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How to copy text when previewing a document using Quick Look in OS X
Quick Look is a fantastic feature that makes it easy for you to preview documents in the finder window with just a simple tap of the space bar. You can make the feature even more powerful with this terminal command that adds a copy function to any text you are viewing in the Quick Look window. As reported by LifeHacker, you can use the following terminal command in the OS X terminal app to enable text selection in Quick Look: defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection -bool true killall Finder Once the text function is enabled, you can select text as shown above in blue and then use command-C to copy it to the clipboard. If you want to turn off the text selection and copy option, just change the value of "true" to "false" in the terminal command as shown below: defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableTextSelection -bool false killall Finder Once this feature if turned off, Quick Look will return to its original state, allowing you to read a document and not select any text.
Mac 101: How to change the email addresses for individual contacts in a group
Like most good contact managers, the OS X Contacts app allows you to create a contact group that you can use to send emails to several people at once. Contact groups are indispensable for users who communicate with a variety of different friends, associations, organizations and more. One question I often see about these contact groups is how can you select the correct email address for individual members when the address book entry lists two email address. For example, you want to add your co-worker to your business contact group, but you want to use his business email for the list and not his personal gmail address. Selecting the email address for individual contacts in your group is easy once you know where to look in the OS X Contacts app. To find this setting, just select "Edit" from the menu and then select "Edit Distribution List" near the bottom. This will allow you to select a group and then edit the individual members. If a contact has two email address, you can choose the default address you want to use. You can determine which email is the default one as it will be bolded.
Mac 101: Use this tip to easily map a contact's address in OS X Mavericks
Traveling to a friend's new house and not exactly sure how to get there? if their new address is in your Contacts, then you can quickly and easily pull up a map to see where they live. Once you have Maps open, driving directions are just few clicks away. To Map a contact's address, just open the Contacts app in OS X and select the name of the contact you wish to map. If you added an address to the contact, it should appear below their phone number, email and home page information. Just hover your mouse cursor over the address and you should see a link for "Show Map" appear on the right side of the address. Just click that link and address will open in Apple Maps. The address will be highlighted by a pin, which you can use to view additional information about that location. Just click on the pin and then click on the "i" button to open a dialog that allows you to add that address to your bookmarks or get driving directions to that location. You can read more about syncing Maps bookmarks between your iOS and OS X device in an earlier Mac 101 or watch a handy video tip that shows you how to send driving directions directly to your iPhone.
Viva Mavericks: OS X Beta Seed program now open to all
Really, who among us hasn't wanted to run a presumptively unstable operating system? Until today, the delights of beta releases of OS X were reserved to those who signed up for Apple's developer program (and paid the $99 fee to enroll). That fun and frolic is now open to anyone 18 and over with an Apple ID, via the new OS X Beta Seed program. [As noted on Daring Fireball, before now the OS X Beta Seed program was invitation-only for non-developers. -Ed.] Simply sign in at Apple's beta site, agree to the terms and conditions (including a prohibition on sharing information about the beta versions), and activate the Mac you want to use with the provided Beta Access Utility. Once you're live, the beta builds of OS X will appear in the Mac App Store. It should go without saying that you need to back up thoroughly before updating to an unreleased Mavericks build; you also should not run beta software on any machine you need for production, time-critical or revenue-generating activities. If you can't live without your Mac, don't dance on the bleeding edge! [hat tip Engadget]
Mac 101: A handy list of startup options for Macs running OS X
Need to reboot you Mac to access a new startup disc or launch with safe mode enabled so you can troubleshoot problems with OS X? Then read on for this handy list of startup options for Mac OS X machines. Manually restart: Hold down the power button on your Mac until it shuts off. It takes about 10 seconds. Release and then press the power button again to start your Mac. Though easy, this is not the recommended shut down method as you may lose unsaved changes in open documents. Use this as a last resort when the computer is so locked up that everything else fails. Prevent automatic login: Do you have automatic login enabled and want to disable it temporarily? Then hold down the Shift key when you see the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear) to force your Mac to the login screen. Disable login items and Finder windows from opening when you log in: This is handy if you want to open