How do I automate a key press in AppleScript? Is it possible to automate the key press of a key (such as "a" or "<") in Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari (in this order)?
I'd like to automate the key press of "a" for example in Mozilla Firefox for 100 times every x seconds. With x being a value between 1 second and 10 seconds chosen randomly at every key press. What Applescript could make the trick?

Also, where can I find a list of all codes for each key of the keyboard?

Run a script like this in AppleScript Editor:

activate application "Firefox"
repeat 100 times
    tell application "System Events" to keystroke "a" using command down
    delay (random number from 0.5 to 5)
end repeat

More examples:

tell application "System Events"
    key code 123 using {shift down, command down} -- shift-command-left
end

set old to (path to frontmost application as text)
tell application "Notes"
    reopen
    activate
end tell
tell application "System Events" to keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}
delay 1
activate application old

delay 0.5 -- time to release modifier keys if for example the script is run with command-R
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Notification Center"
    try
        key down option
        delay 0.1
        click menu bar item 1 of menu bar 1
    end try
    key up option
end tell

See Events.h for a list of key codes.

  $ grep '^ *kVK' /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Headers/Events.h|tr -d ,|while read x y z;do printf '%d %s %s\n' $z $z ${x#kVK_};done|sort -n
  0 0x00 ANSI_A
  1 0x01 ANSI_S
  2 0x02 ANSI_D
  3 0x03 ANSI_F
  4 0x04 ANSI_H
  5 0x05 ANSI_G
  6 0x06 ANSI_Z
  7 0x07 ANSI_X
  8 0x08 ANSI_C
  9 0x09 ANSI_V
  10 0x0A ISO_Section
  11 0x0B ANSI_B
  12 0x0C ANSI_Q
  13 0x0D ANSI_W
  14 0x0E ANSI_E
  15 0x0F ANSI_R
  16 0x10 ANSI_Y
  17 0x11 ANSI_T
  18 0x12 ANSI_1
  19 0x13 ANSI_2
  20 0x14 ANSI_3
  21 0x15 ANSI_4
  22 0x16 ANSI_6
  23 0x17 ANSI_5
  24 0x18 ANSI_Equal
  25 0x19 ANSI_9
  26 0x1A ANSI_7
  27 0x1B ANSI_Minus
  28 0x1C ANSI_8
  29 0x1D ANSI_0
  30 0x1E ANSI_RightBracket
  31 0x1F ANSI_O
  32 0x20 ANSI_U
  33 0x21 ANSI_LeftBracket
  34 0x22 ANSI_I
  35 0x23 ANSI_P
  36 0x24 Return
  37 0x25 ANSI_L
  38 0x26 ANSI_J
  39 0x27 ANSI_Quote
  40 0x28 ANSI_K
  41 0x29 ANSI_Semicolon
  42 0x2A ANSI_Backslash
  43 0x2B ANSI_Comma
  44 0x2C ANSI_Slash
  45 0x2D ANSI_N
  46 0x2E ANSI_M
  47 0x2F ANSI_Period
  48 0x30 Tab
  49 0x31 Space
  50 0x32 ANSI_Grave
  51 0x33 Delete
  53 0x35 Escape
  55 0x37 Command
  56 0x38 Shift
  57 0x39 CapsLock
  58 0x3A Option
  59 0x3B Control
  60 0x3C RightShift
  61 0x3D RightOption
  62 0x3E RightControl
  63 0x3F Function
  64 0x40 F17
  65 0x41 ANSI_KeypadDecimal
  67 0x43 ANSI_KeypadMultiply
  69 0x45 ANSI_KeypadPlus
  71 0x47 ANSI_KeypadClear
  72 0x48 VolumeUp
  73 0x49 VolumeDown
  74 0x4A Mute
  75 0x4B ANSI_KeypadDivide
  76 0x4C ANSI_KeypadEnter
  78 0x4E ANSI_KeypadMinus
  79 0x4F F18
  80 0x50 F19
  81 0x51 ANSI_KeypadEquals
  82 0x52 ANSI_Keypad0
  83 0x53 ANSI_Keypad1
  84 0x54 ANSI_Keypad2
  85 0x55 ANSI_Keypad3
  86 0x56 ANSI_Keypad4
  87 0x57 ANSI_Keypad5
  88 0x58 ANSI_Keypad6
  89 0x59 ANSI_Keypad7
  90 0x5A F20
  91 0x5B ANSI_Keypad8
  92 0x5C ANSI_Keypad9
  93 0x5D JIS_Yen
  94 0x5E JIS_Underscore
  95 0x5F JIS_KeypadComma
  96 0x60 F5
  97 0x61 F6
  98 0x62 F7
  99 0x63 F3
  100 0x64 F8
  101 0x65 F9
  102 0x66 JIS_Eisu
  103 0x67 F11
  104 0x68 JIS_Kana
  105 0x69 F13
  106 0x6A F16
  107 0x6B F14
  109 0x6D F10
  111 0x6F F12
  113 0x71 F15
  114 0x72 Help
  115 0x73 Home
  116 0x74 PageUp
  117 0x75 ForwardDelete
  118 0x76 F4
  119 0x77 End
  120 0x78 F2
  121 0x79 PageDown
  122 0x7A F1
  123 0x7B LeftArrow
  124 0x7C RightArrow
  125 0x7D DownArrow
  126 0x7E UpArrow

You can also use AppleScript to click menu items:

tell application "System Events" to tell (process 1 where frontmost is true)
    click menu item "Minimize" of menu 1 of menu bar item "Window" of menu bar 1
end tell

tell application "System Events" to tell process "Finder"
    set frontmost to true
    tell menu bar item 3 of menu bar 1
        click
        click menu item "Open With" of menu 1
    end tell
end tell


How do I move the cursor past the end of the line in Insert mode when using vi-style line editing on bash? In all that follows, the ^ indicates the position of the cursor.

I'm using bash on Terminal on OS X Yosemite and I'd like to use vi-style line editing:

prompt$ set -o vi
                 ^

By default it starts in vi Insert mode, so I can immediately type

prompt$ hello
             ^

Now let's say I use the left arrow key ← or H to move left:

prompt$ hello
            ^

Now I can no longer move to the right of the o in hello using either → or L:

prompt$ hello  # I can't move here anymore!
             ^

If I am to append something, I have to hit Esc then ShiftA.

This does not happen in emacs mode (set -o emacs) or on certain Linux machines (ssh'd into SLC 6.6 with bash 4.1, or natively on my friend's (I think Arch) with bash 4.3). In all of these, ← then → takes me to the end of the line where I can keep typing; on my Mac terminal I cannot unless I leave Insert mode.

This also does not happen with vim on my Mac; vim lets me move past end of lines with arrow keys in Insert mode. It's just readline vi mode.

I tried updating my bash (with Homebrew) from 3.2 to 4.3; that did not fix it.

I tried removing my .bash_profile and using an unmodified Terminal; that did not fix it. (I have some aliases and prompt modifiers in my .bash_profile.)

I have read this, this, and this. They don't have answers.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Edit:
On a Linux system where things work as I would like it to, the TERM variable gives

prompt$ echo $TERM
xterm-256color

The contents of /etc/inputrc are

# do not bell on tab-completion
#set bell-style none

set meta-flag on
set input-meta on
set convert-meta off
set output-meta on

# Completed names which are symbolic links to
# directories have a slash appended.
set mark-symlinked-directories on

$if mode=emacs

# for linux console and RH/Debian xterm
"\e[1~": beginning-of-line
"\e[4~": end-of-line
# commented out keymappings for pgup/pgdown to reach begin/end of history
#"\e[5~": beginning-of-history
#"\e[6~": end-of-history
"\e[5~": history-search-backward
"\e[6~": history-search-forward
"\e[3~": delete-char
"\e[2~": quoted-insert
"\e[5C": forward-word
"\e[5D": backward-word
"\e[1;5C": forward-word
"\e[1;5D": backward-word

# for rxvt
"\e[8~": end-of-line
"\eOc": forward-word
"\eOd": backward-word

# for non RH/Debian xterm, can't hurt for RH/DEbian xterm
"\eOH": beginning-of-line
"\eOF": end-of-line

# for freebsd console
"\e[H": beginning-of-line
"\e[F": end-of-line

It turns out the solution is simple: update bash to 4.3. The default bash on Macs (even Yosemite) is 3.2. (My question above says I did update and it didn't work, but I think it took a while for it to "take.")

Install Homebrew with

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

then do

brew install bash

then change your default shell path (in Terminal Preferences) to

/usr/local/bin/bash

and that's it. Check your bash version with

bash --version

and as an added bonus, you can get mode indicators!

bind 'set show-mode-in-prompt on'

and it will show a + for Insert mode and : for Command mode.


Copy to clipboard from Tmux in El Capitan I am quite happy with the Terminal changes in El Capitan (see e.g. this question).

However, i can't figure out how to enable copying to system clipboard from within Tmux. For instance, now that I am able to select text within Tmux properly by mouse, how can i copy selected text to clipboard as well, in addition to Tmux's own buffer?

I have the following in my tmux.conf:

setw -g mode-mouse on
set -g mouse-select-pane on
set -g mouse-resize-pane on
set -g mouse-select-window on

setw -g mode-keys vi
bind-key -t vi-copy 'v' begin-selection
bind-key -t vi-copy 'y' copy-selection

I tried modifying the last line to

bind-key -t vi-copy 'y' copy-selection \; copy-pipe "pbcopy"

but it didn't really work. Would be grateful for suggestions!

Thanks!

Actually, I just find out very simple solution how to enable copying using Cmd+C again.

In default Terminal application go to View->"Allow mouse reporting" and uncheck it. Thats it.

PS: Obviously, the new nice features like dragging split screen in tmux stop working after unchecking the mouse reporting.


MacBook Pro, Thunderbolt Display and overheating I recently purchased a Thunderbolt Display to use with my Late 2011 MacBook Pro 13-inch. I was quite happy with the overall performance until I noticed that the only fan in the laptop started running at overly high speeds (over 6000 rpm) to cool off temperatures surpassing 90C (194F) on the temperature diode/CPU die. This happens every time I watch a video and gets worse if I do so on full-screen mode. Most other tasks produce around 70C (158F) and 4000 rpm.

This of course not only produces annoying noise but reduces the lifespan of any affected internal components. This positively does not happen when the TD is unplugged. I have a couple of questions I was hoping people out there could help me with:

(1) Will any similar (27 inch, 2560x1440) monitor produce the same behavior or is this a thunderbolt interface issue? Can my MBP drive a monitor with these specs without overheating?

