Permissions errors when using launchd to run rsync between local drive and afp network drive I am trying to sync a local directory to my NAS that is mounted via the afp protocol as a drive. I am using rsync. When I run the command from the terminal, it works fine. However, when I try to run it from launchd, it always fails.
This is my rsync command:
rsync -av --delete /Users/self/Pictures/ /Volumes/nas/Images

This is the plist file that contains the above command. It is located in ~/Library/LaunchAgents with user, groups, and permissions equal to the other (working) plists in that directory.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>rsync_picture_to_nas</string>

    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>rsync</string>
        <string>-av</string>
        <string>--delete</string>
        <string>/Users/self/Pictures/</string>
        <string>/Volumes/nas/Images</string>
    </array>

    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>/Users/self/.log/rsync_picture_to_nas_err.log</string>

    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>/Users/self/.log/rsync_picture_to_nas_out.log</string>

    <key>WatchPaths</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Users/self/Pictures</string>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

It always has complete permissions failure. The exact permissions errors will depend on whether I am running it from scratch or have previously run it successfully from the command line. Suffice to say, it is totally incapable of doing anything. It can't create or modify any files on the NAS at all.
Here is a sample error:
rsync: recv_generator: mkdir "/Volumes/nas/Images/Lightroom Library.lrlibrary" failed: Operation not permitted (1)
*** Skipping everything below this failed directory ***

I figured out the problem. It is Apple's new permissions system. I had to give rsync full disk access under System Preferences > Security and Privacy > Full Disk Access > +. If you can't find rsync, crack open a terminal and do which rsync. It is probably at /usr/bin/rsync.


VPN connection in OSX fails after a certain amount of reconnects When using a a IPSec VPN in OSX, I'm getting prompted to re-enter my password every ~45 minutes. After a certain amount of re-connects, no further connection will succeed. I have to restart the laptop by then, which means a restart a day.

Is there a way to reset the IPSec cache etc, so that I don't have to restart?

OSX, latest version, using www.witopia.net as provider.

This is actually a bug in Mac OS X, all Cisco IPSec connections have a timeout (hard limit of the lifetime) of 3600 second (60 minutes) because of the soft and hard limit of IPSec connections it is most of the time around 45 to 50 minutes.

You can check the files (with an active IPSec connection) in

/var/run/racoon/

for the limits. On a Terminal type

sudo more /var/run/racoon/*.conf

and you can see the content of the config file for the active IPSec connection, all lifetime values are 3600 seconds

lifetime time 3600 sec

The bug exists since a long time and is still present for example in Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9.1). There is a workaround (more or less) for this check

Workaround

or

Apple Diskussion #2163407

or

Apple Diskussion #2743319

For Witopia it is easier to use the Mac OS X Client from Witopia

Witopia Client


Remove cosmetic margins from edge of TextEdit window? Just opened TextEdit today and I see these strange margins:

They kinda look like rulers only without the actual measurements, but turning off rulers doesn't make them go away.

What are these, and how do I get rid of them?

Scroll Bars

These are scroll bars. You can turn them off in the System Preferences > General panel:


Numbers 2: Create a new header cell, listing once the contents of a column Not sure how to search for this question, and moreover I rather think that what I want might not be possible, but just in case I am asking it here.

I am looking for a way to create a new table where its headers will get their contents from the content of a column of another table, without duplicates though.

Example, the content of my column in Table A is listing countries codes.
FRA, GER, ITA, ITA, USA, FRA, UK, CA, FRA, FRA, USA, FRA, GER, FRA, USA, BRA, ITA, USA, UK etc.

What I want is a way to fetch a country code, if it is appearing just once, and create a second table (Table B), with headers the countries code.

So based on the above data, I should come with a table with 7 columns and headers:
FRA | GER | ITA | USA | UK | BRA | CA

Would something like this be ever possible with Numbers ?

Here is the solution that worked for me.
The original solution was provided in a question I posted in Apple Support Communities.

I am posting it here, as an answer to anyone the might arrive here looking for the same solution.