OS X with a minimal number of apps running. After clicking the login button in the login window, hold down the Shift key to enable this mode of strartup. Select a startup disk: Press the Option key when you restart. If you need to open the optical drive when choosing a startup disk, press Command(⌘)-Period(.). Start up from a CD or DVD: Press the C key when you restart. Eject removable discs: Hold down the mouse or trackpad button or press the Media Eject key (⏏) or F12 key when you restart. Use OS X's Recovery Tools: Press Command(⌘)-R when you restart to launch the recovery tools, which allow you to format a drive, restore the version of OS X and more. Start up from the default NetBoot disk image: Press the N key when you restart. This allows you to access a disk image of OS X that is stored on a server and install it over a network connection. Use Apple Diagnostics or Apple Hardware Test: Press the D key when you restart. Start up in Target Disk Mode: Press the T key when you restart. Target Disc Mode (TDM) allows you to boot using the operating system of another Mac when your Mac is having issues. The Macs have to be compatible (same version of OS X with similar hardware configurations) and they must be connected via FireWire or Thunderbolt. Reset parameter RAM (PRAM): Press Option-Command(⌘)-P-R when you restart. When you are having issues with your speakers, display or other peripheral items, you may be instructed by Apple's support team to reset PRAM. Settings stored here depend on your machine's configuration, but may include startup disk information, display resolution, speaker volume, and other information. Start up in Safe Mode: When you hear the startup tone, immediately hold down the Shift key. Release the Shift key when you see the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear). Safe Mode is useful for troubleshooting Macs as it prevents most software from automatically opening. A check of the startup volume is forced by the OS and only essential OS X items are started. As a result, some features and apps may not work correctly. Show detailed status messages (verbose mode): Press Command(⌘)-V when you restart. Verbose mode displays text-based information about the startup process and is useful for troubleshooting issues during startup. Start up in single user mode: Press Command(⌘)-S when you restart. Single user mode is another troubleshooting mode that allows you to interact with your Mac via text input. It's useful when you need to troubleshoot startup issues causes by a corrupted file of troublesome application. Use with caution as you can cause more problems than solve if you do not know what you are doing.
Mac 101: Add a useful message to your OS X login screen
Did you know that recent versions of OS X (OS X 10.7 Lion or newer) allow you to add a short message to the login window that is displayed when your Mac is locked? The message can be anything -- a note appropriate to users who access the computer, a cheerful line of inspiration for yourself or contact information in case your computer is lost. Follow these steps to add a message to your login screen: Open System Preferences and then select the "Security & Privacy" pane. Click the lock icon in the bottom left to unlock it and make changes. You will need to enter an administrator name and password. Select the "Show a message when the screen is locked" option, then click "Set Lock Message." You can type in a multi-line message with special characters and emoticons. Type the message you want to display in the login window. Log out of your account or restart your computer to access the login screen and view your changes.
Apps We Actually Use: Command-C to share my clipboard between iOS and OS X
I spend a lot of time reviewing apps, and I follow the same general cycle. The apps are actively used for a few weeks and then they sit idly, gathering dust until I delete them from my phone. There are some apps, though, that stand out to me and become part of my daily routine. In this new weekly series, we will be focusing on those apps that we actually use on a regular basis. These are the apps we turn to when want to solve a problem, be more production or just have some fun. The first app I will profile in this new series is Command-C. Command-C is a lightweight utility for the iPhone, iPad and Mac that allows me to share photos (and other documents) between my devices. I take a lot of iOS screenshots for reviews and Command-C makes it easy for me to copy them over to my Mac for resizing. I like that it moves image from clipboard to clipboard, allowing me to paste the image right into my image editor. I don't have to transfer the file to my Mac, which is important to me as I have a 128 GB flash drive and don't need to clutter it with a ton of random screenshots. Command-C only copies one image at the time, but I usually work in pairs (two screenshots side-by-side look nice on a web page) so that limitation is not a problem. I use iOS 7's quick switcher to move between the Photos and Command-C, allowing me to create several images for a post in just a few minutes. Command-C works over WiFi and maintains a reliable persistent connection between my iPhone and Mac as long as I have both apps open. Keeping Command-C open on my Mac is easy as it resides in my menu bar and has a "Launch on Login" feature. The only time I had any problems with pairing was when iOS auto-updated the iPhone version and the Mac version was still a version behind. Command-C is available in the Mac App Store for free, while the iOS version is US$3.99. The iOS version is compatible with iPhone and iPad and requires iOS 7.
