Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

You can export a still frame image from a video many different ways with the software that comes with your Mac. If you are already in iMovie, you can use the sharing function to export an image from the current frame in the timeline or a library clip. In Photos you can save a frame in a video to your Photos library as a picture, and you can also copy the current frame and paste it into another app. The easiest way is with QuickTime Player where you can copy the current frame and then paste it into Preview or any other app that handles images.

If you play games on your iPhone and iPad, you probably are using Apple's Game Center system for high scores, achievements and player challenges. It is fairly simply to turn on Game Center in your Settings. You can also select your player name which will appear in high score boards and other places. You can even sign in to another Apple ID just for Game Center. If you ever find you are having trouble with Game Center, the solution is usually to turn it off and then on again.

New Mac users sometimes struggle learning how to renamed files and folders. You can rename items in the Finder simply by selecting the file and pressing Return to select the name, then typing to replace it. You can also rename files while you are working on them by clicking on the title bar of the window, or using File, Rename.

The ability to dictate text instead of typing is built in to macOS. But in order to use dictation effectively, you should know how to use some basic commands for moving the cursor, selecting text, replacing text, and correcting mistakes. You can also use dictation commands to access toolbar and menu bar commands for more advanced changes.

When you use Command+Space and search with the Spotlight menu, you get a dictionary definition as one of the results in most cases. If that is all you are interested in, use Command+L to quickly jump to that definition. So Command+Space, type the word, and then Command+L to see a definition.

By using the Apple Store app on your iPhone, you can walk into an Apple Store, pick out a product, pay on your iPhone, and walk out without ever needing to speak to an employee. Self-checkout has been around for a while, but few people seem to know about it. Watch as I pay for a new Magic Trackpad using self-checkout and see how the process works.

Although it has been around for many versions of macOS, the Arrange By setting in the Finder continues to confuse users who try to use it to set the sort order in a Finder window. Arrange By is for grouping files by kind, date, size and other criteria. For simple file name sorting, you should have it set to None, and then use the column headings to sort.

You can use the Workflow app to create little programs to automate tasks on your iPhone or iPad. In this example, we'll create a workflow that will send a new email message with the subject, body and from address pre-filled. You can add this as an icon to your Home screen, or to the Today screen for easy access.

The Maps app is a handy way to find a location, get directions, or view satellite imagery on your Mac. You can see traffic conditions and look at a 3D view of buildings and terrain. This can be a tool for finding places or getting directions, or an educational or exploratory tool for learning more about the world.

Since there are no menu bar selections for styles in Pages, you cannot assign standard keyboard shortcuts to them. But there is a special method that can be used to assign F-keys to paragraphs, character and bullet list styles. You access these through the format sidebar in a way that isn't readily obvious.

If you have TextEdit in your Dock, you can select text in a document or web page, then drag that selected text to the TextEdit Dock icon to instantly create a new document with that text in it. You can do the same by dragging the text to Mail, which will create a new message with that text as the body.

In the Mac Calendar app, you can view a selection of local holidays using switch in Calendar Preferences. You can see holidays in other countries by temporarily switching your Mac's region and then toggling this preference. You can also subscribe to any publicly-available calendar you wish from the Internet. You can make your own calendars and share those as well.

You can peer into a zip archive and see which files are in there using the zipinfo Terminal command. You can refine the results to show you only the files with fgrep. You can take this same command and use it as a Shell Script in an Automator service for easy access. In this tutorial you'll also learn about using Shell Scripts with files as input arguments in Automator.

Here's another look at the iOS Workflow app. It has simple-to-use loops. In this example, I'll show you how to use variables and loops to make an audible countdown from 10 to 1.

Naming your iPhone's Clock app alarms can be extremely useful. You can then use Siri to set alarms by name, distinguishing between the alarms in some way other than just the time. Named alarms can avoid confusion if you have two alarms with the same time, but different sounds and settings.

If you are a new Mac user, you may not know how to type special characters like vowels with accent marks, symbols or emoji. You can easily get accent marks and other letter variations by holding down the key on the keyboard and selecting the variation. For symbols and emoji, a simple keyboard shortcut brings up a searchable list of all available characters.

Power users love the Go To Folder command in the Finder. It allows you to type the path to a folder instead of using mouse clicks to navigate. You can use autocompletion to do this quickly, even if your folders have long names. The Go To Folder command can also be used in application open and save dialogs.

Launchpad can be a powerful app launcher, but it requires that you move the cursor over to its icon in the Dock and click it to start. But you can assign a keyboard shortcut to do this. In System Preferences, Keyboard, Shortcuts, choose Launchpad & Dock on the left and enable the Launchpad shortcut. Assign something like Command+Shift+A or Command+Shift+Up, or anything you like that isn’t already in use. Then use that shortcut, type the first few letters of an app, and hit Return to launch any app from the keyboard.

Forwarding email is a quick way to send along an email you received to someone else. But it also means that when that person responds, the response will come to you, not the original sender. You can use Mac Mail's Redirect command to send the message to someone else and retain the sender in the From field so that replies will skip you and go directly back to the original sender. This is useful when you need to send along a question to someone else to answer it.

You can use shapes in Pages to create unusual borders for images. You can get a rounded rectangle border for an images, or even circles, stars and any shape in the Shape tool. You can then use line borders that will conform to the shape to frame the image. This technique can also be used in Keynote and Numbers.