(2) How damaging can high temperatures be? Am I slowly killing my computer with the TD?

(3) Am I asking my hawrdware for too much or is Apple basically marketing a 'computer overheater'?

Thank you!

i don't know why, but when i stopped using the mag safe from the thunderbolt display to power my MBP, and just used my normal power adapter, I quit having the overheating problem. I've taken my display to apple several times and they can't figure out why it keeps overheating and turning off.


Network Slow To Wake From Sleep I have a MBP with Sierra that I use in clamshell mode with external monitor and keyboard on wired network connection. When I am not using it I put it to sleep from the menu.

It wakes up on a keypress nice and quick but network is unreachable for about 10 seconds. How do I get rid of this KGB lag?

If your Mac enters its full sleep state, then your network connections will be disconnected. Your Mac can not be connected to a network and be asleep at the same time.

You can avoid full sleep by setting your Computer Sleep to Never. Your MacBook will then sleep all the sub-systems possible when idle, but will remain awake enough to maintain a network connection.

PowerNap is not the same as full sleep. This is a special state controlled by Apple and, for now, available only to Apple's chosen processes.


Can mouse middle button/scroll wheel button action like trackpad three fingers tap to look up dictionary easier? It would be faster query dictionary with middle mouse button click instead of right click then select "Look Up" menu.
Is it possible?

You can definitely do it using bettertouchtool, which allows you to reprogram every imput button.


OS X: disable CMD-H or "Hide App" command? I never (intentionally) hide an app with ⌘H, which could be rebound for each app (e.g. Finder), but this is obviously the wrong approach. So, (how) can you disable ⌘H for application-hiding in one fell swoop?

You might use a private.xml like this with Karabiner (formerly KeyRemap4MacBook):

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<root>
  <item>
    <name>test</name>
    <identifier>test</identifier>
    <autogen>__KeyToKey__ KeyCode::H, VK_COMMAND | ModifierFlag::NONE, KeyCode::VK_NONE</autogen>
  </item>
</root>


How to uninstall P-150M driver? I have 10.8.4 OS X and the Canon P-150M scanner does not work with it. Yet my friend has an older iMac where it works. I want to try the new driver and test whether things start working. So how can I remove a driver in OS X?

For scanning with a P-150 on OS X 10.9 Mavericks:

Turn OFF the autostart under the scanner.
Disconnect the 2 USB cables and reconnect.

It should work correctly now.


What is the latest version of Safari that runs on PowerPC (PPC)? I wonder if Apple still delivers new version of safari for PowerPC-based macs. On that computer, I'm stuck with firefox 3.6.28. Is Safari still updated on PPC system updates?

This depends on the OS you're running.

Leopard: Safari 5.0.6
Tiger: Safari 4.1.3

Newer Macs can use...

Snow Leopard/Lion: Safari 5.1.4


Notes missing after upgrade to iOS 10 I just upgraded my iPhone 6 to IOS 10 and half of my notes are missing. I have a few notes under the cloud, gmail, and my phone but nothing is showing up under my email (not sure if notes were ever there).

Seems any note created or edited in the past 12 months are gone. I have already restarted the phone.

If you didn't backup the notes with iTunes or iCloud, then they are gonna permanently. On iPhone, there are two different kinds of notes: one is synced with iCloud and the other is local notes. I am aware of this after switching to a new iPhone. I guess the missing notes were stored locally.


Duplicating and renaming Finder selection to the same folder in one clean step? Is such a thing possible? I have this code which can do the above:

set now to do shell script "date +%Y-%m-%d' '%H.%M.%S"
tell application "Finder"
    set finderSelList to selection as alias list
    try
        set fileDir to parent of first item of finderSelList as alias
    on error
        return "No selection"
    end try

    set dupeList to (duplicate finderSelList to fileDir) as list

    repeat with i from 1 to (count of dupeList)
        set ((dupeList)'s (item i)'s name) to ((finderSelList)'s (item i)'s name) & " [" & now & "]." & ((finderSelList)'s (item i)'s name extension)
    end repeat
end tell

return dupeList

However, it's not so clean—that is, you can see that the files' duplicates are named <file name> 2.<file extension>, and then a second later gets named to <file name> [date].<file extension>, which is pretty jarring to see.

I have a bash solution that is clean (i.e. not jarring), but using Finder to copy files has some benefits (like progress bars, cancelling copy operations, different xattr handling, etc.):

finderSelection=$(osascript getfinderselection.scpt)

now=$(date +%Y-%m-%d' '%H.%M.%S)

if [ "$finderSelection" ]
    then
    echo "$finderSelection" |
    while IFS= read -r file
    do
        fileDir=$(dirname "$file")
        fileBaseN=$(basename "$file")
        fileName="${fileBaseN%.*}"
        fileExt="${fileBaseN##*.}"

        cp -r "$file" "$fileDir/[$now] $fileName.$fileExt"
    done

    afplay "/System/Library/Components/CoreAudio.component/Contents/SharedSupport/SystemSounds/system/Volume Mount.aif"

fi

...and getfinderselection.scpt contains:

tell application "Finder"
    set finderSelList to selection as alias list
end tell

if finderSelList ≠ {} then
    repeat with i in finderSelList
        set contents of i to POSIX path of (contents of i)
    end repeat

    set AppleScript's text item delimiters to linefeed
    finderSelList as text
end if

In this implementation, when bash duplicates the files, you don't see any intermediate step wherein files are being renamed. No—when the duplicates spawn, their file names are already finalized.

So...

Is there a way to implement the idea in AppleScript but have it not so jarring and much more smooth, like how bash does it?
In the first place, should I run with the AppleScript solution or the bash one?
How else can the preferred solution be improved on? For the AppleScript solution, I need to find a way to remove the file extension from ((finderSelList)'s (item i)'s name), and also remove the trailing . when dealing with folders. For the bash solution, the fileName and fileExt outputs, especially for folders, can be unexpected and messy.

For your applescript solution, you could duplicate to a temporary directory (preferably on the same file system), then rename them back to the original directory. I tried to hack this together for you but gave up...

If you want an alternative, instead of bash you might look into this answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/275945/1942837 which provides a (presumably) nice python gui with progress (I have not tested this).


Upload specific Photo photos to Google Drive I have a relatively large photo library (30 GB) stored in Photos.app, stored as one big 'Photo Library'. It is setup to sync to iCloud. I have taken some pictures on my iPhone, which is also synced to iCloud.

I want to upload a few specific photos into Google Drive. It seems there are a couple different ways I could do this. I could either access the actual photo file within the 'Photo Library' (perhaps by following this guide) and upload it directly. Alternatively, it seems that I can upload the entire photo library and then select specific images (as explained here) but that process was slow because my library is large.

What is the best way to upload a few of my specific photos stored in iCloud, accessible via Photo, to Google Drive?

An ideal solution for me would be to right click on the photo (or a group of photos) and 'share' to Drive, or something of the like.

Not having Goole Drive I am making an assumption here that you have a folder of some sort that you can drag files into and out of, similar to Dropbox.

If you select the photos in Photos.app that you want exported to Google Drive and then tap ShiftCommandE that will prompt you for the kind, size and quality of the picture. Once selected click Export and point the file dialog box to your Google drive folder.

Note that Photos.app will remember the kinds, size and quality settings from the last export so you will likely only have to select those options once.


Prevent terminal tabs from auto-renaming I like to name my tabs when I'm using Terminal so I can keep track of what's inside of them. I do this using the inspector.

Unfortunately, whenever I ssh into a machine, my tabs get renamed. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? Perhaps there's some kind of shell script I could run in my bash profile to prevent this?

Using iTerm2 you actually have an option for that:
Just uncheck Preferences->Profiles->Your Profile->Terminal->Terminal may set tab/window title.


How do I type + (plus) character on a Swedish Apple Wireless Keyboard using US keyboard layout? I feel stupid asking this, but my thorough troubleshooting and Google searches rendered no clues…

I'm trying to get to grips with Vim (MacVim) and I've set up Keyboard Maestro to automatically switch to US Extended when MacVim activates – conversely switching back to Swedish Pro when leaving MacVim.

(Works flawlessly and is very neat since Vim's default shortcuts poses a fair amount of discrimination towards non-english users.)

Dismayingly, however, when using US layout I couldn't find a way to type a simple + character… Anyone out there (presumably swedes but others too) who can shed some light on this?

It should be  Shift + ´ on a Swedish keyboard.


How Do I Use 'cp' to Overwrite Files? Using a shell script or Terminal, how do I overwrite files that may or may not be present. I looked at man page for cp, it said use the -f argument to force overwrite. But, it does nothing.

$ cp -f /path/to/source/file.txt /path/to/target

Or is there another option to overwrite files using the common in-built command line tools in OS X?

I'm stumped as to why cp is behaving this way if there's no alias involved. However, there is a quick-dirty-and-dangerous utility provided for this exact situation: yes. You can use it to pipe a continuous stream of affirmatives into any command that gives you confirmation prompts (you can use it to send any text, but the default is "y").

yes | cp foo bar will execute the cp command and bypass all confirmation prompts.


mac save dialog not showing up for TextEdit/Word/Powerpoint/Excel I'm facing the weirdest issue and have spent hours googling a solution but returned empty-handed. I have a Mac early 2015 laptop with OS X Sierra(10.12.5) installed on it. Whenever I try to save a word/ppt/xls/txt file with Word/Powerpoint/Excel/TextEdit, the dialog box doesn't show up. There's no confirmation of whether it's been saved or not and I have lost hours of work because of this issue. Has anyone here faced this issue before?

Thanks

Step1: Open a textEdit and add some text into that (fig1)

Step2: press cmd+s and the following window will popup(fig2)

Step3: enter filename and specify the location to save (fig3)

Step4: press save button at the bottom of the window
Step5: Now this text document is saved and the - Edited in the
title is disappeared(fig4)

from now onwards when you want to save some text or documents you can press cmd+s and for conformation you can check whether - Edited is there in the title or not. If - Edited is still there means the document or whatever it is not saved.
Hope this helps.
By the way, i am using Mavericks hopes its the same with OS X Sierra


Dropping files on a network share results in incorrect permissions I've got 2 Macs running OS 10.6.8. I've configured one to automatically drop certain files in a folder on the other Mac. I've used an Automator script to do this, it logs in using a user name [copier] created for this purpose, and then copies the files.
This used to work reasonably well. Recently however the files are copied with the wrong permissions. The copy has read&write permissions for user [copier] and 'no access' for everyone else. It should have read&write access for everyone. The folder permissions do have read&write access for everyone, so that's not it.
How can I set the permissions of files that get copied into this folder?

