When writing AppleScript in Automator, what is the significance of "input" and "parameters"? When one adds a "Run AppleScript" action to a file in Automator.app (e.g., a workflow, application, or service), the following default code is presented:

on run {input, parameters}

    (* Your script goes here *)

    return input
end run

What is the significance of input and parameters? That is to say,

Where does the AppleScript code get these variables from?
To where exactly does the AppleScript return the input to?
How might these variables be ideally employed in an AppleScript application/service? Examples are appreciated.

I'll try to answer my own question, making use of the relevant documentation1 provided by @user3439894 in a comment on my question.

Where does the AppleScript code get these variables from?

input:

  The input parameter contains (in most instances) the output of the previous action in the workflow.

The data type of input is list.

To display the contents of input in Automator's corresponding "Results" pane for that specific action, simply use:

return input

parameters:

  The parameters parameter contains the settings made in the action’s user interface.

The data type of parameters is reco (i.e., a record object).

Here is an overview of the reco type2:

  This type is used as the type of the properties property for the item class, and the type of the with properties parameters of the duplicate and make commands.

To display the contents of parameters in Automator's corresponding "Results" pane for that specific action, simply use:

return parameters

What, specifically, does parameters contain?

I was curious what exactly is meant by, "settings made in the action’s user interface," so I took a look at the contents of parameters. I learned that, unlike input, parameters only contains information about that specific action, not any information regarding the preceding action.

By using the following line of code,

display dialog length of parameters

I also discovered that the number of properties in parameters for a "Run AppleScript" action in Automator is three.

They are:

|temporary items path|:

where |temporary items path| is followed by the file path of the temporary folder created to store temporary data that may be created by the currently running "Run AppleScript" action. This folder is necessarily created upon run, even if the code does not create any temporary data. After the "Run AppleScript" action has completed, this folder and its parent folder are immediately deleted.

Note that |temporary items path| differs from (path to temporary items).

return POSIX path of (path to temporary items) produces:

  "/private/var/folders/p9/q_5_fbld7qzdmz6htfqjcxhw0000gn/T/TemporaryItems/"

return |temporary items path| of parameters produces:

  "/var/folders/p9/q_5_fbld7qzdmz6htfqjcxhw0000gn/T/1BD6446F-5501-42E5-A002-29588DFF8BD8/1/com.apple.Automator.RunScript"

While both folders reside within the "T" folder, the difference between these two folders is that the |temporary items path| folder, as well as its parent folder, are deleted upon completion of the "Run AppleScript" action (i.e., this folder is action-specific), while the path to temporary items folder is never deleted and can be viewed even when the AppleScript is not running.

ignoresInput:

where ignoresInput is either true or false, depending on whether the "Ignore this action's input" box found in the Options tab beneath that action in Automator is either ticked or unchecked.

source:

where source contains the unabridged AppleScript code of that "Run AppleScript" action.

How does one read the contents of parameters within an AppleScript?

Since the type of parameters is not list, one cannot simply:

set firstParameter to item 1 of parameters

as this will produce an error. But, you can convert parameters to a list object:

set parametersInListFormat to (parameters as list)

Then, you'll be able to execute something like this:

set individualItemFrom_parametersInListFormat to ""

repeat with individualItemFrom_parametersInListFormat in parametersInListFormat
    display dialog individualItemFrom_parametersInListFormat
end repeat

Alternatively, you can skip the conversion to a list and read the contents of parameters simply like so1:

set item1 to |temporary items path| of parameters
set item2 to |ignoresInput| of parameters
set item3 to source of parameters

To where exactly does the AppleScript return the input to?

The input of the current action is sent to the next action as that action's input.

More info on the return statement3:

  A return statement exits a handler and optionally returns a specified value. Execution continues at the place in the script where the handler was called.

  If a handler does not include a return statement, AppleScript returns the value returned by the last statement. If the last statement doesn’t return a value, AppleScript returns nothing.

  When AppleScript has finished executing a handler (that is, when it executes a return statement or the last statement in the handler), it passes control to the place in the script immediately after the place where the handler was called. If a handler call is part of an expression, AppleScript uses the value returned by the handler to evaluate the expression.

How might these variables be ideally employed in an AppleScript application/service?

Now that I better understand the positional parameters of input and parameters, it is easier for me to imagine their practical value.

input:

The value of input is conspicuous and the possibilities for its implementation are immeasurable.

One very basic application would be if you want to pass a string of text that a user enters in a dialog box via an "Ask for Text" action to the next action, a "Run AppleScript" action that writes this string to file. Here is what this might look like:

parameters:

Given that parameters is limited to that specific action and does not contain any data from previous actions, and the data that it does contain isn't necessarily relevant, it is much less useful and flexible  than input. I can visualize the need for |temporary items path|, but I am unable to do so for the other two properties.

Here is an example of how one might need to reference |temporary items path| in their AppleScript:

Say that one wanted an Automator application to display to the user the dimensions of a web image.

The user could use |temporary items path| as a location to store that image, so that the code could operate on it. Then, upon completion, since the user does not need or want the image saved to disk, the AppleScript would automatically delete that image (or, more specifically, the AppleScript would automatically delete the folder that contains the folder that contains that image).
Here is how this might be implemented:

on run {input, parameters}

    set theURLofImage to "https://cdn.sstatic.net/Sites/stackoverflow/company/img/logos/se/se-logo.png"
    set tempFolderThatIsAutomaticallyDeletedAfterRun to |temporary items path| of parameters
    set filename to "StackExchangeLogo.png"
    set fullFilepath to tempFolderThatIsAutomaticallyDeletedAfterRun & "/" & filename

    -- Saving image from internet to disk.
    -- From: http://stackoverflow.com/a/21491446/7138483
    do shell script "curl -f " & theURLofImage & " -o " & fullFilepath

    -- Figuring out the dimensions of the saved image.
    -- From: https://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/imageevents/01.html
    try
        tell application "Image Events"
            launch
            set this_image to open fullFilepath
            -- Extract the properties record.
            set the props_rec to the properties of this_image
            -- Purge the open image data.
            close this_image
            -- Extract the property value from the record.
            copy (dimensions of props_rec) to {x, y}
            set the image_info to "Dimensions of " & filename & ": " & "" & x & " x " & y
        end tell
        display dialog image_info
    on error error_message
        display dialog error_message
    end try

    return input
end run

Also, one might want to monitor the size of the |temporary items path| folder, to impose a limitation, so that if its size surpasses a certain value, an error is presented to the user.

In terms of how |ignoresInput| might be used, one could change the |ignoresInput| setting mid-code, with the following line:

set |ignoresInput| of parameters to true

One might want to arrange their code so that if the input meets or does not meet some condition, then the input should be ignored. For example:

if item 1 of input > 10 then
        set |ignoresInput| of parameters to true
end if

But, even if one did want to make sure that the input was only utilized if its contents met some condition, one could accomplish this same effect without having to read or alter the |ignoresInput| value; instead, one could simply declare their own boolean value for this purpose. So, I still think that the applicability of the |ignoresInput| parameter is questionable.

Similarly, I can't think of any particularly compelling reasons why one would need to read or modify the source parameter of their AppleScript while it runs.

What else?

One area of confusion for me still exists.

I still don't understand why Apple, in its documentation, advises against not returning anything in an AppleScript1:

  The template code finally returns input as its output; your action should always return something as output, even if it what [sic] is given it as input.

What's the harm of removing the return statement from one's AppleScript, if one does not need it?

If someone familiar with AppleScript methodology can address this matter for me, please drop a comment.

It is possible that I am misinterpreting the sentence.

I am interpreting this sentence to mean:

"When writing your code, you should always make sure to include a return statement somewhere in your code."

But, the sentence could potentially mean instead:

"If you put a return statement in your code, that return statement is designed to always return something. If you don't assign anything to input, then the code will simply return the same input that it received."

The ambiguity revolves around the original intent of the word, should, and whether the should is meant to act as a recommendation for the user writing an AppleScript, or whether, by should, they meant will.

Sources for passages included in this answer:

1. Automator Programming Guide - The Structure of the on run Command Handler

2. Cocoa Scripting Guide - Built-in Support for Basic AppleScript Types

3. AppleScript Language Guide - Handler Reference


Startup disks are disabled after upgrading to OS X El Capitan Recently I upgraded my Mac mini to OS X El Capitan. After the upgrade completed, I can't select a startup disk in System Preferences -> Startup Disk.

BOOTCAMP/Windows is disabled here. Searching for a solution I came across the following: press and hold the Option key while booting to get all available systems, but that trick didn't work for me. Any solution will be highly appreciable.


Cannot decrypt GPG file after installing GPG Suite from GPG Tools I have installed GPG Suite by GPG Tools on my Mac. I sent my public key to my associate, who encrypted a file and sent it to me. The file, myfile.gpg is now sitting on my desktop and I'm told by my associate that I just have to double-click on it, enter my private key, and the file will be decrypted. Sounds reasonable, but it doesn't work.

I double-click on myfile.gpg and OS X reports there is no application to open the file. I restarted my Mac and the problem still exists.

Do I need to manually setup a file association?

What am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

Assigning Files

Your Mac should have an association with a *.gpg file.
The appropiate service is named GPGServices.service and can be found in /Library/Services/. To manually assign the file extension to a application or service click on the myfile.gpg and then CMD+I.

Now you can chose a application with which the file should be open with.

If you click and hold the drop down menu, chose "Other ..." and a dialog will open. Click CMD+Shift+G and type /Library/Services.
Chose GPGServices.service, change for all and close the Info window.
If you can't find GPGServices you may have a corrupted or old installation. In this case install the GPG Suite again.

Decrypting with a terminal

To decrypt the file you can also use a Terminal.

Open Spotlight and type "Terminal.app"(or open a Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app) and click on it. You will see the command line.
Type gpg -d(mind the space after -d) and drag the file into the terminal. Hit enter and you will be asked for you password.

Example

gpg -d myfile.gpg


Create macOS 10.12 VM on VMware Fusion Can someone let me know how can I create a macOS 10.12 VM for VMware Fusion? I am not able to find the ISO of macOS 10.12.

In app store I am seeing macOS High Sierra which I am not interested in.