The 2 Cell Functions:

=IF(COUNTIF(A$1:A2, A)=1, MAX(B$1:B1)+1, "")

=LOOKUP(COLUMN(),  First::$B, First::$A)

Original Answer: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5960924


Is it possible to download data from a lost iPod? My daughter's iPod has been (hmmm) taken ^^.

I can see it in the "Find my iPhone" app, but before I cancel or wipe it, is it possible to download the content from there?

The content is mainly pictures taken on the iPod (the rest of course is in the App Store).

No you can't initiate a backup remotely, but you could log into iCloud on another device or a computer and look to see when the last iCloud backup of that device was completed to know what might be lost if you erase it.

Also look in iTunes under the preferences for devices to see if you have a local backup of the device as well.

On the iCloud preference pane for Mac, you can press the manage button next to the storage graph at the bottom of the window and inspect the date/time of the last backup for each device you have established.


MBP strange blackouts I have noticed, that sometimes, my MacBook Pro mid-2012 has strange blackouts like if the battery ran out. This happens even when my battery is near full. The symptoms are that the screen goes black suddenly, and that persists for about 15 seconds, before I hear audio (if there is audio running before blackout), and then it goes back to normal.

Before this started happening, I had similar blackouts because I accidentally put my mouse on a screen-saver hot corner, but now it happens even if I see my mouse in the middle of the screen.

When this blackout happens, the network disconnects for the time of the blackout too.

Why is this? What can I do to troubleshoot this issue?

The blackouts persist. At the time of the blackout, I see strange kernel messages in the console log:

08.02.16 15:02:38,000 kernel[0]: [0x10e71ae000, 0x8000]

Something in the format of this, with different memory addresses. At the end, there is a:

08.02.16 15:02:38,000 kernel[0]: *** kernel exceeded 500 log message per second limit  -  remaining messages this second discarded ***

Another update, that sometimes these blackouts are very frequent, but last 4 seconds. And other times, they happen every 5 minutes and happen for half a minute.

It may be a GPU issue: check to see if your MacBook Pro that may have been manufactured with a defective GPU.


Bring all windows of active application to top When switching to an application (cmd+tab or clicking on an app icon), osx brings all of the application's windows to top.

I would like to trigger this behaviour for the active application with some shortcut, or most preferably triggered when clicking the dock icon of the active application. (Currently clicking on the dock icon of an active app switches to the next workspace that has a window of the app.)

Is there a way to bring to top all windows of the active application?

EDIT: Seems there's a Window -> Bring All to Front action that does this. Now I only need a way to trigger this action, preferably when the app icon in the dock is clicked.

Third party command solutions (e.g. some simple keyboard shortcut app to run the Bring All to Front action) are welcome, though I'd prefer a native way of doing this.

You can assign a keyboard shortcut to the "Bring All to Front" menu item from System Preferences:

The activate AppleScript command also raises all windows:

activate application (path to frontmost application as text)

If you are assigning keyboard shortcuts to opening applications, you can use scripts like this:

tell application "TextEdit"
    reopen
    activate
end tell

reopen opens a new default window if there are no open "default" windows, like a text editor window in TextEdit. If all default windows are minimized, reopen unminimizes one of them.

It is also possible to use AppleScript to click the "Bring All to Front" menu item:

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


Ability to set even below the minimum brightness on iPad In the night the lowest brightness setting on iPad (1st gen) is still too bright.

Is it possible to set it even lower somehow?

On iBooks it's possible but it works only on iBooks itself and not on whole iPad.

running the latest iOS 5.1

Many people use the black on white mode to invert the color mapping for applications that will not specify more of the LCD to be grey or black and less of it white. Some blog articles call this "night mode" but it's a typical adjustment for people that have different visual abilities.

Settings App -> General –> Accessibility –> Triple-click Home -> “Toggle White on Black.”

Even though you can't reduce the illumination of the lights in the iPad further without a jailbreak, you can use this system setting to increase the amount of light that gets blocked in many cases by triple clicking the home button.

