macOS Tips and Tricks: Useful Features Every Mac User Should Know

macOS is often seen as a monolithic environment, but this approach comes with a major advantage: the operating system is packed with both small and large features that make everyday life easier. However, not all of them are immediately obvious. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at system components and bundled software to uncover about fifty interesting but hidden macOS features.

Cool Features in Finder

Finder is the default file manager in macOS, but did you know it’s actually made up of six executable files that cleverly hand off control to each other? You can see them all by going to /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Applications/ (press Cmd-Shift-G in Finder and paste this path).

Here, you’ll find separate apps for AirDrop, iCloud Drive, Network, All My Files, Recents (essentially pre-configured search windows), and Computer. You can drag any of these to the Dock for quick access—they’ll just open the corresponding window.

Back to Finder itself: by default, its interface is minimalistic, but you can enable the Status Bar, Path Bar, and Preview Pane from the “View” menu. The status bar shows how many files are in the current folder and how much disk space is free. The path bar is a convenient way to navigate to any parent folder, and you can even drag folders or files onto these tiny folder icons to move or copy them.

Another neat trick: in the file info window (Cmd-I), you can assign a custom icon to any app, shortcut, or document by dragging an .icns file onto the icon at the top of the info panel. You can create .icns files using the iconutil utility or with scripts found on Stack Overflow.

While most people know about the file info window, the “Show View Options” menu (Cmd-J) is less well-known. This lets you customize how each folder is displayed, including the Desktop. You can set different font sizes and background colors for each folder, or even use a background image—just like the custom Finder windows you see when installing apps from .dmg files.

Simple macOS Tips

• Set up Time Machine: This is a great tool for rolling back changes in any document. The system saves local snapshots and manages disk space automatically. In most apps, you can go to File → Revert to → Browse All Versions to compare versions. Setting up backups to an external drive or NAS is also recommended.
• Use QuickLook: Press the spacebar with a file selected to preview it instantly. If you select multiple files, QuickLook can display them in a grid.
• View passwords in Keychain Access: macOS has a built-in password manager called Keychain. Open the Keychain Access utility to view and manage passwords—double-click any password and check “Show password” (you’ll need your system password).
• Find menu items quickly: Click “Help” in the menu bar and start typing the name of the menu item you’re looking for. macOS will highlight where it is.
• Explore keyboard settings: There are many useful options, like auto-correct (including smart quotes and dashes), custom shortcuts for any menu command, and layout switching options (e.g., using Caps Lock or remembering the layout per document).
• Create Wi-Fi networks: Any Mac can create a Wi-Fi network for sharing a wired connection or setting up a quick local network. Click the Wi-Fi icon and select “Create Network.”
• Show package contents: Many apps, iTunes/Photos libraries, and installers are special folders. Right-click and choose “Show Package Contents” to look inside.
• Zoom with Control + mouse wheel: Hold Control and scroll to zoom in on the area around your cursor—great for seeing small details.
• Slow down animations with Shift: Hold Shift while triggering certain system animations (like opening a folder in the Dock) to see them in slow motion—useful for screenshots.
• Drag files from window titles: The file icon in a document window’s title bar can be dragged just like in Finder.
• Drag files/folders onto open/save dialogs: Drag a folder to jump to it, or a file to select it—very handy!
• Learn about Hot Corners and the Option key: Check out the “macOS Customization” article for more on these features.

Advanced Terminal Techniques

Despite its user-friendly interface, macOS has powerful tools for advanced users, including the Terminal emulator. It now rivals many third-party alternatives, with features like color profiles and window groups in the settings. Try setting up different profiles for different tasks (e.g., black for general use, blue for remote servers, green for Raspberry Pi, beige for Python).

Terminal also supports marks and bookmarks. Hold Cmd and use the up/down arrows to jump between commands. You can set your own marks (Cmd-U), bookmark them (Cmd-Option-U), and even name them. Copy text between marks (Cmd-Shift-arrows) or clear text up to the previous mark (Cmd-L)—useful if a command outputs too much text. This works not just with shells like bash or zsh, but also with interactive programs like the Python REPL.

Another favorite feature: the Unix man command is integrated with macOS Help. Type a command name in the Help menu’s search bar, and you’ll get a nicely formatted manual page in a new window.

The Hidden Power of Preview

Preview is probably the most underrated app in macOS. While it’s known as an image and PDF viewer, it can do much more, including batch processing. All available tools are in the “Tools” menu: color correction, cropping, resizing, and annotation (great for drawing arrows or highlighting areas). To crop, select a rectangular area and press Cmd-K.

Preview shines at batch processing: open multiple files, and a sidebar appears. Select images in the sidebar, and any operation applies to all of them at once.

Preview can also edit PDFs—rearrange pages by dragging them in the sidebar, or add pages from another document by dragging between sidebars. You can even drag image files into a PDF.

