macOS Tips & Tricks

Just some basic hints for using macOS 

Why can't I see my hard drive icon?  Or my H-drive?

Apple wants very much to keep your desktop uncluttered.  If you click on your desktop, and then select "Preferences" from the "Finder" menu, you'll see a set of checkboxes that hide or display certain things from your desktop.  You might find it helpful to display things that Apple has hidden.

Can I create a shortcut to my network storage spaces?

Yep.  This is very handy -- check out these instructions.

Can I automatically open my network storage spaces when I log in?

Yes.  This is a good idea for desktop Macs that are always on campus, or laptops that don't leave often.  We have instructions.

Can I just grab a picture of the screen?

Yes, absolutely, and you have several easy-to-access keyboard shortcuts to do this quickly.

Check out Apple's “Take a screenshot on your Mac” help page for detailed information of all of the ways you can capture all or part your Mac’s screen(s).

If you're impatient and just want the most common keyboard shortcuts already:

How can I search for specific files or folders on my Mac?

Spotlight is your friend here. And you may not realize that you can create quite specific searches, and save them, to more easily find certain kinds of documents. Ex. all PDFs, opened within the last 30 days, that contain the text "invoice", such as might include your monthly purchase card receipts.

Apple has a guide for that: “Narrow your search results on Mac”

Did you know that you can do many handy things using Spotlight?