I'd recommend checking to see what the permissions on the source files are, to confirm that they are not set restrictively (i.e., no access for others.) It's possible that these permissions are being replicated on the share by the automator script.

If you need the enclosing folder to have more restrictive permissions, you can likely keep that setup (and use Automator to change permissions on the files before they're copied.) Although I'm not sure that Automator can modify file permissions, you can definitely use it to run a shell script (chmod 644 filename.txt?) on the files before they're copied to the server.


Does "Reset Network Settings" affect all devices? If I reset my Network Settings in iOS/iPadOS, and so lose all my WiFi networks/passwords, will my other iOS devices also lose them?

The reason I ask is that WiFi networks appear to be stored in the cloud (when one is entered into my iPhone, my iPad also seems to learn it). So if I erase my iPhone... will the ones in the cloud be forgotten? Or will my iPhone pull them back from the cloud?

What, precisely, does "reset network settings" do on an iPhone?

  resetting network settings will remove all saved WiFi passwords in iCloud keychain, effectively deleting remembered WiFi networks from all your signed in devices. A workaround: turn off iCloud Keychain, then reset network settings, then turn iCloud Keychain back on. Your saved WiFi networks will then sync back, unharmed.

This is the behavior in devices running iOS 9 and later.


What is the proper order to boot Macbook with Thunderbolt display? At work I have a MacBook Pro connected to a 27" Thunderbolt display.  I take the MacBook home with me in the evenings.

I come into work, plug in the power and Thunderbolt cable, open up the MacBook, and hit the power button.  I then close the MacBook and put it in its vertical stand.  The 27" display doesnt always turn on (or maybe its just slow).

Should I be turning on the MacBook and waiting for it to boot, or for the built in display to work, before plugging in the the external display?

What is the best/proper order?

The best guide to reference here is : http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1594/en_US/thunderbolt_display_getting_started.pdf

To use your Apple Thunderbolt Display with your MacBook Pro lid closed:

Connect an external USB keyboard and mouse to a USB port on your display, or use the
Bluetooth® Setup Assistant to set up a wireless keyboard and mouse.
Make sure your MacBook Pro is turned on.
Close the lid on your MacBook Pro to put it to sleep.
Wait a few seconds, and then press any key on your external keyboard or click the mouse to wake up your MacBook Pro


How do I find out the applescript commands available for a particular app? I'm trying to find out if I can get iTunes to do something complex, but don't know what can be scripted.

Is there a way to find out what applescript commands an app will respond to?

Yes, there is a simple way.

Open the Script Editor app (formerly called AppleScript Editor)
Go to File -> Open Dictionary
Select the app you want to find out more about.

When you open it, you can browse through the available AppleScript commands for that application and find what you want.


Menubar icons being cut off For quite some time I've been having a few problems with menubar icons. Specifically long ones being cut off.

Here the Adobe Icon and the play icon (for an app called Bee) are being cut off

What the play icon should act like:
http://www.neat.io/bee/docs/the-short-list.html

I am running Yosemite.

Is there any way to fix this?

Since Apple does not provide tools, I would suggest the Bartender app to organize your menu bar.

Organize your menu bar apps

    Lets you tidy your menu bar apps how you want.
    See your menu bar apps when you want.
    Hide the apps you need to run, but do not need to see.
    Have the clean looking menu bar you want.
    Rearrange your menu bar items as you wish.


Transfer PDF from OS X to iPad I download pdf files on my Mac, and often transfer them to iPad to read.

This used to be straightforward, but the process seems to be much more complex.

I need to select the pdf, select "Open in iBooks" (which actually displays in Preview) then go through the process on iTunes to transfer it to iPad.

Is there a simpler way. I don't actually want to read in iBooks on the Mac (which doesn't happen anyway)?

All I really want to do is transfer selected pdf to iPad.

Use cloud storage like Dropbox, iCloud drive, or Google Drive and put your PDF files on it. I personally read and highlight Pdf files on an iPad app called GoodReader. With the app I can sync my highlight between Mac and iPad. The highlight from GoodReader shows on Mac OS X' Preview app without a problem, unlike Adobe Reader on iPad. If you read a lot of PDF then GoodReader is a worthwhile little investment.


Returning to simple pop-up characters panel? One of my favorite new Mavs features is the pop-up characters panel.  Its operation is detailed here. It is summoned via control+command+space and looks like this:

At some point, however, the key combination started summoning the full Character Viewer instead:

The latter is a bit more awkward to use than the panel was.  How did I get set this way and how I can get back to using the pop-up panel?

The button in the upper-right corner of Character Viewer was the culprit.  If I summon Character Viewer and click it, Character Viewer shrinks:

From then on, further presses of control+command+space summon the pop-up panel instead.

As to how I got to the full Character Viewer, opening Character Viewer from the menu bar Input menu (which can be turned on in System Preferences > Keyboard > Input Sources):

then clicking the button in the upper-right corner of Character Viewer twice—once to shrink the window, once to restore it—appears to set a preference that I'd like the key combination to pop up the full Character Viewer instead of the pop-up.


PHP not working after upgrading to OS Mojave When i try to open localhost it gives me 403 error message like this "You don't have permission to access / on this server."
I have tried changing the permission but nothing happens. It worked fine with High Sierra but after update its not working.I am using the pre installed apache and not using third party apps like xampp

I had the same problem - it's based on mod_userdir exclusion after updating to Mac OS X Mojave. There are a few steps to repair that:

Load the module mod_userdir in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf
At the end of the httpd.conf make sure to load httpd-userdir.conf
In httpd-userdir.conf include a local file in /etc/apache2/users/<username>.conf
Put a directory section into that file, containing the rules for the directory where your webserver files are located:

<Directory "/Users/<myusername>/Sites/">
    AllowOverride All
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>

This should set you up.


How do I delete a large amount of photos from iPhoto that were taken on the same device (not sequential) I uploaded a ton of photos from a friend's iPhone before wiping her phone and transferring the photos to a flash drive for her to keep (I use the iPhone for myself now).  But now all of her photos are interspersed throughout my photos on iPhoto and it is very bothersome.  I need to delete all her photos from iPhoto without individually selecting them.  Is there a function I can use to select all photos taken on a certain device before a certain time period or something?  Thank you.

Your best bet is to do an advanced search using Spotlight and configure the search parameters accordingly. Spotlight supports device make and model as well as creation date.


Why wont iTunes detect my new iPhone 4S? When I connect my iPhone 4S to my computer (OSX v 10.4.11), iTunes (9.2  61) does not detect the device. The phone displays the green battery meter indicating it's charging, System Profiler detects an "iPhone" connected to the USB bus, and iphoto automatically opens and prompts me to import new photos.

The phone also does not appear in my devices.

I have tried:

using a different sync cable
using a different USB port
restarting the phone
restarting the computer
opening "image capture" and selecting "itunes" as the default application to open when "camera" is connected.

You need to upgrade to OSX 10.5.8 and iTunes 10.5 (at a minimum) for iTunes to recognize your iPhone 4S...

See the iPhone 4S System Requirements for details...


Safari Password Cache? On my iPhone I use Safari to log into my twitter account (I don't have the app on my phone). When I'm done I log out of twitter, so I'm very often using Safari's password saving ability.

I also use 1Password to save passwords (mostly these days because of its password generator). For work I had a set of passwords saved in a vault (1Password term) including multiple work twitter accounts. I've moved on to a different company and deleted that vault from 1Password. However Safari still lists those two twitter accounts in the list of possible logins to twitter when I go to the login page.

I deleted them from Keychain Access (on my Mac), and then searched on my phone (I'm guessing this was back when I was using iOS 11, because when I went to look for passwords under Settings > Safari just now it's not there anymore, it has its own list item in iOS 12) and did not find them.

iOS is definitely not still obtaining the passwords from 1Password. I've actually bought a new phone since deleting the work vault from 1Password.

How can I  remove these usernames/passwords from my phone?

Related, but I'm willing to break this into a separate question if needed:
My bank website (on my Mac) also has an incorrect (old) username (no password) that autofills as soon as the page loads. I have to click the username field and select my correct username. This isn't as difficult because the UI is a little smoother, but it seems like there is some kind of login cache that I can't erase. I have removed this username from Keychain Access and it still shows up.

There are a few possibilities of where the passwords are being saved.  To clarify, do you know if you are using iCloud Keychain on your devices?  Keychain Access works in collaboration with iCloud Keychain, which allows you to share keychains with your other devices.  So it's possible they are syncing between devices via your Apple ID if you are signed in and have enabled that feature.

You can check the saved passwords on iOS as mentioned in ankiiiiiii's post.  By going to settings, Accounts & Passwords, the looking under App & Website Passwords.

On your Mac with OS X Mavericks 10.9 or later with Safari open, Choose Safari, Preferences, then click on Passwords.  You will have to input your computer password, then you can select a website to view your saved password for it.

Here are Apple's resources about this topic:

Set up iCloud Keychain

What is Keychain Access on Mac?

Get help with iCloud Keychain


Alternative ways to update apps via App Store So I'm trying to update from Xcode 7.0.1 to Xcode 7.1 from the App Store. Xcode 7.1 is one of the my available updates. I use the latest EL Capitan 10.11.1. I click the UPDATE button for Xcode 7.1 it says "waiting" and PAUSE then a second later it goes back to UPDATE and nothing installs nothing updates, it's not telling me that I have something else open, which I don't. Is something wrong with App store now? Is there an alternative way to update my Mac apps?

I assume ou are using Xcode, and thus have it installed:
Look in the Appstore Purchased tab. If Xcode is in there: move Xcode from the Utilities folder to the Trash, do not empty the trash. Then on the Appstore Purchased tab click install Xcode, this will install the latest Xcode. When all ok empty the trash.


Server/machine name on desktop background I've seen that single-color desktop background with the familiar serif font showing the computer's name since the 1990s.

I very much doubt that all of the server admins I've come across in that time have painstakingly created actual image files with the same font treatment.

How the heck does one set that up? (I'm in a Yosemite environment with Yosemite servers, and I'm trying to put their names on their desktops. Shouldn't be that difficult, right?)

Use GeekTool, and a script. Here is a collection of "geeklets" that display various info. This is one that displays computer info. I tested it on my MacBook with success.


