We have grouped our tips by topic

Select + to see the list of tips for each topic

GENERAL

Handy Hints

• Enabling the right-click on your Mac's mouse or trackpad
• Where is Ctrl-Alt-Del on my Mac for Force Quitting mis-behaving apps
• Matching colours on your Mac
• How to manage the Apps appearing in your Mac's Dock
• Discovering 'split view' feature of El Capitan
• Stopping all those apps from automatically starting when your Mac starts up

​Blog Articles

• 33 articles with great tips, hints and 'how-tos' for Mac
• Eleven ways to show your iPad or iPhone on a big screen
• A recap of some great Mac tips from 2015
• How to get back those Typing Shortcuts when they disappear from your Mac
• This feature of MacOS Sierra makes it so much easier to manage your Mac's storage
• Do you have Mackeeper on your Mac?  Here's how to remove it.

APPS

Handy Hints​

• ​How do I get Dropbox on my computer?
• How to access two Dropbox accounts at once​
• Selective sync'ing of Dropbox folders on your Mac (or Windows) computer

Blog Articles

• Can you be selective about what Dropbox folders sync to your computer?

BACKUPS

Blog Articles

• What is it with kids and their resistance to backing up their data?! 
• A timely warning for students (and the rest of us!)
• A very scary incident - is all your data backed up?
• A handy website for questions about Mac's Time Machine

BASICS

Handy Hints

• ​​Telling your Mac to startup with a 'clean slate' each time - preventing apps from automatically starting up each time you start up or log in
• Enabling the right-click on your Mac's mouse or trackpad
• Where is Ctrl-Alt-Del on my Mac for Force Quitting mis-behaving apps
• Some keyboard shortcuts I use frequently on my Mac
• It's so much easier to manage your storage in MacOS Sierra
• How to manage the Apps appearing in your Mac's Dock
• Mac 'Sleep' settings - how to set the inactive period before your Mac sleeps, and how to require a password after it wakes
• Getting Downloads back into the Dock on your Mac

Blog Articles

• How often should you Shut Down your Mac
• Scrolling up and down using the trackpad on your MacBook - do you know how?  

CALENDAR

Handy Hints

• Merging two iCloud Calendars in MacOS Sierra

Blog Articles 

• A handy feature in Calendar on MacOS Sierra
• Did you receive a heap of 'spam' Calendar invitations recently?​

CONTACTS

Handy Hints

• Quickly saving all the email addresses received in emails on my Mac to Contacts
• Creating and then emailing a Contact Group on the Mac
• How to sort out all those duplicated Contacts on your Mac
• Stop Safari from auto-filling fields with Contacts
• Printing addresses on envelopes is so easy on a Mac​

creating - files, drawings, etc

Handy Hints

• Matching colours is so easy on a Mac

DOCUMENTS/PRODUCTIVITY

Handy Hints

• Merging several PDF or image files into one on your Mac
• A really powerful app built into your Mac - Preview
• Matching colours on your Mac
• Easy creation of PDF's on the Mac

Desktop, dock and Menu Bar

Handy Hints

• Getting Downloads back into the Dock on your Mac​
• How can I make two documents appear side-by-side on my Mac?

FACETIME

Handy Hints

• An easy way to quickly call, message or Facetime people using your iPad and iPhone

Blog articles

• How do I stop my iPad and Mac from ringing when my iPhone rings?
• So many ways to keep in touch from the other side of the world using your iPad and iPhone
  
• How much data is used when using Skype or any other 'free' communications via the internet?                      

FINDER

Handy Hints

• Finding your way around in Finder - The Path Bar
• How to access two Dropbox accounts at once
• An easy way of moving files and folders to a new location to a new location on your Mac
• Selective sync'ing of Dropbox folders on your Mac (or Windows) computer
• How to remove Desktop and Documents from iCloud Drive ​​

Blog Articles

• An easy way to move or save files to a different location on your Mac​
• A trick with Finder on your Mac
• What to do if iCloud takes over your Documents and Desktop folders on your Mac
• One of my favourite tips for Mac - have you discovered Quick Look?