Environment:-

VMware Fusion - 8.5.8
OS in which Fusion Running - macOS Sierra 10.12.6

A macOS 10.12.(x) iso doesn't exist. To install macOS 10.12 in a VM on your host you either have to use an existing macOS 10.12 installer app on your Mac or a share, download the macOS 10.12 installer app from the Apple App Store which requires the app to be listed in your purchase list or install it using the recovery partition.

On most Apple App Store accounts the Sierra installer seems to have vanished after High Sierra was published even if Sierra was "purchased" in the past, so you have to log-in and check your purchase list.

If the Sierra installer is still available in your account, download it and either create a dmg/iso or use the app itself as installer source (> Create a custom virtual machine).

To install Sierra in a VM on your host (with Sierra  installed) you can also use the recovery partition of your Mac:

Open VMware Fusion and create a new machine (cmdN).

In the new window choose: Install OS X from the recovery partition

Save the VM to an appropriate folder, configure it (number of CPUs/RAM/network interface etc.) and start the installation afterwards.


Saving and restoring the brightness setting of a display I have a dual monitor display and I calibrate both displays. My calibrator generates a calibration profile for each monitor, however the brightness is not saved to the profile (apparently this is the same with all calibrators). This means that although I can now switch between profiles with ease, if I change the brightness of a monitor (deliberately or accidentally), I have no way of getting back to the brightness that is correct for the profile.

Is there any way I can save and restore the brightness of each monitor?

Note: When I say brightness I am talking about the Brightness slider found in System Prefs > Displays. The slider offers no clue as to the numeric value of the brightness, so there is no way to return to it.

One approach is to use the open source command line tool, brightness, to set the value on-demand. This way you could find your preferred brightness value and apply that value as needed, or per-profile.

Mac OS X Hints' discussion on Adjust brightness from Terminal covers the tool, how to compile it, and possible scripts to extend its use.

OS X Daily has also covered the tool in Adjust screen brightness from command line.


Why is "Hide Others" keyboard shortcut missing on macOS Chrome? I've noticed within the last week that the commandoptionh keyboard shortcut to Menubar / Chrome / Hide Others has disappeared from the latest version of Google Chrome (70.0.3538.77) on macOS (10.13.6) High Sierra.

Pressing the shortcut does nothing (it hasn't been remapped to a new command) in Chrome. The shortcut still appears and works in all other Apple and third-party apps.

Running Disk Util First Aid and rebooting macOS doesn't help. I can workaround by adding a custom shortcut to System Prefs for Chrome or for all apps, by why did this happen, is there a better, more direct fix?

Ran into the same problem and followed the instructions in How to Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Mac OS


How to fix the Jerky and jumpy Apple Magic Trackpad behavior? My Apple Magic Trackpad has started to move the pointer on the screen with a jerky and jumpy way, that makes it difficult to use it (compared with the macbook pro mid 2010 17inch touchpad).
How can I fix it, and why it appeared so suddenly?
My operating system is Mac OS Mountain Lion.
Thank you.

For me, turning Bluetooth off then back on did the trick for a very jerky cursor. Turning the trackpad off and on did not fix it.


Separate iMessages on iPhone and Mac Is there a way to have it so I only get messages and texts sent to my cell phone on my cell phone and only iMessages sent to my email on my Mac?

For instance now if someone sends me a message to my email address, I get it on my Mac AND iPhone.  For that particular message I would only want it on my Mac.

Conversely, if someone sends me a text message to my cell phone, I only want that to show on my iPhone.  I got this part right by going into Messages preferences and deselecting my cell phone number.

However, if I try to remove the email address from Messages on my iPhone I get the message that "You will no longer be able to receive iMessages at _____ on any device".  By device do they mean iPhone, iPad etc or does that include Macs?

What's happening is iCloud is syncing your message settings across devices. You'll need separate accounts to accomplish this.

You will need to first remove this email from your AppleID (presuming it's an alternative email on your AppleID).

Create an iCloud account for your Mac using just your email and log into that on iMessage on your Mac. This way you have a totally disconnected account and changing the settings won't effect all of your iCloud-connected devices on your first account.


Camera shows ghost lighting or refrective image Once I have updated to iOS 12 beta 10 , my camera shows strange reflective images. Suppose if I am taking photo of my television in low light, it shows blurry image of my tv just below an original photo, doesn’t seems like glare but much more than this, also Pictures of CFL and tube light shows refractive image. Is it software issue? Also it seems happening after 1 month of purchase. Lens is clean , no physical damage too. Is there anyway to fix it?

This lens flare is due to the geometry of the camera and the physical aperture / focus ring and might be normal or might be signs that the internals have shifted or become damaged. A hard drop can knock the camera out of alignment and cause this. Also, there are lighting conditions that guarantee a properly assembled and working iPhone camera makes that flare.

Take controlled photos with other devices if you wish to rule out that it's just the natural result of that light bouncing off the camera. Get a lens hood or change the exposure is how photographers manage this (this problem is just one of optics and sensors) if it turns out your device is working like others.
Take the phone (camera) in for service if you believe it's not working as designed and you can't see any signs of physical damage or a drop. If the phone isn't up to spec - Apple or their service team will offer a repair under warranty assuming you're covered. The only thing I would expect to pay is if I damaged it (warranty doesn't cover drops or breaks).


Can I get a male Thunderbolt to female USB 3.0 adapter? I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro that has now 1 terabyte of storage, but want to connect a external hard drive via the fastest connection possible. It didn't come with USB 3.0 but 2x USB 2.0 and Thunderbolt port. Can I get a male Thunderbolt to female USB 3.0 adapter?

The Thunderbolt port on your MacBook Pro is already faster than USB 3 so the fastest possible connection of an external storage device would be to attach a Thunderbolt drive via the Thunderbolt port.

Note that Thunderbolt is a faster interface than a hard disk can accept or push data so for top speed you will either need a RAID configured for speed or an SSD drive.


Weird icon (OS X El Capitan) This icon appeared on my Mac Pro with El Capitan.

It cannot be clicked, nor I can see a name.

Any ideas what it might be? I have the same applications on my Mac Mini and never seen the icon.

I believe it is "Checking for updates" icon for LibreOffice. It goes away whenever you close it, and whenever you click the icon with LibreOffice open, it brings up the "Check for updates" dialog.

I accidentally discovered that while trying to find out what it was!


inconsistent results for basename? In the following, why is the third instance of basename including the file's enclosing directory?
WGroleau@MBP Music % basename Korean/kr_audio.tbz
kr_audio.tbz
WGroleau@MBP Music % basename ./Korean/kr_audio.tbz
kr_audio.tbz
WGroleau@MBP Music % time find . -type f -exec echo "$(basename "{}") ++ $(dirname "{}")" \; > /tmp/tmp
find . -type f -exec echo "$(basename "{}") ++ $(dirname "{}")" \; > /tmp/tmp  3.93s user 6.74s system 87% cpu 12.181 total
WGroleau@MBP Music % head !$
head /tmp/tmp
./Tx-01-00.mp3 ++ .
./Korean/kr_audio.tbz ++ .
./syn_HCA001-Cem.m4a ++ .
./Cetera.amad ++ .
./.DS_Store ++ .
./Japanese/JAI.tbz ++ .
./.localized ++ .
./iTunes SongKong/iTunes Library Extras.itdb ++ .
./iTunes SongKong/iTunes Music Library.xml ++ .
./iTunes SongKong/.DS_Store ++ .

Took some digging but the answer is available in Unix & Linux:

Process substitution (the $(...) part) occurs before find gets even executed
So before find even starts, $(basename "{}" gets executed returning {}, turning your command into find . -type f -exec echo "{}" \;
Now find starts and just echos each file found.

The output of dirname just looked right because dirname {} (or actually dirname ANY-FILE) always returns . (see the part after Either the dir is "/" or there are no slashes in dirname.c).
As an alternative you can use
find . -type f -exec sh -c 'echo "$(basename $1) ++ $(dirname $1)"' _ {} \;


Can I restore my iOS 5.1.1 iPod Touch from a backup from an iOS 7 iPhone? Long story short, I'm likely going to have my iPhone 5 replaced today.  I want to ensure that my messages are transfered to the new phone (or at least saved in some way - it could even be a text file for all I care).

From what I'm reading, if I do an iCloud backup, the new phone will be restored and I should have my messages.  However I would feel better if I could see them on my iPod touch ahead of time for a number of reasons:

When I view the data in the iPhone backup (by going to Settings --> iCloud --> Storage & Backup --> Manage Storage --> iPhone), there is no "Messages" app in the list of Backup Options, so I'm suspicious that they aren't backed up at all.
It will likely take a long time to restore the 3GB backup, so I'm not sure if I can do it at the store while I'm there to verify, before I give them my old phone.

So now I'm trying to sync the messages from the phone to the iPod somehow.  I have the iPhone backup in iCloud, but I cannot see it or find any way to restore it on the iPod.  How can I do this?  Is it even possible, given that the phone is on iOS 7 but the iPod is on 5.1.1?  Note, I do not have access to a computer to do any kind of wired sync, if that's necessary.

EDIT:  The iPod is 3rd Generation.  The iPhone is an iPhone 5.

Nope, the iOS 7 backup can't be restored to the iOS 5 device through iCloud.

iCloud Backup will backup almost everything on the device including the contents of /var/mobile which therefore includes your messages as well as other data. There is never any 'Messages' option in iCloud Backup, but if the backup was successful then it has been backed up.


set position {0,0} of element accessibillityTitle via Applescript I have a UI element called accessibillityTitle with value Layers and I want to position this element in the top right corner, but I don't know how to acces it via Applescript. I have found the element using Accessibility Inspector and here is what the rest looks like.