Also, many apps are being programmed to only draw in night mode where only red pixels are used. This also cuts down on the transmission of colors that our eyes use to constrict pupils and preserve night vision. This isn't a general solution, but for apps like Star Walk - this works very well in practice.


How good a camera would Touch ID make? Is the Touch ID sensor good enough to deliver surveillance images (e.g. if Apple or some researcher/agency did it) ?

Would it be possible at all to get any usable imagery from the environment using only this sensor?

Maybe at least good enough to detect and distinguish gestures and motion near-field?

What is its angular/distance-specific resolution?

Scanners for example could be used as cameras in combination with advanced image processing to compensate for out-of-focus issues.

Apple states in this Apple Support article:

  The steel ring surrounding the button detects your finger and tells
  Touch ID to start reading your fingerprint. The sensor uses advanced
  capacitive touch to take a high-resolution image from small sections
  of your fingerprint from the subepidermal layers of your skin

This tells you that a) the sensor only starts reading when being touched and b) it's capacitative, limiting the typical detection distance to the sub-millimetre range (capacitance is proportional to 1/distance).


iOS and Windows Docking Station I have a Lenovo laptop with USB-C charger and an iPad Pro 2021 which I would like to connect to two Dell monitors with HDMI input. I’m looking for an adapter or docking station which is suitable for my devices. Would you be able to give us some recommendations? I’m not a graphics designer and just need some basic connection, preferring the most inexpensive solution.

iPad Pro uses standard thunderbolt but only one external display will work.

https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/specs/

Thunderbolt / USB 4 port with support for:
Charging
DisplayPort
Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40Gb/s)
USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s)
USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

I like the CalDigit hubs at the moment, but any high quality one should work for your first display and other accessories like storage, keyboards, networking and such. We have been very disappointed with the “budget” and cheapest USB-C docks at work and pay for reliability to get a good value. Some off brand docks can cause damage or not dissipate heat properly so consider support, shipping and returns when bargain shopping.
The cheapest option for HDMI might be the Apple adapter and then a USB hub for the rest…

USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter - https://store.apple.com/xc/product/MUF82AM/A

We also like the newer displays that provide thunderbolt natively but that’s an entirely different question I think.


AppleScript error when attempting to delete empty albums in Photos.app The Problem

I’m trying to delete a bunch of empty albums using AppleScript.  I have verified that I am “getting”/“collecting”/whatever-appropriate-terms-you-prefer the correct albums.

But when I try to delete these empty albums, I get an error along these lines:

error "Can’t make item 1 of every album of
folder id \"wFSS4tONSgyq4NWwnUthVA\" of folder id \"6Aod8RunTj+3Nsz2jmM1xA\"
into type integer." number -1700 from item 1 of every album of folder id
"wFSS4tONSgyq4NWwnUthVA" of folder id "6Aod8RunTj+3Nsz2jmM1xA" to integer

The same error occurs whether I try to delete the empty albums while I am looping through my albums and checking whether each one is empty, or if I collect the empty albums into a list and use a second loop to delete the albums in the list.

What is going on?  The documentation clearly states “only albums and folders can be deleted”.

My Code

repeat with project_folder in PROJECTS_SUBFOLDERS
    --log "PROJECT FOLDER: " & project_folder's name & ¬
    --"\nID: " & project_folder's id

    if (count of project_folder's albums) is greater than 0 then
        --log "\n"
        --log project_folder's name as text
        --log project_folder's id as text
        --log ""

        repeat with abm in project_folder's albums
            --log "Class: " & abm's class as text
            --log "Album: " & abm's name as text
            --log "ID: " & abm's id as text

            if (count of abm's media items) is equal to 0 then
                --log (count of abm's media items)
                log abm's name as text
                set the end of empty_albums to abm
            end if
        end repeat
    end if
end repeat

log "now, to delete..."

repeat with abm in empty_albums
    log "Deleting " & abm's name as text
    delete album abm
    -- (I have also tried `delete abm` without success)
end repeat

return

This code is the 2-loop method, but the same occurs if I try to delete empty albums without collecting them into a list first.

