18 useful features on macOS operating system you may not know yet

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I - the author of the article took almost 2 years and did not notice the change of the address bar in Safari from white to gray when in incognito browser mode. That's not the only macOS feature I discovered at the end of 2017, but it's something that makes me most surprised.

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MacOS has many small but extremely useful features, which are easy to miss until you happen to know or someone shows you. Today, I will share 18 useful features on the macOS operating system that you may not know, which made me extremely excited recently.

1. Create custom toolbar icons for files and folders

You may know that dragging folders into the Finder Favorites section for quick access.

But did you know that you can drag a folder or even a file into the Finder toolbar to create a shortcut for it? You need to hold down the Command key for this to work. Drop the folder dragged when you see the blue " + " sign near it. Then you will have a new custom toolbar icon that links to that specific folder.

You cannot differentiate between folders or files of the same type from custom icons, because icons are generally generic. However, you can set the toolbar to display shortcuts only with text or with both icons and text for visual clarification.Provide these options by right-clicking on the toolbar .

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Want a better alternative? Use custom icons for files and folders that you add to the toolbar.

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Removing custom icons is also simple. Hold down the Command key and drag the icon out of the toolbar. This operation also works for default toolbar icons.

2. Set up shortcuts for Safari Bookmarks

You can create a shortcut for any menu item. Yes, including Bookmark on Safari; that's something I don't know for a long time.

MacOS does not specify default shortcuts for bookmark pages 1-9. This is what you can see: Command + Option + 1 , Command + Option + 2 and so on. That's not as intuitive as the customizations you can create.

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To set up bookmark shortcuts, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > App Shortcuts . There, click the " + " button under the right panel to open the shortcut maker dialog box.

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Next, select Safari from the Applications drop-down menu. In the Menu Title field, enter the bookmark bookmark name exactly as you see in Bookmarks > Favorites .

It will help if you change the bookmark name to something more concise and cute. You can do this in Bookmarks > Edit Bookmarks by selecting a bookmark, pressing the Enter key and entering a new name that is easy to read / identify.

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With the mouse cursor in the Keyboard Shortcut field, press the combination key you want to use for the bookmark and click the Add button. Now you can use that shortcut to download bookmarked web pages.

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3. Convert special Safari pages

I was familiar with the shortcuts that show Safari pages specifically like History - History (Command + Y) and Show All Tabs - Show all Tabs (Command + Shift +). But this is what I don't know: shortcuts not only open those pages but also convert them! This means you don't have to open those pages in a new tab. You can switch to them from any tab and switch back to the previous site with a similar shortcut.

This feature will not surprise you if you notice that when you open the History page, the History menu displays the Hide History option using the same shortcut as Show History .

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4. Return to search results

While taking the screenshot above, I "stumbled" on another gem - the feature: SnapBack .

When clicking on a link from Google search results and switching from a website to the next page, will you have trouble returning to search results? That won't happen if you're used to the SnapBack feature. It works with any search engine, but only if you open the link in the same tab with the search results.

Click History > Search Results SnapBack to return to the one page of results for the last search you made from the current tab. The corresponding shortcut is Command + Option + S.

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Menu item appears gray. After testing, I found this when I performed a search through the search engine's website instead of typing the query into the Safari address bar or the smart search field. This feature has worked well on DuckDuckGo.com .

Unfortunately, SnapBack does not work for search results on sites not specifically for search engines.

5. Auto-complete words (Autocomplete)

If you press Option + Esc while in the middle of typing a word, the auto-complete feature will work and the word menu appears directly below. Select the word you want to insert and press Enter .

Pressing Fn + F5 will also display the auto-completion menu. If this shortcut does not work, check that you have set macOS to use F1, F2, . as a standard function key. (See in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard ). If so, you can skip the Fn key and press F5 instead.

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The auto-complete feature (Apple calls it QuickType) works in most text editing applications and in the Safari address bar. Moreover, it provides you with auto-completion suggestions not only words, but also sentences.

For example: If you enter Let's see how this , press Space and then press Option + Esc , you will see the following options:

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6. Change the window size from the middle

To resize the window, you must drag their edges out or in. First horizontal and vertical vertically or vice versa. Is there a better way? Of course! Hold down Option + Shift and you can resize the window up and down from the middle.

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If you only press the Option key, the window will resize from the middle in one direction (ie horizontally or vertically). Hold Shift and the window still scales, but in the direction you are dragging the edge of the window.

If you need advanced features to expand, move and capture windows, try one of these macOS window management tools.

7. Browse hidden files and folders with keyboard shortcuts

Want to quickly see hidden files and folders without bothering to terminal commands or third-party applications? Press Command + Shift +. (time period) when Open or Save dialog of any application. This is a roundabout way, but convenient when you just want to browse hidden data in the Finder.

