from Hacker News

Hard to discover tips and apps for macOS

by trishume on 9/6/20, 3:15 PM with 229 comments

  • by luizfelberti on 9/6/20, 7:29 PM

    Does anyone have a tip to keep macOS from phoning home when you run unsigned binaries?

    I almost locked up my entire computer this week, presumably because of this... here's the story for that:

    I had setup unbound listening on 127.0.0.1:53 as the only DNS resolver for all network interfaces, so that I hijack several responses that I might want to (e.g. adnet sinkholes) and forward the rest to Google/Cloudflare over TLS.

    When I rebooted the Mac, the entire computer was so fucked that I panicked cause I thought my SSD was failing. Turns out unbound failed to start so all DNS was down. I suspect it to be the "phoning home" because when I opened the Terminal, running `ps aux | grep unbound` took like 5 seconds to return anything (as did everything else that tried to run), and that behavior has been reported by other users as Gatekeeper's Phone Home checks being at fault.

    So that's why I was wondering if anyone has found out how to keep macOS from doing this (preferably without disabling all of SIP), cause that'd be one hell of a tip...

  • by newsbinator on 9/6/20, 4:19 PM

    Spotify flashes non-stop (the left sidebar and the bottom control strip, but interestingly not the main app window).

    > Quartz Debug: There are some apps that reduce your battery life in an insidious way where it doesn’t show as CPU usage for their process but as increased WindowServer CPU usage. If your WindowServer process CPU usage is above maybe 6-10% when you’re not doing anything, some app in the background is probably spamming 60fps animation updates. As far as I know you can only figure out which app is at fault by getting the Quartz Debug app from Apple’s additional developer tools, enabling flash screen updates (and no delay after flash), then going to the overview mode (four finger swipe up) and looking for flashing. This same problem can also occur on Linux and Windows but I don’t know how much power it saps there.

  • by lunixbochs on 9/6/20, 7:15 PM

    If you use multiple monitors, and you're frustrated with the cmd-tab app switcher only appearing on the last monitor you touched the dock, this will make it show up on all monitors.

      defaults write com.apple.Dock appswitcher-all-displays -bool true
  killall Dock

  • by doctoboggan on 9/6/20, 5:04 PM

    > cmd+shift+4 pops up a crosshair to take a screenshot of a region.

    If you hit space at after invoking the crosshairs then you can take full window screenshots. This mode is nice for marketing material as it also captures the drop shadow and rounded corners rendered properly as a transparent png.

  • by ViViDboarder on 9/6/20, 5:23 PM

    I’ve been a long time user of Dash. There is a Linux alternative called Zeal for those that use multiple platforms.

    I use Alfred quite a bit as well, though not as an alternative to Spotlight. I use it for automations via workflows instead. Turning on or off VPNs, sending files, converting date times, reading 2FA codes off my Yubikey, etc. I haven’t found a great Linux alternative for this. Ideally I’d have something that lasts me reuse my workflows that I’ve written.

    Not mentioned in the article is Better Touch Tool[1]. I’ve had this since the original Intel MBP and it’s been incredible for making the fancy trackpads and touch bars actually useful. I’ve got a Pomodoro timer, Dark Mode toggle, Do Not Disturb toggle (also automated by ControlPlane), and lots of simpler app shortcuts.

    I responded to someone else about ControlPlane a bit further down, but I have it automate things like DND when I start a call from my Mac.

    [1] https://folivora.ai/

  • by hardwaregeek on 9/6/20, 5:37 PM

    Having emacs commands by default on native apps is a really nice detail. It's nearly impossible to do on Windows since there's already a bunch of shortcuts using control. On Linux it's definitely doable but you have to install a keyboard shortcuts app, get an emacs profile, etc.

    If only reddit didn't use C-b to insert bold text, it'd make navigating in text boxes a lot easier.

  • by chime on 9/6/20, 4:04 PM

    Author says Alfred is marginally better than Spotlight but I use it for so many different things. Doing quick math is a very common function for me. My favorite hidden trick is cmd+L which displays the typed text in HUGE fonts, so someone across the room can read it.

  • by eyesee on 9/6/20, 6:11 PM

    Surprised no one has mentioned QuickLook. In Finder, select a file (document, image, movie, etc.) and tap the space bar to bring up QuickLook. You’ll see a full preview of that document instantly. The preview window follows your focus, so you can use mouse arrow keys to navigate between files, etc and see an updated preview. Also works in Open dialogs, Mail attachments and elsewhere.

  • by ladberg on 9/6/20, 9:43 PM

    I'll add one of my favorite ones: you can do Option-Command-C to copy the path of a file to the clipboard (if you need to use it somewhere that doesn't support dragging to paste a path).

