7 Mac Tools That Will Make Your Life So Much Easier
In the third quarter of 2020, Apple shipped a whopping 5.51 million computer units. That represents a staggering 7.3% increase from its total shipment back in the third quarter of 2018. All in all, Apple maintained its ranking as the fourth leading PC vendor worldwide.
If you’re one of the newest owners of an Apple computer, you’re likely still getting used to your device. The odds are even higher if you’ve only recently switched from Windows to macOS.
Don’t worry, though, as there are plenty of Mac tools that make for an awesome Apple experience. We rounded up some of the best built-in and third-party apps in this post, so be sure to check them out!
- Sidecar
Today, screen-based media accounts for 90% of media consumption. TVs aside, other common media platforms include computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Apple has taken advantage of this behavior by developing Sidecar. It’s a feature launched alongside the 2019 release of the iPadOS and macOS Catalina. With it, you can sync a compatible iPad to your Mac and then use the tablet as a desktop extension.
You can also use Sidecar as one of your Mac productivity tools for creative tasks. You can transform your iPad into a draw pad-like device. In this way, you can use it as your stylus input for apps like Adobe Illustrator and Final Cut Pro.
- Screenshot App
The snipping tool on Mac comes in the form of the Screenshot app. With this, you can take full-screen screenshots as well as video recordings. You can also take specific window screenshots or even just a selected area of the screen.
Moreover, the window and screen portion selections are available for video screenshots.
To launch the Screenshot app, simply press the following: ⌘ (Command) + Shift + 5. A small bar with five icons should appear on the lower part of the screen, on top of your Mac’s default Dock location.
The first icon is for the “Capture Entire Screen” option. The keyboard shortcut for this is ⌘ + Shift + 3.
Next up is the “Capture Selected Window,” which lets you screenshot the front app. You can launch this by pressing ⌘ + Shift + 4 + Space.
The third option is the “Capture Selected Portion.” Choosing this turns your cursor into a crosshair. You can then click, drag, and release the crosshair to specify the area you want a screenshot of.
The fourth icon allows you to record a video of your entire screen. Whereas the fifth lets you specify an area of the screen you want a recording of. The videos come with sound by default, but you can turn it off by muting your Mac before you start recording.
- Spotlight Search
Spotlight Search is, no doubt, one of the best built-in productivity tools for Mac. You can look up almost anything with it, such as doc files, media, apps, services, contacts, and messages. You can use it to research something online without having to open a browser tab.
The easiest way to access Spotlight is with the keyboard shortcut ⌘ + Spacebar. This should bring up the Spotlight Search bar, in which you can type anything you want to look for. You can also click on the magnifying glass icon found on the Menu bar on top of your screen.
Spotlight also lets you do basic math, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Typing in “weather” will quickly retrieve weather information for your area. You can even use it to search for a word or term definitions and even measurement conversions!
- Terminal
Getting to know the “Terminal” command system is another awesome way on how to make your Mac work for you. The Terminal is macOS’ command-line system, similar to Windows’ Command Prompt. It allows you to make direct modifications to some of your macOS settings.
To launch Terminal, simply type in that keyword into your Spotlight search and hit return. You can also open your Applications folder, then Utilities, and finally, “Terminal.”
You can execute many of the same things you can do with Spotlight via the Terminal system. For example, you can launch apps and check local weather conditions with the command line, too. However, it can do stuff that Spotlight can’t, such as rebuild Spotlight itself if it becomes buggy.
You can also use Terminal’s “Ditto” command to copy files from one location to another. Moreover, it lets you reveal hidden files and folders that you need to access.
Bonus: once you have Terminal open, enter this command: “telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl”. Be sure you don’t include the quotation marks before you hit the return button. With this, you can watch a cool ASCII version of Star Wars, letting you take a breather from work.
- Grammar and Spelling Checkers
Apple’s Pages and MS Office apps have built-in checkers, but they’re basic and kind of “robotic.” So, choose among the slew of AI-based, natural language processors you can install on your Mac.
Grammarly is a good option, offering not only checkers but also word choice enhancers. It even lets you check your work for any potential plagiarism! Plus, you can get it for free, although more features are available with the paid version.
- Note-Taking and Reminder Apps
Calendar and Notes are two of the built-in productivity tools for Mac. However, these bare-bone apps are separate, so they have individual RAM usage. If you want a multi-function productivity and organizational tool, consider Todoist.
Todoist lets you take notes, create to-do lists, and organize tasks based on “importance.” You can also assign due dates, establish custom goals, and set calendar reminders. Best of all, there’s a free version, which should be enough to help you stay productive.
- An Antivirus or Malware Scanner
The increasing number of Mac users have made Apple computers a target of more malware. Indeed, malware detections in Macs have gone up by about 400% from 2018 to 2019. While the threats themselves aren’t as bad as those on Windows, they’re still risks you want to avoid at all costs.
For that reason, an antivirus or malware scanner is one of the most crucial apps to add to your Mac. Avast, Bitdefender, Malwarebytes, or Norton are some of the top considerations. They all come with free versions, so be sure to take advantage of these offers.
Use These Built-in and Third-Party Mac Tools to Make Life Easier
As you can see, many of the best Mac tools come pre-installed with your Apple computer. However, if you need more productivity powerhouses, be sure to consider third-party apps. Just make certain you get these external downloads from safe and secure sites.
Interested in more techie, geeky tips and tricks? Feel free to stay and browse our other technology guides and blog posts then!
