If you want to move some windows around on your screen, you don’t need to switch to that app or even bring the window to the front to do it. Just hold the Command key and click and drag the title bar of the window and it will stay in the background as you move it.
If you get a spam message through iMessage (not text/SMS) there are two things you’ll want to do. The first is to block the sender. On your iOS device, view the message and then tap the Contact button at the top of the screen next to the sender’s name. Then tap the “i” button and scroll down to select “Block this Caller.” Next, take a screen shot of the message and send it to imessage.spam@icloud.com. Also include the email address the spammer used and the time your received the message.
This is more difficult to do if you don’t have an iOS device and want to block a sender using only a Mac and Mavericks. You’ll need to add a contact for the sender, then choose that contact in the Messages app, Preferences, Accounts, Blocked. You can create one “Blocked Senders” contact and add multiple numbers to it to keep your Contacts database tidy.
Ever wonder which Mac app is draining your battery? You can click on the battery icon in the menu bar of MacBooks to see a list of any apps using significant power. It will also show you estimated battery time remaining, or time until it is fully charged if you have it plugged in. Hold down the Option key and click and you will see your battery’s condition status.
When you install new apps, they often add items that you see when you Control+click items. If you want to shorten this list, go to System Preferences, Keyboard, Shortcuts and then select Services on the left. Uncheck any items you no longer wish to see in these context menus.
You can get to the PDF file for the user manual specific to your Mac by going to About This Mac in the Apple Menu. Click on the More Info button. Look for Support at the top of the window and click it. Then click User Manual. This will take you to the online PDF file. The manual is the same as it was when you first bought your Mac, so don’t expect to find updated information about the latest version of OS X.
When switching apps using the Dock, hold down the Option key. The app you were using will become hidden and the new app will move to the front. The allows you to see only one app at a time if you wish.
The Title at the very top of the Safari window will allow you to go up the directory structure of the web site you are currently viewing. Command+click on the title and you’ll see the current URL followed by one URL for every level. For instance, if you are at example.com/this/that/ you will also see example.com/this and example.com.
You don’t have to use a picture as a desktop background, or even one of Apple’s few preset solid colors. You can use any color you want by going to System Preferences, Desktop & Screen Saver, Desktop. Then select Solid Colors on the left. Look for the Custom Color button and choose any color from the standard system color picker. For a change, try a solid black.
The Caps Lock key isn’t something people really need any longer, unless you have a very angry email response to send. Prevent yourself from accidentally turning on Caps Lock by disabling the key in System Preferences, Keyboard. Go to the Keyboard tab and then look for the Modifier Keys button. From there you can set the Caps Lock Key to “No Action.”
Want to know how long your Mac has been up and running since your last restart? Run the Terminal app and type uptime.
Your iOS device can read a summary of your email messages. Just ask Siri to “Read my emails” and you’ll get the subject of each message. Handy for catching up while exercising or doing some other activity.
The Dictionary app that comes with your Mac also includes the interesting front and back matter from The New Oxford American Dictionary. Just run the app and choose Go, Front/Back Matter. You’ll find things like a grammar guide, the history of English, a list of U.S. presidents, the U.S. Constitution, a guide to proofreaders marks, and even a list of clichés.
When you add a location for an event in Mavericks Calendar, you can double-click that event to see details, including a map. Under the map is a line that gives you the weather. Events for today will show a forecast icon, plus the current temperature. Events in the near future will show a forecast icon and the seasonal high and low for that day. Events farther in the future will only show the seasonal temperatures.
If you prefer to use another browser, such as Chrome or Firefox, you can tell OS X to open this browser by default when jumping to web pages from other apps. You’ll need to launch Safari to do it, and then go into Safari, Preferences, General. Then change the Default Web Browser setting. You can change back at any time, and you can still launch each browser you have manually whenever you want.
Open Terminal. Type the command emacs -batch -l dunnet
This launches a small text-based adventure game hidden in the EMACS text editor on your Mac.
The top row of keys on your Apple keyboard features items like brightness, Mission Control, Dashboard, and volume controls. These can also be shortcuts to the appropriate System Preference controls with the addition of the Option key. For instance, hold down Option plus one of the volume buttons and you will get the Sound controls. Hold down option plus one of the brightness keys and you get the Display controls. Note that if you have turned on the F-keys in your keyboard preferences then you will need to hold down the FN key as well.
In Mavericks Mail you can have multiple windows open at once. This helps if you need to refer to more than one message or mailbox at a time, or if you have multiple email accounts and want to see the message lists in separate windows. Just choose File, New Viewer Window.
You probably knew that you could use the Maps app in Mavericks to get directions. And likewise with the Maps app on your iPhone. But you can also figure out a route on your Mac and then send it to your iPhone. After getting Directions, choose File, Share and you should see your iPhone in the list as long as you are logged into the same iCloud account. Then on your iPhone, tap the Directions button at the upper left and you will see the route in the list.
In some situations, like demonstrating something on a large screen in front of an audience, it can be useful to increase the size of your cursor. You can do this in Mavericks by going to System Preferences, Accessibility, Display and then adjusting the Cursor Size slider.
Having trouble keeping track of time while you work? You can have your Mac speak the time aloud every hour, half hour or 15 minutes. You can find this option in System Preferences, Date & Time, Clock. You can even pick the voice.