  • by WantonQuantum on 9/7/20, 2:50 AM

    My tip:

    System Preferences -> Desktop & Screen Saver -> Screen Saver -> Hot Corners -> Bottom Left Corner (or whichever you prefer) -> Put Display To Sleep (or Lock Screen if you prefer).

  • by evadne on 9/6/20, 4:36 PM

  • by dschuessler on 9/6/20, 7:00 PM

    To add some shortcuts that I use regularly but don't appear on the list:

    - Ctrl+Cmd+Space brings up a Unicode-Char-Picker

    - Shift+Alt+Cmd+V pastes from your clipboard without formatting from the source

    - Shift+Fn+Ctrl+Power shuts off the display

  • by adamnemecek on 9/6/20, 4:16 PM

    I'll add another one, if you have a file dialog open, hit Command+Shift+G to open a dialog that let's you type in the path. Useful if you are going back and forth between terminal and some GUI app and some path is in your clipboard.

  • by eric-hu on 9/7/20, 3:45 AM

    Does anyone know of a way to enable keyboard control of menus on Touch Bar MacBooks?

    There’s the keyboard preference which I have enabled, but it doesn’t behave the same as my non Touch Bar MacBook. I can keyboard-interact with confirmation dialogs on my 2012 MacBook to hit Ok or Cancel. On my 2019, I must use the trackpad or the Touch Bar. I’ve been googling for a fix or even a bug report but it’s a surprisingly hard thing to google for.

  • by macinjosh on 9/6/20, 4:05 PM

    My favorite is this:

    You can drag the Spotlight search bar anywhere on your screen. But if you want to restore it to the default position long tap/click on the Spotlight icon in the menu bar and it will snap back.

  • by Gys on 9/6/20, 6:24 PM

    Maybe my biggest improvement: Paste. A graphical clipboard history manager. Still cannot understand that I did not come up with this myself.

  • by totetsu on 9/7/20, 1:45 AM

    So long as we are sharing.. looking through my shell history:

    organize windows without using a mouse. https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle

    stop accidentally navigating back in chrome with the touchpad.

       defaults write com.google.Chrome AppleEnableSwipeNavigateWithScrolls -bool FALSE
    Something about enabling darkmode?

       defaults write com.google.inputmethod.Japanese.Tool.DictionaryTool NSRequiresAquaSystemAppearance 0
    show hidden files in finder?

       defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
    Disable attention seeking app bouncing animation, for those of us sensitive to these things..

       defaults write com.apple.dock no-bouncing -bool TRUE
    If you run dnsmasq, you can add addn-hosts=/etc/dnsmasq-hosts-blocking/ to the your dnsmasq.conf. In that folder you can put files from https://github.com/unixsheikh/dnsmasq-blacklist and https://github.com/adversarialtools/apple-telemetry to try and block apple and others telemetry .. but apple just seems to get around it by using, x.apple.com.akadns.net or x.apple-dns.net

  • by uniqueid on 9/6/20, 9:26 PM

    Cmd+Shift+Period : toggles 'shows hidden files' in Finder

  • by mindfulhack on 9/7/20, 5:38 AM

    My tip:

    Make your Cmd-Tab do everything you've ever wanted it to do that it currently can't:

    https://github.com/lwouis/alt-tab-macos

  • by peterhil on 9/7/20, 12:44 PM

    Some hard to find tips that are a bit old (tested on OS X Lion), but most of them still work: https://software.clapper.org/cheat-sheets/mac-os-x.html

    For me, an immediately useful tip was hiding user login for Git user.

    I would add the following tips to above article:

    # System resource usage

    * USE Method: Mac OS X Performance Checklist: http://www.brendangregg.com/USEmethod/use-macosx.html

    # Emacs users

    * For Emacs users with their config in version control, I would recommend downloading the latest Emacs.app version 27.1 instead of using Aquamacs, because Aquamacs has a bunch of customizations that do not play so well with original Emacs.

    https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

    # Printing

    * If you have Acrobat or Acrobat Professional installed, add an Adobe PDF printer from System Preferences > Printers and scanners, so you can make better PDF files by printing from any application.

    * You can save anything as PDF by choosing "Save as PDF" from the dropdown on the lower left corner on any print dialog.

    * Open CUPS web UI by opening the following URL in a web browser:

    http://localhost:631/ http://localhost:631/printers/

    You may need to enable the web user interface by issuing:

    cupsctl WebInterface=yes

    Warning! Be sure that you are behind NAT or a firewall so as not to expose the web UI to internet!

  • by ChrisMarshallNY on 9/7/20, 1:30 AM

    Weird. No DefaultFolderX. That is an awesome tool.

    Also no Little Snitch.

    I have had problems with iStat Menu. I really want it to work, but it always introduces random crashes into my system. Every couple of years, I try it again, but it hasn’t stabilized yet.

