I haven't used these 9 'hidden functions', I dare not say that I will use macOS...
In the previous articles, we have learned about the “ Preview.app ” that is low-key but has eighteen martial arts skills, and the Option ⌥ that hides its merits and fame . In this article, we will continue to look for those hidden in macOS. “Hidden in the City” performance tool.
▍Real -time display of pressed function keys on the screen
In daily life, sometimes we need to perform the operation of displaying the keyboard on the screen in real time. In the previous article, using Option to add some material to macOS operations , some readers are also asking about the software that displays keyboard operations on the screen. Whenever we talk about on-screen keyboard operation, we subconsciously think of searching for various auxiliary software on the Internet, but in fact macOS itself provides this function.
macOS built-in display function
The on-screen keyboard operation function that comes with macOS is hidden deeply and needs to be manually turned on automatically by the user; it needs to be turned off manually after use.
Steps: Turn it on via System Preferences > Accessibility > Keyboard Hardware > Options. Note Check “Enable Sticky Keys”, then check “Show pressed keys on screen” in “Options” on the right.
Note that the on-screen keyboard function that comes with macOS has several disadvantages:
- The effect of Sticky Keys itself cannot be removed. As long as you press it, it will be in the displayed state, and if you press it again, it will be in the always-on state.
- Only other function keys other than alphanumeric keys can be displayed, and the positions are relatively fixed.
- Switches are cumbersome and require the user to turn on automatically and manually; they need to be turned off manually after use.
The effect of Sticky Keys itself cannot be removed. As long as you press it, it will be in the displayed state, and if you press it again, it will be in the always-on state.
Only other function keys other than alphanumeric keys can be displayed, and the positions are relatively fixed.
Considering the above shortcomings, if there is a need for a long-term on-screen keyboard function, I recommend KeyCastr , a third-party application. The specific use effect can be found in this article .
Here’s a digression. When recording the screen, we may record some unnecessary operations in it. At this time, we can use “preview” to make corrections afterwards. Use “Preview” to open the recorded gif file, and then delete the corresponding frame in the thumbnail on the left.
▍Yes and No for English completion
As far as English completion is concerned, my mentality is very complicated. Sometimes I hope that it can jump out of the initiative to help complete it, and sometimes I hope that it will not appear interesting. The two methods listed here realize automatic completion of English. Although the title of the second method in this article is how to cancel the automatic completion of English, the reverse operation is actually a method of completion.
English Autocomplete on Mac without Touch Bar
For those of us who use Chinese, typing in English is a not-so-good experience. Either switch the input method, or rely on the English function provided by the Chinese input method itself; however, the weaknesses of the two are obvious. Furthermore, sometimes limited by the user’s own English level, the Chinese input method cannot present the desired words in a timely and accurate manner. In fact, macOS provides a function to help us quickly enter (or find) English words. When entering part of a word, hold down the F5 key to bring up a drop-down word list, and then select the matching word in it.
It should be noted that this method has some limitations: the third-party Chinese input method needs to be on the screen before it can be used; it may conflict with some hotkeys; the applicable software is limited, and it only takes effect in memo, text editor, MWeb, etc.
English auto-completion when canceling input
Corresponding to the above, sometimes we are also more disgusted with the English prompts that macOS automatically pops up, such as deliberately typing a wrong word, or when entering a verification code. In some cases like this, the small “X” is very easy to touch by mistake, and then it is replaced by the English prompt. So many times, users can’t help but “praise”.
This function can also be canceled in the system settings. To do this, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Text > Disable Auto Correct Spelling.
▍Three -finger drag on the trackpad
Frankly speaking, compared with Windows, the touch control of Mac works very well with macOS, and the operation is indescribably smooth. Because of this, many people praise the Mac’s trackpad.
However, the use of the touchpad varies from person to person. Habits are different, usage is naturally different. Some people like to press to drag, and some people like to drag with three fingers. Although this article can’t tell you which usage is more suitable for you, it can tell you how to set it up. After a few tries, you will find what works for you.
Steps to enable three-finger drag: Go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse Pointer > Trackpad Options > Enable Drag, and then select “Three-finger drag” to enable it. Reverse the operation to cancel the “three-finger drag”.
▍Replace the icon of any folder
When dealing with all kinds of information, I always have the feeling that a picture is worth a thousand words. I believe many people will feel the same way. In the process of using the computer, I like to “enable” a specific folder with the logo of the corresponding app. In this way, at a glance, you can know the general content or function of this folder, without having to look carefully at the name of the folder.
As a dual-wielder of Win and Mac, I personally think that it is a relatively simple thing to replace the icon of a folder in macOS, and it can even be as simple as copying and pasting.
