If you’re an author, you can self publish your books on iBooks. You’ll want to leverage multiple platforms to increase your visibility, but don’t forget Apple. As The Mac Observer editor-in-chief, Bryan Chaffin, wrote, Apple’s eBook platform isn’t perfect, but it is worthwhile to use.
Tips
macOS: Using "Open With," "Always Open With," and "Change All"
Today’s Quick Tip is all about opening files with certain programs. If you want to open a file in Pages rather than Word (or if you want to switch ALL of your .docx files to doing so!), we’ve got your bases covered.
macOS: Using the Text "Transformations" Feature
Never heard of the Transformations menu option? Then you should come check this out. The feature’s been around forever, but a lot of folks don’t know that you can use it to change text accidentally typed in uppercase to lowercase, for example. Sweet!
macOS Photos: Create Smart Albums Based On Camera Type
A handy tip for macOS Photos users is to create Smart Albums. A Smart Album automatically organizes your photos based on certain criteria that you choose. Today Andrew shows us how to create a Smart Album based on camera model. The album is perfect if you use multiple cameras and need to separate them easily.
How to Get Info on Your iCloud Devices
This Quick Tip is about how you can look within your iCloud settings to get information about every device you’ve signed into. This is helpful if, for example, your iPhone has been stolen, and you need to find out what its serial number is without having it right in front of you. We’ll tell you how to find this with iOS, macOS, and your Web browser!
How To (Sort of) Block Emails In Apple Mail On macOS
Using a simple trick, you can block emails from a specific person using Apple Mail on macOS. This should work on all versions of macOS that have Apple Mail preinstalled. Now you have can peace of mind from trolls, exes or spammers. Andrew walks us through this easy tip.
How to Install ddrescue and Recover Files for Free
Recovering files from a failing hard drive is stressful and it can be pretty expensive, too. Reliable backups can help with the stress part, and ddrescue can help with the rest because it’s good at recovering files, and it’s free. The catch is that it requires a little command line mojo, but we’ve got you covered. Follow along to learn how to install and use ddrescue, plus we’ll show you how to give it a graphic interface, too.
Setting Your Default Calendar Across macOS and iOS Devices
This Quick Tip is not just about configuring which calendar is set as the default on your devices, but why you should check to see which specific accounts are set to sync calendars, too. Getting everything cleaned up and organized is the name of the game!
How to Enable Night Shift in macOS 10.12.4
Night Shift—the feature that slowly shifts your display color temperature as the sun sets–has been available on the iPhone and iPad for a while, and now it’s coming to the Mac. Apple added Night Shift support to macOS 10.12.4, which is currently available as a beta. It’s easy to activate, so follow along to learn how.
Report Problem iTunes Purchases through Apple's Website
Our own Adam Christianson said that one of his MacCast listeners was able to get a refund for a mistaken purchase using a website where customers can easily report a problem with iTunes purchases. If you or a family member accidentally bought something within the past 90 days, you may be eligible for a refund.
Apple Watch: Adjusting Your Move Goal on the Fly
Today’s Apple Watch Quick Tip is about adjusting your move goal. You may be getting notifications to change it on Mondays, but what if you want to switch things up later in the week? We’ll tell you how!
macOS Sierra: PiPifier Gives You Picture-in-Picture For All Videos
macOS Sierra introduced Picture-in-picture. It’s a feature in which you can watch videos while doing another task. For example, watch a YouTube video while typing up a report. The video is displayed in a small window that you can drag around the screen. This works for most videos on the web, but not all. Here’s how to force PiP for all HTML5 videos.
iOS Tip: Avoid Charging Your Wet iPhone 7/7 Plus
This is less of a tip and more of a warning. Apple made the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus water and dust resistant, with a rating of IP67. This means that you won’t have to worry as much if you get a wet iPhone. Step One: Don’t panic, and grab your towel.
macOS: Taking Timed Screenshots
Today’s Quick Tip is about using the underappreciated Grab program to take timed screenshots on your Mac, so if you want to set up a shot without having to use keyboard shortcuts, you can do so. It’s handy, especially for sending instructions to other people, so let’s learn how!
How To Fix The iPhone Rainbow Emoji Message Crash
Another messaging crash for iOS devices is making the rounds. This time, it involves the colorful rainbow emoji. The bug affects both iPhones and iPads running iOS 10.1 or below, but a variant of the crash can affect devices running iOS 10.2. Luckily the fix is very easy, and we’ll show you how.
iOS Tip: Create Your Own Live Wallpaper with LivePapers
When Apple announced the iPhone 6s, they debuted a new way to interact with your iPhone, called 3D Touch. 3D Touch lets you “peek” and “pop” your way around apps. The company also introduced Live Photos—animated pictures that you capture and bring to life by 3D touching the photo. Apple provided a handful of Live wallpapers to use, but many people wondered if it was possible to make your own. That is what we’ll explore in this tip.
Apple Watch and iPhone: Filtering Your Activity Data
The iPhone’s Activity app, which connects to your Apple Watch and stores all kinds of data on what workouts you do, has a pretty neat set of filters and views you can check out to really get an idea of how you’re progressing. In this Quick Tip, we’ll show you how you can filter that data and what it looks like when you do!
Safari: Importing Bookmarks (The New Way!)
Today’s Quick Tip is about a really simple way you can import Chrome and Firefox bookmarks into Safari, so if you wanna bring everything together, you can do so in a flash. We’ll tell you how!
iOS 10: Selectively Control Read Receipts For iMessage
If you’ve been using Apple products, you’re most likely familiar with iMessage read receipts. You probably also know you can turn this feature on and off. But did you know you can fine-tune it? Note that it only works for iMessage and not SMS. Sorry green bubbles!
How to Connect Your 2016 MacBook Pro to a mini DisplayPort Monitor
Want to connect your old Apple Cinema Display or another mini DisplayPort monitor to your new 2016 MacBook Pro? It’s possible, but not via the method you might think. Before you rush to pick up an adapter, be sure to check out these compatibility restrictions.
macOS: Turning Off Time Machine Space Notifications
Today’s Quick Tip is about those pop-ups that you’ll get to notify you that your Time Machine backup disk is full. Sometimes you just want your software to do what it’s supposed to without your input, right? So we’ll tell you how to turn those off (and give you a few other Time Machine pointers)!
How to View the Apple TV's Aerial Screen Saver On Your Mac
One of the great features of the fourth-generation Apple TV is the built-in “Aerial” screen savers: gorgeous flyover videos of major cities, landmarks, and natural wonders. While these videos do indeed look great on your TV, wouldn’t it be nice if you could enjoy them on your Mac as well?
Tip: Fix The Vincedes3 iMessage-Crashing Bug With One Tap
A new bug has been found that can disable Apple’s Messages app on the iPhone. All it takes is one text message, but luckily there’s a solution. Andrew Orr walks us through the bug and how to fix it.
iOS 10: How to Prioritize Downloads
If you’ve ever been stuck waiting for an important app to download when you’re doing a bunch at once, then you need to know about iOS 10’s “Prioritize Download” feature. It’ll let you tell your iPhone or iPad to push the one you need to the front of the line, pronto!