  • by Hammershaft on 9/6/20, 6:57 PM

    Swish, it's a clever window management app designed for speed with touchpads.

    https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/

  • by johnmw on 9/7/20, 8:26 PM

    I'll throw in another:

    For a cool "hacker" (and more powerful in many ways) alternative to spotlight, install iTerm2, and activate a drop down quake style hotkey window. [1]

    Then install broot, which is a fantastic command line search tool. [2]

    [1] https://www.iterm2.com/documentation-hotkey.html

    [2] https://github.com/Canop/broot

  • by jungletime on 9/7/20, 12:33 AM

    I have a macbook which I partitioned and installed windows on. the macbook is in a drawer in a stand up desk. The desk has a terrible ergonomic design. So I ended up using the pullout drawer as a shelf form my external keyboard, which is rested on a board.

    So my macbook is closed, inside a drawer, covered by a board, and connected to external monitor and keyboard.

    1. How can I boot into windows from the mac desktop. Current procedure is to take off the board, open up the laptop, wait for startup, press a macbook key waiting for the os screen to start from which I can select windows icon. For some reason my external keyboard doesn't work during boot time. Its very annoying. Is there an app that will boot me into windows, from a mac desktop?

    2. I have to shutdown the laptop at night because the fans are driving me crazy. But that means I have to pullout the macbook out of the drawer in the mornings, and open up the laptop to start it with a power button. Any apps that will put the macbook into sleep mode, that turn off the fans and external drives, quickly.

    3. I miss cut and past for files the way it was on windows. This effectively moves them. Now I have to hold a key down and drag on a mac. Requires much more coordination, in selecting the destination folder. Is there anything equivalent to cut and paste on mac?

    Thanks for any help.

  • by dwighttk on 9/6/20, 7:14 PM

    Two apps he didn’t include that I like:

    Levelator (free): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-levelator/id1493326487?mt=...

    LaunchBar (alternative to Alfred, free trial): https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html

  • by Austin_Conlon on 9/6/20, 6:13 PM

    I love how you added Option-2 for ™ as a tip, that's the only shortcut for one of those symbols I've committed to memory before for using in a jokey context.

  • by catmistake on 9/6/20, 7:20 PM

    I recommend macports package management system, similar in function to BSD ports collection. Superior to Homebrew, the johnny-come-lately PMS with all the penguinista-style hype that seems to lean towards binary installs, unlike roll your own from all source in macports. Homebrew also does not honor the default privileges of /usr/local, which is an annoying security flaw.

  • by mekster on 9/6/20, 4:43 PM

    There are better tools than a hex editor or system monitor (why do you want to constantly be bothered how well your hardware is performing?).

    Unclutter - This gives you a nice non intrusive "memo zone" as well as manage your clipboard, so that copying password won't lose your user name into limbo.

    BetterTouchTools - Who'll live without this one? Just give "three fingers swipe down" mapped to cmd-w and your life will be quite that much better. No more click at the upper corner tiny button to close a window which is an insanely dumb usability. Add several more to your likings and your life is even rosier.

    And use a password manager, so that a new login made from your phone will be on your mac without effort and nothing gets lost on clean install even if you forget to export them if they're saved in the cloud, not to mention you can have randomized password for every site, but make sure to secure the master password with 2fa.

  • by michelb on 9/7/20, 8:20 AM

    I'm having several finder windows with tabs open as I work on certain projects. From time to time something crashes and closes all windows. Is there a way to 'store' the finder's open windows(including tabs!) and then restoring them again? I have not found anything that works on Catalina. (Stay doesn't do this)

  • by AnonHP on 9/6/20, 5:11 PM

    > You can select multiple images in Finder and drag them onto the Preview dock icon to open them in one window with a Sidebar where you can quickly flip between them with arrow keys.

    Instead of wasting time dragging and dropping, just press Cmd+Down Arrow to open the files (usually images are associated with Preview.app as the default application). Cmd+Down Arrow in the Finder opens (navigates one level down) whatever is selected: folder or single file or multiple files. Cmd+Up Arrow goes one level up from the current folder.

    > Path Finder: A fancier version of Finder with multiple panes and various other advanced features.

    Path Finder has a few nice features, but its updates and update schedules haven't been great. A cheaper alternative that also supports network transfers is Forklift.

  • by coldtea on 9/6/20, 4:23 PM

    >iTerm2: An alternative Terminal with just so many features. I particularly like the ability to split windows into panes, which Apple’s Terminal does not have.

    Terminal actually has it, View -> Split Pane or Command-D - and has had it for ages (as well as tabs).

  • by uuuuuuuuuuuu on 9/6/20, 8:38 PM

    One useful shortcut I've discovered recently is cmd-[ and cmd-] to go forward and back through link history. Works in the browser as well as pdf viewers. With regards to pdf viewers specifically, this has greatly improved my paper reading experience.

