Video calling family and friends, managing photos and emails, creating data backupsPartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooPartition & Use Your Time Machine Hard Drive To Store Files TooIf your Mac's hard drive is small and your Time Machine hard drive is big, it might be worth using the drive for both backup and storage purposes.Read More — your Mac has tools to handle these common activities, and you probably use them already. But what about dictating notes, looking up words, or merging PDFs? Your Mac has in-built tools for these tasks too!

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• Download Tools For Mac
• Best Mac Network Tools

If you’re a Mac OS X user the time will come when your computer won’t boot or a problem may arise where you can’t take control of the device, and booting from an OS X installation media will be required. This is why it’s recommended that you make a Mac OS X bootable USB when your Mac is in. Word for Mac 2008 Step. Follow the above steps to insert a bibliography in Word for Mac 2008. However, note that the locations of the Citations tool and insert Bibliography function are different from Word 2011. The history of Mac Tools goes all the way back to 1938, when the Mechanics Tool and Forge Company was founded in Sabina, Ohio. Within a few years everyone started calling the company 'Mac Tools,' and its reputation was established as one of the best toolmaking enterprises on the market. The newer versions (2008 and 2011) of Word for Mac can automatically generate a bibliography after you have entered your sources (books, articles, websites, etc.) into the Citations tool. Word allows you to add, edit or delete sources at any time while you work on a document. However, if you find yourself on a scenario where your device (iMac, MacBook Pro, Air, Mac Pro or Mini) is not responding and you happen to have a Windows PC, then you can still be able to easily make a USB bootable installation media for your Mac OS X to reinstall the operating system using the Recovery Assistant.

Let’s explore some of the other everyday functions that your Mac can perform without installing third-party softwareThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacThe Best Mac Apps to Install on Your MacBook or iMacLooking for the best apps for your MacBook or iMac? Here's our comprehensive list of the best apps for macOS.Read More.

Text Expansion

Before you install a text expansion app like TextExpander or aText, explore your Mac’s native text expansion features. You’ll find them under System Preferences > Keyboard > Text. Creating a text expansion shortcut is easy: just copy the format of the default entries — the text shortcut goes on the left and the full text that you want to expand it to goes on the right.

Not familiar with the concept of text expanders? Learn more about how text expanders can save you timeWhat Is Text Expansion & How Can It Help You Save Time?What Is Text Expansion & How Can It Help You Save Time?If you could save yourself even a small fraction of the time you spend typing, you could save hours of your time every week. That's exactly what text expansion is for.Read More.

Word Lookup

Your Mac comes bundled with a Dictionary application, which has a dictionary, a thesaurus, and a glossary of keywords related to Apple products, set up in a tabbed format. It can also fetch data from Wikipedia.

Now, here’s the interesting part: most of the time you don’t even need to launch the Dictionary app. Tap on any word onscreen using three fingers on a touchpad (or right click and choose Lookup if you use a mouse) and you’ll get a popup with short Dictionary and Thesaurus results.

Click on the Open in Dictionary link at the end within the popup if you want to open the Dictionary application after all. To make the popup disappear, hit Esc or click anywhere outside it. The keyboard shortcut cmd+ctrl+d works as an alternative to the three-finger tap. You can even change the gesture in your Trackpad settingsWhy OS X Works Better with a TrackpadWhy OS X Works Better with a TrackpadWhile Microsoft has focused on bringing touchscreen technology to the desktop, Apple has continued to optimize for the more traditional pointer-based approach.Read More if you want.

If you want a more thorough definition without opening Dictionary, Spotlight is your friend. It is Mac’s in-built search mechanism and you can bring it up by hitting cmd+spacebar or by clicking on the magnifying glass icon on the right in the menu bar at the top.

Once you have Spotlight’s search box open, type in the word that you want to look up. In the list of results that appears, click on the word under the category Definition to get the Dictionary entry for that word. By the way, thanks to Spotlight I just discovered that cabotage is not sabotage misspelled and neither does it have anything to do with cabbages:

If a Wikipedia entry is available for the keyword, you’ll find a condensed version of it under the Wikipedia category in the search results. This won’t work if you have unchecked the box next to Allow Spotlight Suggestions in Spotlight and Look up in System Preferences > Spotlight.

Merging and Splitting PDFs

If you’re on the lookout for software to split and merge PDF files, end your search now. Your Mac already has it: you can merge and split PDFs using the Preview application.

I've only just found out that the default Mac pdf viewer can split and merge pdf files super-easily. How did I not find this out sooner!?

— Steven Thomson (@PhysicsSteve) May 17, 2016

Begin by opening the PDFs that you want to merge. Next, reveal the sidebar for each PDF using View > Thumbnails or cmd+option+2. Now drag and drop the thumbnails from each of the PDFs to the sidebar of one you want to merge them with. The thumbnails are numbered and you can drag and drop them into the right sidebar locations to rearrange the pages.

