Have you ever noticed that the Messages app on your iPhone or iPad doesn’t automatically display a time stamp for each and every message? I know that there are times when I’ve really wanted to know exactly when a message was sent. As it turns out, you can easily view the time stamp for every message. Simply pull the speech bubbles slightly to the left. The time stamp for each message appears on the right side of the screen. How handy!
Use PhoneView To Copy iPhone Voicemail And Text Messages To Your Mac
Update April 2025: PhoneView has been discontinued and is no longer available from the developer.
Have you ever wanted to permanently save a voicemail message that you received on your iPhone? Or maybe a text message or iMessage? While all of these messages are backed up to your Mac when you sync your iPhone, Apple doesn’t provide an easy way to view or extract these messages. Instead, you’ll need to use a third-party application like PhoneView ($30).
Update June 2014: I recently learned about iExplorer. It appears to do everything that PhoneView does and more. For example, PhoneView does not let you retrieve calendar data from an iPhone. I need to do this for a client so I will be trying iExplorer and its helpful tutorials. I bought iExplorer but it appears that the free version lets you extract text messages.
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Use Secure Empty Trash to Overwrite Your Files
When you put a file into Trash and then empty the Trash, you aren’t really deleting or destroying that file. If you really want to destroy that file, you should use Secure Empty Trash, which will overwrite the file. To do this, put a file into Trash, then click on the Finder menu and select Secure Empty Trash.
[Update: December 2015. Starting with OS X El Capitan (aka OS X 10.11), Apple has removed the Secure Empty Trash option because it can’t be guaranteed to work with solid-state drives (SSDs). This Intego article discusses the situation and the ways to securely erase files in OS X El Capitan.]
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Easily Email Safari Web Pages or Their Addresses
Do you frequently want to email either a web page’s contents or its address? If so, here are two methods to do this using Safari version 6. Visit a web page, then go to the File menu and select Share, then Email This Page. (In older versions of Safari you do not have to first select the Share command.) Your default email application will open and display a new mail message showing the web page’s contents. Simply fill in the recipient’s email address and send it on its way. If you only want to send a link to the web page then hold down the Shift key as you click on the File menu. Then the Email This Page command changes its name to Email Link To This Page. Read More from “Easily Email Safari Web Pages or Their Addresses”
Make iPhone Text More Readable
Here are a couple of ways to make text on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch more readable. If you’ve upgrade your device to iOS 7, which Apple introduced in the fall of 2013, you can turn on Larger Type and/or Bold Text. Read More from “Make iPhone Text More Readable”
Fine-Tune Your Google Image Searches
You probably know that you can search for images on Google. The easiest way is to visit images.google.com. You can fine-tune your search to view only images of a preferred size or style. After you have performed your initial search click the Search Tools button. Read More from “Fine-Tune Your Google Image Searches”
How To Remove An App From Your Mac
Deleting or removing an application from a Mac can be both deceptively simple and surprisingly complex. Many applications can be deleted by simply dragging them to the Trash. However, this method will often leave small, related files tucked into various folders on the Mac. Thus, it is useful to know about some other ways to uninstall a Mac application. This article covers a couple of options. Read More from “How To Remove An App From Your Mac”
When Should You Install Major macOS or iOS Updates?
When Apple releases a major update to the Mac operating system, called macOS, or the operating system used on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, called iOS, clients often ask me when or if they should install these updates. Read More from “When Should You Install Major macOS or iOS Updates?”
How To Completely Erase Your iPhone or iPad
If you buy a new iPhone or iPad, you might want to sell or give away your previous one. Before you do either, you should fully erase your old iPhone or iPad. Read More from “How To Completely Erase Your iPhone or iPad”
Use Sessions To Save and Restore Web Pages in Safari
I use and highly recommend Sessions, a Safari Extension, made by David Yoo. Sessions gives you an easy way to save and restore sessions–groups of Safari windows and tabs. Sessions can auto-save the windows and tabs that you have open. Then you can use Sessions to easily restore all windows and tabs if Safari unexpectedly quits. Read More from “Use Sessions To Save and Restore Web Pages in Safari”
The Easiest Way to Rename a File
There are many ways to rename a file in Mac OS X. It seems that the easiest way is not necessarily well known, since I regularly find myself sharing the following information. Simply click on a file or folder icon in the Finder, then press the Return key. The file or folder’s name will be highlighted when you press the Return key. Simply type in a new name and then press the Return key a second time to indicate that you’re finished renaming. That’s it.
