Save As...

Problem:  You tried to save a copy of a document using the "Save As..." menu command, but Apple removed that option when they introduced Lion (Mac OS X 10.7+). The command is missing in Mountain Lion (10.8) and Mavericks (10.9), as well.

Solution: Apple quietly added back that option in Mountain Lion (and it carried over to Mavericks). If you hold down the Option key and click on the File menu, the "Save As..." menu item will appear.

Good Vibrations

Problem: You would like to know who's calling you without having to take your phone out of your pocket or purse, while your phone is in silent mode (ringer turned off).

Solution: Create unique vibration patterns and assign them to people you know.

To create a new vibration pattern,

1) Go to

    Settings > Sounds > Ringtone > Vibration > Create New Vibration

2) Now start tapping a beat on the gray area
3) Tap on the Stop button
4) Tap on the Save button
5) Specify a name for your vibration pattern

To assign a vibration pattern to a contact,

1) Launch the Phone app
2) Tap on the Contacts toolbar icon (on bottom of page)
3) Tap on the Edit button
4) Tap on Vibration
5) Select a vibration from the list (the custom ones are at the bottom)

How to Print a PDF File or Image from an iPhone

Problem: You would like to print a PDF file or Image from your iPhone, but you don't have an AirPrint compatible printer.

Solution: Use your Mac to print documents with the help of Dropbox and Automator.

What you will need:
1) A Mac connected to a printer (via USB, wifi, wired network)
2) Dropbox app installed on both your Mac and iPhone
3) Automator software (comes with Mac OS X)

On your Mac,
1) Create a folder in your Dropbox folder (give it a name such as "To Print"),
2) Launch Automator,
3) Create a new Automator workflow with File > New
4) When prompted, select Folder Action

5) Click on the "Choose folder" menu by the"Folder Action receives files and folders added to" label,

6) Choose the "Other..." menu item,

7) Select the Dropbox folder that you created in Step 1,

8) Add the Print Images workflow action to your workflow,

9) Check the Scale to Fit, select the desired Orientation (e.g., portrait), and the printer if you have more than one printer connected to your Mac, 

10) You can optionally add a Move Finder Items to Trash workflow action to delete the file after it's printed,

10) Save the Automator workflow (this automatically enables this workflow).

At this point, any PDF or Image placed in the "To Print" folder will be printed to the selected or default printer.

To print a PDF document in an email attachment from your iPhone,

1) Tap on the attachment (PDF file) in Mail app,

2) Tap on the Share toolbar icon (box with an arrow),

3) Select "Open in Dropbox",

4) Under the Save Location, tap on folder icon,

5) Navigate to the "To Print" folder that your created in Step 1 in the above instructions,

6) Tap on Choose,

7) Tap on Save.

To print a picture from your iPhone's camera roll,

1) Launch Dropbox,

2) Navigate to the "To Print" folder that your created in Step 1 in the above instructions,

3) Tap on the three dots on the top toolbar,

4) Tap on + Upload,

5) Select the image(s) you want to print.

How to Fix an Unresponsive Finder

Problem: After upgrading to Mavericks (Mac OS X 10.9), Finder is extremely sluggish

Solution: Type the following in a Terminal window:

rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist && killall Finder

This deletes Finder's preferences then restarts Finder. Warning: you will need to reconfigure Finder's settings (for example, the way the icons are arranged on the Desktop).

Rearranging iPhone Apps

Problem: Arranging iPhone apps is a challenging and often frustrating chore.

Solution: Use the bottom row as temporary storage.

For example, if you wanted to replace an app on the home pages to with another app on a different page, perform the following...