ICLOUD

Handy Hint

• Merging two iCloud Calendars in MacOS Sierra
• How to set up an 'out of office' reply for iCloud Mail
• Sending emails with large attachments - use iCloud Mail Drop
• How to remove Desktop and Documents from iCloud Drive ​

Blog Articles

• Why does Apple's two factor authentication show I am a different location?  (In Melbourne, it shows I am in St Kilda)
• Please check your iCloud setup - not just for your own sake, but for the sake of your friends!
• Problem signing in to iTunes or iCloud on Apple TV or other i-Device after setting up two-factor authentication
• What to do if iCloud takes over your Documents and Desktop folders on your Mac

iTunes

Handy Hints

• Clearing up old  iTunes backups on your Mac to free up storage

Blog Articles

• Problem signing in to iTunes or iCloud on Apple TV or other i-Device after setting up two-factor authentication

Keyboard & Typing/Shortcuts

Handy Hints

• Some keyboard shortcuts I use frequently on my Mac
• Some more great Mac Keyboard Shortcuts
• Finding those hidden symbols on your Mac keyboard
• Finding the Emoji keyboard on your Mac
• How to copy formatting from one area to another on a Mac

Blog Articles

• How to type the cent symbol on your Mac
• How to type the 'Apple' symbol on your iPad or iPhone  
• A new lot of Keyboard Shortcuts for your Mac
• How to copy text formatting from one area of text to another on a Mac
• Ever wonder where the Home and End buttons are on a Mac? Wonder no more…
• Finding those missing symbols on your Mac keyboard
• Have you discovered the wonderful 'Undo' function on your Mac?
• Do you have 'right-click' enabled on your Mac?​
• I have just discovered my new favourite Mac keyboard shortcuts!
• How to get back those Typing Shortcuts when they disappear from your Mac

MAIL

Handy Hints

• Quickly saving email addresses received in emails on my Mac to Contacts
• Setting up an email signature on your Mac
• A handy Mac Mail feature - Send Again
• How to send large files in emails using a new feature on Mac
• How to set up an 'out of office' reply for iCloud Mail
• Creating and then emailing a Contact Group on the Mac
• How I ensure that I am not 'locked out' of my mail account when I travel?
• Auto-Forwarding your Bigpond POP emails to your new email account
• How to set up your new Gmail or Outlook email account so that it retrieves your POP email from Bigpond, Optusnet, Primus, iiNet, Netspace, etc
• Moving from an old-fashioned POP email account to something better!
• Some great tips about Mac Mail
• Adding some great extra features to your Mail app on Mac
• Creating an email signature in Mac Mail

Blog Articles

• How to work out where an email link is really going to take you
• How can I read windows mail files attached to my Mac Mail message?
• How do you change the 'reply to' address in Mac Mail?
• How do you set an 'out of office' reply for an iCloud mail account?​​
• How can I set a delay on sending mail in Mac's Mail app?
• Hotmail emails are not being received from a particular sender
• How to add a link to some text in an email in Mac Mail
• Why you should think twice before unsubscribing from Junk emails
• If you have been having trouble lately with your internet or with sending mail ...
• Have you received any of these emails recently?
• Stop Outlook mail going to junk (for outlook.com, hotmail.com and live.com email addresses)
• How good are you at spotting a scam email?  Test yourself here
• Can you spot which of these emails is real, and which is a scam?
  

MAPS

Handy Hints

• Maps on your Mac - Send a map to an iOS device

MESSAGE

Handy Hint

• Receiving and sending SMS messages on your Mac

NOTES

Blog Articles

• Have you upgraded to the new Notes app on your iPhone and iPad (and your Mac)? ​

PREVIEW/PDFs

Handy Hints

• A really powerful app built into your Mac - Preview
• Merging several PDF or image files into one on your Mac

PHOTOS

Handy Hints

• Correcting the date or location of a photo in Mac Photos
• Using the People feature in Photos on the Mac
• Getting edited iPhone (or iPad) photos across to your computer using iCloud Shared Streams
• Exporting photos from Mac's Photos app to USB, external drive or folder
• Clean up Bursts of Photos on your Mac​
• How to enable the 'Sidebar' in the Photos app
• How to delete your iPhoto library after migration to the new Photos app on Mac
• Deleting iPhone and iPad photos in bulk using a Mac
• A great way of sharing your photos with others - no emailing or texting required!
  