Macbook acting weird My 2015 Macbook pro 13" is acting weird, after restoring from a Time Machine backup my mac is running slow and I have a lot of bugs:

The reaction time of the system is very slow, sometimes when I open a new tab or when I write in this textfield, I just see the spinning beach ball for a couple of seconds.

The mail app can't connect to my three gmails, but my iCloud mail is running fine,
Every time I activate Find my Mac it just deactivates after a second.

Hope some of you can solve at least one of the questions

Update:
Many apps (Safari Photos Notes and other) is openning at the same screen every time, (safari at the same 5 specific tabs, Photos at the same pic, and notes at the same sub folder)

I restored March 1. and the slow reaction time started earlier today.

Found a solution, used this command in terminal chmod -RN ~/Library/


Sierra Window Focus Loss, Caused by SystemUIServer I've recently updated all of my labs to MacOS Sierra 10.12.6 this summer, and have discovered that they now all exhibit loss of window focus somewhat sporadically.  Using the python scripts that can be found when searching for window focus loss issues, I have narrowed down the culprit to SystemUIServer.

Has anyone else come across this issue and if so, have you found a solution to prevent SystemUIServer from stealing window focus?

I determined that my issue was caused by one of our management profiles.  Specifically the profile used to manage Menu Extras.  For now I've pulled the profile off and my associate is working on updating the profile to hopefully fix our problem while still maintaining management.  The profile in question was the following:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>PayloadContent</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>PayloadContent</key>
            <dict>
                <key>com.apple.mcxMenuExtras</key>
                <dict>
                    <key>Forced</key>
                    <array>
                        <dict>
                            <key>mcx_preference_settings</key>
                            <dict>
                                <key>AirPort.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Battery.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Bluetooth.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Clock.menu</key>
                                <true/>
                                <key>Displays.menu</key>
                                <true/>
                                <key>DwellControl.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Eject.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>ExpressCard.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>IrDA.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>PPP.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>PPPoE.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>RemoteDesktop.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Script Menu.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>TextInput.menu</key>
                                <true/>
                                <key>TimeMachine.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>UniversalAccess.menu</key>
                                <true/>
                                <key>User.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>VPN.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>Volume.menu</key>
                                <true/>
                                <key>WWAN.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>iChat.menu</key>
                                <false/>
                                <key>delaySeconds</key>
                                <real>1</real>
                            </dict>
                        </dict>
                    </array>
                    <key>mcx_targets</key>
                    <array>
                        <string>user</string>
                    </array>
                </dict>
            </dict>
            <key>PayloadEnabled</key>
            <true/>
            <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
            <string>com.mycompany.menuextras</string>
            <key>PayloadType</key>
            <string>com.apple.ManagedClient.preferences</string>
            <key>PayloadUUID</key>
            <string>36b14197-3388-492c-b7a1-cae748143969</string>
            <key>PayloadVersion</key>
            <integer>1</integer>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>PayloadDescription</key>
    <string>Included custom settings: Menu Extras settings.</string>
    <key>PayloadDisplayName</key>
    <string>MenuExtra</string>
    <key>PayloadIdentifier</key>
    <string>com.mycompany.menuextras</string>
    <key>PayloadOrganization</key>
    <string>My Company</string>
    <key>PayloadRemovalDisallowed</key>
    <true/>
    <key>PayloadScope</key>
    <string>System</string>
    <key>PayloadType</key>
    <string>Configuration</string>
    <key>PayloadUUID</key>
    <string>ae5c4c7c-c354-453b-bd15-d37437b46d2c</string>
    <key>PayloadVersion</key>
    <integer>1</integer>
</dict>
</plist>


macOS Big Sur - gatekeeper? slowing down opening applications At a facility where I work, we have several Mac Pros and Mac Minis.
We're in need to upgrade from Mojave to Big Sur so we can upgrade our various production tools, i.e. Pro Tools, DaVinci Resolve Studio.
As a test, I installed Big Sur from scratch on MacPro (trashcan model), and it appears that if the computer detects any kind of connection either wireless or wired, it tries to contact some apple servers, this happens every time we open third-party applications. The problem is that that our wired mac computers do not have access to the internet, so just trying to open pro tools takes about 10 minutes. The app icon just bounces and bounces. Sometimes the app does not even open at all after bouncing for over 10 minutes.
I found out that Big Sur is trying to contact apple servers because that's what it shows in our firewall's logs. These are the servers:
ussjc2-vip-bx-001.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-002.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-003.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-004.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-005.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-006.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-007.aaplimg.com,
ussjc2-vip-bx-008.aaplimg.com
So basically it tries to connect to the first server, then it waits, when it does not get a reply, it tries the second server, and so forth.
If this even after we opted out of any analytics, but then again, this wouldn't be the first time software developers get caught doing something they're not supposed to do.
Any idea what's might be going on or how to disable this behavior?
Cheers!
SuperVertix

You absolutely want to open up all outbound ports to the entire 17.0.0.0/8 address block which is assigned to Apple as a first step.
Next, get this article to your network and security teams.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210060

If they balk, call your Apple store (or whomever you buy you Macs) and ask for a short call with Apple Business to sort out why doing all of the things is the best plan for speed and security.
If your team isn’t convinced this is correct, set up a new network segment and do some A / B testing. Apple has made some very nice optimizations so notarization, certificate validation and other checks are cached very well now. Some even work with a proxy but some will not tolerate any manner of proxy or deep inspection / manipulation of the traffic.


Simple Script for URI Handling Basically what I'd like to know is how can I setup a shell script (or an Applescript or Automator wrapper for a shell script) as a protocol handler for a custom URI (so clicking them will trigger my script) with the URI passed in as an argument?

For example, if my URI looked something like:

foo://haravikk.com/request?id=1234&name=bar

How could I setup a shell script on OS X to be triggered any time a URI with protocol "foo" is clicked, and to receive the entire URI as an argument I can then process? I already have the script for processing done, just don't know how to get it triggered in the first place :)

This technique works for me.

Here are some other relevant answers from around Stack Exchange:

Where does Mac OS X store file association information?
How do I configure custom URL handlers on OS X?
How can I manually change default applications in OS X?
How does Mountain Lion set the default text editor for the “open -t” terminal command?
Is it possible to query the launch services database for applications that will open an arbitrary file or UTI type?
How to remove an URL protocol default handler

A couple of relevant utilities are RCDefaultApp and duti.


App to alert if Internet connection is lost Is there an app for the Mac that will alert me if my Internet connection is lost?

Sometimes I work from home and lose my connection without knowing it.

The following script will alert you when your wireless network no longer has a connection. Though you could modify the script to require a check to locate a specific SSID, the following script simply looks for any wireless network connection. The script can be run via a Launch Daemon (login option preferred) or by simply running the script manually when you decide.

  Alert mechanism:

  If you do not have a wireless network connection the script will set
  your volume to be set at its maximum, you will then hear an alert
  beep and the following phrase "your wireless network has been
  disconnected".

NOTE: This script contains an internal loop. The loop is designed to sleep for 2 min intervals so as not to constantly beep and verbalize said phrase. This interval can be modified to your liking by modifying the "SLEEP_TIMER" variable found within the script.

ALSO: If you are interested in setting up a Launch Daemon but do not have a lot of experience with Daemons, I recommend using Lingon (was once free but Lingon 3 is $2.99).

Tested on:

10.5.x
10.6.x
10.7.4

Please remember to utilize a testing environment prior to running on your primary environment. Feel free to modify the script in any way that suits you, enjoy.

#!/bin/bash

# MONITOR_SSID set as true will keep a loop going (Loop timer 1 minute delay)

MONITOR_SSID="true"

SLEEP_TIMER="60"

while ( ${MONITOR_SSID} == true ); do

    SSID=$(networksetup -getairportnetwork en1 | sed "s:.*\: ::g" | tr -s "[\n]" "[ ]" | sed 's/.*off.*/OFF/g')

    if [[ ${SSID} == "OFF" ]]; then
        osascript -e 'set volume 10'
        afplay -v 2 /System/Library/Sounds/Sosumi.aiff
        say "Wireless network has been disconected"
    elif [[ ${SSID} != "OFF" ]]; then
        :
    else
        /usr/bin/logger -i Error has occured while 'your_script_name' was attempting to run
    fi

    sleep ${SLEEP_TIMER}

done


ios restore to previous version/model - without jailbreaking the original? My non-jailbroken iPhone 4S needs to go for a warranty repair, and I want to restore its data to an older non-jailbroken 3G or to another even older jailbroken 2G, but of course itunes refuses to comply :). Is there a way to do this "innocent" operation? Thanks a lot

Since the iPhone 3G and iPhone 2G run an iOS version that doesn't match what's on the 4S, iTunes would not allow this. You would either have to get an iPhone 4S on loan to restore your current data or just have iTunes retain the backup of the device being sent for repair until you get it back.


Resume stalled Apple Watch app update Several of the apps on my Apple Watch were updated by their vendors, but for some reason the apps have been stuck in update mode for about a week now. Is there a way to resume the update? Restarting both the Apple Watch and the paired iPhone doesn't fix the problem.

I noticed that even though the transitional icons are showing up on the Apple Watch, on the Apple Watch app the "Show App on Apple Watch" option was turned off for those apps. Turning on the option restarts the download. In any case this appears to be a bug.

Although this works, it can be slow to attempt to figure out which apps aren't downloaded and turning on the option, perhaps someone could suggest a more efficient method. Also, @user24601's suggestion might be something to try.


Homebrew R vs Microsoft R I understand that math library integration is the main tweak that sets MRO apart from the CRAN R distribution, and gives it a performance advantage.

I wonder if MRO (Microsoft R Open) binaries still have a performance advantage over Homebrew R, given that both Homebrew R and Microsoft R link their binaries against Accelerate (MKL) math libraries in macOS.

In my experience MRO is faster when using data.table and large datasets.

However, in Ubuntu, OS X, etc I found more convenient to use CRAN version and compile everything to avoid crashes, crossed wires, etc.


Un-jailbreak iPhone without updating iOS? I have a jailbroken iPhone 6s, running iOS 9.3.3.

An "Erase all content and settings" will reset the phone, but will not "un-jailbreak" the phone. I know a factory restore will completely wipe the phone and update the iOS to the latest available (and hence remove the jalbreak), but I want to keep the iPhone on iOS 9.

Is there a way I can un-jailbreak my phone, without having to update the software?

You can use Cydia Eraser by Saurik to completely wipe and restore your device to stock iOS without updating.


Concatenate not working in Numbers Sample numbers file

B4 contains CONCATENATE(B2,B3)

In the file above, I am getting syntax error on B4, despite the formula seems correct. Can anyone reproduce the problem? How can I solve it?