AXApplication
    AXWindow:AXDialog
Attributes
    isAccessibilityFocused  NO
    accessibilityTitle  Layers
    accessibilityGrowArea   <nil>
    accessibilityMinimizeButton <nil>
    accessibilityDocument   <nil>
    accessibilityCloseButton    <nil>
    isAccessibilityMain NO
    accessibilityFullScreenButton   <nil>
    accessibilityProxy  <nil>
    accessibilityDefaultButton  <nil>
    isAccessibilityMinimized    NO
    accessibilityChildren   10 items
    accessibilityRole   AXWindow
    accessibilityParent <AXApplication>
    accessibilityTitleUIElement <nil>
    accessibilityCancelButton   <nil>
    isAccessibilityModal    NO
    accessibilitySubrole    AXDialog
    accessibilityZoomButton <nil>
    accessibilityRoleDescription    dialog
    accessibilityToolbarButton  <nil>
    accessibilityFrame  x=1038.00 y=23.00 w=240.00 h=773.00
    accessibilityIdentifier com.pixelmatorteam.pixelmator.layers.palette
Actions
    accessibilityPerformRaise

How can I use set position to {1280, 0} to this element?

Actually I dealt with a similar case, when I wanted to move a previously generated dialog to the top-right corner of my screen.
I only succeeded in doing so thru a 2nd script that was launched simultaneously, but had a "repeat nothing until" loop built in to await the dialog's pop-up. In my experience, no matter what I tried, the dialog would hinder an "in-script moving" while its window stayed open ...
(I attached both to a folder: I just had to add #2 to its list.)

In script #1 the final command reads:

tell application "Finder" to display dialog DL_display as string with ¬
  title "Recent downloads" buttons {"Close"} default button 1

The 2nd one:

tell application "Finder"
    set screenRgt to bounds of the window of desktop  --> independent of
    set rightEdge to (item 3 of screenRgt) - 425      --> screen resolution
end tell
tell application "System Events" to tell process "Finder"
    repeat while not (exists window "Recent downloads")
    end repeat
    delay 0.1
    set position of window "Recent downloads" to {rightEdge, 61}
end tell

You can see there's a (minute) delay after "repeat-nothing". Even waiting 0.1s sometimes my MacMini's so busy that the delay's too short, and the dialog remains centered ...
(To make sure set a higher value, say: 0.5.)
My "Recent downloads" Workaround #2 for Safari can be found HERE.


How do I move a window to my secondary monitor above the menu bar? I just bought a second monitor which I've placed on a stand above my macbook. It seems to be working great but I can't move any application windows on to it because it's also above the menu bar. Is there a way to be able to move windows above the menu bar to the secondary monitor without having to put the menu bar on it too?

SOLUTION: Move your mouse, while dragging a window, up through the menubar faster.

Go to System Preferences -> Display.
Select the Arrangement tab, and arrange the secondary monitor so that it sits on top of your MacBook monitor.

You should be able to move your application window up to the secondary monitor now.

As mentioned in the comments, if the menu bar is blocking you from moving windows up to your secondary monitor: go to the Arrangement tab and drag the little menubar representation from one screen to the other.  (The solution says drag the window THROUGH the menu bar FASTER i.e. quickly.  This works!!)


MacBook Pro 15 2017 Battery Condition: Replace Now My 3 months old Retina MacBook Pro 15 2017 is telling me to replace the battery

The system report metrics seem normal

I've tried all four USB-C ports, done an SMC and NVRAM reset, still not charging.

With only 46 cycles and 6400 out of 6830 mAh, so 93.7% of the original capacity, I really doubt the battery is dead. It was lasting about 7 hours of normal usage before this occurred.

The power button does not work to power on the mbp, I have to close and open the lid, but the power button does work to shutdown the mac... It's also not playing the charging sound when I'm plugging the adapter. I'm successfully able to NVRAM reset, since after releasing the keys, the mbp boots, but SMC reset seems to do nothing, and I'm not sure it's resetting anything, and since there is no more LED on the USB-C charger, I can't know for sure...

What can I do?

I know it's still under warranty, but I'm far from any Apple store or Apple certified shops, maybe there is a procedure to SMC reset my Mac other than pressing ^ Control⇧ Shift⌥ Option ⦿ Power?

Would opening the mac and unplugging (not removing) the battery for a while reset the SMC? Would it void the warranty?

Could I use rEFIt to flash the SMC firmware? I'm not able to find the right firmware to flash for a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2017) -MacBookPro14,3 on the official page...

Your MacBook Pro needs to go in for service.

There are two telling signs that there is a (serious) hardware issue.

The power button can't turn it on, but it will turn it off
You have 0A being measured at the battery

There could be an issue with the SMC chip itself (it's nothing more than a power controller chip) or the circuitry supporting the SMC (charging power is 12-16V while the SMC communicates and "controls" with 3V).  Without putting hands on the actual unit, it would be impossible to tell.

In other words, the SMC could be failing to charge the battery or the circuitry that charges the battery could have failed.

As far as the battery goes, it's entirely possible it's fine, it's just that it's not being measured properly (0A) given the symptoms.  However, it's not unheard of that a brand new battery with hardly any charge cycles goes bad and no longer holds a charge - it happens.

Again, without putting hands on, it would be next to impossible to tell and given the age (3 months), the best thing to do is send it in (mail in  if possible).

It's a hardware issue and there's no getting around this. Firmware and a 3rd party boot loader will not address an issue concerning a chip that is technically supposed to be functional when the power is "off".

However, if you are so inclined to, open the back and disconnect the battery for 30 seconds.  That should reset the SMC.


Apple Pencil for iPad mini4 I am having iPad mini 4. Does any Apple Pencil working with it ? If not then which is best alternative of it. Thanks.

No, unfortunately none of the Apple Pencil products support the iPad Mini 4. You'll need the newer 5th generation iPad Mini for Apple Pencil support.

A good alternative could be the Adonit Jot Pro.


Should I use homebrew or the official downloader to install nodejs? I recently bought a mac, and I need to know what the difference between installing nodejs (or any application for that matter) through homebrew and official downloader is? What's the recommended method?

No problem with .pkg installer downloaded from official website. Seems to be the same with brew. Don't forget to update Homebrew.


Does using a third party(non-Apple) MagSafe 45W power adaptor cause power problems with MacBookAir I had to replace my power adaptor of 2010 version MacBookAir with a third party power adaptor (because it was cheaper) a few months down the line I am having to force wake up my MacBookAir and worried that the third party adaptor may be slowly damaging internal power circuitary. Am I right to be worried?

Thanks for any help.

Yes, you should be worried. Power adapters which have not been Apple certified can be shoddily constructed, have inferior components, and frequently lack safety mechanisms that prevent harm to your device and yourself. This article at Macworld about iPhone chargers shows some of the problems. This forum thread at MacRumors discusses MacBook chargers specifically.

You may save a few dollars getting a non-Apple branded charger, but if it damages your machine, you may just end up spending much more money in the end.


Terminal prompt does't show on macOS Sierra Since I upgraded to Sierra, Terminal no longer loads my bash prompt, making it unusable. When I start it, it doesn't hang, but it stays looking like this:

I can enter text, but it doesn't do anything. It seems like the bash or tail command is hanging. I have also tried using the terminal window in Android Studio and that just shows a blank screen.

Any idea how I could fix this?

After some debugging I found out that the bash-autocompletion package for brew did cause this. It is clear that if you run $(brew --prefix)/etc/bash_completion the command does not terminate

As a wordaround, you can uninstall it with brew uninstall bash-autocompletion. I'd recommend to first update brew by running brew update && brew upgrade though.

Digging deeper it turned out the main problem here was the rust compiler. Running rustc --version pointed me to a segfault. I uninstalled it using /usr/local/lib/rustlib/uninstall.sh, after which the bash autocompletion started to work again. Removing rust as described, and reinstalling it using brew (brew install rust) ensured everything worked again


What's wrong with my wireless keyboard if some keys doesn't work properly (can't press down) but getting better some hours later? I brought a Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad in early 2019. Recently the left-shift left-contrl space keys work very weird. When I press them, they react very "weakly and slowly", it's like there's something like mud beneath them. And if I use some force to push it, it did work, but the rounce is also very weird - slow and stuck.
After a careful check, I can't find anything unusual or dirty under those keys.
Sometimes they're behaving like this in the evening, but getting better the next morning. So I guess it may not be a hardware issue.
What wrong with this keyboard? Does anyone know the reason and how to solve it? I can't find the product page for now and I believe Apple has taken this product offline.
The keyboard I bought looks like this:

Software cannot adjust nor control how these keys respond so it's definitely a physical issue. Additionally, software isn't going to pick the evening to make one or two keys harder to press and then relent in the morning.
If it's feeling weird and responding slowly is because something is breaking down or you have a containment build up. It could be the mechanism or one of the layers - insulating or conductive - that has an issue.  The fact that you're having an issue in the lower left hand corner where ⇧ Shift and ^ Control and  have their contact points (there are two for Space) leads me to believe there is some sort of containment/corrosion on the conductive PCB layer.  Until you open it, you won't know for sure.
Keyboard key stuck or not being recognized; how to fix
Unfortunately, these keyboards are designed to be disposable so there really is no fixing it. The keyboard assemblies are now held in place with plastic "welds" (the plastic posts are melted down like rivets) to hold the assembly together.  You'd have to cut all of these welds off and then find a way to re-glue everything back together.
Something that's just over a year old and barely out of warranty is worth a shot with Apple support.  These are expensive accessories and should have issues so soon.  I would give it try to see if they will replace it for you - the worst that will happen is that they decline the replacement and you have to buy a new keyboard.


"1 alert" is on the next to "About This Mac" I am using MacBook Air 11' Early 2015 and macOS Mojave 10.14.6.

I have recently noticed the message "1 alert" appeared next to "About This Mac" in Apple menu.

There seems to be nothing strange in "About This Mac" dialog.

I guess that this happpened after running some executable(s) in /System/Library/CoreServices.
I tried logging as root (saw Silencing the Memory slot utility), but it persists.

Any idea to get rid of this alert? Thank you.

I have macOS Mojave 10.14.6 on my MacBook Pro (2017, 15-inch), and I see the same message, which persists after rebooting.  I do occasionally run CoreServices apps directly.

I'm no systems expert, but it makes me think that:

A CoreServices app added itself to a startup folder upon first launch.  (e.g. the LaunchAgents, LaunchDaemons, or Startup Items folders in one of the Library folders)  It may also show up in the Activity Monitor.
A Terminal command may reveal alerts that can't display in About This Mac screens.  (I tried "mail" for my own account, but there were no messages.)