Why the OpenSSL Heartbleed bug doesn't affect OS X or OS X Server
There's been a lot of concern about the OpenSSL Heartbleed bug, which is a vulnerability that allows theft of information that's normally protected by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure many Internet sites and services. Well, thanks to a tip from former TUAW-er Damien Barrett, those of us who run OS X and OS X Server can breathe a bit easier: "PSA: No versions of OS X or OS X Server are affected by the OpenSSL Heartbleed bug, because the last version of shipped by Apple in an OS was 0.9.8y, which is a branch not affected by this bug. So unless you've installed OpenSSL via MacPorts or Homebrew, your public-facing OS X servers/services should be immune to this bug." While OS X and OS X server are "immune", we still recommend that you stay safe out there. Remember to keep your eyes open for news of other security vulnerabilities, change your passwords on a regular basis, and be sure to back up your data constantly. If you want to know more about Heartbleed itself, TechCrunch posted this great video and here's a little background on why there's a logo and website to spread info about this security issue.
Daily App: WeathrClip brings the current weather conditions to your Mac's Menu Bar
What better place for a weather app than your menu bar, allowing you to see the current outside temperature with additional details available at a click. One simple, but effective weather app for your menu bar is WeathrClip by Gavin Wiggins. WeathrClip sits in your Mac's menu bar, displaying the current temperature along with a weather icon that reflects the conditions outside. Tapping on the icon displays a popover that contains the current weather conditions, a four-day weather forecast, and an animated radar with details from your current location or a specified location. Weather data is pulled from Weather Underground and arranged so you can digest all the important weather details in under a minute. WeathrClip's layout may not be stunning, but it is functional and to me, that is more important overall. Personally, I prefer WeathrClip to the web version of Weather Underground as I find it easier to just click on my menu bar instead of opening a web browser and navigating the Weather Underground site. WeathrClip has a handful of options that allow you to add multiple locations, change the weather refresh time and the units for your temperature. There also is the ability to store favorite locations, manually refresh the data as needed and change the Wunderground maps information. WeathrClip is US$1.99 from the Mac App Store.
How to bookmark map locations and share them across OS X and iOS
With the debut of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, Apple's Maps app is now on both platforms, allowing you to share location-based information across devices via your iCloud account. One handy feature is the bookmark list, which can save important locations and allow you to view them on both your Mac and iOS device. OS X Bookmarks Bookmarks on OS X are available from the bookmarks menu at the top of the screen. It should be recognizable to Apple owners as it is the same icon used in Safari on the Mac and on iOS. Here is how to view and add Map bookmarks on your Mac: 1. Tap on the bookmarks icon to display a current list of bookmarks. You can view, edit or delete bookmarks from this drop down. 2. You can easily add new bookmarks on OS X . Just search for a location, drop a pin on the map (View > Drop Pin) or click on an existing pin and then select the "i" icon for more information. 3. When the information dialog appears, you can select the "Add Bookmark" button to add the location to your bookmarks list. If the location is already bookmarked, you can remove it by selecting the"Remove Bookmark" button. 4. Any bookmark that you add will appear on both OS X and iOS as long as you are using iCloud on both devices. The bookmark menu also has an option to show the location information pulled from your iCloud contact. Click on a contact to view the address information and then select the address to view it on a map. iOS Bookmarks The process of viewing and adding bookmarks on iOS is very similar to OS X, with the bookmarks icon very visible at the top right corner of the app. Follow the steps below to view and add bookmarks on iOS: 1. Open Apple Maps and tap on the familiar Bookmark icon in the top right corner. The bookmarks menu shows the existing bookmarks, recent locations and location information for contacts. 2. To add a bookmark, you can search for a location or find an existing pin. 3. Tap on the pin to pull up detailed information on the location, including driving directions and contact information. 4. Tap on the 'Add Bookmark" link to add the location to your bookmark list. As is the case with OS X, any bookmarks you add in Maps for iOS will automatically appear in the bookmarks list for OS X.
