MacMost: System Preferences

f you use an Apple Magic Mouse with your Mac you should check out all of the customization settings. Even if you don't change anything, there are probably gestures you aren't aware of that you could be using.

A new System Settings panel in macOS Ventura gives you control over when your Mac locks and what appears on the Lock Screen. It is important to review these settings and set them up to be as secure as possible for your situation.

Hot Corners allow you to assign functions to the four corners of your Mac's screen. Just move your mouse pointer to one of those corners to activate Mission Control, Notification Center, lock the screen and more.

If you take a lot of screenshots, check out these productivity tips to make your captures go to the folder you want, save to a different location each time, go straight to the clipboard, go into the Photos app, and more.

If you use a Trackpad with your Mac you should check out all of the customization settings. Even if you don't change anything, there are probably gestures you aren't aware of that you could be using.

Your Mac shows the date and time at the top right. You can customize this to only show the time and whether to include things like AM/PM, seconds, and the day of the week. This is more than just a display as it acts as a button for Notifications Center and Do No Disturb.

If you want your Mac's Desktop background wallpaper to automatically change every hour or day, you can do it in System Settings, Wallpaper. However with the new look of System Settings in macOS Ventura, it can be hard to find the controls if you are used to the old System Preferences app.

Take the time to clean up and customize your Dock to improve your productivity. These 10 tips are quick and easy to do.

You can customize how Siri works with a variety of settings. You can have Siri respond to different keyboard shortcuts or just your voice. You can also have Siri reply silently and let you make corrections if it misheard you. You can create your own Siri commands with Shortcuts.

If you are overwhelmed by notifications from apps and websites, here's how to get it under control. You can not only stop the ones you are getting now, but also prevent more from being added in the future.

When you want to print a document or web page you need to go through the Print Dialog on your Mac. This is where you set all of the options before sending the document to your printer. Learn how to use the new Print Dialog in macOS Ventura along with lots of tips and tricks.

Dictation on the Mac is pretty powerful as long as you are using Voice Control Dictation instead of standard Dictation and you know some of the commands you can use to perfect your text.

Go beyond basic custom keyboard shortcuts on your Mac with these tricks. See how you can use a single key as a shortcut, launch apps, prevent yourself from accidentally quitting an app, reveal hidden menu commands and more.

Learn how to set and add languages to your Mac so you can see different apps with different Language settings. Find out how to change things like number separators and date formats using the Region settings. Use Input Sources to change how your keyboard works.

Text replacements are the ultimate typing productivity tool. You can add to a list of short special words that will then expand into longer phrases as you type. Learn how to add, edit and delete Text Replacements and lots of tips and tricks like how to import and export them.

Learn how to use the Wi-Fi settings in macOS Ventura. You can pick the network you wish to join, customize it and use new options like Low Data Mode.

Learn how to use the keys on the top row of your Mac keyboard. You can use them to send F1, F2, and other F-Keys to the app you are currently using, or you can use them to control special features like screen brightness and volume. Learn how to toggle which requires the FN key and which does not.

Focus modes, also called Do Not Disturb, are useful to quiet notifications while in meetings or trying to concentrate. But it is hard to remember to turn them on and off. To make them more useful, you can set Focus modes to turn on automatically when using specific apps.

In macOS Ventura you can change the look of your Mac's screen by using a new wallpaper, adjusting tinting and transparency settings, customizing the Dock and Stage Manager and much more.

The ability to schedule power events in System Preferences doesn't exist in macOS Ventura. Instead, if you really need to schedule a repeating shut down, start up, restart or other power event, you can do it using a simple Terminal command.