Secrets Mac OS
Secrets lets you customize many Mac OS settings that are hidden or incomplete. Many of these values can harm your system if used improperly. Use it at your own risk. Fanboys strangely silent about secret Mac OS X security update 10 Years Ago happygeek Microsoft recently admitted, via the Director of it's Security Response Centre, that it doesn't report every Windows security vulnerability discovered and subsequently fixed via patches and updates.
The Messages app on your iPhone, iPad and Mac is obviously used for sending an iMessage or SMS messages to other people. That’s just the beginning. You might not have noticed some special features. That’s a shame, because you’re missing out on some powerful options.
Find Someone’s Location
Find My Friends has been around since iOS 6. Until El Capitan, the Mac OS hasn’t had a dedicated way of accessing someone’s location. That’s because it’s been under Details in Messages. To use this feature the person has to agree to share their location with you.
On any Apple device running Messages, clicking or tapping
Get Contact Information
Instead of opening Contacts and searching for the person, just find a message from that contact. In iOS, after tapping Details, tap the circled i icon. That brings up the card for the contact. On the Mac, right click on the name in Messages and select Show Contact Card.
Do Not Disturb
If one contact is bothering you when you’re trying to get work done (sorry Mom), you can essentially mute just that person. The messages go through, you just won’t get notifications they sent you via messages. This feature works the same on iOS and Mac OS.
Start a FaceTime Chat
Text messages and emoji don’t always help you communicate. Sometimes your voice and face help you express yourself. Instead of switching apps, you can start a Facetime session in iOS or Mac OS directly from the Messages application.
Watch your Data: FaceTime could eat up your data plan, so check out our guide on how to track your usage.
For FaceTime Audio, select the picture of the phone receiver. On an iPhone, if you tap the picture of the phone receiver, you’ll get the choice of FaceTime Audio or a Voice Call. If you’d like to add video, select the camera icon to start a video chat session.
Manage Pictures Sent From that Contact
Pictures people send you from Messages aren’t automatically saved to your pictures. Instead of scrolling up in a conversation trying to remember when the picture was sent, scroll down a bit in details. If that contact sent you a pic, all those pictures will be there. Tap or select a picture and you’ll get a few options. In iOS, you can copy it (great for sharing the picture in another conversation), delete it (that’s a great way to clear up some space on your iPhone or iPad ) or you can save it. The options in Mac OS are similar: Open, Add to Photos Library, or Delete.
It works for attachments too: when I lose an attachment, I know I can always find it again in Messages.Mac OS: Start a Remote Control Session
This feature only works if both parties are running Yosemite or above. You’ll notice the standard Mac screen sharing icons in the Details tab. Click on that icon. You’ll either invite the person to share your screen or you’ll ask to share their screen. This trick is handy if the other person is non-technical and may not be able to find the Apple screen sharing app. All they need to do is wait for your request in Messages. Sadly, this doesn’t work between Mac OS and iOS.
Want cross-platform remote control? we have some apps that do support cross-platform remote control.Apple continues to add great features to the Messages app, so keep your eye open for even more features in Mac OS and iOS.
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With any new Macintosh book, I evaluate its worth on how quickly I can locate valuable information that I can use immediately. Macworld Mac Secrets, Fourth Edition, by David Pogue and Joseph Schorr, rewarded me with these morsels:
I was helping a friend do diagnostic work on her Quadra 605 and PowerBook 140. I learned that the Quadra 605 is identical to the LC 475 and the Performa 475, including the 68LC040 chip, which gave me a useful frame of reference; and that the PowerBook 140 runs at 16 MHz on a 68030 chip, which helps explain the speed discrepancy from her Quadra.
- In the chapter on ClarisWorks word processing secrets, I learned several new features about the 'wonderfulness of ClarisWorks Click-and-Drop' and that 'amazing Font menu.' The Option key triggers all sorts of tricks in ClarisWorks’ humble list of fonts!
The word 'secrets' is appropriate to about one third of the information in the book. The other two thirds consist of useful general knowledge about all aspects of the Macintosh, plus helpful tips and tricks to boost your Mac productivity and enjoyment.
Lots of Book for the Buck — Mac Secrets consists of three components: the massive book (1,208 pages), a respectably packed CD-ROM disk (550 MB), and a Web site for updates to the book and the bundled software. This edition is quite current, demonstrated by a reference to Mac OS 7.6’s new installer, and, ironically, to rumors of Apple’s potential liaison with Be, Inc.
Secret Mac Shortcuts
<http://www.idgbooks.com/idgbooksonline/ macsecrets/>
The authors describe the fourth edition by stating that 'everything’s different, nothing’s changed.' The format and feel are consistent with earlier editions, but the look is cleaner and easier to read. On the CD, the custom folder icons from previous editions have been replaced by 'plain, boring, ordinary' folders, so they open rapidly.
Pogue and Schorr offer a diversified presentation, including conventional text and occasional entertaining back-and-forth dialogues, plus sidebars of secrets, true facts, case histories, and 'Answer Man' solutions. The book is peppered with bulleted bonuses, such as Speed Tips, Exclusives, On the CD, Strange but True, and Worth Learning. For example, one tip worth exploring is 'The Golden Troubleshooting Rule: A Clean Install,' which explains the benefits of installing all generations of Mac system software from scratch, instead of on top of an existing System.
Chapter 4 is an outstanding, mini-encyclopedia on control panels and extensions, including 'The Ultimate Extension-Linking Guide.' Troubleshooting your Mac is covered in an excellent 30-page chapter. An extensive glossary and index help readers locate and understand terms, concepts, and the secrets themselves.
More Than Just a Book — Is this a book or a software package? Pogue and Schorr understand that 'despite the countless hours your cheerful authors have spent researching and writing this book, you may well consider the software supplied with this book to be the main course.' They’re not kidding: a total of 110 different shareware, freeware, and commercial programs and demos fill up the CD-ROM, and the book uses 58 pages explains the software in detail.
Secrets Mac Os X
A few fully functional titles include: CanOpener, Claris Emailer, DiskFit Direct, TechTool, TypeIt4Me, Remember?, Cyberdog, OpenDoc, and QuickTime. The CD is a veritable software library kept up to date via the book’s Web site. (Discount coupons for upgrades and full versions of many commercial applications are also provided.)
On the CD, the software is conveniently listed by chapter, category, author, and a few more groupings, aliased to the Complete Software List. The entire text of the book is on the CD, in searchable Adobe Acrobat format.
Macworld Mac Secrets is extensive, but no doubt there are Mac secrets that didn’t make it into the manuscript. The co-authors are conducting a 1997 contest for the 50 best undocumented Mac secrets, with one $500 top cash prize and 50 free books awarded (with credit to the winners).
<http://www.idgbooks.com/idgbooksonline/ macsecrets/secretscontest.html>
Secret Macos Commands
Macworld Mac Secrets is a good value for the money that will receive plenty of use either as an addition to your library or as a gift. I give this book my highest recommendation, especially for intermediate-level Macintosh users.
Secret Mac Startup Keys
Macworld Mac Secrets, 4th Edition, David Pogue and Joseph
Schorr, ISBN 0-7645-4006-8. $44.95 U.S., $62.99 Canadian.
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. — 800/762-2974 — 800-667-1115
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