1) From the iPhone's home screen, swipe from right to left across the pages until you reach the last page,
2) Tap and hold down on any of the apps (this puts you in editing mode, i.e., all apps should be wiggling),
3) Move any two apps in the bottom row (i.e., the fixed row of apps that doesn't change when you swipe through the pages) onto the last page,
4) Press the Home button to exit editing mode (this is important because swiping through the app pages while in editing mode can be a challenge),
5) Swipe to the page containing the app you would like to move to the Home page,
6) Go into editing mode and move the app to the bottom row,
7) Tap the Home button to exit editing mode and swipe to the Home page (or press the Home button again),
8) Move the app you'd like to replace onto the bottom row,
9) Move the app to replace it from the bottom row to the Home page,
10) Swipe to the page to store the other app and move it there,
11) Swipe to the last page and move apps back onto the bottom row.

I realize this seems like a lot of work, but, trust me, it will save a lot of time and frustration. You can also rearrange the apps in iTunes (when your phone is connected via an iPhone cable), but I've found it to be equally challenging.

Preventing Apps from Loading Recently Opened Documents (Mac OS X)

Problem: When you launch apps (such as Preview) on your Mac, the most recently opened documents are automatically loaded.

Solution: Go to System Preferences > General and check the "Close windows when quitting an application" item in Mavericks (OS X 10.9) or uncheck the "Restore windows when quitting and re-opening apps" item if you are running Lion (OS X 10.8).

Replace that Old Mac?

A few months ago, I considered replacing my 2010 Macbook Pro with a newer model. Over time, my laptop's performance degraded to a point where I'd wait for a few minutes for applications (such as Safari and Mail), to respond. I couldn't take it anymore.

I did some research and decided to get a 13" Retina Macbook Pro. Sporting a 2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache and a 256TB flash drive, this Mac offered a serious speed improvement over to my current computer.

I thought I'd give my macbook one last chance to prove itself, so I purchased and installed 4 additional gigabytes of RAM for a total of 8 GBs. To my surprise, my old Macbook is now very responsive. I can run multiple apps simultaneously without seeing the dreaded colorful spinning ball. So, if your Mac is underperforming and you're thinking of buying a new Mac, upgrading the RAM may save you a few thousand dollars.

iOS Passbook

Passbook is one of the most useful and, at the same time, underused feature of iOS 7*. From Apple's website...

"Passbook keeps things like airline boarding passes, movie tickets, and gift cards all in one place, letting you scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, redeem a coupon, and more."

Imagine walking into a Starbucks and your loyalty/rewards card automatically appears on your phone's lock screen. Passbook uses your current location to determine the appropriate card to display. You're a simple swipe and scan away from enjoying your favorite beverage. At the airport, suitable boarding pass pops up on your phone's lock screen to scan at security and at the gate.

* Passbook is available in iOS version 6, as well

Taking Screenshots in Mac OS X

Problem: you would like to take a snapshot of all or part of what is being displayed on your Mac.

Solution:

To take a snapshot and save it to a file that will appear on your Mac's desktop...

Cmd+Shift+3...........................................Entire screen
Cmd+Shift+4...........................................Specified region of the screen

Cmd+Shift+4 and then space bar...................Specified window

To take a snapshot and place it in the copy buffer (use Cmd+v to paste it into an app)

Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+3...................................Entire screen

Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4...................................Specified region of the screen

Cmd+Ctrl+Shift+4 and then space bar...........Specified window

iPhone Shortcuts

Problem: You want an easier way to enter commonly-used phrases into your iPhone.

Solution: Use Shortcuts by going to

  Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts

and

1) Tap on the Add New Shortcut... button
2) Enter a Phrase
3) Enter a Shortcut

For example, enter a phrase such as "I'm driving. Text you later" with the shortcut "drv"

My Favorite iPhone Apps

Here's a short list of my iPhone favorites:

1) United Airlines -- great app if you regularly fly on United. It allows you to check-in to flights, display QR boarding passes, change seats, and more.
2) Clear -- intuitive To Do list manager. Very innovative user interface and syncs via iCloud with the Mac version of the app.
3) Yelp -- very useful app to find great places to eat near home or while traveling.
4) Instagram -- an app that lets you share photos with others. Large community of users.