Diagnostic & Usage On Apple Device Hoping someone can help:
I sent my apple device into a screen repair shop (had to drop off ipad and require to provide passcode)
Can I use the diagnostic and usage to see what apps were opened during the time of repair? (Due to screen cracking couldn’t properly disable private accts and etc)
Some things I see in the diagnostic/usage, during the time of repair, are “force reset” and “reset count”. Also “dup_image” and “P” “c”
Can anyone help decipher these codes and advise if possible personal files being copied.

Unfortunately, Apple does not officially provide any software or methods for this, so if you do take a step not advised from Apple, you are taking a risk that could affect your device or lose your warranty. That being said, I would just assume that you went to an Apple Authorised Service Provider. Having said that, you could speak to Apple Support or write an email to them on how individual stores and service providers handle devices and what information is required. I would only imagine that they would be allowed to take the Model number (for device identification) and your Serial number (for warranty status).


Remove spacing between pages in microsoft word for mac How can I remove the spaces (header/footer areas) between pages in MS word? On my PC, I just double click the spaces and it automatically removes them. When I try on my Mac, it just opens the header and footer sections.

That feature is not supported on any version of Office for Mac to date. The closest you can get is to change the view. Look towards the bottom left of the screen. You will see icons and the 4th one should be a different color than the other 5. The 2 furthest to the left will allow you to have something that somewhat does the feature that you are looking for. One is called draft view and one is called outline view.

Or you can choose Notebook layout view. This has no gap but makes your document look like a “real notebook”


How to install iBooks on iPad There is no iBooks on my iPad. I went to the iTunes AppStore and searched for iBooks and that showed anything and everything but that app.

So what is the correct way to use/install/download iBooks ?

The simplest way might be to open your web browser on the iPad and open a link to a book.

That will take you to the store if you need the app and take you to the app if you just lost where the icon is installed.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/apple-watch-user-guide/id985786488

If that doesn't work, your iOS is a bit messed up and backing up your data and restoring the device would be the next step. More info at https://help.apple.com/ipad/11/


How do I get OS X 10.8.x to keep Finder windows open after a restart? I just installed OS X 10.8.x on my Mac. An annoying thing I've discovered is that, whenever I restart the computer, it closes all the windows I have open in Finder. This is extremely annoying as I often have a large number of windows open to help me keep track of what I've been working on that day and need to back up. I check the "Reopen windows when logging back in" on the restart command but, as far as I can tell, it just reopens my applications, which isn't really what I'm looking for.

Try unchecking System Preferences > General > Close windows when quitting an application. 10.7 restored the state of applications by default but 10.8 doesn't.

This enables restoring state in just Finder:

defaults write com.apple.Finder NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool true
killall Finder


How can I show iPhone display in Macbook or iMac i.e. on larger screen? I like to read books in PDF Expert while waiting busses. When I go home, I would like to see the iPhone screen on iMac or Macbook. I have VGA -adapter but I have no external display with male-VGA so cannot use it. So how can I show iPhone display in more large screen such as Macbook or iMac?

You can use Quicktime screen recorder with your iPhone connected via USB and set the input in Quicktime to the iPhone screen.

https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/record-iphone-screen-quicktime/


Why do local network hostnames resolve only in certain cases? I have a linksys router which runs "tomato" Linux and serves as the local DNS server. It runs dnsmasq.

I recently upgraded from OS X 10.4 to 10.6. Since then, resolution of hostnames on my local network works in some cases but not others. Previously, this all worked as expected.

Here's an example:

tesla:~ cell$ ping watt
ping: cannot resolve watt: Unknown host

tesla:~ cell$ ping watt.local
ping: cannot resolve watt.local: Unknown host

tesla:~ cell$ ping -c1 192.168.42.1
PING 192.168.42.1 (192.168.42.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.42.1: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.659 ms

--- 192.168.42.1 ping statistics ---
1 packets transmitted, 1 packets received, 0.0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max/stddev = 0.659/0.659/0.659/0.000 ms

tesla:~ cell$ host watt.local
watt.local has address 192.168.42.1

tesla:~ cell$ host watt
watt.local has address 192.168.42.1

My guess is that the host command is querying the DNS server directly, whereas ping and any GUI apps (ie. Safari) are using some sort of Mac DNS resolution routines, which are not working properly.

Please let me know if there's any other info I should provide.

Edit: included pinging ip directly in above example

Edit 2: My domain is using .local

If you're serving .local via unicast DNS (instead of multicast DNS, as specified in this draft internet standard), include an SOA record for .local; as of v10.6, OS X detects this and switches .local resolution to unicast DNS.  Earlier versions of OS X have other methods of forcing unicast resolution - see Apple's KB article #HT3473 for details.


Mac doesn't recognize hosts on local network I have a Linux server in my cupboard. My Windows machines can connect to it via its hostname. I have never configured any DNS server; all I did was assign the Linux box a name when I installed Ubuntu on it. It's running a Samba file server.

My Macbook Pro doesn't recognize the host name. How can I make my Macbook find the machine the same way the Windows machines can? The Linux machine's IP is dynamically assigned via DHCP so I don't want to add a permanent entry to a hosts file or similar. (Despite this, the Windows machines can always find it.)

Update: I can't ping the machine, but nmblookup can find it.

grahamb@pickle:~$ ping fry
ping: cannot resolve fry: Unknown host
grahamb@pickle:~$ ping fry.local
ping: cannot resolve fry.local: Unknown host
grahamb@pickle:~$ nmblookup fry
querying fry on 192.168.1.255
192.168.1.8 fry<00>

I believe what you want to do is to make the linux machine announce itself using mDNS. But then it's not a Mac question anymore, but a Linux question.


How can I change iTunes country of region when having some credit in my account? I moved to Canada and I want to change my country of region from USA to Canada, but when I try to change it ( by click on my account in the iTunes Store and going to my Account Page) it showed me this error:
"You have a store credit balance; you must spend your balance before you can change stores"

I must mention I have redeem 100$ to my account but I don't have any intention to spent it now, what is my option?

You don't have a good option other than trying to gift away the purchases. Perhaps there is a charity cause on the store you can fund and then gift an app or two to make up the difference.

Even large sums can be disposed of with box sets or movie collections that go for between $30 and $130 on iTunes, but this isn't much better than just going shopping for yourself since you need to narrow down cash equivalent into specific app and music sales.

I've never heard of Apple budging on this requirement when someone asks to have it lifted, and unless they had a system for tracking these "refunds" and transfers, it would mess up their accounting for sales / returns in one tax region to shuttle funds from one to another.

You could of course ask billing support for the country in which you purchased the gift card account.

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/

Perhaps for amounts more than the price of 5 complete music albums, Apple Support can work some refund out?


Invoke Keyboard Shortcut Is it possible to invoke a keyboard shortcut from applescript?

For example I like to run the F11 keyboard shortcut.

Do you mean open the applescript from keyboard shortcut? if so, then follow this to convert the applescript into an app, then create a Service using Automator.

AppleScript to App
Open Apps from keyboard shortcut

Hope this helps.


Transferring iTunes library after Windows upgrade broke link to some songs I replaced my hard drive and upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7.  Some of my songs were in one (or perhaps a few) folders which no longer exist.  The songs exist in a new location.  I know I can just add the new location to my library, but all my playlists with those songs will be broken.  Any ideas on how to approach this?

Maybe there is a file I can open in a text editor, and then replace the beginning of a lot of path names with the new path?

How many songs? If it's just a few, then the easiest way is to do it manually. Just try to play the songs in question, and you'll get a popup saying the file couldn't be found, and offering to choose a new location. Do that, and select the file in its new folder. That will restore the file without breaking your playlists or metadata.

If you have more files than is practical to manually resort each one, you can edit the iTunes Library.xml file to do a find & replace, then scrap your .itl file and import the XML file, which will restore your playlists and files.

For more information on this process, read Apple's support site and this guide.


iBooks and Notes crashing on startup I installed the iOS 11 Beta, then downgraded back to iOS 10.3.2. I restored to my iCloud backup and everything looked alright. However, I am having issues after the restore, some of which include:

Backups of Whatsapp conversations will not restore, as it thinks I am not connected to iCloud, despite being listed in iOS Settings.
iBooks and Notes crash on startup.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Update
After updating to iOS 11, all the probleme were solved and the all the data was restored.

Same here on an iPad, plus iCloud Drive app was saying I need to enable iCloud Drive, but it's already enabled.

I managed to fix the iCloud Drive app problem.

Switch off Settings->AppleId Account->iCloud->iCloud Drive
Reboot
Switch on Settings->AppleId Account->iCloud->iCloud Drive

Nor ibooks nor notes got fixed.

Any hints with ibooks and notes crashes are welcome.


Spotlight bug / Mac App Store When I search for the Keynote app using spotlight there is a reference of a previous version on the Mac App Store.

However, when I press on it, I get the following error message:

Does anyone know how to solve this?

It is likely it is a previous version on your Time Machine drive.

Open system preferences > spotlight > privacy

Drag the Time machine drive into that window so it won't show results from that drive.


Running 2 Apple ID's from the same PC Both my husband and I have an iPhone 4. When my husband tries to use his ID on his phone mine will pop up and he can't change it. When he goes into his settings his ID is there. This only started when I plugged my phone into the PC.

Can 2 ID's be run from the same PC?

Based on an incomplete understanding of the problem, I think you want to click on the "Store" section of your Settings app on the iPhone. From Store, you can click on the Apple ID and then choose "Sign Out." You will then be able to "Sign In" as a different user.


Hard Drive Change SSD - Macbook Pro My Macbook was slow, and then i've want to make it faster, it is a Macbook Pro from 2011 or 2012, can't remember it. I bought a Samsung SSD 850 EVO.

Firstly what i did, was to take out the old hard-drive, and then i placed the new SSD in it, i made a bootable thumb-drive, with Yosemite 10.10, and then i tryed to boot it from the USB, but i could't install it, because the hard drive didn't show up, because it wasn't formatted. I did that, by taking the old hard drive, inside the Macbook, and used a hard drive dockingstation, to format it, via. disk utility. The hard drive, can only be installed from, the dockingstation, without any issues. I did that, and boot up the Macbook, a Apple logo with a spinning wheel under it, and nothing happens. I tryed everything, used Carbon Copy Cloner, i tryed to make a bootable thumb drive, with diskmakerx.