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), Numbers version: 3.6.1 (2566)

Some locales use semicolon as a separator for parameters in formulae, such as Turkey. You can check this by using a comma after the first parameter, then clicking a cell. If you see a semicolon being inserted alongside the comma you should use a semicolon as a delimiter.

This feels like a bug. Copy-pasting the cell shows the syntax error, but copy-pasting the contents of the cell (the formula itself) works fine, alongside me retyping the formula. You can provide feedback to Apple here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/numbers.html


Does use of memory with timing CL=10 instead of Apple used CL=11 slow my Mac down? After reading Why is 8GB, Ballistix 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module showing as not compatible with Macbook Pro mid 2012? on the Crucial forum, and the response from Crucial:

  use our Apple branded Crucial memory

which doesn't explain the why it is not compatible,

I am curious whether memory modules that use different (lower) timings than Apple's modules with CL11 timing:

Will the Crucial Ballistix BX Sport CL10 [BLS8G3N18AES4CEU/BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU] modules work?
And what will be the performance penalty or benefit?

Yes, Crucial Ballistix Sport memory modules with CL=10 timing do work.

The results of an Xbench 1.3 "Memory Test":

Hynix CL=11: 618.25
Crucial CL=10: 699.12

The not by Crucial recommended memory modules perform 13% faster then Apple's factory default modules in this Mac.

Benchmarking performed on a 15" MacBook Pro (Mid 2012, MD103xx/A, MacBookPro9,1) with 2 modules of identical memory:

Apple default Hynix HMT325S6CFR8C-PB (PC3-12800S (DDR3-1600)
Crucial Ballistix Sport BLS2C8G3N18AES4CEU (PC3-14900 (DDR3-1866))

Detailed results:

Hynix

Memory Test: 618.25
System: 679.54
Allocate: 2388.91 (8.77 Malloc/sec)
Fill: 414.93 (20174.73 MB/sec)
Copy: 630.47 (13022.12 MB/sec)
Stream: 567.11
Copy: 569.11 (11768.32 MB/sec)
Scale: 571.98 (11817.02 MB/sec)
Add: 568.58 (12112.06 MB/sec)
Triad: 558.29 (11943.20 MB/sec)

Crucial

Memory Test: 699.12
System: 699.53
Allocate: 2327.00 (8.55 Malloc/sec)
Fill: 435.50 (21174.97 MB/sec)
Copy: 639.94 (13217.72 MB/sec)
Stream: 698.71
Copy: 689.46 (14240.61 MB/sec)
Scale: 695.49 (14368.67 MB/sec)
Add: 716.26 (15257.79 MB/sec)
Triad: 694.24 (14851.47 MB/sec)


How do I ensure my Mac is not sending data to Apple or programmers The question is self-explanatory: How do I ensure my Mac is not sending data to Apple or programmers?

I seem to recall these options appearing when I last installed the macOS, but want to make sure I did not say yes.

You can:

Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy.
Select the Privacy tab.
Choose Diagnostic & Usage from the list on the left.
Make sure the 2 checkboxes on the right are clear.

You can also choose other options from the list on the left (e.g. the Location Services one) to make sure your other privacy settings are okay.


Is there any way to search image by image in Mac finder? Mac version is OS X EI Capitan
What I want is just the same like google image Search by image service but the search region is a specific folder of my Mac disk.

Seems this similar image detector could let you do like this, it stated " Add a photo to compare against the photos in chosen folders and find duplicate and similar ones from the folders "
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/similar-image-detector/id892627565?mt=12


The cheapest and reliable way to unlock iphone 5? What is the cheapest and reliable way to unlock iphone 5? Is there any reliable free solution?

The phone is now locked to U.S. Sprint service.

The reliable way is to get the carrier to unlock it. In the US - this means

Verizon's are sold unlocked in the US whether you have a contract or not.
AT&T's are locked, but they have a process to get it unlocked once your contract is fulfilled.
Sprint's situation is unclear.
T-Mobile's are reported to be sold unlocked in 2013 when they start selling iPhone.

Cheapest depends heavily on your specific contract details and if you want to risk paying a third party to do something the cell carriers do not like. You could always look for a jailbreak and circumvent the lock, but between paying off your contract early or selling your locked phone and buying one that is legitimately unlocked is an easy, and simply about time and money now that unlocked iPhones are mainstream in the US. I suggest dealing locally in selling and buying an iPhone - connect on craigslist or wherever and meet in an Apple store so that you can check the serial number - be safe in a public space, etc...


Open an app in fullscreen via Terminal I wonder if it's possible to open a program in Lion fullscreen mode via the Terminal. I want to write a short script which starts a bunch of programs in fullscreen mode, so that I only have to click once to start my working environment.

Here it is:

  /usr/bin/osascript -e 'tell application "Safari"' -e "activate" -e 'tell application "System Events"' -e 'keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}' -e "end tell" -e "end tell"

Here it is in a clearer form (but you can't run it this way):

/usr/bin/osascript -e "tell application \"Safari\""
-e "activate"
-e "tell application \"System Events\""
-e "keystroke \"f\" using {control down, command down}"
-e "end tell"
-e "end tell"

And this is it as formatted AppleScript:

tell application "Safari"
    activate
    tell application "System Events"
        keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}
    end tell
end tell

It works by first opening a Safari window if one is not currently open. Then it simulates the Control ⌃-Command ⌘-F keystroke which tells the Safari window to become full screen.

If you want to make the window the max-size it can be without becoming full screen (i.e. taking up all the space below the menu bar at the top):

tell application "Finder"
    set desktopSize to bounds of window of desktop
end tell

tell application "Safari"
    activate
    set bounds of window 1 to desktopSize
end tell

Which would become this in Terminal:

  /usr/bin/osascript -e "tell application \"Finder\"" -e "set desktopSize to bounds of window of desktop" -e "end tell" -e "tell application \"Safari\"" -e "activate" -e "set bounds of window 1 to desktopSize" -e "end tell"

For Chrome, do this:

tell application "Google Chrome"
    activate
    make new window
    tell application "System Events"
        keystroke "f" using {control down, command down}
    end tell
end tell

So it would be this in Terminal:

  /usr/bin/osascript -e "tell application \"Google Chrome\"" -e "activate" -e "make new window" -e "tell application \"System Events\"" -e "keystroke \"f\" using {control down, command down}" -e "end tell" -e "end tell"

Hope this helps!


How to assign hotkeys to paragraph styles in Pages 5? Pages '09 had the paragraph styles drawer with a list of all styles. Each style had the following context menu:

On the new Pages 5, this is how that context menu looks however.

Noticeably missing is the option to assign a hotkey to a paragraph style. Is anyone aware of a way to do this in the new Pages 5?

The feature was lost in the initial release of Pages 5, but was brought back in in iWork 5.2.

You can choose the shortcuts F1 through F8, and it appears to be a per-document setting. I suspect the reason it has to be per-document is that the styles themselves are part of the document. You may also be able to apply shortcuts to a template, so that new documents based on it get the shortcuts, if you use the same templates/styles a lot.

The UI in Pages 5.2.2:

I'm not entirely sure why, but Apple have done similar things in a few of their applications, with major updates (e.g. 4.x to 5.x) seeing a bunch of features disappear with a simplified UI, and then some of the lost features come back in minor subsequent updates.


TextWrangler running Python 2.7 after I removed it from my Mac I have removed Python 2.7 from my machine, using instructions provided here: How to uninstall Python 2.7 on a Mac OS X 10.6.4? (Using the top voted/accepted answer's instructions)

However, when I run my scripts using TextWrangler and look at some of the errors generated, it is still indicating that the error originated from Python 2.7 directory, which I have already deleted, and can't see it using ls.

Any idea how to force TextWrangler to run Python 3 instead?

I am running OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 on MacBook Pro mid 2012.

As the root of your question seems to be, "How can I run scripts via TextWrangler in Python 3 (rather than 2.7)?", I'll provide an answer to that. (Please let me know if I've misunderstood).

As I'm not sure how you've chosen to install Python 3, I'd suggest working with Homebrew and installing python and python3 with the command brew install python python3 once you've gotten Homebrew up and running.

Homebrew defaults to installing software to /usr/local/bin/, so make sure that is present in your PATH variable.

Once Python 3 is installed, you can create a new TextWrangler document and enter the following code to test:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import sys
print(sys.version)

Then, run the script by going to #! -> Run in the TextWrangler menu (see attached image).

The output (shown in a new window by default) should give you your system and Python information. In my case, the results were:

=========================================================================
Feb 18, 2016, 15:07:45
untitled text
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.5.1 (default, Dec  7 2015, 21:59:10)
[GCC 4.2.1 Compatible Apple LLVM 7.0.0 (clang-700.1.76)]

Alternately, you can directly input the path to your python3 executable in line 1 (/usr/local/bin/python3 is the default for Homebrew).


Mount a Time Machine backup disk that will not mount I just plugged in my external hd via USB for a Time Machine backup. However it will not mount.

I've:

Unplugged the hd
Restarted the computer
Plugged it back in

When I do this, Disk Utility spins and won't load. So I then:

Unplug the disk
Open Disk Utility
Plug in the disk and that shows the image above

When I press mount, it says the disk is already unlocked. However it will not show up.

This started after I tried repairing the volume, but it wouldn't repair. Now I can't select it.

Any options at this point other than erasing the whole HD and starting over?

I've had problems like this also. If you have multiple USB ports try using a different port. Also try using a different cable and a different port.

You don't want to use a flaky drive for your backup. So, yes it seems like reformatting the drive and starting over makes sense, or replace it.


Find EXACT app in App Store I just got an AT&T SIM and was looking for an app to manage the account.

A search came up with myAT&T but when I try to search the App Store on the phone I get dozens of irrelevant apps, but NOT what I was looking for.

How can I find EXACT app in App Store

EDIT

I searched in Safari (on the phone with the AT&T SIM), and clicked the link in the answer, but the result says "This app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices"

I am in the US - connected to AT&T, running iOS 10.3.3 (the latest for the iPhone5C)

I can launch the App Store app, but there is no download link, and it states "This app is only available on the App Store for iOS devices".

On my iPad I get an error "The item you've requested is not currently available in the Australian Store" - so I guess my problem then becomes how to use the US Store.

Here is the app you are looking for:

myAT&T

The trick is to look for name of the app publisher shown under the app name.

Number and value of ratings is another factor to look for to ascertain the authenticity of the app coming from the intended publisher.