Enabling Photo Stream on your Apple Devices

With Photo Stream enabled, the pictures you take with your iPhone's camera will be available on all of your devices, including your Mac, iPad, and Apple TV. Photo Stream stores your most recent 1000 pictures on iCloud. It copies new photos to iCloud when your iPhone is connected to the Internet through WI-FI. To turn on Photo Stream on your devices, follow instructions below.

iPhone

On an iPhone running iOS 5 or later, go to

    Settings > Photos > Camera

and turn on My Photo Stream in the Photo Stream settings item. You can optionally turn on Shared Photo Streams as well if you want to share selected photos with family and friends who have Apple devices.

Mac

On a Mac running Mac OS 10.7 (Lion) or 10.8 (Mountain Lion), go to

    System Preferences > iCloud

Click on the Photo Stream checkbox then click on the Option… button. Check the My Photo Stream and, optionally, the Shared Photo Stream items.

Apple TV

On an Apple TV, follow the steps below…

1. Select the Photo Stream item, which is usually located near the bottom/left of the Home screen.
2. At the Photo Stream Setup page, answer the question, "Would you like to turn on Photo Stream using the account xxxxx?" by selecting "Yes."
3. At the Use Photo Stream as Screen Saver? page, you can optionally show your photos when your Apple TV is idle for a set time. Select "Yes" or "No."

Unable to Switch Apple TV's Network Connection from Wired to Wireless

Problem: Your Apple TV is set up to connect to a wired network, but you want it to connect to a wireless network. When you select Settings > General > Network, you find it's not obvious how to switch to a wireless network.

Solution: Disconnect the ethernet cable from the back of the Apple TV and try again. The wireless option should now be available.

Enabling Text to Speech on an iPhone or iPad

Problem: You have text that you would like to have read to you.

Solution: Enable the text-to-speech capability on your iDevice by performing the following steps...

1) Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speak Selection

2) Turn on the "Speak Selection" option

In any app that allows text selection (e.g. Notes, Safari), highlight a section of text and select Speak from the popup menu.

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Creating a Form in Microsoft Word

Problem: You don't know how to create a user-fillable form in Microsoft Word for Mac OS X.

Solution: Just follow the instructions below...

1) Create a new document and open the Forms toolbar by

View > Toolbars > Forms

Figure 1. Forms toolbar

2) Layout your form by adding a combination of text and various form fields. The available form fields are text, checkbox, and pulldown.

To add a text form field to the form, left-click where you want the field to appear in the form and then click on the first item (i.e., ab|) in the Forms toolbar. Word will insert a text field at that location within the form.

Figure 2. Text form field

Similarly, you can add a checkbox to the form by selecting an insertion point and clicking on the second item in the toolbar.

Figure 3. Checkboxes

The third toolbar item adds a pulldown form field to the form. To enter the menu items, double click on the field and add the items using the dialog box.

Figure 4. Pulldown form field

3) After laying out the form, click on the right-most toolbar item (i.e., the lock icon). This will toggle between Protect and Unprotect Document modes. When the lock icon is highlighted, the document is protected, which prevents anyone from editing the document. In this mode, the user will be able to fill out the form but not edit it. You can optionally password-protect the form by selecting

Tools > Protect Document...

and select the "Forms:" option and set a password. To further edit the form, switch to Unprotect Document mode by clicking on the lock icon.

Unable to Update Apple TV's Software Beyond Version 5.1

I successfully updated my Apple TV to versions 5.2 using the following instructions from Apple's website...

If you have a micro USB cable (sold separately), you can restore your Apple TV from iTunes:

1. Disconnect the power and HDMI cables from Apple TV.
2. Open iTunes and verify that you are using the latest version: iTunes > Check Updates
3. Connect one end of a micro USB cable to the back of your Apple TV, and the other end to one of your computer's USB ports.
4. Apple TV (3rd generation) only: Reconnect the power cable to your Apple TV.
5. Select your Apple TV in the Source list, and then click Restore.