In recovery, when the SSD is in the dockingstation, i was able to install Mountain Lion, from there, i could boot up fine, no issues. After i place the SSD with a succesfull Mountain Lion, inside the computer, i wasn't able to boot up again, only a Apple logo and a spinning wheel, under it.

I used 4 weeks to make the computer work, i searched all arround Google, Apple.com, and other sites. But i couldn't find any solution.

Please help me :(

I upgraded several Macbooks with Samsung SSDs. But they were EVO 840. Here is what I noted for myself:

SDD had to be plugged instead of the original HDD. Plugging in instead of DVD gives issues.
The connector is very hard to plug and unplug to Samsung SSDs. It is much easier with Apple HDD. So you have to press firm to plug in the SSD. To unplug, gently use a small flat screwdriver to separate the SSD from the connector. This "hard" connector could be reason why you do not see the SSD.

I doubt that installing SSD in the dock station will work if you try to put it in without that dock station. OS X knows where you plug what. You need a proper device path, which means it has to be connected properly during the installation.


How to disable "turn off display after" when using Apple TV? I have my Energy Saver->Battery->'Turn display off after:" set to 2 minutes. This setting is exactly how I want power settings to behave when I'm using the computer on my lap. However, when I hook up to Apple TV for a presentation it still shuts off after 2 minutes which disconnects apple TV and disrupts the presentation.

Is there a way to have a different Energy Saver setting when using Apple TV (or other external monitor)? I frequently switch between using Apple TV and not to the point that changing Energy Saver every time is a burden.

Using a 2015 Macbook Pro on El Capitan.

You can keep your Mac on forever when you need to (including while AirPlaying) without digging into settings if you download the Mac app Amphetamine. With Amphetamine, a button will appear on your Mac's menu bar. Just click it to prevent your Mac from sleeping indefinitely, and click it again to allow it to sleep. This is a very simple method of keeping your Mac on forever, especially useful while downloading a large file or—like you're doing—AirPlaying.

Alternatively, you can use macOS's built-in command line tool caffeinate to keep your Mac awake for longer periods.


"Encrypt backups" disabled for Time Machine on Mavericks; due to partition? I picked up an external hard drive a while back and have been using it for Time Machine back-ups. Recently I thought to confirm that the disk is encrypted so that it won't be useful if someone nicks it while I'm gone, but it wasn't, and the check box to make it so is disabled.

The disk is using HFS+ (Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) as its file system. The only thing "weird" that I can imagine that might be causing this is that I'm not using the whole disk for back-up; it's about four times larger than my internal SSD, so I just partitioned half to use as the Time Machine partition and intend to use the other part for general storage (once I have something I need to store on it). Does Time Machine need the whole disk to do encryption? I tried selecting the empty partition to see if it would make an encrypted back-up on there, but still, no dice.

If I have to repartition the entire disk to be able to do encrypted back-ups, I will, but I'd like to ensure that that will do any good before I do so.

If partitioning isn't the problem, any suggestions for figuring out what the real one is?

According to this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11102

  If the Encrypt checkbox is available, you can select it to keep your
  backup disk secure. If the Encrypt checkbox is dimmed, your backup
  disk doesn’t support encryption.

  Encryption is available only for Time Capsules and for partitions or
  disks attached directly to your computer and partitioned with the GPT
  partition scheme. If encryption is not available for your disk, put
  the mouse pointer on the dimmed checkbox, and after a moment an
  explanation appears. If a disk needs to be reformatted or
  repartitioned to support encryption, Time Machine prompts you to do
  so.

So check and see what the mouse has to say about why it is dimmed out the encryption option. It could well be that you need to reformat the drive


How to create a greylist domain exclusion on 10.7 Lion Mail server? Having a Mail server running on Mac OS X 10.7.5 (Lion) and having "Junk Mail Filtering" enabled, causes greylisting to kick in on every received message. An example:

Dec 23 22:05:45 servername /usr/libexec/postfix/greylist.pl[89032]: Temporary message rejection to: <user@host.tld> from: <nobody@linux3.s12.com.br> sent from: [50.23.172.250] for: 60 seconds due to greylisting

That is nice for spam prevention, but not so nice for customers submitting orders through a PHP formmail at our web site. This causes a delay before order messages are being delivered to our mailbox. Our web site is being hosted by a third party web hosting firm.

How to exclude the messages sent via our web hosting firm from greylisting?

As this is 10.7 Server, the 10.8 command:

$ sudo serveradmin settings mail:postfix:add_whitelist_domain = "yahoo.com"

can't be used in this case.

1. Create an exception file

$ sudo touch /etc/postfix/sender_access

2. Fill this file with domains that are OK to be excluded from the (greylist) policy

$ echo 'mail-out.ovh.net OK' | sudo tee -a /etc/postfix/sender_access

3. Create database from text file

$ sudo postmap hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access

4. Modify the Mac OS Lion SMTP server configuration

This configuration change allows the domains configured in the exception file to bypass running the greylist check. Therefore open up the main.cf, for example using the nano editor:

$ sudo nano /etc/postfix/main.cf

Search for the line that starts with smtpd_recipient_restrictions =, for example using the key combination Ctrl + W

The line might look like:

smtpd_recipient_restrictions = permit_sasl_authenticated permit_mynetworks reject_unauth_destination check_policy_service unix:private/policy permit

For readability I am writing this one line now as multiple lines:

smtpd_recipient_restrictions =
    permit_sasl_authenticated
    permit_mynetworks
    reject_unauth_destination
    check_policy_service unix:private/policy
    permit

After reject_unauth_destination and before check_policy_service unix:private/policy some new text has to be inserted. The new text tells the mail server to look in the newly created file. The magic words to insert are: check_sender_access hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access.

Now the smtpd_recipient_restrictions looks like:

smtpd_recipient_restrictions =
    permit_sasl_authenticated
    permit_mynetworks
    reject_unauth_destination
    check_sender_access hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access
    check_policy_service unix:private/policy
    permit

Or written as a single line, it looks like:

smtpd_recipient_restrictions = permit_sasl_authenticated permit_mynetworks reject_unauth_destination check_sender_access hash:/etc/postfix/sender_access check_policy_service unix:private/policy permit

To save the change press Ctrl + O, and to exit the nano editor press Ctrl + X.

5. Make the configuration changed become effective

$  sudo postfix reload

And presto, now the web form mail messages arrive without greylisting delay.

PS You can also use the sender_access file to reject users, by adding lines like: user@abadboy.com REJECT


Can an old iPad see my iMessages/emails after resetting content and settings? I gave my old iPad to an ex, and before doing so, I deleted all content and reset. I think she may be seeing my iMessages and e-mails. Is this possible?

I used to use the Wi-Fi in her apartment for both new iPad, my iPhone, and old iPad she now has. If I use Find my iPhone to list devices from my iPhone, all 3 devices show up, but the old iPad shows offline. Is there a way of checking what devices have access without asking her obviously?

No, unless she is using your Apple-ID this will not be possible.
As your old iPad appears offline, this probably is not the case.
You can delete your old iPad from the Find my iPhone app in order to tidy up the list, this won't disable any Apple-ID on her iPad though, should that still be on there.
If you reset the device though and didn't set up the iPad with YOUR Appe-ID then you're good to go.
Also: notice that when a new device starts using your Apple ID, Apple will send you an email notifying you about that. So you can also check that even for now and in future.


Can I connect a Thunderbolt Display and a MacBook Retina 12" using usb-c to thunderbolt 2 adapter I have a Thunderbolt Display and am looking at buying a MacBook Retina. Is it possible to connect it to my Thunderbolt Display using the newly presented usb-c to thunderbolt 2 adapter?

Unfortunately, you cannot use your MacBook 12" with a Thunderbolt Display.

Per Apple Support, you need a Mac with a Thunderbolt connection in order to drive this display and the MacBook just doesn't have that capability

The Thunderbolt Display is more of a Thunderbolt hub with a display attached rather than a mini Display Port display with Thunderbolt compatability.

The port on the MacBook 12" (Early 2015) is USB C 3.1 only and no adapter will convert USB to TB.


Strange File Appeared In My Home Folder I just discovered a strange file in my home folder.
It is titled: -
The entire contents are the word: ok
on the first line & a blank second line.
There is no extension.
It was created this past Monday at 4:55pm & last modified/opened at 4:56.

How can I find out what created this? Should I be concerned? How can I find what other files, invisible or otherwise, might have been created around that same time on Monday?

It's almost certainly harmless. If you select a file on the desktop (even unintentionally) and press enter and then type ok - that would explain the naming.

I would open the terminal app (/Applications/Utilities) and type file and then drag the questionable file into the window and press enter.

That will look at the file contents and give you a hint about what it might contain. Spotlight information could help find other files around the same time, but I'd start with the file tool and get more information or just delete the file named OK - especially if you have a backup where you could get back what you lost if you find out later it was an image or document you needed.


Browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox) routes to incorrect server for domain I purchased a new domain for my website at Hover.com. I pointed the name servers to my host provider. Everything works smoothly when I access the site on my iPhone, iPad, on my roommate's laptop, or any other machine.

But on my MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion, when I try to load my website at the new domain, I'm directed to a Hover.com landing page. The old domain (which I still have pointed to the same place) works fine, but the new one does not, and it's only on my machine that I have this problem. Changing browsers does not help. I tried clearing the DNS cache like so

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

but that does not fix the problem. Any ideas? My new domain name is andrewphilipclark.com.

The problem resolved itself... somehow. I guess somewhere between my MacBook and my server there was a DNS cache that needed to be cleared. Kinda wished I knew what the issue was so I could learn from it, but oh well.


A specific Safari WebKit page on iOS - how to see memory usage graph in Instruments? I've set up Xcode/Instruments so that I'm monitoring an iPhone 6s's memory usage altogether. I've got a specific com.apple.WebKit Process that I would like to see very finetuned information on - as precise as possible. This com.apple.WebKit process will eventually crash the Mobile Safari running on an iPhone 6s using iOS 10 - this WebKit process will not crash an iPhone SE running iOS 11 Beta - but that's just to say that "things will eventually get better".