  • by tanin on 9/6/20, 9:20 PM

    Shameless plug.

    You can use a programmable tooltip for macOS, so you don't have to remember all the shortcuts for these workflows.

    Please see https://github.com/tanin47/tip

  • by bhaskara2 on 9/6/20, 5:07 PM

    Add a “folder..noindex” to disable files in the folder from getting indexed

  • by shinycode on 9/6/20, 10:23 PM

    I’ve been searching for a long time a tool that would resize all the windows open on a given space to fill up the entire screen.

    I open lots of things when working and that would be more useful than doing the exposé and switching back and forth do declutter.

    It seems to me that this feature is available on Windows and has been for a long time.

    I tried almost everything that I could google and I even bought apps that I don’t use anymore because I though that the level of customization would enable it.

    Is there someone that knows a tool or a trick to allow that ?

  • by AJRF on 9/6/20, 9:08 PM

    Cmd + Shift + 5 gives you a crop tool and you can choose to create a screenshot or start a video. Little options menu lets you pick between audio inputs and outputs for the video too.

  • by rsync on 9/6/20, 10:31 PM

    What I miss the most is a workable "focus follows mouse" solution.

    Circa Snow Leopard, I used "mondomouse" but that is abandonware and does not work.

    I tried to use "dwellclick" but it's not a good solution.

    I think there are now some new accessibility settings that actual enable a proper focus follows mouse in Mojave and later, but I don't have anything later than El Cap installed and am unable to test that ...

  • by kratom_sandwich on 9/6/20, 8:17 PM

  • by xenadu02 on 9/7/20, 4:13 AM

    For presentations turn on Zoom hotkeys in accessibility. Then you can instantly zoom in or out by pressing Control then doing a scroll gesture.

  • by diegoperini on 9/6/20, 10:19 PM

    FinderPath.

    It makes Finder's title clickable to be able to copy or change the current path, just like Windows' explorer.exe.

  • by t0rst on 9/8/20, 2:22 PM

    Cmd-tab extras:

    - before releasing the command key and in between tabbing you can type H to hide/show and Q to quit the currently highlighted app. Note that quitting is often slow - can take a while for app’s icon to disappear.

    - with shift to reverse direction

    - you can start a drag, then use Cmd-tab to switch to your destination app, and then drop

  • by CGamesPlay on 9/7/20, 1:34 AM

    In Finder and also in "Open File" dialogs, Command-Shift-G will allow you to type a path directly. You can use this to open the dialog to hidden paths, for example: "~/Library" and enter will open the dialog to that folder, allowing you to browse the folder normally.

  • by jawngee on 9/6/20, 9:49 PM

    My personal must haves are Yoink for drag and drop, Moom for window sizing/placement, Default Folder X.

  • by greggman3 on 9/7/20, 10:58 AM

    The tip I want answered... how do I make the icons on the file open dialog large enough that they actually become useful? I can enlarge them in the finder but not in an open file dialog.

  • by djKianoosh on 9/8/20, 1:52 PM

    Is there a setting to tell Mac OS to follow the mouse for focus, and optionally activate (bring to foreground) the window under the cursor (after say, a 300ms delay) ?

  • by missing_paren on 9/6/20, 4:08 PM

    > cmd+backtick is like cmd+tab but between windows of the same app.

    Well, I wish that were completely true, because cmd+backtick only cycles through the windows of the application, while cmd+tab lets you select the application you want.

    From Ubuntu (or maybe rather Ubuntu's default desktop environment?) I am used to cmd+backtick allowing me to select the window - I did find an application that does enable this behavior [1] but I wonder what else is out there. I used to use Hyperswitch but it doesn't seem to work on Catalina

    [1] https://contexts.co

  • by LanceH on 9/6/20, 4:24 PM

    When I turn off my bluetooth headphones osx switches my speaker to my microphone. Is there some hidden menu to disable this as an output device?

  • by tagawa on 9/7/20, 5:38 AM

    Can anyone explain what a backtick is please?

  • by pragmaticpandy on 9/8/20, 7:34 PM

    Has anyone done or know of anyone who has done a third party security review of Karbiner-elements?

  • by thomasdd on 9/7/20, 5:54 AM

    in Finder, when you cusomize the toolbar(icons), yo can Drag-Drop, Folders, Files or Applications into the toolbar!

    that's what I discovered lately, as cool feature.

  • by mcraiha on 9/6/20, 4:02 PM

    My tips: 1. Forget Finder, it is just bad for any power user scenario, and IMO worst part of Mac OS. Use Forklift or other similar app for all GUI file management operations. 2. Never drag and drop (this applies to any OS). Early release can cause all kinds of issues. 3. Make sure that you have fast access to Activity Monitor, since some GUI applications do not show any reasonable progress indicators when they start long lasting compilation/export operations.