MacMost: Video Podcast

If you use your Mac to create or work on documents and projects, you'll occasionally want to archive old files to free up space on your Mac's internal drive and iCloud. You can do with with a basic external drive. But you may also want to consider other types of external storage, backups and more.

Automator can be used to script some third-party apps. As an example, here's how to write a script for Pixelmator Pro that adds a border and caption to a photo you select in the Photos app.

Most Mac apps have buttons at the top of each window in a toolbar. If you don't like the arrangement of buttons in the toolbar, or what to remove or add functionality to the toolbar, you can do so by customizing it. Most native Mac apps, like Safari, Mail, the Finder and also Apple apps like Pages, Numbers and Keynote allow you to customize the toolbar. Some third-party apps also have customizable toolbars, while others use their own system.

You don't need to print out, sign, and then scan in documents. You can sign them right on your Mac. Using the Markup Tools in Mac Preview and other places, you can sign documents and fill in other text. Your signatures are saved for later use so it is even easier after the first time.

Here are some System Preference settings you may not know about or be using. Learn how to change the menu bar clock, customize your language by app, show a message on the lock screen, access hidden screen resolutions and more.

By using formulas, you can show special characters inside your Numbers tables to indicate things like increases or decreases in values, amounts and ranks. These simple techniques can make your tables easier to read and understand at a glance.

The Desktop Folder is a regular folder with the interesting special feature that files and folders inside it are also display over your Desktop. The files you see on your Desktop are the same files you can view in a Finder window when looking at the Desktop Folder.

The weakest link in your computer security is often you. You'll receive fake emails, text messages, warnings and social media invitations that are attempts to break into your computer or online accounts. Know what to look for and how to protect yourself.

The Preview pane gives you so much more than just a simple preview. You can view lots of information about a file, and even change things like the file name and tags. You can customize what is shown in the Preview Pane for each file type.

There are many ways to navigate from folder to folder in the Finder on your Mac. You can go down into folders, up to the enclosing folder, and sideways to adjacent folders. There are many ways to do each, depending on which Finder View you are currently using.

Siri can be a good tool to help you increase your productivity if you give it a chance. You can ask for information, search the web, get to files, folders and settings. You can also use it to schedule events, add reminders, send messages and emails. You can use Siri completely silently if you set it up right.

Here are some tips if you are ready to move beyond taking simple screenshots. You can have screenshots go directly into apps or save to a location of your choice, change the image type to get smaller files, and streamline the process with hidden keyboard shortcuts.

The Status Menus are the icons you see in the top right corner of your Mac's screen. They give you control over various settings and special functions. You can arrange, add or remove them as you like.

By default each photo placed on a Keynote slide will transition in one at a time. But you can have those builds overlap so the items appear at the same time or as each is moving. This can make slideshows look more modern and professional.

When you get a new Mac, you'll be walked through some steps in Setup Assisant. After that, there will be a few thing you want to check and set up before you start using your Mac.

Here's how to see how much iCloud storage space you are using for files, photos, online backups and more. You'll find out how to clear out some space if you need it. You'll also learn how to purchase more storage, and even how to not have to pay every month.

I'm often asked which Mac apps I use. I create tutorials, build apps, develop websites and use my Macs for all the same things most Mac users do. Here are the more than 40 apps I use every week to get my work done.

While most Mac users are familiar with some keyboard shortcuts, there are some simple two-key shortcuts that many do not use that are useful in apps like Safari, the Finder and text editors. Improve your productivity today by learning some new ones.

Launchpad is a way to launch any app on your Mac. You can access it with your mouse or trackpad, but also using just the keyboard. You also use Launchpad to uninstall most apps.

Remember when Macs came with a basic Paint app? There hasn't been a default app like that for a long while, but you can use Preview and Photos for most things. If you want to be able to draw with pixels, however, you'll need a graphics app. Here are some suggestions, including one that is free and easy to use.