It seems that 1Gb of memory is not enough to run the com.apple.WebKit process for this specific scripted embed.

So, I start Instruments running and I see peaks of 640mb or so of memory usage - but how could I record this memory usage in the finest possible detail, so that I can figure out what drives this over the edge?

I would probably consider Instruments job done once you know mobile safari is allocating 640 MB of ram and move on to Safari web inspector. Setting it up is quite easy and since you have XCode and macOS safari, you have first party tools to debug your process while it runs in real time.

https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/AppleApplications/Conceptual/Safari_Developer_Guide/GettingStarted/GettingStarted.html

The activity viewer will right away focus your efforts based on whether you have excessive warnings and errors or simply are loading a lot of assets.


How can I copy files from a RDC PC to my Mac I need to copy some files from a RDC PC to my MAC. I can copy files from RDC to a PC but not to a mac. How can I do this? Thanks

You could map a folder on the local Mac to the PC and then just move files using the PC copy interface. That's probably the simplest and works across many versions of windows and OS X as well as regardless of the network configuration.

You could set up a proper network share on the PC or Mac as well, but that's more work for little payoff.


What MIDI hardware do iOS 4.2 compatible devices support? (Apologies ahead of time if this question belongs in the audio production stack exchange. Since this question directly involves iOS, it seemed more appropriate here.)

A while back I ran across a webpage which claimed to have a maintained list of which midi devices were tested on iOS devices for compatibility. Does anyone know where I could find this list or one like it?

(For those interested, it was discovered during the betas for 4.2 that, by using the camera connection kit, one could connect certain midi devices to the iPad and transfer midi data back and forth.)

Thank you,
-b

I just came upon the site I was looking for in relation to this question. I'm posting it in case others inquire.

http://iosmidi.com/

-b


Can MacBook Pro be used 18 hrs daily? I am using a 13-inch Mid 2012 MacBook Pro that I got about an year ago. I am a writer and work primarily on Word, Safari & Preview. And I work on the machine for an average of about 16-18 hours a day.

It's become slow several times and I have already re-installed the OS twice. I installed Mac OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks after it was released and I upgraded my RAM so that it has 10 GB of RAM instead of the standard 4 GB RAM.

Still the MacBook Pro has become slow again and—more problematically—it has started shutting down without any warning or any notice after re-start.

I cleaned the Mac, reset SMC and increased the free space on it. Still the crashing problem continues.

Sudden shut-downs I would always attribute to heat - dust/fluff collecting in the fans & heat sink fins. It takes more than a quick run-round with a duster or a can of air to properly clean out the fins; it needs splitting open & getting in properly - even so far as replacing the heat sink paste.
It's not a job for a beginner, especially on a laptop, but the guys at the Genius bar ought to be able to steer you in the right direction.


Downloaded dynamic wallpapers glitch As seen in the image below, I have downloaded 3 custom dynamic wallpapers from this website. All three default to the "night" wallpaper, and the drop-down menu to change it to dynamic is glitched. The text is overlapping, and clicking on it gives the image stretching/fitting options.
I am on MacOS Big Sur 11.2.1.

You have to put them in "the right" folder to make them work properly.
You can find all different rather complicated solutions including disabling the SIP (System Integrity Protection) with going into the Safe Mode and so on, but the easiest method that works (as of Big Sur 11.2.1) is to copy them to: /Library/Desktop Pictures folder for which you need only regular root rights:
So basically you do something like:
sudo cp ~/Downloads/Firewatch.heic /Library/Desktop\ Pictures

then you see them appear along with the original ones:


Preventing safari from opening Preview for images Every time I download an image from a site, using Safari, as soon as the images finish download, it opens Preview to show me the image. Other browsers don't do that.

Try this link.

How do I prevent Safari from launching Preview?

In the general pane of the preferences, uncheck the 'Open "safe" files after downloading'. I have mine unchecked and Safari doesn't open the file downloaded in your example link.


Can I sort the songs in a playlist on my iPhone? Is it possible to change the order of songs in a playlist on the iPhone?  For example, if they are originally sorted alphabetically by "Artist", can I change the song order of the playlist so that the songs are sorted by "Date Added"?

Im sorry, but in my knowlege there is no way to change the sorting in the way that you describe. The only close solution that i know of would be to edit the playlist manually, by pressing the "Edit" button in the top of the playlist, press and hold the three gray stripes on the right side of a chosen song title, and move it to its intended location within the playlist.


How to configure maximum IMAP connections in Mac OS X Server (El Capitan)? In previous Mac OS X versions (to El Capitan), you could administrate mail server settings in the app called Server Admin. In El Capitan, all I have access to is the Server.app. In there are only very limited settings for the email server.

We are now in the process of leaving this in-house email server for Office365 and Exchange. In order to migrate all user emails from our server to the cloud servers in Exchange, we need to increase the maximum number of IMAP connections allowed.

I can't seem to find where to do this? Server Admin could do this but that won't work in El Capitan. Any ideas?

You should be able to increase the number directly in the respective config file:

Stop the server:

sudo serveradmin stop mail

Modify the file /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/conf.d/20-imap.conf and increase the number of mail_max_userip_connections right at the end of the file:

...
protocol imap {
  # Space separated list of plugins to load (default is global mail_plugins).
  # stats (in global mail_plugins) and imap_stats (here) are also available
  mail_plugins = $mail_plugins imap_acl imap_quota imap_zlib

  # Maximum number of IMAP connections allowed for a user from each IP address.
  # NOTE: The username is compared case-sensitively.
  mail_max_userip_connections = 20
}

Start the server:

sudo serveradmin start mail

Other (Linux) sources recommend to add a similar entry in the global section of the same file or in /Library/Server/Mail/Config/dovecot/dovecot.conf.


Painfully slow WiFi after Sierra update on Mac Mini I bought a Mac Mini a few years ago, and it was happily running Yosemite for that time. However, up until last Friday, it spent most of its time in a box as I had no use for it. Now though I need to do serious development work using it, and decided as it's been such a long time since it had an update, I'd throw all the updates it was missing at it. This led me to installed Sierra on to it.

I can't tell you how much I regret that decision so far, for the fact that connecting over WiFi to my home network is slow. And I mean painfully slow, as it quite often quotes speeds of 10Kb/s when downloading various bits and pieces from the internet. Opening Google search pages often results in about a wait of 30 seconds, followed by an even longer wait to open the page I need. YouTube videos are also painfully bad to watch, pixelated as it attempts to furnish my Mac with the video as quickly as it can at the expense of quality.

Now my Mac Mini is situated downstairs in my dining room, my Billion router sits in the living room. In line of sight terms, it's about 5m to 10m with two single cinder block walls between it. Initially I thought my WiFi was playing up, however my ThinkPad running Debian 8 flies with the WiFi. I get much faster download speeds, YouTube videos load in an appropriate manner, general web browsing takes seconds rather than minutes. My iPad Air 2 (think that's what they're called?) is slightly slower than the ThinkPad but much, much quicker than the Mac Mini. All of these were tested in the same location as the Mac Mini. So I can safely rule out issues with the WiFi.

So in my opinion - but I'm happy to be proved wrong! - the problem must lie with the Sierra update? I've seen numerous blog posts relating to slow WiFi with Sierra, and I have followed the steps they've outlined. Deleting preferences etc, restarting etc. But these haven't made a single bit of difference to the speed I'm getting with the Mac.

So I would like to know what other options I have available to me to speed this up? I can't actually use it for the development work I need to do if the WiFi is so poor. I'm not adverse to nuking the Mac and starting again, but obviously I want to advoid this as best I can.

EDIT: Following from the advice yesterday, I did the following:

Removed the networking plist files (again)
Reset the SMC
Reset the PRAM/NVRAM
Followed the steps in the Mac OS X Daily link in the comments

The problem still persists. I didn't have chance to fiddle with my WiFi, although I'll be honest I'm quite annoyed that's even a suggestion by Apple as this Mac worked fine before Sierra got near it. And when I see other devices use that network without problem, well I don't know.

Further more, the hard wired suggestion - yes would fix it but it's not a remedy to provide internet/networking speeds I should be getting on my Mac, but it isn't fix a problem with poor WiFi on that machine.

Apple has a post about reccomended wifi settings for your router, as they do not believe that it is their software being glitchy, but the interference between bands (I've had the issue as well. See https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT202068 or see below)

  2.4 GHz channel width

    Channel width controls how large of a ”pipe” is available to transfer data. However, larger channels are more subject to interference and more likely to interfere with other devices. A 40 MHz channel is sometimes called a wide channel, and a 20 MHz channel is a narrow channel.

      Set to: 20 MHz

    Use 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band. Using 40 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band can cause performance and reliability issues with your network, especially in the presence of other Wi-Fi networks and other 2.4 GHz devices. A 40 MHz channel might also cause interference and issues with other devices that use this band, such as Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, and neighboring Wi-Fi networks. Routers that don't support 40 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band do support 20 MHz channels.

  5 GHz channel width

    Channel width controls how large of a "pipe" is available to transfer data. Larger channels are more susceptible to interference, and more likely to interfere with other devices. Interference is less of an issue in the 5 GHz band than in the 2.4 GHz band. A 40 MHz channel is sometimes called a wide channel, and a 20 MHz channel is a narrow channel.

      Set to:
      For 802.11n access points, set the 5GHz band to 20 MHz and 40 MHz.
      For 802.11ac access points, set the 5GHz band to 20 MHz, 40 MHz, and 80 MHz.

    For best performance and reliability, enable support for all channel widths. This allows devices to use the largest width they support, which results in optimal performance and compatibility. Not all client devices support 40 MHz channels, so don't enable 40 MHz-only mode. Devices that support only 20 MHz channels cant connect to a Wi-Fi router in 40 MHz-only mode. Similarly, don't enable 80 MHz-only mode, or only clients capable of 802.11ac will be able to connect. Routers that don't support 40 MHz or 80 MHz channels do support 20 MHz channels.