Conversions & Math Calculations

What’s 993 times 1122378? How many kilometers equal 23 miles? How many Euros make 100 USD? Spotlight has all the answers. Type in your conversion-related queries or math sums in Spotlight and you’ll get the right answers immediately. No need to head to Google or open the Calculator app or install a piece of converter software. Spotlight is it! Check out our other Spotlight tips for more efficient searchesSearch More Efficiently In Mac OS X With Our Top Spotlight TipsSearch More Efficiently In Mac OS X With Our Top Spotlight TipsSpotlight has been a killer Mac feature for years, with Cupertino regularly schooling Redmond in the art of desktop search. Here are a few tips to help you find more on your Mac.Read More.

Password Management

LastPass, RoboForm, 1Password — before you install one of these popular password managers, why not try Apple’s own iCloud KeychainiCloud Keychain: Why You Want It & How To Use ItiCloud Keychain: Why You Want It & How To Use ItiCloud Keychain is a secure password manager for both OS X Mavericks and iOS 7 for iPhone and iPad. Use it to quickly and easily log into websites, Wi-Fi networks, Internet accounts, and more.Read More? It’s a secure password manager that comes bundled with your Mac, and one that you might end up happy with. If you’re fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem with an iPhone, iPad and Mac computer then iCloud Keychain might be the password manager for you.

The program I use most on my Mac is Keychain Access because I can’t remember any of my passwords or their 48,000 varying requirements.

— Brian Miles (@BrianPMiles) May 21, 2016

iCloud Keychain stores everything — from your usernames and passwords to your Wi-Fi information and credit card details. To start using it, go to System Preferences > iCloud, sign in to your iCloud account, and check the box next to Keychain in the panel on the right.

Got a prompt to set up a security code? It means that you’re on the right track. Continue following the onscreen instructions and finish the keychain setup process. iCloud Keychain takes care of your sensitive data, and keeps this data updated across all your iCloud devices. To view your passwords on a Mac, bring up the Keychain Access application via Spotlight search or from Applications > Utlities.

Moving Files & Folders

This one’s for new Mac users who have switched over from WindowsSwitched: The Convert's Guide to the Mac and OS XSwitched: The Convert's Guide to the Mac and OS XThinking of switching from your Windows-based PC to a Mac? Learn everything you need to know in order to make that transition painless.Read More. If you’re frustrated that there’s no cut (ctrl+x)equivalent on Apple’s OS, relax. Some shortcuts work a little differently on the Mac. In this case, you copy the files you want to move by using the copy shortcut (cmd+c), go to the destination folder, and instead of pasting them as usual with cmd+v, you paste them with cmd+option+v.

Easy paint tool sai free download. Paint Tool SAI Mac alternative #1: MyBrushes “The Most Professional” Mac paint tool To most professionals in digital painting, MyBrushes is the best alternative for Paint Tool SAI Mac. This paint tool is known for its most quality “sketch, paint and playback on a variety of size canvas and unlimited layers with pencil, pen, painting brush”.

You can also right click, hold option and watch the paste menu option turn into move. This works like the cut-paste function on Windows. Adding the option key to various keyboard shortcuts gives you superpowers on your Mac20 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with the Mac Option Key20 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with the Mac Option KeyThe Command steals the limelight on your Mac's keyboard, but it’s the Option key that is the real hero.Read More.

Taking Screenshots

Your Mac has a screen grabbing utilityHow to Take Screenshots on Mac: Tips, Tools, and Tricks to KnowHow to Take Screenshots on Mac: Tips, Tools, and Tricks to KnowNeed to take a screenshot on your mac? Here are the best shortcuts, tips, and apps for macOS screenshots.Read More called Grab. You’ll find it under Applications > Utilities or via Spotlight search.

Grab is nothing fancy, but it’s decent and does the job well. You can use it to capture a window, a screen, or a selection. You can even grab a screenshot with a timer in place — great for capturing nested menu selections and such. There are also a selection of instant keyboard shortcuts you can useHow to Take Screenshots on Mac: Tips, Tools, and Tricks to KnowHow to Take Screenshots on Mac: Tips, Tools, and Tricks to KnowNeed to take a screenshot on your mac? Here are the best shortcuts, tips, and apps for macOS screenshots.Read More to capture directly within the OS itself.

Want to save your screenshots in a different format, remove transparent drop shadows, or use a different location by default? Here’s how to change your Mac’s screenshot propertiesHow To Change The Default Screenshot Image Format & Other Properties [Mac]How To Change The Default Screenshot Image Format & Other Properties [Mac]Read More.

