Mac tips and tricks: 33 helpful hints you might not know (2024)

You might consider yourself a complete whizz when it comes to Apple’s Mac, and you're here wondering if we can teach you something you didn't know. Or perhaps you would say you're a complete novice and you've only recently bought a Mac because they look pretty, but in reality, you have absolutely zero idea how to use it. Don't worry, you wouldn't be alone.

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Either way, we are hoping there will be at least one tip on this list that's going to make your day-to-day use of your Mac a little more efficient. Whether you've used Macs for years, or you are new to macOS and all the features it offers - because there are loads just waiting to be discovered -- we have compiled our favorite tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your MacBook or iMac.

Here are 33 tips for Mac you really should know about.

1 Make a Mac keyboard shortcut for anything

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Mac has built-in keyboard shortcuts that developers have added - like Command + Space Bar to open Spotlight - but it's possible to create a shortcut for anything you like from any app. The only thing you'll need to know is the exact name of the menu command that you want to add.

To create a keyboard shortcut, open System Settings by tapping on the Apple logo in the top left corner and selecting it from the drop down menu, then tap on Keyboard. You'll then need to open Keyboard Shortcuts followed by App Shortcuts. You'll need to hit the '+' and select the application you want to create a shortcut, enter the menu command and enter the combination of keys you want to use for the shortcut.

2 Batch rename a group of Mac files

If you have a group of files you want to rename, it's very easy to do on Mac, as long as you are running macOS Yosemite or later. To batch rename files, you'll first need to select the group of files you want to rename. You can click on one and then hold shift to highlight more.

Once you have your highlighted group, right click and select Rename. You can also tap on the circle with the three dots in the middle from the Finder menu.

You'll then be able to Replace Text, Add Text or Format the names.

3 Take full-page Mac screenshots

Taking a screenshot on a Mac is super simple. You can either take a screenshot of your entire screen or you can take a screenshot of a partial area of your screen. Both will automatically save to your desktop and they will appear in the bottom right corner after you take them, which you can then click on to mark up.

To take a screenshot of your entire screen, press Shift + Command + 3.

To take a screenshot of part of your screen, press Shift + Command + 4, then draw the box around what you want to take the screenshot of.

4 Sign a PDF from Mail on Mac

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While you might think you have to print out a document, physically sign it, scan it and send it back, thankfully there is an easier way. It's possible to sign PDFs directly from the Mail app so there's no need to waste any paper.

You'll need to drag the PDF you need to sign into a new email in Mail first. You'll then need to hover over it to see a small arrow button appear in the top right corner. From here, you can select Mark Up. The PDF will then open and you'll see a signature option at the top - it's the icon with a squiggle that looks like a signature with a cross to the left.

You can either select a signature you have used in the past, or you can create a new signature. If you choose to create a new signature, you can either use the trackpad on your Mac to draw one, your iPhone, or you can write your signature on a piece of paper and then hold it up to the webcam on your Mac.

5 Turn on Mac Stage Manager

If your Mac is running macOS Ventura, you can use a feature called Stage Manager to organize all your windows and apps and quickly multi-task between them. You'll need to turn on Stage Manager using the Control Center (icon with two bars and a dot either side of the bars). Launch Control Center and then tap on the Stage Manager tile.

From here, different apps will appear on the left side, while the app you are working on becomes front and center. Different windows of the same app will group on top of each other, and if you want use two or more apps at once, you just need to drag the other apps onto the app that is already open.

6 Open certain Mac apps at login automatically

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If there are certain apps you use every day and you always open them up, you can set your Mac up to open them automatically as soon as you login. For example, we always use Mail, Slack, Safari and Calendar.

Open up System Settings by tapping the Apple icon in the top left corner, and make sure your account is selected. You'll then need to tap on General, followed by Login Items. To add an app, tap on the '+' and search the Finder for the application or document you want to open on login. You'll need to select the application or document from the list and then press Open to add it to the list.

For a quick way to add an application to this list, right click on an application icon and select Options from the pop menu, followed by Open at Login.

7 Use Mac Spotlight for unit conversions

Spotlight is an excellent tool. To pull it up, hit Command + Space Bar.

The search bar will then appear and you can use it to not only search for files, applications or a specific question, but you can also use it for unit and currency conversions. Just type what you want to convert directly into the search bar.

8 Use Mission Control to see all open windows

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You might be surprised by how many different windows and applications you have open at any one time. If you're anything like us, you'll have no idea you had 15 Safari tabs open, along with Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, Photoshop and goodness knows what else.

To see all your open windows and apps, simply hit the F3 function button and you'll see them all, allowing you to tap on any of them to switch.

9 Add a Guest user to your Mac

It's possible to add multiple users to your Mac, which is handy of you have several people in your home using one computer. It means everyone can set up their own wallpapers, layouts, preferences and apps how they like them. It's also possible to add a Guest user so anyone borrowing your Mac can't access your files or documents.

To add a new user, head to System Settings by tapping on the Apple logo in the top left corner. Scroll down to Users & Groups and select Add Account. If you want to add a Guess user, tap on the 'I' next to Guest User above Add Account and toggle on Allow guests to log in to this computer.

10 Get a Wi-Fi password for other devices from your Mac

Apple Mac has an excellent feature called Keychain Access that remembers almost all passwords for whatever sites you might need to log onto, from Facebook to Marks & Spencer. It will also remember Wi-Fi passwords for locations though. While your Mac will automatically join a network it has stored, you might need to know the Wi-Fi password for another device, like your phone or tablet.