How To Dictate Emails on Your Mac
You can dictate emails and other documents if you have OS X Mountain Lion or newer installed on your Macintosh. Many people have learned that they can use Siri on an iPhone or iPad to dictate text messages, email messages and for other purposes. Fewer people seem to have noticed that Apple added some of these voice recognition capabilities to the Mac.
Control Keynote With a Wireless Remote
If you use Keynote to give slideshow presentations, you might want to consider carrying a wireless remote with you to free yourself from your Macintosh’s keyboard. Instead of using the keyboard or mouse to advance the slides, use a remote. Previously, I wrote about controlling Microsoft PowerPoint using an Apple Remote. This Tech Tip is about controlling Apple’s Keynote using either an Apple or a Logitech remote. Read More from “Control Keynote With a Wireless Remote”
How to Print From An iPhone or iPad
Would you like to be able to print from your iPhone or iPad? There are a number of ways to accomplish this. Here’s an overview of some of them. Read More from “How to Print From An iPhone or iPad”
How to Remove Previous Recipients from Your iPhone or iPad
Do you want to remove some of the email addresses that are listed when you begin typing a recipient’s name in the To: field of an email message on your iPhone or iPad?
The Mail application on iPhones and iPads automatically builds a list of recent email recipients’ email addresses. It then lists these addresses when you begin typing the recipient’s name in a new email message. Follow these instructions to remove one of these recipient’s email address. Read More from “How to Remove Previous Recipients from Your iPhone or iPad”
How to Make a Folder Appear in Two Places Using Aliases
Have you ever wanted to have a folder appear in two places at once on your Mac? If so, you should know about creating aliases. An alias is a pointer, or shortcut, to the original folder. An alias looks like the original folder, but when you double-click it, the original folder opens.
Follow these instructions to create an alias: Read More from “How to Make a Folder Appear in Two Places Using Aliases”
How To Display Scroll Bars and Slow Down Scrolling on Your Mac
Starting with OS X 10.7 (Lion) Apple changed some fundamental ways that scrolling works. Specifically, the scrollbars are hidden until one moves the cursor on top of the scrollbar area, then the scrollbars appear. Additionally, the scrollbars no longer have arrows at the ends to let you slowly scroll up and down. Here are some suggestions to help address both of these changes.
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Options for Wall-Mounting iMacs and Monitors
Are you interested in mounting your iMac or a monitor on an articulated arm connected to either your desk or a wall? I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of requests I’ve had about this topic over the past year. Here’s a primer on what you should know. When you start to look into mounting a computer or monitor, you quickly hear the term VESA mount. VESA mount refers to a family of standards defined by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) for mounting flat panel monitors, TVs, and other displays to stands or wall mounts. Read More from “Options for Wall-Mounting iMacs and Monitors”
Understanding Apple’s Lightning Connector for iPhones and iPads
Were you annoyed with Apple when they introduced a new connector for the iPhone 5, 4th generation iPad and iPad mini in Oct 2012? Did you wonder why they did this? Here’s some information to help you understand why Apple did this and the implications for you. Read More from “Understanding Apple’s Lightning Connector for iPhones and iPads”
Use Your Older MacBook Pro Charger on Newer Mac Laptops
Do you have an older, magnetically attached laptop power cord that you’d like to connect to your new Mac laptop which requires a thinner connector? If so, you could buy Apple’s MagSafe to MagSafe 2 Converter ($10). In 2006, Apple introduced magnetically attached laptop power cords, called the MagSafe Power Adapter, on their MacBook Pro. Since then, they’ve added this connector to all laptops and many monitors. In 2012, they introduced a thinner version of this power cord called the MagSafe 2 Power Adapter. You can continue to use these older monitors and power adapters with a new Mac laptop that requires the thinner MagSafe 2 connector by purchasing this affordable adapter.
You might also enjoy reading about using one Mac laptop’s power adapter with a different model of Mac laptop which I wrote about more recently.