A roundup of last week's app reviews on TUAW
Last week was a busy one for app news and announcements, giving your favorite TUAW writers a chance to post some great reviews of the apps that grace their home screens. Here's a quick roundup of our recent reviews -- and a few app roundups -- you may have missed: SkinneePix trims some bloat from your selfies Tappd: Making app discovery social Daily App: 2048 by ketchapp is a perfect port of the popular web-based numbers game Memory Diag monitors and cleans up your RAM usage on Mac OS X Fantastical shines on the iPad's display Zombie Launcher is a fun time burner once you get past the ads Monument Valley is proof that games can be art Daily App: Faster Than Light brings real-time, rogue-like spaceship combat to your iPad Darklings asks you to step out of the light The New York Times releases NYTNow, a curated news app for iPhone Popular pin-toppler game Polar Bowler lands on iOS Daily App: Ready to Go misses the mark as a manager for those last minute tasks I can't tell you why Sometimes You Die is so great Card Table for iOS gives you a virtual deck of cards for any game Daily App: Miximal teaches children basic sounds by letting them dial in animals Newsbeat creates a custom newscast for your commute Hands on with the new Sonos iOS app Daily App: PicFlow allows you to quickly combines photos and music into a stunning slideshow TUAW will be back next week with another round of app reviews, so be sure to drop by to see what's new and what's cool.
Apple confirms WWDC 2014 will begin on June 2nd
Apple's just announced that its annual developer conference, WWDC, will commence on June 2nd and run through June 6th. In a departure from its traditional application process, the company has already opened ticket sales on its website, but will now select attendees randomly instead of a first-come-first-served basis. That means we're no longer likely to see the super-quick ticket sellouts we've witnessed in previous years, but a lottery will ensure there's a fairer chance for all. We can expect to see all of the latest iOS and OS X developments, and anything else the company might have up its sleeve in a few short months.
TUAW at Macworld/iWorld 2014: EverWeb gets new features
A few years ago at Macworld/iWorld, we had a chance to see the first version of EasyWeb, an OS X app designed to serve as a replacement for Apple's abandoned iWeb. While the app was remarkably complete and easy to use back in those days, it's even more impressive in its latest incarnation and now has a new name -- EverWeb. This short video demonstrates some of the new features of EverWeb while introducing it to readers who may not have heard of the US$79.95 app before. The app now provides a way to create mobile sites for tablet and smartphone viewing, and users can also get one-click hosting from Rage Software (the developers of EverWeb) for an additional fee.
Can we just stop with the lame iPhone and OS X concepts already?
There's a bad tendency for websites to label any and all Apple related concepts as "epic" or "unbelievably cool." And sure, concepts for future devices can be damn interesting, but things lately have really gotten out of hand. Recently, there seems to be an abundance of unimaginative iPhone and OS X concepts that offer nothing compelling. For instance, I recently stumbled across these iPhone 6 concepts inspired by the design of the iPod Nano. Does anyone really think the concept device on the left is anything to write home about? Aren't iPhone concepts supposed to be intriguing? This is just flat-out ugly. Equally uninspiring are the slew of concepts showcasing OS X with an iOS 7 style design. Is this really a step forward in design? And here's what a redesign of OS X's Mail app would look like, inspired of course by iOS 7. To me, this looks entirely too much like Windows. Going for a universal "flat" aesthetic is a direction I certainly hope Apple avoids or, at the very least, applies judiciously. An iOS 7 inspired Finder is no better. It's drowning in grey!
