This blog post focuses on a number of tips and tweaks that will help to make your macOS experience better, faster, and more efficient.
How to update macOS from Terminal
Open the Terminal and type in the following:
sudo softwareupdate -ia
How to ensure macOS checks for new software updates daily
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.SoftwareUpdate ScheduleFrequency -int 1
How to copy text from a website and paste it quickly into a text file
Head to the Keyboard section within System Preferences and highlight the Services section. Next, in the secondary panel scroll down you see “New TextEdit…..”. From there add your shortcut keyboard combination.
Next, copy text from a website and use your new shortcut keyboard combination. The copied text will automatically be pasted into TextEdit
How to add emojis in your documents quickly
Within macOS, select your text-based application and then type the following key combination:
Command + Control + Space
This will launch the emoji selector.
How to add a quit option to the Finder
To add a quit option to the Finder, add the following command to the Terminal
defaults write com.apple.finder QuitMenuItem -bool YES
Now type killall Finder into the Terminal window
How to stop macOS from indexing the Applications folder
To turn off Spotlight, open the Terminal and type the following:
sudo mdutil -a -i off
To unload it, type the following into the Terminal
sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
To load It, type the following into the Terminal
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
To turn on Spotlight, type the following into the Terminal
sudo mdutil -a -i on
How to quickly see your IP address and other Wi-Fi networking information
In macOS, hold down Alt (or the Option key on some keyboards) and click the Wi-Fi icon at the top right of the screen. Beneath the name of the currently in-use Wi-Fi base station you will see the networking information and also a disconnect option.
How to force quit an app in macOS
Type the following:
Click Option, Command, and Escape
How to change the location of your screenshot images
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Dropbox/Screenshots
Where ~/Dropbox/Screenshots is the location where you want the screenshots folder to live.
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
How to disable screenshot drop shadows
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool TRUE
Now type killall SystemUIServer into the Terminal window
How to shutdown your Mac, with or without a delay
To shut down your Mac immediately:
Type the following into the Terminal:
sudo shutdown -h now
To restart your Mac immediately:
sudo shutdown -r now
We can even add a time delay (in minutes) if we wish:
sudo shutdown -r +60
How to make your Mac talk
Within the Terminal type the following:
say "Hello world"
We can even go one better and have it read any text file we like:
say -f /path/to/file.txt
Your Mac can then say whatever was in the text file.
How to change the default filetype for screenshot images
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
Now type killall SystemUIServer into the Terminal window
How to add your most recent used applications into the dock
Open Terminal and copy the following command:
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
How to show the full file path in Finder
To easily find the hierarchy of folders, you can easily find the full path by adding this tweak to the Terminal.
Open Terminal
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES
Now type killall Finder into the Terminal window
If you need to change it back, change “YES” to “NO” (without the quotes).
How to add spacers into the dock
If you need a way to organize your dock icons, the following command will allow you to insert a spacer into your dock that you can move around and place anywhere to divide your apps up by category.
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{tile-data={}; tile-type="spacer-tile";}'
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
To add more spaces, add the command into the terminal again. If you want to remove the spaces just drag them out of the dock.
How to make hidden apps “hidden” in the dock
If you use ⌘H to hide apps on screen with this tweak, you’ll be able to add transparency to all of your hidden apps so you don’t forget they’re running in the background
Within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool TRUE;
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
If you need to change it back, change “YES” to “NO” (without the quotes).
How to eliminate the dock reveal delay
If you need to speed up the dock when you have it hidden, this tweak will speed it up.
For faster animation, within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0.12;
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
For no animation, within the Terminal type the following:
defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -int 0;
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
To go back to the defaults, within the Terminal type the following:
defaults delete com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier;
Now type killall Dock into the Terminal window
