Did You Know Most Mac Apps Keep Versions of Your Documents as You Work?

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We all make mistakes, which is why Undo exists. Immediately choose Edit > Undo or press Command-Z to undo your last change. Most Mac apps support multiple levels of Undo, so you can keep pressing Command-Z to revert change after change. However, suppose you delete a table in your Pages document, but 30 minutes and many changes later, you decide you want it back. Undo won’t help because you want to keep all the other interim changes, and Time Machine backups may not help because a backup may not have occurred at the right time. Read More from “Did You Know Most Mac Apps Keep Versions of Your Documents as You Work?”

Apple Introduces New iPad Air, iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard

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After no new iPads throughout 2023, Apple has unveiled new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Air and iPad Pro models, plus a more capable Apple Pencil Pro and a redesigned Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. The company also refined the iPad lineup by dropping the ninth-generation iPad and reducing the price of the tenth-generation iPad to $349. Read More from “Apple Introduces New iPad Air, iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard”

Audit Your Trusted Device Lists for Greater Security

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One of the ways companies protect critical account information is by remembering the devices you use to log in as “trusted devices” or “authorized devices.” Those logins will usually have been protected by two-factor authentication or another mechanism that guarantees the device is being used by you, its owner. Subsequent logins from those devices may be more convenient for you due to requiring only a username and password, and trusted devices may automatically receive two-factor authentication codes. That’s how Apple ensures you are who you say you are when you log in to your Apple ID on a previously unseen device. Read More from “Audit Your Trusted Device Lists for Greater Security”

Want an Event List in Apple’s Calendar App? Try This Trick

Transparent holographic image of a digital calendar. Shows a 31 day month in the left side bar. Checklist is below with checked items for gather requirements and identify risks. Calendar shows Monday through Thursday with dates of 8-11 across the top. Calendar is in military time from 8:00 to 18:00. A few events shaded in with hard to read titles. Behind the holograph is the hands of a person typing on an open laptop with one hand and using some kind of electronic pencil in the other. Laptop is on a dark woodgrain desk.

Along with day, week, month, and year views, most calendar apps offer the option of a simple chronological list of events, which can be a handy way to see what’s coming up. Apple’s Calendar app on the Mac is unfortunately not among those apps. However, there is a trick you can use to get it to show all your upcoming events in a scrolling list. Read More from “Want an Event List in Apple’s Calendar App? Try This Trick”

Looking for Apple Manuals? Check the New Documentation Site

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Apple publishes a multitude of manuals and tons of technical documentation for its products on its support site, but until recently, it could be challenging to find something specific because the search engine on Apple’s site is poor. For a better path into Apple’s online support materials, check out the company’s new Documentation site, which brings together manuals, specs, and some downloads for nearly all its products. The operating system User Guides are particularly helpful, and they even provide a Version pop-up menu that lets you make sure you’re getting information for the version you’re using. Read More from “Looking for Apple Manuals? Check the New Documentation Site”

How to Sync Your Text Messages across All Your Apple Devices

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Although many of us think of Messages as an iPhone app, Apple’s platform integration lets you read and reply to conversations in Messages on other Apple devices, including the Mac and iPad. All your devices must have the correct settings to make this work reliably. We regularly hear from users who don’t see all their messages on all their devices. If that’s you, check these settings Read More from “How to Sync Your Text Messages across All Your Apple Devices”

Six Reasons Why You Should Restart Your Mac Periodically

Mac laptop open with a swirly rainbow background. Alert on screen says "Are you sure you want to restart your computer now? If you do nothing, the computer will restart automatically in 52 seconds." There is an unchecked checkbox to "reopen windows after logging back in." There is a blue Restart button and a white Cancel button. Laptop is on a woodgrain desktop against a brick wall. White Apple mouse to the left of the laptop on the desk.

Long ago, before macOS was as stable as it is today, Mac users restarted their Macs regularly. Back then, Macs couldn’t sleep, either, so it was common for users to shut down at the end of the day and start up the next morning, effectively restarting daily.

With modern Macs using the barest trickle of power in sleep and both apps and macOS almost never crashing, many Mac users have gone to the opposite extreme, letting their Macs run for months between restarts. However, such an approach brings with it new problems, and as with so many things, there’s a happy medium. Read More from “Six Reasons Why You Should Restart Your Mac Periodically”

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: What They Are and Why You Need Them

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The ease of sending and receiving email makes it an attractive way to run scams like phishing attacks. One telltale mark of a phishing attack is the sender’s address not matching their purported domain; attacks that appear to come from legitimate email addresses are much more likely to fool the victim.

You can protect your organization’s email accounts from being compromised and used in phishing attacks by training your users to identify forged emails and use password managers Read More from “SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: What They Are and Why You Need Them”

Take Advantage of the Reference Library in Your Mac

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You may be used to Mac apps using red underlines to mark misspelled words, but did you know that macOS has also long included a fully featured Dictionary app? It provides quick access to definitions and synonyms in the New Oxford American Dictionary and the Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, along with definitions of Apple-specific words like AirDrop and Apple ProRes RAW. But that’s far from all it can do. Read More from “Take Advantage of the Reference Library in Your Mac”

Loose Lips Sink Chips: Beware What You Say to AI Chatbots

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Generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing/CoPilot, and Google’s Gemini are the vanguard of a significant advance in computing. Among much else, they can be compelling tools for finding just the right word, drafting simple legal documents, starting awkward emails, and coding in unfamiliar languages. Much has been written about how AI chatbots “hallucinate,” making up plausible details that are completely wrong. That’s a real concern, but worries about privacy and confidentiality have gotten less attention. Read More from “Loose Lips Sink Chips: Beware What You Say to AI Chatbots”

Use 1Password to Enter Your Mac Login Password

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We think of 1Password as being helpful for entering passwords on websites and in iPhone and iPad apps. But its Universal Autofill feature has a hidden capability that lets 1Password enter your Mac login password when you have to provide it to change certain system settings, install apps, format drives in Disk Utility, and more. Read More from “Use 1Password to Enter Your Mac Login Password”

Send Photos in Messages Faster with This Hidden Shortcut

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On the iPhone and iPad, to send a photo to a Messages chat, tap the ⊕ button and then tap Photos in the list that appears to reveal the photo picker. That’s not difficult, but it requires an extra step you can avoid with this tip. If you’re running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, instead of tapping the ⊕ button, touch and hold it for a second to bring up the photo picker immediately. Read More from “Send Photos in Messages Faster with This Hidden Shortcut”

Changing Passwords Periodically Doesn’t Increase Security

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Does your organization or some financial website require you to create a new password periodically? This practice was recommended long ago, but some organizations haven’t kept up with current recommendations that discourage such policies. If you’re bound by a password expiration policy, you can use this article to encourage your IT department or financial institution to update its approach to password security. Read More from “Changing Passwords Periodically Doesn’t Increase Security”

For the Best Mac Webcam, Use Your iPhone

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The near-ubiquity of videoconferencing is a lasting effect of the pandemic. The ease of gathering a group virtually usually more than makes up for the downsides. Despite that, many people still appear in video calls with low-resolution, poorly lit video that makes the call less effective.

A better webcam is an easy way to improve your video, and the best readily available webcam may already be in your pocket. Read More from “For the Best Mac Webcam, Use Your iPhone”