Your Apple TV will restore to its factory settings, and will also download and install the latest Apple TV software update. This process may take some time. Do not disconnect any cables from the Apple TV until the restore process is completed.

Details:
Apple TV version: 3rd Generation
Model number: MD199LL/A
Software Version: 5.1


Click here for a list of the Apple TV software versions

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Manually Transferring a Numbers Spreadsheet from an iPad to a Mac

Problem: You want to manually transfer a Numbers spreadsheet from your iPad to your Mac.

Solution: Follow the instructions below.

From Apple's website...

1. In Spreadsheets view (with all spreadsheets closed), scroll until the spreadsheet you want to export is in the center of the screen, and then tap .
2. Tap “Send to iTunes,” and then tap the document format you want to export to: Numbers, PDF, or Excel.
3. Connect your iPad to your computer and open iTunes on your computer. After a moment, your iPad appears listed under Devices on the left side of the iTunes window.
4. In iTunes, select the name of your iPad, and then click Apps.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the Apps window, and then select Numbers in the Apps list under File Sharing.
6. Select the name of the spreadsheet you want to transfer to your computer and click “Save to.”
7. In the window that appears, navigate to the location where you want to store the spreadsheet, and then click Choose.

Extending iPhone's Battery

Problem: Your iPhone's battery doesn't last a full day without recharging.

Solution: From Apple's website...

Adjust brightness: Dimming the screen is another way to extend battery life. Go to Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper and drag the slider to the left to lower the default screen brightness. In addition, turning on Auto-Brightness allows the screen to adjust its brightness based on current lighting conditions. Go to Settings > Brightness & Wallpaper and set Auto-Brightness to On.

Turn off push mail: If you have a push mail account such as Yahoo! or Microsoft Exchange, turn off push when you don’t need it. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and set Push to Off. Messages sent to your push email accounts will now be received on your phone based on the global Fetch setting rather than as they arrive.

Fetch new data less frequently: Applications such as Mail can be set to fetch data wirelessly at specific intervals. The more frequently email or other data is fetched, the quicker your battery may drain. To fetch new data manually, from the Home screen choose Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Manually. To increase the fetch interval, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and tap Hourly. Note that this is a global setting and applies to all applications that do not support push services.

Turn off push notifications: Some applications from the App Store use the Apple Push Notification service to alert you of new data. Applications that extensively rely on push notifications (such as instant messaging applications) may impact battery life. To disable push notifications, go to Settings > Notifications and disable notifications for select applications. Note that this does not prevent new data from being received when the application is opened. Also, the Notifications setting will not be visible if you do not have any applications installed that support push notifications.

Minimize use of location services: Applications that actively use location services such as Maps may reduce battery life. To disable location services, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services or use location services only when needed.

Use Airplane Mode in low- or no-coverage areas: Because your iPhone always tries to maintain a connection with the cellular network, it may use more power in low- or no-coverage areas. Turning on Airplane Mode can increase battery life in these situations; however, you will be unable to make or receive calls. To turn on Airplane Mode, go to Settings and set Airplane Mode to On.

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Apple's Confusing Modifier Key Icons

Problem: You would like to use a keyboard shortcut that appears in a Mac app's menu, but you don't recognize the modifier keys by their icon.

Solution: From Apple's website, here's a list of the modifier key icons...

 (Command key) - On some older Apple keyboards, this key also has an Apple logo
 (Control key)
 (Option key) - "Alt" may also appear on this key
 (Shift key)
 (Caps Lock) - Toggles Caps Lock on or off
 Fn (Function key)

How to Take a Screenshot on your iPhone

Issue: You want to take a screenshot of what's currently displayed on your iPhone (e.g., a webpage, a picture on the Instagram app).

Solution: Hold the On/Off button and quickly press and release the Home button. The screenshot will be stored in your photo library.