So, you
finally made the investment and got a Macbook. The clear screen and intuitive
user experience are enough to immediately justify the choice to buy your
computer, but are you using it to its full potential?
Even if
you're not a person who uses their computer for anything too complex, Mac
operating systems offer you a number of options to make your experience even
better.

The thing
is, there are so many features that it's hard to explore them all. We're going
to go over some Mac OS tips today, showing you 7 of the features that you might
not have utilized just yet.
Let's
take a look.
1. Import Your Signature
Have you
ever gotten a digital document that needed a legitimate signature? It's kind of
a hassle to complete the process.
You have
to download the document, print it out, sign it, scan it, then send it back out
to whoever needs it. In 2020, that seems like it could be streamlined a little
bit.
Fortunately,
Mac has you covered. When you're using Preview, you can sign a piece of paper,
snap a picture of it with your webcam, and the signature is isolated and can be
dropped anywhere on the document you're viewing.
You can
adjust the size of it to meet your needs, plant it, and avoid the need for a
printer altogether.
2. Download Improved Players
This
isn't technically a new feature of the Mac, but it's important to know that
it's possible.
Even
though the viewing quality of players is pretty good out of the box, you can
download Flash player for Mac and
experience a higher quality. Different players will also offer unique features
for whatever you need to do with that video.
3. Dictation
People
have been sleeping on the dictation feature for some time now. As Mac has
evolved with dazzling new features, one of the fundamental ones has only gotten
better.
The
dictation feature allows you to speak to your computer and have everything you
say jotted down onto a document. It happens in real-time, too.
You could
have a long conversation with a friend transcribed as you're speaking. There
are few mistakes made, and the only thing you might have to touch up is your
preferred punctuation.
Further,
on the note of language, you can construct your own dictionary that will go
with you on whatever Apple product you're using. This is useful if you're a
person in a profession that uses a lot of obscure terms.
A
paleontologist, for example, might reference numerous scientific terms for bones
and species that don't register in normal dictionaries. Those hiccups can
really get in the way of the autocorrect features and become a nuisance.
Gradually
building up your personal dictionary will incorporate the terms you use into
the normal function of all your Apple products forever.
4. Seamless Device Transfers
One thing
that most people aren't aware of is the fact that you can copy something on one
of your Apple devices and paste it into another.
The only
thing is that the two devices need to be connected by Bluetooth. For example,
you see a beautiful picture on your phone that you think should be your Macbook
background.
You copy
that image on your phone, and you can select "paste to Macbook" if
the two devices are linked. The process can also go the other way, where you
send something from your computer to your phone.
5. Screenshot Heaven
In the
old days, especially on PCs, the
process of taking a screenshot was kind of awful. You had to press CTRL +
PRTSC, then it copied to your clipboard which you then had to paste onto Paint
or another application. Then, you would clip and adjust the image to your
liking, then save it to your photos.
Now,
thank god, you can simply press Command + Shift + 3 at the same time and your
image will be sent right to your photo library.
In fact,
most new Macbooks don't even have a PRTSC key. Probably to ward off flashbacks
of the old process.
6. Touch ID
New
Macbook Airs come with the touch ID feature. This is a simple way for you to
log onto your computer, but there are also other features that come packed in
with it.
You can
use your fingerprint to access locked documents, make purchases, and access
your personal or financial information when you're using a website to buy
applications.
In other
words, your fingerprint can give the computer access to autofill your payment
information. You don't have to squint at your credit card information and type
it in anymore, isn't that great?
7. Peruse Your System Preferences
Looking
into the settings and preferences of a device can seem kinda boring. That's
where all the action is in terms of unique personalized features, though.
Take
about half an hour and comb through each of the setting options that you have
on your new computer. You'll be surprised to find that you can customize your
experience to a very high degree, and your time on the laptop will be better
for it.
The
sneaky features are the ones that you might not think of at first. Sometimes,
you have to use your computer a good deal to even be at a point where you would
need to use them.
For
example, when your desktop or dock gets cluttered with apps, you can organize
them more easily than you ever could before. Additionally, there are numerous
ways to free up space by going into the terminal and purging some of the apps
that are taking up too much ram.
Those are
features that come in handy when your computer starts to slow down.
Need Some More Mac OS Tips to Work With?
Working
with various Mac OS tips can take some time, but we're here to help you work
through it. Understanding updates and improvements to the operating system can
help you with your profession, your personal life, and your enjoyment of
digital media.
Explore
our site to learn more about how to tap into your computer's potential.
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