Can somebody please tell me what’s going on?!

Can anybody tell me how to get this script to run successfully?

The solution is to change:

delete abm
-- or delete album abm

To this:

delete album id (abm's id)

Nothing in library documentation would have lead me to this answer.  I was just trying anything out of desperation.


Is there an app that can set time limits for Internet access? Is there an app that I can run on my iMac that will regulate Internet usage?
Specifically, I want to only allow internet to work between 6-8pm.

Don't overlook "the parent app".

It turns on the logging of safari using parental controls. Sets the normal time limits when the mac can be on and off.

Then it communicates to the children "the rules" and what happens when the parent determines that they have been broken. Why spend money or time on a more controlling solution if you can ensure they don't cover their tracks and will be caught if they stray.

Technically, managing this on the router is easier than on the Mac using the default Apple tools.

Apple has implemented timed access across the airport line, so fire up Airport Utility and set the times when you want access to the Internet.

You can set up default timed rules as well as specific policies for specific devices.

If you really want things to be controlled locally on the OS, turn on time limits under Parental Control under system preferences for each user account:

And then prevent apps that you don't explicitly want them to use.

I believe Firefox (if installed) defaults to on - so do review each and every app in the list. Your children can come to you as the administrator and you can over-rule these restrictions with your password - so this is the unattended default situation and you can grant them extra leeway with your password when needed.


See which app drained my Macbook's battery Sometimes I close my laptop, assuming that there is nothing running that prevents sleep, put it in my bag, and then find the next day that it didn't sleep - instead it ran out of battery and shut down.

Is there any way to see which apps or processes were preventing it from sleeping? It doesn't do this always so I don't want a manual method I have to do before I close the lid.

Note I am not asking which processes are currently draining the battery.

I commented this but realized it is really just a solution. Building off on what @Pratik commented, using the command found here, build a simple bash script to save the output every 2 minutes. You can run this script right before you put the computer to sleep to determine what is keeping your computer awake. If the computer goes to sleep, then this program will be paused, but if it is awake, it will continue to record the process keeping your computer awake. You can change the counter yourself if you find it to to be too much or too less.

Sample Bash Program:

mkdir -p sleep_logs
cd sleep_logs
clear

echo "Starting monitoring programs."

while true
do
    ###Save command output
    pmset -g assertions > $(date +%H.%M.%S_%Y.%m.%d).txt
    echo "Command Saved @ $(date +%H.%M.%S_%Y.%m.%d)"
    wait

    ###Change time here
    sleep 2m
done

echo "Terminated"


Remove a single event from Calendar subscription I am subscribed to Apple's holiday calendar, which is very useful. However, some holidays are not of interest for me - is there a way to delete selected events manually while keeping the rest of the subscription?

It is actually possible to download the subscription and then delete some events:

In the calendar app, right-click on the holiday calendar subscription and then "copy URL to clipboard". Paste this into a web browser, download the .ics file, double-click and finally we are there: All holidays for the next 10 years are imported, and all of the unwanted events can be deleted manually.


Is it safe to uninstall SIMBL agent on Yosemite? I'm running the most resent version of Yosemite and have noticed something called SIMBL Agent in the login items setting. I've tried to remove it but when I do it my computer locks up and I can't get rid of it. I've done some research into and I'm just wondering if someone knows how to get rid of it. I've read that it's something to do with Apple developers.

The easiest way to uninstall SIMBL is to run the its bundled uninstaller.
You can get a copy from the official website.

After the uninstallation check if these folders are present:

~/Library/Application Support/SIMBL
/Library/Application Support/SIMBL

If they are present you can easily delete them.

Since OS X 10.11+ SIMBL gets broken due to the introduction of SIP by Apple (System Integrity Protection).

There is no need to disable SIP before the process and re-enable it later.