  WMM

    WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) prioritizes network traffic according to four access categories: voice, video, best effort, and background.

      Set to: Enabled

    All 802.11n and 802.11ac access points should have WMM enabled in their default configuration. Disabling WMM can cause issues for the entire network, not just Apple products on the network.

  MAC address authentication or filtering

    Restricts access to a Wi-Fi router to devices with specific MAC (Media Access Control) addresses.

      Set to: Disabled

    When enabled, this feature allows a user to configure a list of MAC addresses for the Wi-Fi router, and restrict access to devices with addresses that are on the list. Devices with MAC addresses not on the list will fail to associate with the Wi-Fi network. MAC addresses can be changed easily, so don't rely on them to prevent unauthorized access to the network.
    iOS 8 and later uses a randomized MAC address when running Wi-Fi scans. The scans are conducted when a device isn't associated with a Wi-Fi network and its processor is asleep. A device’s processor goes to sleep shortly after the screen is turned off. Wi-Fi scans are run to determine if a user can connect to a preferred Wi-Fi network. Enhanced Wi-Fi scans are run when a device uses Location Services for apps that use geofencing, such as location-based reminders, that determine if the device is near a specific location.


Google Hangouts with 10.6.8 and Firefox 8.0.1 I've been trying to use Google Hangouts in Firefox for a few weeks, but Firefox keeps asking me to install a plugin. I've installed the required plugin more than once, but the page behaves as if I haven't installed it.

I've tried installing the plugin with Firefox running and without it running, and I've rebooted the computer several times. It never worked.

It works well in Google Chrome and Safari, but I prefer Firefox.

I've just tried Google Hangouts my self - and it works with my FF 8.0.1 on OS X Lion - using Google Talk plugin v2.5.6.4871


Background App Refresh not updating apps Background App Refresh won't auto update apps — why not?

iPad 2, 64 GB, iOS 7

Background App Refresh won't update apps.

When Background App Refresh is on, apps that take advantage of this feature can refresh themselves in the background.

Source: Apple KB Article — iOS: Understanding multitasking
This means that the apps can refresh their content, but Background App Refresh is not responsible for the actual updating of the binary from the App Store.

With regards to the actual app updating, there is a criteria which must be met before an app can be updated:

Intelligently scheduled updates.
iOS schedules updates during power-efficient times. Like when your device is on and connected to Wi-Fi. So your battery isn’t drained unnecessarily.

Source: Apple — iOS 7 — What's New, previously available at http://www.apple.com/ios/whats-new/
This means that just because the option is enabled, the update won't always take place.


iPhone won't turn on and I am unable to put it into DFU mode My iPhone 5C has no battery and won't turn on, I've been told to put it into DFU mode to reset it, however I can't do that because I need to hold down my Home button which is broken! Anyone know what I can do? 😨

The only thing you really can do is get someone to replace the home button ribbon cable for you, sorry.

The physical home button is likely not the problem. On the other side of the iPhone screen is a sensor which detects if the button was pressed. This is the likely the problem, and you can find them on eBay as a home button as a home button ribbon cable. However, it may be that the connector terminals on headphone jack are no good and that needs repair. I'd strongly advise trying to find a pro to do this repair for you, the iPhone 5C is no fun to work on, the screen is hard to reconnect "just right". So, if you have little to no experience in iPhone repair, you'd be better off seeking a pro.


can I run two versions of safari side by side On a freshly intalled computer rather then importing my old safari bookmarks (ea wih migration assistant) I want to start anew with no bookmarks. However, from time to time I would like to browse through my old bookmarks (on the 'old safari') to selectively drag a few bookmarks over to the 'new' safari.
Both new and old safari's are in fact the same version.(what if the old was leopard and the new was snow leopard, does the old run inside SL?)

An extension to switch bookmark libraries wouldn't solve this, as I need both bookmark lists open in a window to drag and drop bookmarks from one to another.

So I guess I could use http://michelf.com/projects/multi-safari/ but feel this is more then I need: I wonder if I can do this with both safari's using the same webkit version of the OS (just like camino uses the same webkit as safari and can be open at the same time)

Also would it be possible to run the old safari from an external disk, so without it being located in the local applications directory?

Unfortunately, Safari does not support multiple user profiles.

Even if you create a copy of Safari.app and execute it separately, both of them will load the same user profile which lies in your Library.

But, if your only requirement is the selective bookmark transfer, then you may export your bookmarks from your old machine as a html page, open that page in your new Safari, and selectively add the bookmarks as you wish.

In order to export the bookmarks, you just need to go to File > Export Bookmarks.. and then just open the resulting file from your new Safari.


iPhone Storage Space Inaccuracy (No Storage Space) I have an 8GB iPhone 4s and it always says I have no space. However when I go into Settings > General > Usage It says that I have 1.3GB of free space. I only have 5 photos and 3 Apps downloaded on my iPhone. Why does it constantly say I have no space when it should?

Sometimes I have seen a lot of space taken up with the "other" category in the graph of space taken up on your iPhone in iTunes. Fixing that is not actually that difficult.

Back up your iPhone to your computer (I would encrypt the backup as the backup will then save all your passwords too, which it does not do if you don't encrypt the backup.)
Once done go into Settings > general > reset and erase all settings and data. (you may have to first turn off Find My iPhone, if its on, under iCloud)
When the phone reboots, plug it back into the computer, launch iTunes and restore the phone from the backup you just made.

Usually when you do this, if there is a lot of temporary or unneeded data on the phone this will do some house cleaning and free up some space. No guarantee this is your issue but it is easy enough to do and you won't lose anything except maybe an hour (or less) of your time.


Can Messages display the timestamp of every incoming message? I was chatting with someone via Messages.app on my iPhone, and they sent me a message saying "call me in 20 minutes".  I was away from my phone when they sent it, so I didn't know when they sent the message, and therefore didn't know when to call.

I know that Messages.app displays a start time for new conversations, but I just want to get the time of a specific message.

Tap-and-hold and double-tap on the message just give a "Copy" context item.

How can I see the time of an incoming message?

iOS 7, which is now in the wild, can indeed show timestamps for every message. Just slide your finger right to left in a conversation.

Image: The Verge

(I literally yelled "finally!" while sitting at my desk when I read about this.)


Why does a string of arabic characters crash Safari and other web browsers? I was reading an article about a problem with Mac and iOS. Why does this string of Arabic characters

crash Mac computers running Safari?

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/08/rendering-bug-crashes-os-x-and-ios-apps-with-string-of-arabic-characters/

As the arstechnia link to ycombinator page states, it is a "bug inside Apples CoreText font rendering framework".

This post on a Russian website drew attention to it:
http://habrahabr.ru/post/191654/

(translated page here: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fhabrahabr.ru%2Fpost%2F191654%2F )

The comments under the ycombinator article are the most interesting, with one reader pointing out that this bug is already fixed in Mavericks

Also, if I had enough reputation, I would downvote your question for putting an offending string in the question and thus risks causing a crash for some apple.stackexchange.com readers.  A slightly malicious or somewhat stupid move on your part, I dare say.


URL not opening on iPhone 5s via Wi-Fi We are accessing an URL (https://mobimytravel.wipro.com/APIMapper) but it is not opening in iPhone 5s & iPad using Wi-Fi but the same URL is opening in 3G.

This URL is opening in Android & other different iOS phones using Wi-Fi.

You are trying to access the accountservices.wipro.com site.

It looks like they certificate has expired.

  accountservices.wipro.com uses an invalid security certificate. The
  certificate expired on 2/13/15, 3:59 PM. The current time is 2/15/15,
  10:41 PM. (Error code: sec_error_expired_certificate)

What now? see this....


Remove uninstalled applications from the Notifications system preferences I noticed that in my Notifications system preferences there two entries for Twitter (the old one with the white icon) and the new one.

The old Twitter application is long gone. How can I remove obsolete entries in the list?

I can't say for certain if this trick will work on older macOS versions, as I no longer have access to them. But, in High Sierra 10.13, you can just left-click once to highlight the offending entry, then tap the <DEL> key (not backspace, forward-delete) to remove it.


Periodic batch notifications on iPhone I wanted to ask if it is possible to have periodic batch notifications on iPhone?

It's annoying to be distracted by every notification but I would be fine with getting a notification every hour or two with a summary of the notifications that popped up in the meantime.

If I turn off the notifications I usually don't check my phone so frequently so the extra reminder is useful for me.

Is there such a feature or is there an app that can do this?

At the moment this is currently impossible. The only way I can think of is using Airplane Mode to stop pretty much all notifications (and internet + phone + text as well) and turning it on whenever you want to receive notifications. When you turn Airplane Mode off all of the notifications will come flooding in. You could even set a timer to remind you every hour to turn off Airplane Mode. This isn't the most convenient method, and it doesn't block local notifications (not used very much) but this is currently the best way I know.

If you would like a better way to be integrated into iOS, leave Apple feedback at http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html, and maybe next year this could be in iOS 10.


Can't mount Volume via Applescript as a login time So I have this script that I saved as an application and added it my login items.

tell application "Finder" to mount volume "afp://Data_Cube.local/Scotts Stuff"
delay 5
tell application "iTunes" to activate

However when I login I get an error dialog with this message "Connection is invalid.
Finder got an error: Connection is invalid. (-609)"

If I click the edit button in the error dialog it opens up the Script Editor.   I press the run button and the volume is mounted just fine.

Any ideas why my volume won't mount when used as a login item?   FYI I'm using Yosemite.

Changing

tell application "Finder" to mount volume "afp://Data_Cube.local/Scotts Stuff"

to

mount volume "afp://Data_Cube.local/Scotts Stuff"

seems to be the resolution.  As mount is part of the standard scripting library.


How do I get my folder list from the dock to start at the TOP of the folder rather the bottom, when organized by date? I have a frequently used folder set up in my dock to display as a list, organized by date modified.

The problem here is that I have several hundred items in that folder, and most frequently I need to access the ones that are most recently modified, but I always have to scroll to the top of my long list, since Apple defaults to showing the oldest modified (i.e. the bottom of the list) by default. How does this make any sense for the user?