To create a PDF from several images, open them in Preview, choose Print, then click the PDF button at the bottom of the print dialog and save. This feature is also available in other apps, and Chrome for Windows has a similar function.

Bonus: while viewing an image in Preview, place two fingers a couple of centimeters apart on the trackpad and rotate them as if turning a piece of paper. The image will rotate—this gesture is unique to Preview.

iTunes: Lesser-Known Features

Since its debut in 2001, iTunes has evolved from a simple music player to a feature-packed suite. For example, you can still burn audio CDs (File menu), and manage iPhone/iPad home screens.

My favorite iTunes trick: years ago, an orange arrow let you jump back to where you started playing music. The arrow is gone, but the shortcut remains: press Cmd-L to instantly return to the album or playlist you’re listening to.

Check out the Mini Player: click the button on the top bar or select “Mini Player” from the Window menu to have both the main window and a compact player open at once. This is great for managing the “Up Next” queue—drag songs between windows. There’s also a dropdown menu for this, but I prefer the Mini Player.

For advanced users, Smart Playlists are a must. Create one from File → New Smart Playlist and experiment with filters—you’ll quickly find useful ways to organize your music.

Another hidden feature: iTunes can convert files between formats and trim tracks. Set the default format in Preferences (“Import Settings” in the General tab). For custom codec settings, choose “Custom.” Then, select a track and use File → Convert to create a copy in the chosen format (e.g., “Create MP3 Version”).

To trim a track, open its info (Cmd-I), go to the Options tab, and set the start and end times. This doesn’t alter the file, just playback. Combine these tricks to create custom iPhone ringtones: set the desired segment, convert to AAC, drag the new file to the desktop, change the extension from .m4a to .m4r, delete the old version from iTunes, and add the .m4r file back. Then sync it to your iPhone as a ringtone.

Pro Features in Photos

In 2014, Apple retired Aperture and focused on Photos, which replaced iPhoto and became part of macOS. While Photos still lacks many advanced features, it does have some useful tools.

For example, you can copy adjustments between images: edit one photo, then use Image → Copy Adjustments (Cmd-Shift-C), select other photos, and use Cmd-Shift-V to apply the changes.

You can also adjust the date and time for a batch of photos—handy if your camera’s clock was wrong. Use Image → Adjust Date and Time, set the correct info for the first photo, and the rest will be adjusted automatically based on their original time differences.

Photos supports RAW files, but if you shoot RAW+JPEG, it defaults to JPEG (marked with a “J”). To use the RAW file, enter Edit mode and select “Use RAW as Original” from the Image menu.

To expand Photos’ capabilities, consider (paid) plugins from the App Store, though the gap with Aperture and Lightroom remains significant.

Play Audio Through Multiple Headphones at Once

Need to connect several pairs of headphones or speakers to one Mac and play audio through all of them simultaneously? For example, to watch a movie with someone in a noisy room using both Bluetooth and wired headphones?

Use the “Audio MIDI Setup” utility in Applications → Utilities. Click the “+” button in the lower left and select “Create Multi-Output Device.” In the right pane, check the boxes for the devices you want to include. You can also enable “Drift Correction,” though it may not make a noticeable difference.

Once set up, click the speaker icon in the menu bar and select your new multi-output device. Note: VLC may not respect system audio settings, so you might need to select the device manually in VLC (Audio → Audio Device → Multi-Output Device).

Record and Trim Video in QuickTime

The modern QuickTime Player isn’t as feature-rich as the classic version, but it still has some handy tools. You can record audio, video, or your screen (screen recording will move to the screenshot utility in macOS Mojave). These are the first three options in the File menu. Click the arrow next to the record button to choose input sources for audio and video.

If you connect an iOS device and select it as the video input, QuickTime will display the device’s screen (not its camera), allowing you to record app demos. This is a great feature, even if it’s oddly placed under “New Movie Recording.”

After recording, you can trim the video right in QuickTime using the Edit menu. With macOS Mojave, similar features will be available in QuickLook as well.

Set Up Automatic Photo Import to a Folder

Finally, here’s a hidden gem in the “Image Capture” app (in Applications). It’s used to import images from cameras, SD cards, scanners, and wired iOS devices. While it seems basic, there’s an important detail: you can set which app opens automatically when you connect a specific device.

Look for a tiny arrow in the lower left corner of the window. If you don’t see it, connect a device and select it in the sidebar. Open the menu and choose which app should launch automatically. At the end of the list is “AutoImporter.” If you select this, images will be imported directly to the Pictures/AutoImport folder in your home directory. You can change this folder by going to /System/Library/Image Capture/Support/Application, launching AutoImporter, and opening its settings. You can even set up separate folders for each camera.

Conclusion

Throughout this article, I’ve highlighted some of my favorite macOS features—many of which I use regularly and have surprised even experienced Mac users. Hopefully, you’ve discovered something new to make your Mac experience even better!