How to make sure an iPhone 7 has not been tampered with before purchase I'm a bit skeptical about by iPhone 7 that I bought a few days ago. Its screen at the top is kind of feeling a bit weird, and I've heard a story of sellers here in my country removing the tamper sensors in iPhones before selling them. How do I know that it hasn't been opened, since if it has, it removes the water resistance of the iPhone?

Buy your device from a reputable company.
(Apple, BestBuy, AT&T, etc)
That's the only surefire way you are going to know that the phone (or device) you just shelled the equivalent of a half a rent check for a non-ocean view 600 sq. ft. studio in Miami Beach is of the highest quality, reliability and most importantly authenticity.
As always, the old adage always holds true:  If it's too good to be true, it probably is.
Now, the iPhone 7 has been out less than a month since being released and you are buying one through the secondary market, you should be wary.  There may be nothing wrong with it, but given that carriers and major retailers give you 15 days to return for a full refund...you have to wonder why they are selling it already.


4k YouTube on Safari macOS Big Sur I just updated my mid-2014 MacBook Pro to Big Sur and I thought one of the features was the ability to watch YouTube videos in 4k now. However I don't see that option for any videos that I know are 4k. How do I enable it?

Try to go in Safari Settings > Advanced > Enable "Show developer menu".
In the developer menu enable "VP9 SW decoder" and "VP9 SW decoder on battery".
Apparently, some older Mac doesn't support 4k on Youtube, you can still try to play them with Google Chrome.


Keyboard/touchpad no longer works in OS X. Works fine in Linux. 13" early 2015 I have a strange issue with my early 2015 13" Macbook pro.
The keyboard and touchpad no longer works during boot or in OS X. I can't, for example, use the internal keyboard to boot from USB, but have to hold down option on an external USB keyboard to select startup disk. Even the caps lock key light doesn't turn on when pressed. However, I can use the internal keyboard to do an SMC reset and both touchpad and keyboard works fine when booting Linux from a USB stick. External mouse and keyboard also work fine.

The computer was working fine in the evening. Before going to bed I placed it in my bag, and in the morning when I resumed from sleep neither touchpad or keyboard was working. I think I restarted the computer due to an update earlier in the day before it stopped working.

What I've tried:

SMC reset
NVRAM reset
Clean reinstall
Reseat the keyboard connector on the logic board.

None of them changed anything. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

EDIT: It turned out to be water damage that caused the issue. Fiddling with the case probably shifted some leads inside the computer that had shortened/lost contact.

So I think I've finally found the problem; the bottom of the case wasn't on properly.

The keyboard/touchpad would sometimes work, but after putting it in my bag and taking it out again it would usually not work anymore. However, after turning it off by holding the power button and carefully squeezing the case along the edges it would work when I powered it on again. The Macbook provides the ground connection for the keyboard via the bottom of the case, so my guess was that there was a problem with that connection.

So I took off the bottom of the case, cleaned it, and put it on again, careful to screw it in exactly straight, and now it seems to be fine.

I still don't know why it would work better in Linux. My only conjecture is that Linux can somehow reinitialize the hardware after it has lost power briefly.


Can't connect to rpcbind on localhost Since upgrading to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, I can't connect to the rpcbind daemon anymore. launchctl tells me that rpcbind is loaded but not running:

$ sudo launchctl list | grep rpcbind
-   0   com.apple.rpcbind

But if I try to connect to it, e.g. using rpcinfo, the connection is refused:

ims ~$ rpcinfo -p
Can't contact rpcbind on localhost
rpcinfo: RPC: Remote system error - Connection refused

How do I get rpcbind to start automatically when I try to connect to it?

Another user facing the same issue reported the following in the error log:

rpcbind[970]: Could not join RPC bind multicast address: Operation timed out

I am on Mavericks and the following starts rpcbind for me:

sudo launchctl start com.apple.rpcbind

Subsequently, the following will show that it did start:

 sudo launchctl list | grep rpcbind


Where can I find release notes for Yosemite beta releases I'm enrolled to receive OSX Yosemite beta update (AFTER the official release of Yosemite). I installed OS X 10.10.1 (14B17) without problems and now have IB423 available in the app store. I would like to view a list of changes / release notes relating to the build. Is this available somewhere?

