20 Mac Annoyances And How To Fix Them

Here are some common things about macOS that some users find annoying, and how you can change them.

Comments: 35 Responses to “20 Mac Annoyances And How To Fix Them”

    Jim
    4 weeks ago

    Yes, very useful. I’m going to check out how to use Spotlight to just find Folders. I often look for a specific folder and from your videos Zi know their is a command to find definitions (Define: __word__), there must be something like it for Folders?

    4 weeks ago

    Jim: Do a search in the Finder (since you already know what you want is there) and use kind:folder in the search.

    Donna
    4 weeks ago

    Excellent video!! I actually watched it on my iPad and will re-watch on my Mac so I can follow along. It’s funny that a lot of your “annoyances” are shared by me and I’m still learning my Mac! Thank you for always creating very informative and helpful videos!!

    TimA
    4 weeks ago

    I'd add another one: no way to assert how latitude and longitude coordinates are shown. Earlier OS versions used decimal degrees but changed to DMS in later versions with no way to alter. Would love a simple preference setting for this.

    Andrea
    4 weeks ago

    I don't have Preview on that menu for Save To for screenshots. It is missing. How can I add it to my options? Thanks

    4 weeks ago

    Andrea: Look at the screenshot controls carefully. Have you selected one of the 3 screenshot options, or one of the 2 screen recording options? If you selected a screen recording option, you wouldn't see Preview (since it doesn't open video files) but instead QuickTime Player. Switch to a screenshot option and then try the Options.

    Jared Rifkin
    4 weeks ago

    REALLY ANNOYING (yes- I'm yelling) Using Sequoia MacBook and Safari Webmail > when reading mail in Inbox:
    The scroll up/down keys often don't work. I have to pull the vertical bar at screen-right or use two fingers to scroll. How do I go back to just using "arrow" keys?

    nick
    4 weeks ago

    Gary, thanks for dealing with my definite annoyances :)

    Dave
    4 weeks ago

    There is a new annoyance: Things I screenshot will hang on the screen even after I insert them, say, in a document. Previously, they would disappear. Am I just imagining this? Thanks.

    Louis Martin
    4 weeks ago

    An annoyance to me: a iPhone mirroring app. (recopie de l'iPhone in French) appeared suddenly on my Mac mini M1 in December 2024 and I can't get rid of it since I don't have an iPhone. It won't be deleted by any means I tried even with unlocking it in the info section. Any suggestion ? Thanks.

    4 weeks ago

    Jared: So why are you yelling at me though?
    Anyway, not sure why the arrow keys aren't working for you. Do they work if you click on the window or in the message first?

    4 weeks ago

    Dave: What do you mean by "hang on the screen?"

    4 weeks ago

    Louis: It is part of macOS. Just don't use it. I'm sure there are other parts of macOS you don't use either. It isn't an annoyance. It is just a feature you don't have use for. So ignore it.

    nick
    4 weeks ago

    Forgot to ask....in System Settings > Notifications at the bottom of the Apps list, there are a number of what looks like websites where I might have had a chat, and now they are listed there. Is there a way to remove those sites? I looked through Preferences in Safari but didn't see them listed there. Thanks

    4 weeks ago

    nick: Safari, Settings, Websites, Notifications. See https://macmost.com/how-to-stop-website-notifications-spam.html

    Karen Brown
    4 weeks ago

    Thanks—you resolved one of my husband's great annoyances!

    But one more—until Sequoia, I could press the Space Bar to pause a video. No longer. And I can't seem to find something in System Settings to put that back in action.

    4 weeks ago

    Karen; Pause a video WHERE? QuickTime Player? iMovie? Photos? A website in a browser?

    Andrea
    4 weeks ago

    Brilliant, Gary! That was it and this makes a huge difference for me. Thank you!

    Cindy Cunningham
    4 weeks ago

    A major annoyance for me is the need to click on "paste and match style" so that the paste isn't in the default font. Having to do this means not being able to bring up "paste" and just do it, but instead requires another step. Can this just be overridden?

    4 weeks ago

    Cindy: No way to override it, but you can just use the keyboard shortcut instead.

    Pat
    4 weeks ago

    Wonderful video, very useful. I have another annoyance, the "Game Mode" icon on the right side of the menu bar. Is there anyway to keep this out of the menu bar? It stays there after I'm done playing a game. It causes my other icon nearest the camera "island" to disappear.

    Sheldon
    4 weeks ago

    Thanks bunches

    4 weeks ago

    Pat: Game Mode shouldn't remain on. Have you tried clicking it to switch it off? Or using Control Center to switch to another focus mode?

    Pat
    4 weeks ago

    Gary, I probably wasn't clear enough. Game mode is off. The icon just remains in the menu bar with option to turn it on. I wish there was a way to keep the icon out of the menu bar after I'm done with the game. Maybe in a future OS upgrade.

    William
    4 weeks ago

    Very useful. Thanks again, Gary.

    4 weeks ago

    Pat: Not sure what that could be. That's not normal. Maybe contact Apple Support?

    Richard Wood
    4 weeks ago

    Another annoyance after I upgraded to Sequoia, I immediately noticed that when I save a file or an image, especially in photoshop elements, the list of options for where to save no longer shows the most recent places I've just saved files or images. Any idea how to fix this? Thanks!

    MacBook Pro 16 inch 2023 Max3
    OS Sequoia 15.2
    Memory: 96 GB

    4 weeks ago

    Richard: It should. Still does for me. Is this just a problem with that one app, maybe?

    Jonathan
    4 weeks ago

    Jared, you may want to check System Settings>Accessibility>Motor>Keyboard. If Full Keyboard Access is engaged this may be the cause of your annoyance.

    Kim
    4 weeks ago

    Great video Gary. I was able to use about 1/2 of your annoyance items to solve my annoyances! Thanks!

    Felix
    4 weeks ago

    Great video, helped me solve one of my annoyances.

    Karen Brown
    4 weeks ago

    Pause a video—actually pause a video in any application, but I used it most often when watching in a browser (usually Safari). For example, watching your videos, if I wanted to stop the video and try something you are talking about, I'd simply press the Space Bar. But that has not worked since Sequoia. I keep meaning to call AppleCare and ask them about it, but...

    4 weeks ago

    Karen: I don't think it has anything to do with macOS or Safari. Spacebar to pause video is something the video player does. The video player I am using here on this page just doesn't do it. You can click to pause though. Try it on a YouTube video, that should do it.

    Henning
    3 weeks ago

    Hi Gary, thanks a lot.
    Another annoyance since Sequoia: When i try to move a video i watch in quicklook by grabbing the Titlebar of the video, Sequoia resizes it at once as it "predicts", that i want to drag it to the top to fill the screen. How can i stop Sequoia from doing that?

    3 weeks ago

    Henning: That sounds like #4 in this video.

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