It is also a good idea to visit the service providers website and follow the App Store link for the app to ensure you are downloading the intended app.


Turn off power to Thunderbolt device while leaving data connection As per the title, is it possible to do this?
I have two devices using Thunderbolt 2 ports on a macbook pro. One, an audio interface, makes the area around the port excessively hot to touch and can cause the fans on the laptop to kick in at a certain point.
I was unsure why only one device caused this when the other (an external display) didn't and realised that the audio interface was also drawing power. The thing is, it doesn't need to. It can be powered externally and I do this. But it automatically chooses a preference for thunderbolt power and switches to this when enough is available.
I'd love to know a way to provide no power over that Thunderbolt port so that it relies on the external power supply and stops generating so much heat (the fans kicking in when I'm recording audio - it being an audio device that's causing this - is far from ideal).

Per the thunderbolt specification, it includes power so if you could turn it off, it wouldn't be thunderbolt. I suppose a device on the receiving end could have a switch or power control to disable draw, but I have not seen any hardware that assumes anything but you get power at the same time / before any data connection comes alive on thunderbolt.
It's an interesting thought experiment to think if we had this to help troubleshoot, but not something I see as practical. You'd need an oscilloscope and trace to determine what's happening in your setup if you can't measure voltage lines with a multimeter.
Some USB devices have external power and won't draw as do some rack mountable thunderbolt audio devices but they never draw power from TB so you might need to look in that direction if you can't isolate it by swapping in and out parts entirely.


Replacing corrupt system font in macOS Sierra I have what appears to be a corrupt system font (.Geeza Pro PUA). How do I go about replacing it with a working version? iMac running 10.12.5.

It's doing this:

Open Font Book.app and choose File → Restore Standard Fonts….


Which part of the iPhone 8 Plus is this? I decided to repair my phone. I have succesfully disassembled and assembled it. But I got this part left on my table. Any ideas of what it is?

That looks like the gasket holding the touch chip in place on the original screen assembly, fastened on the metal shield that you transfer from the original assembly to the new one. It is there because the touch chip needs to be in a very specific position to fit down in the phone when closing it. It is however not necessary for operation.
As for the ear speaker and light sensor not working, those are either the result of incorrect placement of the sensor and speaker contact as part of that assembly, when you transfer it from the old to the new screen assembly, or you have damaged the assembly itself, which is very easy to do when you are inexperienced, as it is a delicate part.
The home button part is also delicate and it is somewhat easy to rip its flex cable close to the contact when lifting it off the old screen assembly, which could give the symptoms you describe. Otherwise, try to reseat the contact.


Unable to login to MacBook, worked fine with Active Directory account on corp. network My IT dept setup my new MacBook Pro with 2 accounts. One is a local account and the other is on the Active Directory server. Both have administrative privileges on the mac.

I've been using the AD account to setup apps while on the corporate network (wired and/or wi-fi). My standard 'shutdown' procedure is simply to close the lid. There's a setting that will prompt for password after 15 minutes, so I can close it, walk to a conference room, open it and start typing w/o password, whereas if I unplug and lock it in the desk drawer for the night, I'll need to type a password after flipping it open.

Today, for the first time, I opened it while NOT on the corporate network. Many miles away from it, infact. I had closed it while using my AD account, so I typed in those credentials--and was denied. I tried again, one careful keypress at a time, verified caps lock off, etc. and still I was told invalid username or password.

So I tried the local account credentials. Those also failed.

How do I get back into my Mac?

You might be out of luck. Sounds like the AD authentication isn't caching your credentials locally so you can login when you're away from your AD server.

You can go brute force on the problem:

Hold down the power button your MacBook Pro for ~5 seconds until the machine shuts itself off. Power it back on and use your local credentials to log in instead of your AD credentials.

Once you're back up and running run /System/Library/CoreServices/Directory Utility. Click the lock icon to unlock the settings. Highlight Active Directory in the list and click the pen icon to edit the settings. In the window that pops up click the Show Advanced Options and make sure that Create mobile account at login is checked. This ensures you can login when the AD server isn't present.


How to default to "Not open all the apps again" on Mac OS X Lion? On Mac OS X Lion, whenever the computer is to be turned off or restarted, the default is that "Open all apps" again after the next start up, and the user has to "uncheck" the box so that the apps won't run automatically.

But every time, I have to uncheck that box.  Is there a way to default to not to run those apps next time?

This OSXDaily article Disable “Reopen Windows When Logging Back In” in Mac OS X Lion Completely describes a method of doing this.

  You may have noticed that when you log out or reboot Mac OS X Lion,
  you get a dialog window with a checkbox next to “Reopen windows when
  logging back in” that restores all of your currently open applications
  and windows.

  If you don’t like it and you’re tired of unchecking the box to no
  longer reopen the windows, you can use a third party script to render
  the feature useless. To clarify, what this does is disable the feature
  completely on a constant basis, regardless of whether that checkbox to
  preserve windows is checked or not, the windows will not restore.

Type the following command to download the script, place it in the appropriate location, make it executable, run it, then remove it:

curl http://goo.gl/Z4EFC -L -s -o ~/fixlogin.sh && md5 -q ~/fixlogin.sh | xargs -I % mv ~/fixlogin.sh ~/%.sh && chmod +x ~/121dca51e66073624da420b6e1be61d9.sh && sudo ~/121dca51e66073624da420b6e1be61d9.sh ; rm ~/121dca51e66073624da420b6e1be61d9.sh

The content of the script is for those who want to know what's being executed and/or do it manually is:

#!/bin/bash
echo "#!/bin/bash" > /tmp/loginfix.sh
echo "rm /Users/*/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.loginwindow.*" >> /tmp/loginfix.sh
mv /tmp/loginfix.sh /usr/bin/loginfix.sh
chmod +x /usr/bin/loginfix.sh
defaults write com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook /usr/bin/loginfix.sh

Finally, if you want to go back to normal resume behaviour type:

sudo defaults delete com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook


Can an iPad be charged while acting as a USB host? I have an iPad that I would like to leave semi-permanently connected to a USB hub (connected to a couple of MIDI controllers and some USB speakers).  As it stands, I have to remember to unplug it periodically and plug in the charging cable.

I've been looking for a solution that would let me keep the iPad charged while also keeping it connected.  Thinking about it, I realized I don't know if this something supported by the USB standard (let alone by the iPad specifically).

Is it even possible to charge an iPad while it's acting as a USB host?

Personal experience, I've never it.

But USB specification actually has defined such standard, under USB On-The-Go (OTG). A connector named Micro-AB plug will allow a device to be charged and enter host mode. This is also mentioned here on another Stack Exchange site.

Back to the question, is it possible? Probably no. According to this Wikipedia article about Lightning. A lightning-enabled device can act as host to power accessories or as client to be charged, but it uses either...or, so not at the same time.


How to set PATH for Finder-launched applications Apps launched via Finder seem to not respect the PATH as set in .bash_profile.  So when I try to run code from an IDE (Intellij) I no longer have access to programs in /usr/local/bin, which is normally added to my path in the Terminal.

Apparently .MacOSX/environment.plist used to be the way to do this, but it no longer works in Lion.

How can I set the PATH for Finder-launched applications?

If you are on 10.7 and not 10.8, the solution below works well:

I had the same problem with eclipse, but now I've added e.g. the following to my .bash_profile and then it worked.

export PATH=some_path:another_path
launchctl setenv PATH $PATH

In case you want to leave the original path intact use

p=$(launchctl getenv PATH)
launchctl setenv PATH /my/new/path:$p

instead (or just launchctl setenv PATH /my/new/path:$(launchctl getenv PATH)).

Note: Changing the launchctl PATH will not take effect until the Dock is "restarted".  A new Dock process will automatically start after the current one is killed with the command:

killall Dock


Apache module run under MacPorts gives SQLite error I have an Apache module, compiled from source, which works just fine with the stock Apache 2.2 on Mac OS X 10.5 through 10.7. However, under the Apache 2.2.22 installed by MacPorts, running /opt/local/apache2/bin/httpd -t errors with Symbol not found: _sqlite3_bind_text.

I've verified that MacPorts' SQLite is installed, but neither the current 3.7.11 nor 3.6.12, which is the version that Snow Leopard ships with, works. I've also changed the makefile to reference /opt/local/apache2/include and /opt/local/include instead of /usr/include. Not being to familiar with such compilation, I don't know what to check for next.

All I had to do was add this line to the makefile:

Darwin_LIBS += -lsqlite3

and the resulting module now works with MacPorts' Apache.


Turn off Lower Power Mode on iPod Touch How do I turn off Low Power Mode if my iPod Touch with iOS 9.3.5 does not have a Turn Low Power Mode On/Off button or slide bar?

Go into Settings > Battery > Turn Off Low Power Mode. If that doesn't work ask Siri to turn off Low Power Mode for you.


Is it Possible to Manually Organise Imported Movie Extras in iTunes I'm trying to organise a bunch of movie files that I've acquired from various sources, including my own DVDs, into iTunes.

However, one thing I'm uncertain of are the extras, things like deleted scenes, making of documentaries etc. Unfortunately none of the files I'm importing are available on the iTunes Store (as otherwise that's where I would have got them).

So what I'm wondering is, how is content from the iTunes store organised in relation to extras, and how can I do it myself for imported content?

When sold from iTunes, extras come in a package called (appropriately enough) iTunes Extras. An XML document describes the layout of the extras and where they are located. Apple provides a specification document that you could use if you wanted to build your own package.


How can I change file name color on desktop? I'm using a white background picture. How can I change the color of the text for items on my desktop to black?

Bonus points if there is a way to turn the shadow off too.

As far as I can see, the answer is almost no.

The only hack I could find is:

In Accessability > Display, checking Invert colors will make the text invert color.

This obviously has side effects of everything else changing color in a sometimes unpleasant way. You'd have to use an originally black background to get a white background in this case.


Should MacPorts be installed as root? I'm on OS X 1011.1 and am looking at MacPorts. Should it be installed as root:wheel, or should it be installed as me?

Everything in it's directors is root:wheel, and it looks to me like nothing will work unless it is? But its docs make no mention of this.

If not root, how do I fix it?

By default, MacPorts installs in /opt/local, which usually needs to be created and therefore MacPorts by default needs root to install and upgrade. However, it doesn't have to be this way. MacPorts can be configured to use any directory you want as its root directory, and according to this page if you set your home directory to be its root directory you can use MacPorts without needing to be root.