Dictation

Tired of typing? Your Mac can take over for you. All you need to do first is go to System Preferences > Dictation & Speech > Dictation and select the radio button corresponding to On. Once you do this, you’ll be able to dictate notes to your Mac within any text-editing application. Press the Fn key twice to start or stop dictation.

You can also order your Mac aroundControl Your Mac With Voice Commands & Better Dictation In OS X YosemiteControl Your Mac With Voice Commands & Better Dictation In OS X YosemiteYou once needed expensive software and a lesson in patience to control your Mac with your voice, but now you can do it with little more than Apple's latest free upgrade to OS X.Read More. To make this happen, after you have turned on the Dictation feature, go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Dictation. Click on Dictation Commands to see the list of pre-programmed voice commands that you can use to show your Mac who’s boss. You can also create custom commands from this dialog.

Got to 40k words, surging wrist inflammation, now discover Mac OS has a dictation feature. Slow learner.

— Ian Whitworth (@ianwhitworth) June 15, 2016

Siri is coming to the Mac soon, but Dictation Commands are just one of the ways you can add macOS Sierra-like features to El Capitan right nowDon't Wait, Get macOS 10.12 Sierra Features in El Capitan Right NowDon't Wait, Get macOS 10.12 Sierra Features in El Capitan Right NowWant some of the new macOS Sierra features right now? You're in luck.Read More. Want text to speech conversion? Explore Voice Over, Apple’s native screen reader softwareVoiceOver Makes Apple Devices More Accessible Than EverVoiceOver Makes Apple Devices More Accessible Than EverPresident of the American Foundation of the Blind reckons that 'Apple has done more for accessibility than any other company to date,' — and VoiceOver played a big part in that.Read More.

Color Picking

Love the blue color in the MakeUseOf logo? Want to use it in one of your own designs or maybe as the background in your text editor? Finding its exact shade is easy. Search for Digital Color Meter in Spotlight and open it. With this application on top, move the cursor over the blue color to see its color code right away. That was painless, right? And you didn’t even need an extra app to do that.

You can choose to display the color codes in several formats using the drop-down menu. Unfortunately, HEX codes used in web development are not an option, so you’ll need to fall back on Google for the conversions.

Default keyboard shortcuts. Photoshop User Guide Select an article. Edit, and summarize keyboard shortcuts in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. To view this in Photoshop, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts or use the following keyboard shortcuts: Alt + Shift + Control + K (Windows). Quick Selection tool. Keyboard shortcuts for photoshop.

Screen Recording

Let’s say that you have decided to make a screencast tutorial for YouTubeHow to Make a Screencast Tutorial for YouTubeHow to Make a Screencast Tutorial for YouTubeOne of the most popular types of YouTube video is the screencast. Here's how to easily make your own.Read More. You’re all set to Google for a screen-casting app you can use — not so fast! Open up QuickTime Player and click on File > New Screen Recording. That’s your screen recording software right there, and you can even use it to record your iPhone or iPad screen if you wantHow to Record Your iPhone ScreenHow to Record Your iPhone ScreenHere's how to screen record on iPhone with the built-in screen recording tool, as well as some great third-party apps.Read More.

If you want a good screen recording tool for Mac, save time reading reviews and just use QuickTime Player. Easy, with audio, no limits.

— Erik Jonsson (@JonssonErik) January 13, 2016

If you want to turn the screencast into a GIF, you won’t find a simpler tool than Drop to GIF. Download it, open it, and drop your video onto its interface for instant movie to GIF conversion.

In addition to screen-casting, QuickTime Player can take care of other audio-video tasks7 Handy Tasks QuickTime Player Performs for Free7 Handy Tasks QuickTime Player Performs for FreeYou've probably changed the file association so QuickTime never gets used, so you've probably overlooked its bounty of useful features.Read More for you, for free.

Hidden Gems

Some of your Mac’s in-built tools might not be perfect, have all the advanced features you need, or might be quite different from what you envisioned, and you’ll then need to look for a third-party application anyway. But for many everyday functions, the tools that came with your Mac are good enough and require no additional downloads.

Which native macOS tools are you happy with? What else would you like Apple to include? Tell us what makes you happy with macOS and what leaves you frustrated.

Explore more about: PDF, Screen Capture, Screencast, Speech to Text, Spotlight.

The only place I like seeing a beach ball is at a beach or in a stadium during a baseball game or concert. The one place I least like to see a beach ball is on my aging MacBook Pro, where the spinning beach ball has become an altogether too familiar a sight. If your Mac has become frustratingly slow, there are a number of ways you can speed it up again.

Before you engage in any maintenance, I would urge you to take caution and back up your data. For Macs, it's easy: grab an external drive and run Time Machine. With your Mac's drive freshly backed up, you may proceed.

