can always still just use the space bar to call up a document preview when you select it in Finder.
What a wonderful video. You have a clear voice and a great speaking tempo. And thanks for the tips!
I have learned so much from your channel. Thanks for making such quality tutorials.
This video was really helpful. Thank you for clearing up all those hidden features!
Good coverage. well done, and good tips and suggestions.....
Excellent video. Clearly presented useful info. Many thanks!
Thank you so much for these tips. You have just solved many of my pet hates that I didn’t know I could control! Much appreciated.
I like turning on magnification on my dock because it looks cool
I love the long format videos. Subscribed.
Thank you for this!!
Thank you sir... some configurations really helped me... God Bless. Love from India 🇮🇳
First & foremost for me is disabling the 'Caps Lock' key. It's easy to do, & equally easy to undo... but couldn't imagine anyone ever wanting to re-enable it. Caps can still be typed as always... but can't be 'locked' on. From the Apple menu go to System Preferences/Keyboard/Be sure 'Keyboard' is selected in the upper horizontal menu/then near the lower Right select 'Modifier Keys'/change the 'Caps Lock' pull down menu to 'No Action'/click 'Ok' and the deed's done. Never looked back in my case. Same procedure if you ever want it back.
Big fan of your videos bro!!👌
Thanks!
Thank you very much!
Such a helpful tutorial…thank you
Hi, I’m new, just found your channel and I realy like your video’s. Hope to see a lot more. Super!
Another stellar, useful video without the fluff. Why isn’t every apple user subscribed?
Love your videos. You're so calm, chill, and handsome. 😆
excellent video - thank u!
I organize my text documents by date. List view is set to this option. I also have two folders in my sidebar. One is the folder where my docs go anther is for templates. (the enclosing folder is locked). When a new year starts I simply drag the folder for a new year into my docs folder and I’m good (after renaming).
No to much option, but I always use Alfred to replace spotlight, bartender to customize the status bar (aka hide unnecessary icons) and TinkerTool, which is a gui for all hidden command line options.
Thanks for an excellent review. The one setting that you turned on that always makes me crazy is hide/show the dock. The process feels laborious and painfully slow to me. When Ventura comes out can you please redo this video because of the forthcoming complete redesign of System Preferences into System Settings?
Thanks for the comment - I'm the opposite when it comes to the dock, I hate having it visible 99% of the time, so hiding it is ideal for me. Yes, definitely going to make some content around Ventura, as you say the overhaul of System Settings will give me some new bits to cover. 👍🏻
I pretty much change all these exact settings personally as well. Even built my site in square space ✅. The one that always gets me is when I download something for the first time and it automatically opens. The other one I like is to go into archive utility and have it delete the original zip file after unzipping.
Thanks for another brilliant and informative vid. Really appreciated.
Can you tell me what mouse pad you are using and from where, please?
When I set up my mac I was told to make one user profile with administrator privileges and one to use everyday that doesn’t have admin privileges. That way dangerous changes or apps wouldn’t be added to the computer without checking first
Been doing that for years.
Whats the difference between having an admin account and a user account? Apps and changes still require confirmation (password, touch ID) when you're inputting them, even on an admin account.
Great video and thanks for the the clear explanations. I would suggest a disclaimer/WARNING on the "Optimize Storage". Not all user know or understand iCloud drive and once turned on can be a pain in the arse if you run out of the 5gb of storage then have to pay for extra storage. Personally I fee that Google Drive is a better solution vis iCloud. That's just my 2cents worth. Thanks again. Cheers
Can you please do a tutorial on Mac trackpad the regular and the outside large one. “Mac Trackpad Tips”and show it in action. You are a great teacher 😊
As always a well explained video. Clear, concise and helpful for those unaware of these tips.
Excellent!
Does anyone else have this problem with 'tap to click'? I had to turn mine off because of too many times when I was 100% certain I wasn't making physical contact and it activated. Very annoying. According to the IT guy I queried it with, it was the heat or energy from my hand/fingers hovering but not touching trackpad.
Thank you so much.
Very useful stuff. Thanks.
Very useful - thanks!
Oh boy... how I miss the old System Settings layout. The new one is horrendous!
Great video with really nice tips. I’m new to MacBook but have used other Apple products for long, so I’m still learning. :)
thank you
Main thing I want from dock settings is for recent apps to just be in Stage Manager or Mission Control instead of making my dock full. Like on iPad. 😭. Also: good tips. I do most of these and the ones I don’t are good additions.
Hello Tom, while I was toggling off some notifications on my (German) Macbook, as you recommended in this video, I came across an App called "Kerberos". I have no idea how it got onto my computer, but do you know what it might be and if I should keep it or not? Thanks for your help!
what is your MacBook Holder ?
can you forward the link ?
Thank you for the great info, I'd love to hear what anti virus you use ? recommend for a mac, I did have bitdefender, but removed it, didn't like them auto renewing even though I ticked not to do that, Thanks M
TQ for the very clear, easy to follow useful tips. I had implement many of it into my 2 Mac. I have one 13" Mac in the house, and one 16" in the office. I adopted the iCloud Drive feature saving all my files in the cloud, so regardless from where I open my Mac, I can access all the files.
QUESTION: Is there anyway I can configure the Favorite Menu Sidebar Files to sync it automatically on both Mac's? so when I make changes in the Favorites Menu in one Mac (adding, moving or deleting sidebar file) it will be sync when I open the another Mac? Now I have to do it manually and it is quite troublesome.
I have two M1 macs, but did not get universal control to work, so I can use my mouse and keyboard both for my M1 Mac Mini as M1pro Macbook pro.
Try rebooting both machines, and ensure that both are on the same network, and logged in as you. It definitely works - I'm typing this on my M1 Pro MacBook, but using the keyboard and trackpad I've got wirelessly connected to my Mac Studio. It jitters every now and then, and sometimes takes a moment to connect, but it's a killer feature.
hey, thanks for this super interesting video! I'll be using some of the tips. Just wondering whether anyone has come across a good way to easily block all but one website within safari, and block all apps but safari and word, for example? as a student who has to access readings online and then makes notes on them on word, I need these these 2 things open but find myself mindlessly googling stuff and would like to stop the temptation by being unable to open a new tab in safari and googling. most website blockers in settings seem to be for individual websites but just wondering whether there's a way to turn them all off (and then turn them on again when I want to)? thanks!
some of these no longer here after latest update.
Do you scale display? New Mac air seems quite small text but yeah seems ok just certain texts seem small
I appreciate you mentioning this, I was having a hard time reading some website displays.
Good story about how the doc came about with apple
amazing
My Mac must be too old screen shot command shift 3?
Command Shift 3 still exists, as does Command Shift 4, it's just that they perform specific types of screenshots. Command Shift 5 is a really good cover-all.
Nice content, but what about that clickbaity thumbnail? ;)