Will a USB 2.0 5400RPM External HDD for Time Machine slow down my SSD? Will a USB 2.0 5400RPM External HDD for Time Machine slow down my SSD?  I am new to Mac and I don't know how often Time Machine works with the drive.

I use a USB 2.0 external hard drive for Time Machine, and I have not seen any changes in speed.  Time Machine works pretty quietly and effortlessly in the background without slowing down the Mac's performance.  According to the Time Machine System Preferences pane,

  Time Machine keeps:

  Hourly backups for the past 24 hours
  Daily backups for the past month
  Weekly backups for all previous months

  The oldest backups are deleted when your disk becomes full.


iPhone 5 battery draining very quickly Can I please have some ideas about why my iPhone battery is draining so quickly? I close my apps when I'm finished using them, I turn off my Bluetooth and wifi when not using them. I don't know what else i can try.

According to apples website I should get 8 hours of talk time, 3G, and lte use. I never even get this on stand by.

http://support.apple.com/kb/sp655

I wouldn't necessarily take Apple's word on how much of use you can get out of your iPhone given it's mostly marketing and reproduced in specific lab conditions. Here are some real world numbers from AnandTech's iPhone 5 review. The differences can be quite significant for instance, 4.55 hours on 3G and 8.19 on LTE.

Note that this is presumably for a brand new iPhone 5; if you have one that is more than a year old, it would probably be around 80-90% of it's maximum battery capacity.

Lastly, here are some ideas on maximising your iPhone's battery life:

Disable Location and Background App Refresh for Facebook
Disable Background App Refresh for Apps You Don't Care About
Stop Quitting Your Apps in Multitasking
Disable Push Email Temporarily (especially if you are using Exchange)
Disable Push Notifications for Apps That Annoy You

It may also be worth doing the test mentioned at the top of that blog post i.e.

  So here's the test: write down your usage and standby time, press the
  sleep/wake button (or lock button, as some call it) to put the device
  to sleep, and set the device down for five minutes. When you come
  back, take note of the change in time. If your device is sleeping
  properly, then the Standby time should have increased by five minutes
  and your Usage time by <1 minute . If your Usage time rises by more
  than one minute, you have a drain problem. Something is keeping your
  device from sleeping properly, significantly shortening the time it
  will last.

From my own experience, I've noticed that apps that utilise background app refresh in concert with location services tend to be pretty expensive in terms of battery usage. Dropbox and Downcast use these to upload photos and download podcasts in the background respectively - location services appear to be turned on all the time when these Dropbox/Downcast features are turned on. I turned off background app refresh and location services for both of these apps and have noticed quite significant improved battery life.


Google Chat somehow causes my wifi connection to drop I work at home, and for the past week or so, the wifi connection on my MacBook has been extremely flaky. Over the course of the day, the wifi will repeatedly disconnect and then reconnect about 10 seconds later. This occurs as infrequently as once every few hours, or as frequently as every 10 minutes.

If I look at my router (or run Network Diagnostics) when this happens, I can confirm that the actual Internet connection isn't dropping; it's just the wifi. Furthermore, the wifi network remains listed as a nearby network when the connection drops, so to me this suggests that the network itself is okay, and it's just my computer disconnecting and reconnecting for some reason.

Now for the twist: this appears to only happen when I'm signed onto Google Chat through iChat. I have never seen it happen otherwise (I guess it could just be coincidence, but that seems pretty unlikely since I've been observing it for about a week now).

What can I do about this? Is Google Chat really the culprit, or something else?

I never exactly figured out what the issue is, and this might just be coincidence, but I recently upgraded to Lion (and installed Messages Beta over iChat) and have not seen this issue since. I'm going to tentatively say this is resolved...


How do I save all the stored information on my iPhone 4? I need to do a factory reset to my iPhone 4, but don't know how to save my stored information such as my Contacts, Pictures, and Purchased apps.

Apple makes backing up iOS devices easy. Just make a backup of it with iTunes or iCloud, as detailed in this Apple guide.

For Photos, just use the Photos app to import them all to your Mac. If you're using a Windows machine, open My Computer, double-click whatever represents your iPhone and copy the folder marked "DCIM" to your computer.


App compatibility for first gen iPod touch I have recently acquired a first-gen iPod touch updated to iOS 3.3. I'm having trouble installing apps from iTunes as it appears most require iOS 4 and above. So far I have managed to find two games that are still compatible with iOS 3. Not even the Facebook app will install! iTunes says I have the latest iOS available installed.

Is there a way to force install iOS 4? Otherwise, is there a third party repository of older apps I can install from (obviously after jailbreaking)?

You can use iOSSearch, a free tool to find apps in the iTunes store which are compatible with iOS 3.1.3. This is a non-commercial page I made.

Note: the app store has recently been updated to allow downloads of last compatible versions but it appears that this only provides apps which are compatible with iOS 4.


How to create "firmware partition" on HDD? I have a problem with internal hard drive in my IMac, it doesn't work, but I have an external hard drive (HDD), and I want to run MacOS on it.

I successfully installed MacOS and upgraded it to Sierra. The problem is that I can't update to High Sierra, or Mojave, because the hard drive doesn't have "firmware partition".

How can I create "firmware partition" on a simple external HDD?

I spend all day searching for info online, but found nothing helpful in my case, I would be very grateful for the help! Thank you in advance!

Here is the diskutil list log:

You must have an EFI partition (aka firmware partition) on an internal drive for the installer to accept that. You have not provided the model of your iMac, so that might be an issue. Basically, if you have one of the older iMacs, you could replace the hard drive with an SSD. 256 GB SSD are pretty cheap, have a little room for stuff and are nice and fast.


How to get iTunes to play an iPhone playlist automatically when connected to iPhone I have a habit of working/studying while listening to music. And since the Mac I am connected to at work doesn't have all the songs I want, I normally listen to the songs via iTunes from the iPhone Playlists option.

For this, everytime I connect my iPhone to the computer, iTunes detects it, then I have to manually goto the 'iPhone' button in the application, and then "On my iPhone", and then select the playlist, and play a song.

Is there anyway of automating this process ? What I'm looking for, is as soon as I connect my iPhone, iTunes should open the playlist inside my iPhone automatically, and start playing a song at random.

Ha !! I figured it out !!
And then I created an applet that would do this for me using AppleScript.

And then, I published the steps/code for the same on my blog below. Here's the link ::

How to start playing songs from your iOS device automatically on your Mac


Unable to install profiles to Apple TV 4th gen I'm trying to add a configuration profile to my Apple TV via Apple Configurator 2, as documented, however when I add the profile I get this error:

  An unexpected error has occurred with “Apple TV”.

  You cannot install apps or other media on Apple TV.
  [ConfigurationUtilityKit.error – 0x3E9 (1001)]

In fact, whenever I try to do any management of the Apple TV through Apple Configurator, it fails with the same message.

I've tried:

I've tried clearing the configuration files (at ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.configurator.*)
Updating and reinstalling Apple Configurator
Restarting computer
Full factory restore of Apple TV
Fresh OS X install (on external hard drive)

I'm able to sideload apps through Xcode through the same Mac, so that implies that the USB cable is fine.

I found something with similar issues on this thread:

https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/21638

  Process > Perform all Mac updates > reboot   then open the apple
  configurator again > select store at the top > sign in with apple id.

While it applies to deploying Apps to iPads, the Apple TV runs iOS so the solution may be the same.


iMac HDD fan running full speed. What is wrong? My iMac (27" Mid-2010) and the HDD fan is spinning full speed with a measured HDD temperature of 50 °C. I have removed the dust and dirt from inside and it is pretty clean. Nevertheless even when at idle it starts at 48 °C.
I've tried to use software to control the fans in order to decrease temp but the lowest it gets is 47 °C. I checked every single connection inside and everything seems to be ok. I also tried resetting the SMC and PRAM but with no luck.
Specs

27" Mid-2010
2.93GHz
Stock HDD 1.5TB Seagate st1500dl003
OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 and Windows 8.1 under Boot Camp

Looks like the drive experiences overheating issue. Unfortunately it's a common issue for Seagate drives which happens with time (had exactly the same problem with iMac 2010 21.5`` and stock 500 GB hdd). I used free Macs Fan Control tool to cool down the HDD (specially in Boot Camp, where the drive was even hotter). The article is about HDD replacement but it also explains how to use the app.

But the best solution I think is to replace the drive with some 2.5`` drive. They are known to be much cooler and quiter (though slower)


Will getting my new iPad engraved delay its delivery? I've looked on Apple's site and I can't seem to find any information on whether having an iPad engraved will add a substantial amount of time to the shipping. Does anyone have any first hand experience?

Will there be a delay? If so, for how long?

I'm based in London, I'm not sure if that will make any difference.

Also: I'm not bothered by the idea that I will be "devaluing" my iPad by getting it engraved. I tend to use electronic devices until the end of their life.

Thanks!

In my experience, yes, there will be a delay.

The thing is that when you order engraving (at least it was like this when I ordered), Apple does it in a factory somewhere in China, and ships it from there, which takes forever (it took a little more than a week if I remember correctly to ship it to New York).

If you don't order the engraving, Apple can send an iPad that they have in stock somewhere much closer to where you are, which will be faster.


Is there a keyboard shortcut to move the position of the Dock? Can I move the Dock using a keyboard shortcut?

If there is no default keyboard shortcut, is it possible to set this up using a program?

There's no default, but you could probably use AppleScript to accomplish this.  Hmm...

EDIT:

Make an AppleScript to run this shell script:

defaults write com.apple.Dock orientation -string left;killall Dock


How to have Siri pick from the list s/he just read to me? Calling my friend XYZ using voice dial has become as easy as dictating one if his cell numbers to dial.

Siri will recite:
I have two numbers for XYZ. Which number would you like to call?
(abc) def-ghij   or   (pqr) stu-vwxy?

How do I pick?

I try insisting the first one, to which s/he replies "I don't know what you mean by 'the first one'".

How do I select a number without touching the screen and without reciting the entire phone number back?

I am looking for an answer other than choosing unique types (eg, setting one of his cell numbers to "pager" instead.)

iOS 7.1.2, iPhone 5s

"I am looking for an answer other than choosing unique types (eg, setting one of his cell numbers to "pager" instead.)"

then I have no answer ;-)

Change the type & you can just say the type, cell [US] mobile [UK], office, home, etc.

You don't even have to wait for the list, you can just say to Siri, "Call Fred, cell."
 So long as there's only one Fred & one cell number listed for him.