The method of replacing the icon is also very simple, select the image to be used to replace the folder icon, and then Command ⌘+C to copy. Right-click on the folder > Show Introduction > pop up the folder introduction as shown on the left side of the figure below. Click the icon in “Introduction”, then Command⌘+V to paste the icon, or drag it directly, so that you can easily replace the icon with your favorite picture.
If the replaced folder icon is not pleasing to the eye, in “Introduction”, select the icon and press the delete key to delete it.
In an earlier article , I mentioned extracting an app’s icon. During operation, you can extract the pictures of the App in combination with the previous practices and directly replace the icons of the corresponding folders.
Actions to replace folder icons
It should be noted that the replacement is not supported by all image formats. I only briefly tested that PNG and JPEG are two common formats. When some image formats are not available, you can cooperate with this article to convert the corresponding image formats.
In addition, you can also perform further operations in combination with the functions provided by “Preview” to make the pictures of the folder more beautiful.
▍ Apple Archive Compression Format
Compressed packages are probably one of the most efficient innovations in an operating system. How to more effectively improve the efficiency of packaging and compression is also the persistent pursuit of each company. For macOS users, the system itself brings a more efficient compression method.
Regular macOS compression
On Windows, when you right-click on a file, an option to send to a “zipped (zipped) folder” will appear. The compression function itself under macOS is similar to the function that comes with the Windows system, and the usage is also similar. The compression function appears when you right-click on the file. Whether it is Windows or macOS, the final result of the system’s default compression is a zip package.
Advanced Operations for macOS Compression
In addition to the basic compression function, macOS’s own compression program “Archive Utility” also provides a more efficient self-format Apple Archive, namely .aar files.
How to use: Command ⌘ + Spacebar to call out Focus Search, then enter Archive Utility, press Enter, and open Archive Utility. Next, make the corresponding settings in the app’s preferences. Preferences > Use Archive Format > Apple Archive. This enables the use of compression formats unique to macOS. To use, you need to do it in Archive Utilities > File > Create Archive, or drag the folder to the dock’s icon.
Compared with traditional compression methods, using Apple Archive to compress is faster than right-click compression, and the compressed file size is smaller. Here’s a comparison chart where I compressed 100 files.
Compression size comparison, the larger the volume, the better the efficiency of the archiving utility
When compressing, the archive utility can also invoke multi-threaded compression, and the experience is better on M-series Macs. In addition, the Apple archive format supports certain .
The crest is in compression
However, it should be noted that even if it is set to the Apple archive format, the right-click compression function at this time is still in the zip format. I guess because of compatibility issues, the Apple archive format is used as much as possible when the other party is also a Mac user or is creating the archive themselves.
▍Display APFS snapshot information
In the above about compressed archives, I mentioned the problem with APFS. APFS is short for Apple File System, which is used on macOS, iOS, tvOS and watchOS. APFS is optimized for flash and solid-state storage devices, with design features such as copy-on-write.
macOS creates a read-only copy of the parent APFS volume at a specific point in time. This read-only copy is an APFS snapshot. Users can view a series of APFS snapshots on the Mac, copy information about snapshots, and delete snapshots.
Previously, the way to view APFS snapshots was very unfriendly to newbies, and you needed to go to the terminal and enter commands to see them. Now macOS provides an easier way, and can also display more parameter information.
Steps: Launchpad > Disk Utility > Display > “Show APFS Snapshots”, then select the appropriate “Volume” to see APFS snapshots created from Time Machine and Full Disk Backup clones.
Snapshot display steps
An example of information about a snapshot
Below, users can perform a series of operations by clicking symbols such as “-”. For example, delete snapshots, showing more information such as XID, UUID, creation date, high tide point, occupied size, cumulative size and kind, etc.
▍Hide /Show Finder progress bar
When using the computer to copy and paste the transfer data, the system will display a dialog box with an estimated remaining time. When copying large files, this dialog box can relieve our anxiety during the waiting process to a certain extent. However, sometimes due to various reasons, we turn off this dialog box, and when we want to restore it, we can’t find a place.
When the transfer window is closed, in the Finder, execute Window > Show Progress Window in sequence, so that the transfer dialog box can be displayed. In addition to displaying the transfer dialog box, other functions are also provided at the bottom of the window, so you can take a look.
The above are the tool-related functions in macOS sorted out in this article. As an operating system, macOS has countless ways to play, various ways to improve our efficiency, and more functions and skills waiting for you to explore. I hope these gadgets mentioned in the article can help you, and welcome to leave a message to share more tips.
Original link:
https://sspai.com/post/73598?utm_source=wechat&utm_medium=social
Author: jijiali
Editor in charge: Guangling stops
The title image comes from Unsplash @nkachanovskyyy