How Tos - Page 21

On computers and mobile devices, file extensions are the suffixes that apps append to filenames. When you see an item like "document.docx" for example, the .docx extension tells the computer and the user what the file is and what to open it with. Some users don't feel the need to see the extensions of files when viewing them in a file manager, but others prefer to have them displayed to help ...

Does your MacBook Pro have an OLED Touch Bar along the top of the keyboard? Keep reading to learn how to customize it to your advantage. This article assumes your Mac is running macOS Ventura or later. Since 2016, certain models of Apple's MacBook Pro have included a Touch Bar, a small touch-sensitive OLED display strip that displays virtual buttons. On MacBook Pro models that have a Touch...

Most iPhone users probably don't know it, but it is possible to delete multiple contacts at the same time in iOS. The problem is that Apple's implementation of this function is unlike similar bulk delete actions performed in Messages and Mail, so it's not at all obvious how it's done. The following steps guide you through what is actually a very simple process, once you know it. Until fairly ...

If you use Google's Gmail smartphone app for your mobile email correspondence, keep in mind the Undo Send feature. It's really useful for times when you forget to link a file or notice you misspelled someone's name after hitting "Send." In other words, if you regret sending a message immediately after you have pressed Send, you still have five seconds to "unsend" the email so that it doesn't ...

With online account hacking becoming increasingly widespread, all users should make sure they're taking every security measure available to them. If you use Apple devices, consider using Apple verification codes to protect your accounts. Keep reading to learn how it works. One of the best ways to protect any online account is by using two-factor authentication (2FA). 2FA offers hardened...

Twitter in February 2023 announced that text message two-factor authentication (2FA) is set to become a premium feature for Twitter Blue accounts. Here's why the company's logic behind the decision doesn't make any sense from a security perspective, and why you don't need the feature anyway. Twitter has said that it will soon be removing text message-based 2FA from non-paying accounts and...

Apple's mobile software has supported so-called "web apps" for years now. But what is a web app, and how do they differ from typical apps used on iPhone and iPad? Here's your short explainer. What is a Web App? When Apple talks about "web apps," it's referring to "Progressive Web Apps," or PWAs for short. Apple prefers to call them web apps either because it was Google that first promoted ...

Most Mac users know how to take standard screenshots on their Mac, but not many MacBook Pro owners will know how to take screenshots of the Touch Bar that runs along the top of the keyboard on some models. Why would you want to take a screen grab of your Mac's Touch Bar? Perhaps you've customized its layout using System Settings -> Keyboard -> Touch Bar Settings... and want to share it with ...

There are several ways you can take screenshots on a Mac. Preview offers the option from its File menu. There's also a little screen capture app in the macOS Utilities folder called Screenshot. But the simplest and most common method is to use your Mac's built-in shortcut key combinations. Taking a screenshot is as easy as hitting Shift-Command-3 to capture the whole screen, or Shift-Command...

In macOS, when you use the screenshot keyboard shortcuts or the capture tool to grab something on your Mac's screen, the images are saved with a default filename, such as "Screen Shot [date] at [time].png." If you work with screenshots a lot, this file naming scheme may not be to your taste. But thanks to a simple Terminal command, you can change this default name to something more useful....

Available only on Apple Watch Ultra, the Wayfinder watch face displays useful information for runners, hikers, and underwater enthusiasts, but one of its features has left some wearers confused. Aside from the available complications, the Wayfinder bezel can display a compass including either your current latitude and longitude coordinates or your current elevation and incline. You can...

If you own an Apple Watch Ultra, you may have noticed the new Wayfinder watch face, which displays useful compass information for runners, hikers, and underwater enthusiasts. The neat thing about Wayfinder is that you can customize the compass details depending on your own use case. Aside from the available complications, the Wayfinder bezel can display a compass including either your...

Looking to keep your mobile browsing in Google Chrome private and secure? Keep reading to learn how to lock your Incognito tabs behind Face ID (or Touch ID) on iPhone and iPad. Whatever you think of it, Chrome remains one of the most popular browsers on ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌, which is why Google continues to work on new features to differentiate it from Apple's Safari. With this in mind, one of...

When Apple released iOS 16, it introduced some major changes to the Lock Screen experience, including the ability for users to make their iPhone wallpaper shuffle between a pre-selected set of photos with a simple tap of the screen. Using the Photo Shuffle option, you can include different categories of photos to tap through, including people, pets, nature, and cities. Or if you want, you...

In macOS, you can easily convert the format of images using a Quick Action in Finder or you can achieve the same thing via the Preview app, but if your daily workflow requires you to repeatedly convert images – for uploading to a blog, for example – then using a Folder Action can be a much faster way of getting the job done. In this article, we'll show you how to use the macOS Automator...

Apple's HomePod speakers are a great way to stream your favorite music and podcasts from your iPhone or iPad, but occasionally you might find that some podcasts or music tracks play at a louder or quieter volume than others, which can be uncomfortable for your ears. Fortunately, Apple includes a feature for HomePods that can balance out the volume level between different media sources. It's...

Apple's HomePod speaker is a great way for your kids to play their favorite songs from Apple Music and podcasts from the Podcasts app, but many parents will be aware that some song lyrics and the contents of some podcast episodes can include explicit content. Fortunately, you can disable playback of explicit content for specific ‌HomePod‌ users in your home. Once the restriction is turned on,...

All Apple Watch models include a stock Calculator app that offers a couple of handy features for working out how much you should tip when eating out and how much each person in a group owes if you're splitting the bill. The two functions can be used together, but if it's just yourself dining out then you can just leave the People field set to 1. The steps below show you how it works....

With the release of HomePod software version 16.3 in January 2023, Apple added a number of new features to its HomePod lineup, including the ability to track your family and friends for you as well as any items in Find My. Keep reading to learn how it works. If you have a HomePod or HomePod mini that has been updated to the latest software, you can use it to locate any family and friends...

Apple released HomePod software version 16.3 in January 2023, which brings a number of new features to its ‌HomePod‌ lineup, including the ability to include ambient sounds in automations. This article explains how it's done. The arrival of Apple's ‌HomePod‌ software version 16.3 adds a number of new features to new and existing HomePods that are well worth checking out. The update activates ...