1. Replace your Mac hard drive with an SSD

Moving from a traditional spinning hard drive to a solid-state drive (SSD) is the single best thing you can do to improve the performance of an aging MacBook. Follow Sharon Profis's instructions on how to upgrade your MacBook Pro with an SSD. You'll be shocked at not only how easy it is to do but also at the huge impact it has on performance.

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I just performed the maneuver myself, replacing my 2011-era MacBook Pro's 500GB hard drive with the 500GB Samsung 850 EVO . The Samsung SSD and a SATA-to-USB cable kit cost me just north of $200 on Amazon. And the whole procedure took less than an hour (not counting the half a day it took to clone my MacBook's hard drive to the SSD).

Really, the hardest part of the whole thing was tracking down a size 6T torx-head screwdriver for the four torx screws that help hold the hard drive in place.

2. Add more memory (RAM)

While you have your MacBook opened to replace its hard drive, take the opportunity to add more memory. Like the replacing a hard drive, adding more memory is a straightforward, simple process.

First, you need to find the right type of memory for your specific MacBook model. The brand doesn't matter much, just be sure to buy the right amount, type, and speed. Apple has a handy support page that shows the memory specifications for a variety of models, along with an illustrated guide to replacing the memory.

In my case, my early-2011 MacBook Pro has two DIMM slots, each of which is occupied by a 2GB module. Since I don't have any free slots, I will need to replace those two modules with two 4GB modules. I need DDR3 memory with a speed of 1,333MHz.

After finding the right RAM for your MacBook, follow the photos below to install the new memory.

3. Clean your Mac's hard drive

Sometimes, all your MacBook needs is a data clean-up. Over the years, you've probably cluttered your Mac with files and applications you no longer use or need.

Uninstall old Mac apps

To get started, let's look in the Applications and Downloads folders. If there are apps in there you can't remember installing, odds are you can live without them. Move them to the Trash to reclaim some hard-drive space.

There are files associated with every application you install, however, and they are left behind when you simply move an application to the Trash. Since Mac OS X doesn't have a built-in uninstaller, AppZapper can uninstall apps and the related files. It's free for the first five zaps, after which you'll need to pay $12.95.

Clean up applications you still use

Next, let's clean up the applications you are keeping. When you install an app on your Mac, the piece of software arrives as part of a package of files, including permissions that tell OS X which users can do what things with specific files.

Over time, these permissions can get changed, resulting in your Mac lagging, freezing or crashing. Repairing these disk permissions, in the most basic terms, amounts to reshuffling and re-dealing these permissions so that they return to their rightful place. To address this, OS X has a built-in tool called Disk Utility that does just the trick.

Read my previous post on how to repair disk permissions for a step-by-step guide.

Find out which apps are using the most resources

If your Mac acts like it needs a nap every afternoon, when you are at the height of multitasking, there is an easy way to see which of your open applications is using the most system resources. Open the Activity Monitor.

The numbers are constantly fluctuating, but they show you the amount of CPU and memory resources each app is using. After watching the Activity Monitor for a while this morning, I see that Firefox generally takes up more CPU resources and more than triple the memory resources. Perhaps it's time for me to abandon Firefox and use Chrome exclusively. Also, I found that the sluggish iTunes isn't nearly the resource hog I thought it was. My apologies, iTunes.

Delete big, unused files

Now that you've paid some attention to your applications, it's time to look at the files cluttering your drive. You can use Finder to search for huge files. To do so, open Finder and select the volume you'd like to search. Next, choose File > Find (or hit Command-F). Click on the Kind pull-down menu and select Other. When the Select a search attribute window opens, check the box for File Size, uncheck any other boxes, and click OK. Change the 'equals' pull-down menu option to 'is greater than' and then change KB to MB. Enter a minimum files file size such as, say, 100MB. You can then delete any files that show up on the list that you no longer need -- or move them to an external drive at the very least.

4. Reduce login items

If your Mac is slow to boot up, the problem may be that there are too applications to open at startup. It's likely you never set them to launch at startup -- they launch by default.

• Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups and then click on the Login Items tab to see a list of the apps that open when you boot your Mac.
• Highlight the apps you don't want to open at startup and click the minus-sign button below the list of apps.

5. Keep current with OS X

Apple releases new versions of OS X as free upgrades, so there is no reason not to stay current. New versions of OS X contain performance enhancements and security improvements to keep your Mac running smoothly and safely.

Download Tools For Mac

Check in periodically with the Updates tab of the Mac App Store for OS X updates, and don't ignore notifications of updates that are ready to install.

Best Mac Network Tools

Editor's note: This story was originally published on April 27, 2015 and has since been updated to add new advice and tips for speeding up your Mac computer.