Any way to change this display, so I can avoid having to move upward through 800 files and folders every time I click on the list? I changed it to display as a stack and the same thing is happening. I also tried to change the sorting to date added, and date created, only to have the same result.

It makes sense if you think about it from a Finder perspective...when you click on Date Modified in Finder, you generally want the newest items at the top of the list.

That said, it doesn't make sense when the list in this case opens from the bottom (at least, not without some way to sort the opposite way). I wasn't able to find a way around this, but there are two work-arounds:

Use the keyboard shortcut Control-Command-↑ to jump up a page at a time
Use the Home key to jump straight to the top of the list (similarly, End jumps back to the bottom)

On a Mac keyboard without Home or End keys, the combination Fn-← stands in for Home, and Fn-→ stands in for End.


Does Safari have an image Cache storing images from frequently visited webpages locally? If so where is it located A website I use frequently recently changed an image that, in retrospect, I need and really should have saved. With other browsers I was able to just go into the cache files and find the locally saved image that the browser stores to save time. But I'm having g issues in Safari.

I looked in a this folder and there's only one image in all the subfolders:

~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari

I also ran the folder

~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/

through an app called FruitJuicer (that extracts Cache images from the rollup) with no luck. There was only one file found: which was an icon.

What might a folder like that be named? Is mine just empty? And if so, why? I havent cleared my cache.

It does, but the location moved to the ~/Library/Containers folder:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/WebKitCache/...

and there:

./Version\ 16/Blobs/
./Version\ 16/Records/[randomized_folder_names]/


How to add bluetooth menu to login window? I have a bluetooth mac keyboard which I'm trying to use between two macs. I also have two dedicated mice for each machine. How can I connect (takeover) the keyboard from the login window, in order to type my password to logon?
Basically, I want this menu...

...on this screen.

You can't.  It's not designed this way.
First off, the Mac keyboards aren't designed to have multiple pairings.  If you want to swap between two machines, you need a keyboard and mouse with that capability.  The same thing goes for the mouse.
Secondly, allowing the ability to do a Bluetooth pairing outside of an authenticated session is a major security flaw.  This would allow an attacker to install any sort of device, including nefarious ones, without your consent.  It's more than likely that in your use case scenario that would never happen because it's "just you" in your environment, but computer manufacturers don't implement security in one off environments.


Snow Leopard and Windows 7 on MacBook White I have an MacBook White, will it support Snow Leopard and Windows 7 (via BootCamp).

Are there any softwares/apps (in particular) that won't work after I install Snow Leopard and windows7.

MacBook Specifications

2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

2GB DDR2 SDRAM

13.3-inch TFT screen

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with Main Memory

NOTE: I know it's old system, but can't help it.

If you are installing windows via bootcamp the two systems will have exclusive use of all resources. You won't have any restrictions on the apps you install other than your existing restrictions of disk space, ram or your graphics processor.

I would suggest upgrading your machine to 4GB of ram as both Snow Leopard and windows 7 like at least 4GB of ram.


iCloud Photo Sharing I have a Macbook Air and an iPhone 6 and iCloud Photo Sharing is turned on.  Both are giving me messages that there's no more room for photos. I have around 3,000 photos. I thought my photos were stored in iCloud and not on my devices.  How can I remove photos from my Mac and my phone without deleting them from my iCloud?  And how do I access my iCloud photos?

Kay -

All of your photos, if you have iCloud Photo Library turned on, are automatically uploaded to iCloud.

All photos you upload to iCloud are available to be accessed online from the iCloud website. Simply sign in and select Photos. They are also automatically on your devices.

Now for removing them from your Mac:

Open Photos and press command + , to open the preference pane.
Select iCloud at the top and press Optimize Mac Storage This button only appears if iCloud Photo Library is checked above.

BONUS: Removing photos from the iPhone

Open Settings -> Photos & Camera
Select Optimize iPhone Storage under the iCloud Photo Library switch. This button only appears if iCloud Photo Library is enabled.


Charge an iPad on MacBook running Win7 There are half a dozen questions here why the iPad doesn't charge (or displays this at least) on most Windows machines. I have one more to add.

Of course my iPad (1st gen) does charge on my MacBook (late 2008) under Mac OS X. However, when I boot Win 7 in Boot Camp, it says "not charging".

As I see, the logic board is capable to deliver sufficient power. Why does this change under Windows? And what could I do about this, since I do need to use Windows sometimes and I'd like to charge my post-PC device then.

Despite the fact that your iPad says it's not charging under Windows, it will in fact charge if the display is off. Check your battery percentage, attach the iPad and turn off the display (standard locking by pressing the power button once); check back in 30 minutes or so and you'll see that you've definitely gained several percent, as much as 10% in that time.

As to why the iPad indicates that it's charging under OS X but not under Windows I cannot say. Fortunately it's lying. :)


Compress attachments in received emails I regularly receive emails with very large attachments (uncompressed scans, photos, videos, etc.). Obviously, the sender could have done me a favor by compressing the files before sharing. But not everyone takes the time or even knows how to.

To save space in my inbox, I can either delete the message or if I'd like to keep it for later reference I can (with the message selected) click on "Message" in the menu bar followed by "Remove attachments".

However, what if I'd like to keep a compressed version of the files for later reference as well? Is there some way to do this?

Within mail? No. You'd have to create a filing system outside mail and drag your attachments into that.
If you do that I recommend dragging the email into that too, otherwise later you'll lose the context. Also, that makes it easier to search for what you're looking for.

Remember: file with easy retrieval in mind. Assume you won't be sure exactly what you need, when you filed/received it, who sent it and where you filed it. In other words, try to lose all context that gives the file any meaning now and build that meaning and context into the filing system. If you can figure out what would make it easy for you to find that file in those circumstances, you're off to a good start.


Mac Minis: 2012 Quad Core vs 2014 Dual Core for a virtualization host? My office is looking to get a Mac Mini for testing our website in Safari. Because Apple now allows you to run previous versions of OS X in a VM, we will be looking to run at least Mavericks and Mountain Lion VMs on a Yosemite host. We're going w/ the Mini's because we'll be stuffing the box in the server room (or somewhere) and connecting remotely from our Windows developer PCs.

Because the Mac Minis hadn't been updated in awhile and we figured an update was coming, we were holding out until Apple announced them at the big event last Thursday. However, now that they have, we've noticed that the quad-core Mac Mini is no longer available!

This has left me wondering: For the task of running two or three OS X VMs, would we be better served getting a newer, faster dual-core 2014 model? Or would we be better served by having more cores in the 2012 quad-core?

The box will most likely not be used for any other purpose, so we aren't as concerned w/ the performance of the 3D chip or other factors. We just want good VM performance.

Thanks.

As a test server with multiple VM running, definitely quad core is much better than dual-core. None of the new features introduced in late-2014 mac mini benefits you.


word 2016 can't save document I have a MacBook air from 2015 and as of this morning I have not been able to save my Word documents (Word 2016). I've never had issues before.

When I press save on a new document, a message pops up saying, "The file “Documents” couldn’t be opened." Why is this happening?

Sounds like you haven't granted Word permission to access your ~/Documents folder. Check in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab and see if Microsoft Word is listed in the Files and Folders section with any unchecked items. You can also try adding it to the Full Disk Access area.

If that doesn't work, you might be looking at a more general permissions problem with your Home folder. In that case https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203538 is worth checking out. Good luck!


Importing macOS Caching server data from an external Mac caching server Apple Cache Manager Utility question. We have just bought a second newer Mac mini to act as my school's Primary Apple Caching Server for our ever growing fleet of student iPads (over 500 and counting). I wanted to transfer/import/absorb the Cache from our old (Secondary) server into our new server on the same network...
Wondering if anyone has ever successfully imported a Caching Server's cache from another using the commands provided by Apple in macOS Help?
https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mchla6d4541e/mac
I have used variations of this command but have had no success, even when the Volume is mounted remotely using AFP, using the command mount_afp (ref: How can I mount an SMB share from the command line?)
sudo AssetCacheManagerUtil absorbCacheFrom /Volumes/ServerHD-1/Library/Application\ Support/Apple/AssetCache/Data read-only

Would anyone know under what conditions the command from Apple can be used successfully?  Thanks in advance...

I would just set up the second Mac and let them peer for a while. In the past it was likely to invalidate the entire cache by trying to move it or even restore it from a backup. The new commands you listed are intended to do precisely what you seek.
I’ll update if I test this, but I would assume several things:

It likely won’t matter if afp or smb shares are used if you try to move content via file sharing. SMB slightly preferred as it’s the new standard.
I would disable caching services before attempting any utility move.
I would move the cache to an external drive and then eject / move / absorb it to the new machine. (I almost always store cache on an external drive anyhow)
We put one cache server on every network segment, three or more on big network segments. With 100 or so, we do as little configuration as possible - no peering or parents have been needed yet.

With two or three caches - they rebalance each other without even needing to set up parent or peering configurations, but if you have massive clients to serve, you can make very sophisticated hierarchies with parent specific hash settings to maximize cache space or minimize lossage and internet when one node should fail.

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-multiple-content-caches-on-mac-mchle150fb54/mac


MacBook Pro doesn't sleep when lid closes I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2009)

I was changing the Thermal paste which involved removing the board and do some dust cleaning. After reassembly, the MacBook doesn't sleep when lid closes.

What the hardware part(s) that are responsible for this problem?

NOTE:
I tried the following:

Restored defaults in Energy Saver.
Reset SMC (multiple times)
Reset NVRAM

I still have the same problem. I am sure its a hardware problem from reassembly I want to know the hardware part to check it

Seeing that you disassembled things to clean everything out, there is a good chance that you forgot to attach (or possibly damaged) the magnetic sleep sensor cable/battery indicator cable assembly.

You can diagnose this by putting a magnet on the right side of the MacBook (where the battery lights are).  If it doesn't go to sleep, it's probably not connected.  Another good test is to run Apple Hardware Test (AHT).  Hold the D key while booting from a powered off state with the AC adapter connected.  If there is an issue with your sensor, it should show up in this test.

You will find the connector to the right of the battery terminal.  If it is in fact damaged, a replacement is quite inexpensive (Apple PN# 922-9061)