Tip, Tricks and Articles for iPad, iPhone, Mac
iCloud, Windows, Android, Office 365, Dropbox, Apps, and more

By Heidi Mitchell

If you were an avid Apple Photo Books user, I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

Just in case you hadn't heard, you can no longer order a photo book through Apple - even if you have it created and ready to go. 

Don't despair - you won't have to start all over again. You can still print that book that you had just spent hours creating.

In another of this week's blog articles, we welcomed our new team member, Heidi.

You will have noticed that the walls behind Heidi had nothing much on them (as shown in the first photo above). In fact the original version of this photo had a sign, a vacuum cleaner and a fire extinguisher behind Heidi (as shown in the second photo)!

These distractions were so easily removed using the Photos app on the Mac. (Sorry Heidi - I just noticed I gave you a bit of a hunched back!)

Have you been suffering from Photo Syncing problems on your iPhone, iPad and/or computer?

When you plug your iPhone (or iPad) into your computer, are you told that there are no photos to import - even though you know that you just took some new photos! Where are your photos? ​

I have always loved those photos that I have seen on other peoples' walls - where a particular colour has been picked out, and the rest of the photo is black and white. I had always meant to investigate how to do this, but figured I needed a more sophisticated photo editing tool to get this effect!

Well, this week we were playing around with the new features of the Photos app on the Mac (Photos 3.0, High Sierra) and discovered how easy it is to achieve this 'look' - using the standard Photos App.

The Photos app on the Mac delivered significant changes in MacOS High Sierra. For many Mac Photos users, this has caused some confusion - with options in different places, and many new features to make sense of.

Not yet a member? Or are you member with Original, Basic or Plus membership?  Find out more about the iTandCoffee Club and its membership plans here, and how you can access to a huge range of great content like this.

If you don't want to join the club, but are still interested in learning about the Mac Photos app, access to the class videos can purchased below for only $20.  

​​We also have the updated 100-page companion comprehensive user guide - in PDF or hardcopy format.  

If you have any queries about the below products, don't hesitate to contact us on 1300 885 420 or at products@itandcoffee.com.au

In macOS High Sierra, the Photos app has undergone significant change. While there are some fantastic new features, many Photos users will find themselves 'at sea' after they upgrade to High Sierra and Photos 3.0. 

If you find yourself struggling to with the new Photos app, we have something that will definitely help. 

​Hot off the presses, the iTandCoffee user guide ​

covers everything that has changed, and everything you need to know about the Photos app - including great new edit features, and navigating all the differences introduced by Apple. You'll be amazed at what you can do in the new Photos app. 

This easy-to-read guide is now available as a PDF download, from the iTandCoffee online shop. Download it to iBooks your iPad (if you have one), or read it on your computer.

For a limited time, this PDF guide is offered at the discounted price of $16.90.

iTandCoffee Club members who have Online and Premium membership can access this guide for FREE.  Visit your respective membership areas to obtain the applicable Coupon Code to apply at the checkout.  (Join the club before the end of November for your chance to win an iPad! Find out more here »)

To purchase this brand new guide, simply choose Add to Cart ​below, then select Cart ​from the menu (on left if you are on a computer).

And for anyone interested in attending a class on this topic, here is the web page with details: Photos on the Mac.

Having recently scanned some old photos so that you have a digital copy, I found myself frustrated by the fact that they appear in your Photos app's timeline on the date they were scanned - not on the date that they were originally taken.

Luckily, there is an easy way of resolving this.

The Photos app on the Mac has a feature that allows you to easily change the date and time (or the location) of a photo, so that the Years, Collections, Moments timeline view of your scanned photos will be more meaningful.  It is also possible to adjust this photo information on an iPhone and iPad.

The below image shows my own Photos library, reflecting some old photos that were taken in the late 50's and early 60's - after I have changed the dates of the photos that previously showed a 'date taken' of 2017.

If you would like to find out how this can be achieved, why not attend the 'Photos App on the Mac' classes at iTandCoffee in Glen Iris (Melbourne)

This class topic is run every 1-2 months, with the next classes scheduled for Monday May 1 and 8 2016, at 1-3pm.  

A couple of places are still available for that class series, and for the next classes in July.  
​Find out more or book here ››

iTandCoffee Club members can find out about features like this any time - no need to come to a class.  Here are the links to the members-only handy hints that cover this topic:

• Use the Photos app on the Mac to change the date/time of your photos
• Changing a photo's date or location on the iPhone or iPad 

Not yet a member of the iTandCoffee Club?  Find out more about the Club here ››

When preparing a slideshow of photos last week, using the Photos app on the Mac, we were wanting to play a particular music track with that slideshow.  This slideshow was just going to be shown to family as part of the celebration of the life of a loved one.

It seemed that this should be an easy thing to do.  We had completed the selection of photos for the slideshow and it was time to add the finishing touch - the music, a beautiful song by Ed Sheeran.

Frustratingly, we found that when we tried choosing the iTunes track that we wanted to use, it was 'greyed' and not able to be selected.

I thought that because I had subscribed to Apple Music, I would be able to choose any track from my music library to use with my Photos slideshow. I thought all I needed to do was download the required track using iTunes, so that it was stored on my computer.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.  Apple Music tracks are protected by DRM (digital rights management), and (apparently) can only be streamed using iTunes - they cannot be used in Photos slideshows.  

I am not sure if this will change some time in future, but in the meantime we needed to find a way around this this limitation, as it was essential that we be able to play the chosen track with our slideshow.

Luckily,  we found a solution.

My daughter had recently purchased the CD version of the artist's album, and we were able to import the track from the CD to iTunes as an MP3 track.

Magically, the track then became available for selection in the Photos app, and we were able to play that beautiful track with our beautiful slideshow.

If you would like to find out more about how we imported the music as MP3 or how we were able to select the song as backing for the Photos slideshow, why not come along to our "Photos on the Mac" class which will be running again soon.  

Find out more about this class here ››