No, it isn't available. Most likely you can find is the seed notes you could find out in the developers website → Member Center → Mac.


Apple Music Smart Playlist not syncing correctly with iPhone I've just created a very simple Smart Playlist that selects all my "Loved" songs. That's it, not referencing other playlists, not referencing any song outside my library, no nested rules. Just "Love is Loved" as a condition. The playlist on my computer shows 166 songs, but the same playlist on my iPhone shows 144 songs. I've checked for some of the missing songs on my iPhone and they are in the Library and I can play them on my phone, no problem. They just won't appear on that Smart Playlist. Any tips?

I have all the latest updated software as of today (Jan 8th 2019) both on my computer and on my phone. I have both Apple Music and iTunes in the Cloud enabled on my phone and on my computer. If I update the playlist name, it gets automatically updated on my phone as well. If I "like" a new song, that song gets added to the playlist on the phone too. It seems to me that only some songs that were already liked when I created the playlist that are missing.

I can confirm that somehow my library was the one out of sync. Songs that my computer thought were marked as liked were not marked as liked on my phone.


Make AppleScript delay a random number between x and y? set DelayTime1 to {18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58}
set DelayTime2 to some item of DelayTime1
delay DelayTime2

Is there any way I can clean this up so that if I want the range to be larger I don't have to type a bunch more numbers? i.e. set DelayTime1 to 18 thru 58

You can use random number, e.g.:

set timeDelay to random number from 18 to 58
delay timeDelay

Or any integer values you wish.

For more information about random number click the link.  Also have a look at: AppleScript Language Guide


How do I add a folder to the Library using a UNIX command? I need to add a folder to /user/username/Library/Application Support/Google, on a number of computers.  Is there a way to do it with a UNIX command in ARD, so I don't have to touch each machine?

The command to create a folder is:

mkdir "/Users/myuser/Library/Application Support/Google/MyFolder"

(you'll need to substitute your own folder name ofcourse)


Typing macron using the Kotoeri Romaji mode Given that I often type in Japanese or romanized Japanese, my default keyboard layout is the Romaji mode of Apple's Kotoeri input method. But I keep running into an inability to type e.g. ō without switching (using the mouse) to U.S. Extended.

My search skills both on Google and on this site have yielded no ways of typing the ¯ character anywhere within Kotoeri. Has the entire Internet missed this, or am I just so stupid that everyone's figured it out and it wasn't even complicated enough to warrant how-to articles? Or is it impossible?

While reading your question, I happened to stumble upon the (imho) easiest option:

Simply uncheck the "Romaji" checkbox under Input modes in your Japanese/Kotoeri pane in the System Preferences. Then you can choose an easy keyboard shortcut for switching exclusively between U.S.Extended (with the āēīōū capability) and the Hiragana Japanese mode.

Since I use a Japanese Apple Keyboard which includes the 英数 (Romaji) and かな (Kana) keys next to the space bar, this is ideal for me, but you could just use any other shortcut as well.


Do Apple Software Updates really take up as much space as it shows in the size column? When you go to update your Mac software via Apple Update, each line item contains the size of the file. Is this the size of the download or the actual size it will take up once the update is installed?

For example, say I have 1,000 MB of free space, and there's an update which says "200 MB" in the Size column. Generally, once I install this update, will I now have 800 MB of space left on my system?

Or is there a chance that this is not an incremental upgrade and it will replace existing files that are already taking up space on the system?

For example, say I have 1,000 MB of free space again, the update is 200 MB again, and the current version I have installed is taking up 100 MB of space. However, this time let's say it's not an incremental upgrade, and it will replace the 100 MB I already have, which ends up leaving me with 900 MB of free space after the upgrade.

Which of these scenarios generally happen when using Software Update? (Am I missing another scenario?)

When you go to update your Mac software via Apple Update, each line item contains the size of the file. Is this the size of the download or the actual size it will take up once the update is installed?

