MacMost Frequently Asked Questions

There are usually two coupon codes issued each month. One is posted at Patreon each month for those that support MacMost there, and another that comes with the first issue of the free MacMost newsletter each month. After you get the code from one of those two sources, here is how to apply it to get a discount.

For the courses available at the site courses.macmost.com, when you get to the "Cart" page during the purchase process, you will see a red field with an "Apply Coupon" button next to it. Put the coupon code in there and click the button. Double-check that the discount has been applied on that page before proceeding.

For courses for sale at Patreon.com, you can use the same coupon codes here. After you click the Buy Now button. The next page shows your cart. Click the reveal button next to the Discount code label. Note: If there is a sale, you may have to click CLEAR first to dismiss the sale code, and then the Discount option will appear. Then enter the code into the field and click Apply. Then check carefully to make sure the code is applied and the new total reflects the change.

Note that Club MacMost Plus members ($20 USD/month level or higher) get the courses for free. To use that benefit at courses.macmost.com, you’ll need to message me (through Patreon is best) and let me know your courses site user ID (sign up for a free account) and the course you want to take. I then manually add that course to your account. For Club MacMost Plus members wanting the courses at Patreon, it is automatic. If you are logged into your account the course will simply be there for you to watch, no purchase necessary.

For courses.macmost.com, just go there and log in with your account. Then you'll arrive at the Dashboard and see the courses you have purchased. Click on the course to go to the list of videos. Click on the video you want to play. Then look for the play button on the video that appears.

For courses at Patreon, just go back to the exact same page at Patreon where you purchased the course. If it helps, bookmark the page to return to it easily. For instance, the Pages course is located here: MacMost Course: The Guide To Mac Pages and the Photos course is located here: MacMost Course: The Guide To Mac Photos.

For a course at courses.macmost.com, you need to be logged into that site and logged in using the same account ID (email address) you used when you purchased that course.

For courses at Patreon.com, make sure you are logged into your Patreon account. If you are not logged in, then Patreon doesn’t know who you are and doesn’t know you bought the course. Also, if you are logged in, check to make sure you haven’t logged in with a different email address or using one of the “Continue With…” buttons. It is common for someone to accidentally create a second account and be logged into the wrong one.

MacMost created its own website, courses.macmost.com, to provide multi-video long courses. This worked well, but still takes a considerable amount of time to update and maintain.

Later, Patreon started offering digital product sales. This makes more sense as a way to distribute courses as Patreon can handle the e-commerce and servers while MacMost focuses on the actual course content.

In addition, Patreon "Club MacMost Plus" users get courses for free. This is easy and automatic when the courses are also at Patreon. Previously, manual account management was needed each time a Club MacMost Plus member wanted to view a course.

With new courses being published at Patreon, eventually all current courses will be there. But anyone who previously purchased a course at courses.macmost.com will always have access to those courses.

The courses at Patreon are sold as digital products there. If you are not a MacMost supporter at Patreon, you can simply buy the course as a one-time purchase. For courses at courses.macmost.com, that is a completely separate site.

At Patreon you get them automatically. Just go to the course page where others go to buy the course. You will just be able to play the course right away, with no additional purchase needed.

If you want a course at courses.macmost.com, then the course needs to be added to your account manually. If you haven't created an account at courses.macmost.com yet, then create one there. Then use the contact form at the bottom of the page there to request a course. Be sure to include your account ID at courses.macmost.com and your account ID at Patreon.com as they can easily be different email addresses.

Whether at courses.macmost.com or Patreon, a purchased course can be watched over and over again. You can take as long as you like to view the content. You can go through the videos immediately, or wait until a convenient time.

If you are trying to log in to courses.macmost.com with your Patreon ID and password, or you are trying to log into Patreon with your courses.macmost.com ID and password, note that these are different sites. Creating an account at one, does not create an account at the other.

There are usually several posts per week for Club MacMost posted at Patreon. To see these, go to patreon.com/macmost and scroll down to the Latest Posts section. Note that you must be logged in to your Patreon account to see the posts. So if you see “Log in” at the top right, click that and log in with your Patreon ID and password. If you can’t remember your password, go to Patreon Login Help.

It sounds like either you are simply not logged into Patreon, or you are logged in, but using a different account than the one you are supporting MacMost from.
▶ If you aren’t logged in, then Patreon doesn’t know who you are and doesn’t know you are a supporter and should be able to view the content.
▶ If you are logged in, but not using the same account, then Patreon doesn’t know that you should be able to view the content either. It thinks you are someone else.
▶ Make sure you are logged in, and make sure it matches the ID that you use to support MacMost. If not, log out and then back in again using the right account.
▶ Note that it is easy to accidentally create a second account if you log in one time with your email address, and another time with the “Continue With Apple” button. Those are separate login methods and would create two separate accounts.
For more help, go to Patreon Support: I have two accounts.