To find out any password you have stored, including Wi-Fi passwords, you’ll first need to open up Keychain. The quickest way is to hit Command + Space Bar and type in Keychain. You can then search in the top right corner for the Wi-Fi network or site you want your password for, tap on Show Password and type in your Mac password to see it.

11 Copy and paste on Mac without formatting

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If you want to copy and paste from a website or document but you don't want to bring the formatting - such as font and font size - you can copy and paste without formatting. This is handy if you are writing an email for example, and you're copying something from a website.

Select the text you want to copy and hit Command + C. Open up where you want to paste the text, whether that’s Mail, Pages or elsewhere, press Command + Option + Shift + V.

12 Use multiple Mac desktops

Mac enables you to have multiple desktops open at once, allowing you to have your email on one desktop for example, Photoshop or another app on another. You can swipe between desktops by swiping three fingers across your trackpad.

To create a new desktop, you'll need to open Mission Control first. The quickest way to do this is to tap F3. At the top, you'll see the various desktops you may already have open, and you'll see a '+' in the far right of that top bar.

13 Turn on Do Not Disturb very quickly on your Mac

There are a couple of ways to turn on Do Not Disturb, which will curb any incoming notifications and keep everything nice and quiet for a bit, but the quickest way to do it is the F6 function key. Tap it once to turn Do Not Disturb on and again to turn it off. When it is on, you'll see a half moon symbol in the menu bar at the top. It appears to the left of the battery icon.

If you want something more granular, whereby you can choose what notifications and apps come through, you can set a Focus. To do this, open up Control Center and tap on Focus in the top left. You can then follow the instructions to setup a customized Focus, such as Meeting.

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AirDrop is absolutely excellent - when it works. It can be a little glitchy at times, but it's a very quick and easy way to share files and photos between your iPhone or iPad and your Mac. You'll want to find the sharing icon, which is traditionally a rectangle with an arrow coming out from the top, or select Share from the option menu.

You'll then want to select AirDrop and select the device you want to share to.

If the device you want to share to doesn't appear, open Finder on Mac and tap on AirDrop at the top - you may need to select to be discovered by Contacts Only or Everyone. On iOS, open up Settings, then AirDrop and then choose Contacts Only or Everyone.

15 Check your Mac notifications

Notifications will appear in the right corner of your Mac's display and then disappear unless you hover over them. If you want to see a quick rundown of all the notifications you have had come through, whether it's emails, Slack messages, Messages, or Find My alerts for example, tap on the date and time in the top right corner.

You'll see a list of your notifications and you'll be able to click on them to expand them and select what you want to do from the option drop down. You can also swipe across with two fingers on your trackpad to launch your notifications.

16 Make sure your Mac sleeps

If you have found that when you shut the lid on your MacBook or try to put your iMac into sleep that it just doesn't fancy it, there might be an app stopping it. Thankfully, there's a very quick way to check what applications are running in the background which may be preventing your Mac from shutting down.

Search for Activity Monitor using Spotlight and select Columns from the View menu at the top of the screen. There's a column that says Preventing Sleep, which will show a yes if the application listed is causing an issue.

17 Hide the Mac menu bar

The menu bar appears at the top of your Mac screen by default, but you can choose to change this so it only appears when you hover over the top of your screen with your cursor. It's good for those who want their entire screen to be uninterrupted for example.

To hide the menu bar, open System Settings by tapping on the Apple in the top left corner. You'll then need to tap on Desktop & Dock and choose between the various options on the drop down menu next to Automatically hide and show the menu bar.

18 Use your phone as a Hotspot for your Mac

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If there isn't Wi-Fi available but you have cellular connectivity on your phone, whether that's an iPhone or another phone, you can connect to the phone's hotspot to get onto the internet. You'll need to know the phone's hotspot password, which on iPhone you will find in Settings and then Personal Hotspot. You'll then need to head to the Wi-Fi logo on your Mac and select your phone from the drop down list, tap in the password and you should be good to go.

It's worth mentioning you can also connect to your iPhone using Bluetooth or USB to share its signal.

19 Change your Mac's hot corners

Mac has a feature called Hot Corners, which allow you to do quick actions, such as put your device to sleep, depending on what you have setup. To access Hot Corners, head to System Settings by tapping the Apple logo in the top left corner and then scroll down to Desktop & Dock. From here, you'll see Hot Corners at the bottom, where you can select what you want each of the four corners of your Mac screen to do when move your cursor into them.

For example, you could have the top left corner sending your Mac to sleep, the top right showing Application Windows, the bottom left opening a Quick Note and the bottom right launching Mission Control.

20 Split your Mac screen for better multitasking

With Mac, you can of course have multiple windows and apps overlapping each other but it's also possible to use a Split Screen View, as you can on iPad, in order to make multi-tasking a little cleaner looking. You could have Mail open on one side of your screen and be writing a document on the other, for example, allowing you to keep an eye on your emails, whilst also doing your work.

To enter Split Screen View, you’ll just need to hover your cursor over the green icon in the top left of whatever application you want on one side of your screen. Three options will automatically appear: Enter Full Screen, Tile Window to Left of Screen and Tile Window to Right of Screen. Choose either the left or right option, and then you’ll be able to select a secondary app to use on the opposite side. To exit Split Screen View, just tap on the green button in the top left corner of the app you want to close.