Keyboard shortcuts and other hidden features can make life easier for Mac users. — dpa
User-friendly features and shortcuts can make working on a computer much quicker and more efficient. Here are some tips that you should find helpful if you use an Apple computer.
Spotlight: One of the most important shortcuts when using Mac OS is the Command key and the space bar, which brings up the Spotlight search. This searches not only file and folder names but also the content of files.
"This means you can enter individual words in the Spotlight search box and all documents – regardless of whether they're emails, Word files or PDFs – will show up in the search results," says Mac expert Marcel Dietzmann.
Mission Control: This feature allows you to create separate desktops for different items. "This gives you the option of distributing the windows of open programs and folders to different spaces so you can work in a more organised way," says Alexander Zschweigert from MacEinsteiger.de, a German website aimed at Mac users.
Mission Control can be opened by pressing the F3 button. It will show you all your open windows, so it's easier to switch between them and organise them into different desktops.
"You can then switch between several desktops with the key combination Control and the left or right arrow," Zschweigert says.
Quick Look: If you are looking for a particular file, you don't need to open it completely to see if it's the right one. By clicking once on the file and then hitting the space bar, you can open a quick preview of it.
This works best for picture files, but can also be done with video and audio files. Pressing the space bar again closes the preview. You can also install extensions so that Quick Look works for documents that aren't supported by Mac OS.
Encryption: MacOS includes a program called File Vault that you can use to encrypt your data and prevent unauthorised access.
"If you have sensitive data to protect, the use of File Vault is, in my view, recommended," Dietzmann says. However, a note of caution – if you lose the recovery key or your login password, you won't be able to access the data again.
Desktop wallpapers: Want to set a picture from the last vacation or a photo of the family as the background for your desktop? That's easily done in Mac OS. If you right-click the photo, you can choose the option "Set Desktop Picture."
Hibernation: Users can set the Mac to automatically hibernate if the computer is inactive for a set amount of time. "In this state, a Mac consumes relatively little energy, but is immediately ready for use," says Peter Mueller from Macwelt magazine.
Volume erasure: If you want to give away, sell or scrap your Mac, you should first erase all of your data. Open Disk Utility from Applications > Utilities and then select the volume to be erased.
You can choose how many times you want the memory to be overwritten with random zeros and ones – the more times this is done, the more secure the deletion will be. – dpa
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