If there are 2 Freds, then "Call Fred Smith"; 2 cells, then differentiate 'work cell' or 'cell 2' etc


How often does Google Notifier check for email? I just installed Google Notifier (Mac), and I noticed that it's a bit delayed in when it reports an email has arrived.

It seems that it polls the server every X minutes instead of using push technology. How often does Google Notifier check for mail, and is there any way to modify it?

I believe by default it checks every ten minutes.  To adjust the interval, click on the mail icon, then hold down the Command and Option keys and click on Preferences.
A box will pop up asking for a key and value. Use AutocheckInterval as the key and type the number of minutes in the value box.  Then click Set and you're done.  You need to restart it for the change to take effect.

NOTE: AutocheckInterval is case-sensitive

You can also do the following in Terminal

defaults write com.google.GmailNotifier AutocheckInterval #

Replace the # above with a number to represent minutes between checks


Installing nova client: PIP Permission Denied even as root I'm trying to install nova client on OS X 10.12.3

I tried to install with sudo pip install python-novaclient.

I wan't to access openstack server from OS X

Installing collected packages: requests, six, PrettyTable, Babel, oslo.i18n, iso8601, funcsigs, pyparsing, monotonic, netifaces, netaddr, wrapt, debtcollector, oslo.utils, simplejson, msgpack-python, oslo.serialization, positional, stevedore, keystoneauth1, python-novaclient
Exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/basecommand.py", line 215, in main
    status = self.run(options, args)
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/commands/install.py", line 342, in run
    prefix=options.prefix_path,
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/req/req_set.py", line 784, in install
    **kwargs
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/req/req_install.py", line 851, in install
    self.move_wheel_files(self.source_dir, root=root, prefix=prefix)
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/req/req_install.py", line 1064, in move_wheel_files
    isolated=self.isolated,
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/wheel.py", line 345, in move_wheel_files
    clobber(source, lib_dir, True)
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/wheel.py", line 316, in clobber
    ensure_dir(destdir)
  File "/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/pip-9.0.1-py2.7.egg/pip/utils/__init__.py", line 83, in ensure_dir
    os.makedirs(path)
  File "/System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.7/lib/python2.7/os.py", line 157, in makedirs
    mkdir(name, mode)
OSError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/requests'

As per this StackOverflow answer, sudo pip install is a rather unsafe practice in that it attempts/allows/intends to modify system Python libraries. In this specific case, the command fails because an install script is attempting to modify the /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework directory, which as of macOS 10.11 is guarded by System Integrity Protection. Try using a virtualenv.


MacBook Pro takes 10 minutes to shutdown I have a 2016 MacBook Pro 15", running macOS Sierra, which fails to shutdown properly. Originally when I closed all applications and then went to shutdown, it would take less than 10 seconds to completely power down.

My problem:

Now, when shutting down, applications will close properly, the Desktop turns to a black screen (all normal so far) but then the display will not power down, as the backlight remains on. This lasts for anywhere from 9 minutes up to nearly 20.

What I have tried:

I have removed all login items from my user.
I have done a boot into safe mode.
I have reset the NVRAM (PRAM).
I have live-chatted with Apple support and went through clearing the User and System Library/Cache directories.

Nothing seems to resolve the issue.

One point to note is that when I reach the login screen, and choose "Shut Down" instead of entering my user password, it will shut-down quickly. I suspect that an application is preventing the normal shutdown, but don't know how to go about finding it.

I have attempted to look through the console for errors but nothing seems to leap out at me.

Can someone please suggest a solution, or a means to identify what is causing this issue?

UPDATE:
I am just performing the latest macOS 10.12 update to see if that helps at all.

SECOND UPDATE: After using live chat with an Apple engineer, we have narrowed it down to the Launch Agents / Daemons. We moved most of them to the trash, and I have tried to add a few back in (shutdown, reboot and then attempt a clean shutdown). It could be the MySQL agent. I don't have many others apart from Adobe / Creative Cloud, Google's Keystone and Oracle MySQL.

Not sure if I should add this as an answer?

Note: This is not a duplicate as my Mac didn't hang permanently, and the solutions in that question didn't help me in this case.

The first thing I would do is reset the System Management Controller. Do this as follows:

Shut down your MBP
Keep the power cable plugged in.
Press at the same time shiftoptioncontrol (on the left side of the keyboard) and the power button
Let go
Turn your computer back on with the power button.

Once you've done that, test for any differences and report back.

Resetting NVRAM

You mentioned that you reset the NVRAM. Just in case you weren't aware, resetting this on the late-2016 MacBook Pros is different to all other Macs. The correct process is:

Shut down your machine. Yes, a full shut down, not just logging out.
Press the power button and then immediately press the commandoptionpr keys.
Keep these keys pressed down for at least 20 seconds!
Let go of the keys and let your Mac reboot normally.

Note 1: When you log back in you may need to readjust some of your system preferences (e.g. speaker volume, screen resolution, startup disk selection, time zone information, etc).

Note 2: These steps will also work to reset the NVRAM (or PRAM) for all Macs. However, the late-2016 MBP models actually required the commandoptionpr keys to be held down for 20 seconds, while earlier Macs did not require this, but doing so did not cause any problems either.


iPhone 4 - Verification Required I've been using the App Store through my Apple ID for a while and everything has been normal.

Now, all of the sudden, when I want to update an app or to download a free app after putting my password a pop-up message appears entitled:

  Verification Required

asking me to verify my payment info. In my phone's account settings, the payment information is set to NONE since ever, still there's a red message up saying:

  You must verify your payment info before you make purchases.

The thing is, I don't have any payment info, that is why I only use free apps. What to do?

Select Verify Payment Info, and under Credit Card, just choose None. If this doesn't work, close the App Store and go to Settings > App Store > Tap on your Email > View Apple ID > Payment Information > None.

This should fix the issue.


How to manually "file" files into folder, quickly, only using the keyboard I'm working to set up a paperless filing system. Although I've got several pieces in place, one of the parts that slows me down the most is putting a scanned file into the right folder. Find the folder and then dragging and dropping the file over is really tedious when I'm staring at a mound of papers that need to be filed.
What would be much much better is if I could "file" a file without having to touch the trackpad, i.e. only using the keyboard, but I'm stumped at how to do this.
My setup
Inspired by the ebook Paperless, I'm using the following:

Fuji ix500 scanner
Simple folder structure using MacOS and finder (with the OCR capabilities of the bundled software of the Fuji scanner coupled with the search capabilities of Mac OS, I can find pretty much any file I need just using search)
Hazel, for automatically extracting dates from file contents and sometimes moving files.

What I've tried
I started going down the path of setting up Hazel rules to capture the majority of documents that I file. The benefit of this is that if the Hazel looks inside a file with, say, the name of my mortgage company, the rule will have the file automatically moved to the folder for my mortgage company.
The drawback to this approach is that it's tedious to set up each rule, and there's a long tail of documents that are unique enough to not justify making a rule. So then the process comes down to two things:

Name the file
Put the file in the correct subfolder

I can speed up naming the file with tools like Text Expander, but I'm stumped at how to speed up putting the file into the correct subfolder.
What I'd like to do is something like this:

Have the file selected in finder.
Press Spacebar to preview the contents to know how to name it.
Press Enter to edit the name.
Edit the name and press enter.
[this is the part that doesn't exist yet....] Press a shortcut to bring up a text box that asks where I want to move the file.
I start typing and autocomplete starts narrowing down the folders.
I arrow down to the correct folder and press enter.
The file is moved to the folder I chose.
The next file in finder is now selected so I can quickly file it (back to step 2).

I'd be open to trying Apple Script if it helped me accomplish my goal, but I'm not even sure if Apple Script can help with this sort of thing.
So to restate my original question, what's a quick way to "file" a file manually into a folder on my machine only using the keyboard?

If your Mac is running Mavricks or later, you could try opening multiple tabs using CMD+T in a Finder window to rapidly copy/move files from the  "source" folder where your scanned files are located (in the first tab) to other "destination" folders visible in the other tabs. Press CTRL+TAB to move forward to the next tabbed window or CTRL+SHIFT+TAB to move backwards to the previous tabbed window. If you know which destination folders you'll be moving your files to then you can open a tab with each of those folders visible before you get started.
Do your file preview & rename in your first tab, then press CMD+C to copy the file. Press CTRL+TAB however many times you need to move to the destination tab then press CMD+OPT+V to move the file into that folder.


how to throttle Internet bandwidth? In previous releases of OS X, there was a command called ipfw, that permitted throttling of network bandwidth, which is useful for running some kinds of tests on software.
 It appears that as of Yosemite that command is gone. So what is the replacement and how can a user to throttle bandwidth?

the replacement is pf, see man pfctl. also, see man dnctl for traffic shaping purposes.

Apple's Network Link Conditioner utility (only available in their developer downloads section, behind a login) uses these two facilities to do its thing.


trackpad stops working on 2009 Macbook Pro The trackpad on my wife's 17" Macbook Pro seems to be failing. She'll be in the middle of working when suddenly it will stop responding to input. Both the tracking (i.e. mouse movement) and button clicking just stop responding. She usually has an external mouse plugged in, and this continues to work fine; just the trackpad dies.

She reports that it usually happens within a minute or two of beginning work. If she puts the machine to sleep and then wakes it, the trackpad will start working again for another couple of minutes.

Her machine is a 17" Macbook Pro from fall 2009.  She's still running 10.5.8 on it. We'd consider upgrading to Snow Leopard if there's a good chance it'll help, but this really sounds like a hardware issue to me.

Is there anything we can try to fix this, or must it really be sent to Apple for repair? We do have AppleCare on it, but we're not too thrilled about having to be without the machine for weeks.

Thanks

A great way to rule out hardware versus software issue is to create a new user and see if the problem still occurs when logged into the new user.

System Preferences>Accounts> + (may have to unlock first). For ease of use, I'd make the new "test" account an administrator. When you are done, log out and back into your regularly used account. System Preferences>Accounts> - (delete home folder and all contents).

If the issue persists, it should be related to hardware and not software.

Hope that helps!


My download button has moved too far to the right for me to download podcasts directly to my phone I used to download new podcast episodes by going to the podcast on my phone and pushing the "get more episodes" button. I have done this for years now and had no problems.

Suddenly on June 14th the download button has moved too far to the right so that I can't access it to push it and download the podcast. It doesn't work to flip the phone and I can't pull the screen over to access the button.

Super frustrating—same thing happened to me. I found that if I went to read the ratings (an option at the top of the screen) and then back, they had moved back to regular position. See if this works for you.