Feudal Japan invades OS X this Spring in Total War: Shogun 2
Feral Interactive, a company best known for porting major PC hits to Apple's OS X operating system, has revealed plans to release Total War: Shogun 2 at some point this Spring. Developed by Creative Assembly and originally released for the PC in 2011, Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy game that drops players into 16th century Japan, a time known as the "Warring States" period. Players will control one of nine clans, all of which seek to conquer their contemporaries and unite Japan under a single flag. Mass combat plays out in real-time, but those who prefer more subtle methods can avoid direct conflict by dispatching assassins or focusing on diplomatic resolutions. Though the Mac incarnation of Total War: Shogun 2 arrives long after its PC counterpart, it will include all of the DLC released for the prior game for free. No price point or specific release date has yet been established for Total War: Shogun 2 on OS X, though Feral Interactive claims these details will be coming soon. [Image: Sega]
Mac 101: How to enable or disable automatic app downloads
Just like iOS, OS X now has an automatic update feature that allows you to install updates from the Mac App Store without lifting a finger to click. This feature was added in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and remains the latest version, OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Though Apple has embedded the option in the system preferences, you can easily toggle it on or off, depending on your preferences. Open System Preferences and select the "App Store" icon shown above Uncheck the "Install app updates" to disable automatic updates or check it as shown below to enable automatic updates
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for March 24, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
13 years ago today, Apple began shipping OS X 10.0
OS X is now a man. 13 years ago today, Apple forever changed the trajectory of the Mac OS when it began shipping the original version of OS X for $129 -- a vestige of an era back when Apple actually used to charge for an OS. Codenamed Cheetah, the original incarnation of OS X featured a number of long-awaited under the hood improvements, not the least of which was the introduction of Aqua, a completely revamped interface and a marked departure from Mac OS 9. You might recall that Jobs, in describing OS X's interface, famously said that Apple "made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them." The advertised features at the time read as follows: an open source, UNIX based foundation called Darwin; Apple's new Quartz™ graphics engine based on the PDF standard for stunning graphics and broad font support; OpenGL for spectacular 3D graphics and gaming; integrated QuickTime™ for streaming audio and video; the Classic API, which runs most existing Mac® applications "as is"; the Carbon™ API, which runs "tuned-up" Mac applications with the full Mac OS X features; the Cocoa™ API, which runs advanced object-oriented applications, providing developers the fastest and most powerful way to create applications for Mac OS X; the full Java 2 API, providing developers the most advanced Java 2 client available; and the Aqua™ user interface, an entirely new user interface with superior ease of use, amazing new functionality and a stunning, elegant new appearance. For a stroll down memory lane, here's Jobs introducing Mac OS X for the first time in 2000 at Macworld San Francisco. Also, make sure to check out John Siracusa's inaugural OS X review over here. Lastly, if you happen to remember where you were the first time you used OS X, please chime-in in the comments below.
How to identify battery-draining apps in OS X
Notice that your MacBook battery level is falling at an alarming rate? Want to find out which apps are causing the power to drain? There are two easy ways to identify apps that are consuming the battery in your MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. First, you can select the battery icon in your OS X menu bar to get a peek at those apps that are using significant energy, as shown below. You can't close the offending apps from the menu bar, but you can select an app and view its details in the Activity Monitor app, where you can shut it down. The Activity Monitor app in OS X Mavericks lets you view important information about your Mac, including a list of apps that are draining valuable energy from your notebook's battery. You can open Activity Monitor from the Applications folder or the "Other" folder in Launchpad. Once Activity Monitor is opened, you can select the "Energy" tab to display the amount of energy that is being consumed by open apps and background processes. You then can sort this list by Energy Impact. The number in this column represents the energy that currently is being used by individual processes, with a higher number meaning more power is being consumed. You also can look at the Avg Energy Impact column, which shows the energy impact for each app over the past eight hours or since the Mac last started (whichever time is shorter). Processes with the highest average Energy Impact recently have consumed the most power. If a process is consuming too much energy, you can quit these processes by selecting them in Activity Monitor and then tapping the "x" button in the upper left corner. OS X will ask you if you want to quit this process, and you can choose to either "quit" to end the process or "force quit", if you think the process is locked up and may have difficulty closing.
How to autoimport your iPhone photos using OS X's Image Capture
Image Capture for OS X has been around for a long time, but many new Mac users are not aware of the photo importing tool. The handy utility sits in the "Other" folder in Launch Pad or in the Applications folder and can be used to import your iPhone photos. It bypasses other photo apps like Aperture or iPhoto and can be used to manually copy photos from your iPhone to a folder on your Mac's hard drive. By default, Image Capture will open and prompt you to choose the photos and the folder location for that session. If you want to automate the process, you can change the import options for Image Capture. This is useful for folks who want a minimal effort way to backup their iPhone photos. Connect your iPhone to your Mac via USB Make sure the iPhone is selected in Image Capture On the bottom left corner of Image Capture, there is a drop down list with the label "Connecting this iPhone opens:" Select this list and choose "Autoimporter" from the list of applications Close Image Capture and disconnect your iPhone The next time you connect your iPhone, the Image Capture app will send your files immediately to a folder within "/Pictures" on your Mac. You then can use Finder to sort those images and move them to their final destination.