​Blog Articles

• How do you export photos from Mac's Photos app to a folder, USB stick or external hard drive?
• Do you wish you still had a sidebar in the Mac Photos app?  Well, you do!
• ​Storage issues on my Macbook Air after migrating from iPhoto to Photos
• ​Client Question: Where do I find my iPhoto photos when I want to add a photo to an email or upload to eBay or Facebook?
• I edit images in Photos on my iPhone, but they don't import to my computer!
• iCloud Photo Library - should you turn it on yet?
• Why  can I no longer import my iPhone photos to my computer?​     
• Mac crashing after Sierra upgrade - here's what was causing this problem
• Are your 'bursts' of photos causing your iPad, iPhone or Mac to 'burst its storage banks'?​
• Trying out some interesting new Photo Book options​
• How to add music to a Photos slideshow when you have Apple Music
• How Apple's Photos app 'saved the day'!

SAFARI

Handy Hints

• How to force Safari to use Google as the Search Engine (if something else has taken over!)
• Fixing a Mac web browser that has been hijacked by ads
• Stop Safari from auto-filling fields with Contacts
• What to do when Safari is locked up by a nasty screen
• Make sure Safari on your Mac warns you if you are accessing a suspect website.
• Downloading upgrades, apps and files from Safari - where do they go, how to install or view them
• Do 'autoplay' videos drive you crazy in Safari? Here's how to stop them
  

Blog Articles​

• Are you having trouble working out downloading on your Mac?
• How to tell Google to only search for 'recent' content, or only Australian content
• Understanding NBN and VPN - two TLA's (three-letter acronyms) we are hearing a lot lately!
• Here's how to check if and when NBN is available to you

SECURITY & PASSWORDS

Handy Hints

• Finding your 'lost' passwords in your Mac's Keychain
• Is your Mac at risk?  It's time to talk about protection
• Controlling who can Airdrop to your Mac
• Make sure Safari on your Mac warns you if you are accessing a suspect website.

Blog Articles

• Can't remember a password?  It may be saved away in your  Mac's Keychain!
• Have you turned on your Firewall on your Mac
• Is my Mac giving away my PayPal password?  Do I need anti-virus software?
• An excellent article on how to ensure your security on Mac and iPhone/iPad
• Is it antivirus software, or snake oil?
• How to avoid Mac malware by using Gatekeeper and common sense - Macworld Australia
• New Tor-powered backdoor malware, Backdoor.MAC.Eleanor, targets Macs - Macworld Australia
• How to stay safer online - adding an extra layer of protection
• Please do not call the number on your screen!
• I keep getting  a message showing a sign-in is requested from a strange location.  (In Melbourne, it shows St Kilda.)
• Make sure 'Airdrop' is secured on your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Mac
• Can you spot which of these emails is real, and which is a scam?
• Yes, Macs can catch viruses and malware
  

TROUBLESHOOTING

Handy Hints:

• Enabling the right-click on your Mac's mouse or trackpad
• ​Where is Ctrl-Alt-Del on my Mac for Force Quitting mis-behaving apps
• How to check if your Mac is running out of storage space
• Clearing up old iTunes backups on your Mac to free up storage
• How to work out what is slowing down your Mac (and perhaps giving you a 'spinning beachball of death')
• How to check what is using up your Mac's storage - and free some space!
• Fixing a Mac web browser that has been hijacked by ads
• What to do when Safari is locked up by a nasty screen
• It's so much easier to manage your storage in MacOS Sierra
• How to check if your Mac is running out of storage space
• Conquer your Mac's spinning beachball
• How to check to 'health' of your Mac hard drive
  
• Repairing your Mac's hard drive in Recovery mode
  

Blog Articles

• Could your Mac have a problem with its RAM?
• Practical tips on how to get your Mac performing better
• Have you discovered the wonderful 'Undo' function on your Mac?
• Storage issues on my Macbook Air after migrating from iPhoto to Photos
• For anyone who has regretted downloading MacKeeper to their Mac
• Macs can catch viruses too!
• How to deal with a Mac web browser that has been hijacked by ads!
• Mac crashing after Sierra upgrade - here's what was causing this problem
• How to get back those Typing Shortcuts when they disappear from your Mac
• Please do not call the number on your screen!
• This feature of MacOS Sierra makes it so much easier to manage your Mac's storage
• Problem signing in to iTunes or iCloud on Apple TV or other i-Device after setting up two-factor authentication
• Have you done a 'health check' on your Mac lately? Thank goodness I did one today!