▶▶▶ Also see this troubleshooting video. ◀◀◀

If you are having trouble logging into Patreon, first make sure you have the right email address. Look for a recent email message from Patreon and check the "To" header to see what Patreon thinks your email address is. If it shows something with @privaterelay.appleid.com as the "To" then you used the "Continue With Apple" button to create your account and now much use the "Continue With Apple" button to log in again to get to your account.

Otherwise, if you see one of your email addresses as the "To," then you now know which email address to use to log in with.

If the problem is you can't remember your password, or the password you have isn't working, then you can use this page to get into your account.

If you are still having trouble logging in then go to this page to get direct support: Patreon Login Help.

Yes. Go to patreon.com/macmost and scroll down to the Recent Posts section. Look for the Search Posts box and type in your search phrase. Or, if you use the search box at the top of the main MacMost.com site, you will get results both from the free content at MacMost.com and the exclusive posts at Patreon.

The search field at the top of MacMost.com will search for videos at both MacMost.com, Patreon.com, forum answers and other content. So if you need to find something MacMost published, that search box at the top of this page is a good place to do it.

It is easy to accidentally create a second account if you log in one time with your email address, and another time with the “Continue With Apple” button. Those are separate login methods and would create two separate accounts. The privacy protection you get with "Continue With Apple" prevents Patreon from knowing you are the same person.

Once you are logged into this second new account, you will notice you can't view the exclusive videos there since that account is not a Club MacMost member. So then you may subscribe with the second account, giving you two paid subscriptions.

Carefully check the email you receive from Patreon and you'll notice that some go "to" your regular email address and others "to" a different email address, usually a privacy address that comes with using the "Continue With Apple" button.

The solution is to log out and then back into the account you want to get rid of. In your settings with that account, cancel your MacMost membership. Then log out and back into the account you want to keep.

▶▶▶ See this troubleshooting video. ◀◀◀

At Patreon you can send a message directly to me. You can also use the "Chats" feature in Patreon. Chats is a great place to ask a question not just to me, but to the entire membership of Club MacMost. For instance, you may want to know what others use for something, or get recommendations.

But for regular questions, I’d rather you used the form at macmost.com/ask instead. There are two reasons for this. First, the form asks for important information that will help me answer your question. Second, I can indicate on the form when I am not available to answer questions (weekends, holidays, vacations). I like to maintain a good work/life balance so I’d rather questions only come in when I am working, and not at other times.

Patreon provides a chat/forum of sorts. Here is the one for MacMost: patreon.com/cw/macmost/chats. You can post there as a part of the Club MacMost community and get responses from Gary as well as others.

I also have a special form just for Club MacMost supporters. Use macmost.com/suggest-a-topic and I will add your suggestion to a list. From time to time I’ll pick good suggestions and make a video for either Patreon or the main MacMost site, and thank you in the video.

▶ If you have a question about using your Mac or other technology, use the MacMost Q&A Forum to ask a question.

▶ If you have a question about one of the MacMost video tutorials, whether here at MacMost.com, at Patreon, at YouTube, or in one of MacMost's courses, also use the MacMost Q&A Forum.

▶ If you have a question about accessing a course you purchased, please see the other answers on this page pertaining to courses. If you cannot find an answer to your problem, then you can use this form where you can contact me about questions dealing with buying and watching the course at Patreon.

▶ If you have a question about using ClipTools, please check out the help page first, as most questions are answered there. If you still have a question, you can use this form.

▶ If you have a question about Patreon, please look for the answer here on this page. If you still cannot find an answer to your question, you can use this form.

Probably about 90% of the comments deleted at YouTube or MacMost are due automatic moderation. I don't even see them. Some word or link or something about your server or connection triggered a spam filter. Without this automatic spam detection I would be overrun with comments to moderate. However, there are also many reasons I may see a comment and delete it myself.

• Looks like spam: If it looks like spam I will delete it. I don't have time to research and verify, I need to make a decision and move on.
• Off-topic: These make other people and search engines think the video is about something else.
• Repeat questions: If you ask the same question in more than one place, I can't answer it more than once, and if I leave it unanswered then it looks bad when others think I ignored it.
• Trolling: Sometimes people say something just to get a reaction from me or others. That does not align with my mission to help people.
• False or questionable claims: Sometimes people decide to use the comments section to make false or questionable claims against Apple or someone else. I don't want that associated with my content.
• More: I will delete comments that include hate, politics, explicit words, or are confusing or unintelligible. I usually don't have time to sit back and consider every nuance. If I get the feeling the comment doesn't belong, I just delete it and move on.

If you have a question about how to do something on your Mac, you can ask me. But I need you to do it using the form at macmost.com/ask. There are a few reasons for this.

1. People often leave out key pieces of information when they just email, like which device and app they are using. The form also asks the very important question "why" question which is critical to getting the right solution.
2. I need to be able to control when I get questions. I shut down the form on the weekends and when I am on vacation. I can't work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I want to spend time with my family and relax. Just putting questions aside until Monday morning doesn’t work either: they then take up most of my Monday and I can’t get my regular work done.
3. If a question is a good one and I have a good solution that others can also use, I can easily post the question and answer to the forum for all to see and learn from. If the same question is asked again, I can point to that post.