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8. Calibrate columns of equal size in the Finder

Those weird guys like me will be grateful for this feature. In column view in Finder, hold down the Option key while resizing columns and you will see them increase and decrease in a balanced way.

9. Choose Multiple Text Snippets

If you hold down the Command key in any text editing application, you can select multiple paragraphs of text to copy.

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Paste these code elsewhere with a command and they will display the same content.

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10. Restore closed windows

If you use the shortcut Command + Z to restore closed tabs at once, remember Command + Shift + T. It is like a shortcut first, but goes a step further. After restoring the last tab from the current window, it moves to restore tabs from the window you have closed.

The tab you are looking for is hidden behind a long list of closed tabs or web pages? Then, best move to relevant documents from the browser history or from the address bar.

11. Add Accents Fast

Do you want to type é in résumé or ê in crêpe ? You don't need to remember shortcuts for voice signs or copy those characters from the web. Hold down the E key and you'll see all the diacritics associated with it right there. Press the number corresponding to the label you want to type.

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This trick only works with letter keys associated with the accent. For other special characters that you often use, set a shortcut to expand text in System Preferences > Keyboard > Text . I created the rupee icon. It appears whenever I type in rs. and press the spacebar.

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12. Insert the Apple logo in the text

You do not need to enter the Apple logo regularly, if you have used it before. Press Option + Shift + K in any field that can edit text to insert the Apple logo icon.

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13. Switch between random images in Quick Look

When previewing multiple photos with Quick Look, you can navigate each image one by one using the left and right arrow keys. You can also press the Play button to view them as a slideshow. What is not known is that you can move to images randomly with the Index Sheet feature.

See the grid line icon to the right of the Next button in Quick Look. The links to the Index Sheet index table, give you a view based on the cell line of all the images you have selected. Click on any image to jump to it.

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Thanks to the extended thumbnail, image details are more easily defined in this view than the Finder's default icon view. The thumbnails will be smaller when you select multiple images to preview at once.

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Here are three quick-look tips at Quick Look that you'll appreciate:

1. Three fingers touch a selected file in Finder to preview.
2. To open the file you will preview, double-click the preview.
3. Zoom in on the preview image by holding down the Option key. Click on the image and drag it to specific parts of the image.

Not familiar with using Quick Look? This macOS feature allows you to preview the file right at the location (ie not having to open the corresponding application). Pressing Space with a selected file will open it. Press Option + Space if you want to preview the file in full screen mode.

14. Create duplicate files and aliases from the title bar

The next time you open a file in any application, pay attention to the small icon in front of the file name in the title bar. Did you know you can click and drag this icon to any Finder location to create an alias or shortcut for that file?

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If you hold down the Option key just before dropping the icon into the Finder, you will receive a copy of the file instead of an alias.

15. Turn off the Force Quit application

Are you looking for a quick way to close incompatible or problematic applications? Give the Force Quit Applications dialog box with shortcut Command + Option + Esc . You can then select the application from the list of active applications and force it to close with a Force Quit button. The command selects multiple applications from the list to close them all at once.

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You will also find the Force Quit option for the application in the right-click menu of the dock position icon. It will hide and display when you hold the Option key.

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If you switch from Windows to macOS and are looking for equivalent Ctrl + Alt + Delete then Command + Option + Esc is what you need!

16. Preview link in email

A " preview " feature in any application is handy and I use it everywhere available. I do not know the Mail application also has this feature.

Do you see the downward-facing little arrow that appears when you hover over the sitelink in the email? That is the preview button.

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Click that button to display the linked page in a pop-up window right there.

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17. Disconnect from Wi-Fi network

No, you do not need to click Turn Wi-Fi Off to disconnect from the current network. Hold the magic Option key before clicking on the Wi-Fi menu bar icon and click the Disconnect option from the advanced menu displayed.

18. View all System Preferences programs from any interface framework

You need this if you want to return to the main view of System Preferences with the Show All button whenever you switch to another window. Instead of clicking on that button, click and hold to display the menu with all available interest boxes. Now, click on the item you want to see and you will jump to that window immediately.

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Is there anything easier to remember when using a Mac?

Is it not a mixture of two contradictory categories to discover nifty macOS features after months or years of using a Mac computer? Anyway, it's better to be late!

What interesting features do you wish to discover earlier? Let us know your favorite moments "can macOS do that?" in the comment section below!

Author: Akshata Shanbhag

Refer to some more articles:

1. Useful computer tips and tricks everyone should know
2. How to use the Tyke macOS note application
3. How to install Python on Windows, macOS, Linux

Having fun!