It's the size of the download not the update itself. However, in the case of a new OS update, generally the file size and the actual install size is similar, since the OS updates normally replaces all files with new one's, and often can change a whole big set of files in one go.

  For example, say I have 1,000 MB of free space, and there's an update which says "200 MB" in the Size column. Generally, once I install this update, will I now have 800 MB of space left on my system?

It depends on the update. Most updates replaces the existing files completely, so the increase should only be by the amount of the stored download, and any additional space needed by new files, or increase of the file sizes of any existing files.

Please ask if the above doesn't make sense

  Or is there a chance that this is not an incremental upgrade and it will replace existing files that are already taking up space on the system?

For few official updates are incremental. For the OS updates, the manual downloads offer two versions:

Version 1 contains only the latest update, and is generally smaller. This will be downloaded if your only one version behind during the version check.
Version 2 contains all the updates from release 0. This is normally bigger, and will be downloaded when you are more then one version behind, irrelevant of the version your actually on.

The above applies to the OS updates

AppStore updates at the moment is always a complete full version of the new application being downloaded, the copy you have replaced, and the balance trashed.


How to change color of TODAY in Calendar? How can I change the color of TODAY in Calender?

In OS X it’s possible to change the highlight color. You can do this in the General ▸ Appearance panel in System Preferences.

Now you can enable the system highlight color for the today selection with the following command.

defaults write com.apple.ical CalUIUseSystemHighlightColorForToday -bool TRUE


xcode iOS simulator launcher I am trying to understand the ios-sim launcher for cordova projects
https://github.com/phonegap/ios-sim/
The two points I am trying to understand are ...

What is launching the simulator?

Is it being called as a process from the command line
something like... /path/to/sim -- args?
Is it being invoked as a system library?
something like... include systemLib/magic
then being called as a function that launches the simulator

How is the project being "injected/installed" into the simulator?

I have tracked down the answer as far as my understanding of Objective C can take me. ( @ least I believe the answer to my questions is in this function )

https://github.com/phonegap/ios-sim/blob/master/Source/iPhoneSimulator.m#L180

Its job is to launch the Xcode iOS simulator, at least I believe it is.

The Goal:
Is to be able to invoke the simulator directly from command line through the shell with out the need for all these projects dependencies and to better understand the process in which Xcode uses to run the simulator.

PLEASE forgive my shorthand notations and very likely incorrect use of terminology, I am an Interpreted soul lost in a binary universe!

TY

As of Xcode 6, you can use the simctl command line tool.  Check out:

xcrun simctl help

If there are any features missing, please file a radar at http://bugreport.apple.com ... this is a supported interface whereas the ios-sim utility was developed by reverse engineering private Xcode frameworks and can easily break between Xcode releases.


Is it possible to merge inbox and sent folders in Mail? I'm considering migrating to OS X and I have a question on configuring its Mail application. In my current setup, I use Thunderbird configured to keep all sent and received messages from all my POP3 accounts in a single inbox folder, so I can follow my conversations in a nice thread, without having to jump from inbox to sent back and forth. I hope I've described it clearly, if not - I am going for something like this:

Would I be able to configure Apple Mail like this? I know I can just install Thunderbird for Mac and copy profile, but I would rather stick to default application if it's possible.

The layout is a bit different than in Thunderbird, but you can get threaded conversations by checking "Include related messages" in the Preferences panel:

The result will be something like this:

By choosing to "Use classic layout" you can get drop-downs for a thread, but it will only show messages from others, not from yourself. Your replies are shown in the preview pane on the bottom, though.

Edit: I just noticed this myself, but you can also click on the double arrows in the not-Classic view to show individual messages from others.


Can I factory reset my jailbroken device without upgrading the iOS version? As the title says - I need to do a factory reset on my iPad Mini, but I don't want to upgrade the iOS version while doing it. Is this possible at all or will I have to make do and upgrade iOS as I am factory resetting the device?

Yes, use Cydia Impactor. It is available in the Telesphoreo repository (of Cydia), in the Utilities category.


Reinstall OS X Snow Leopard on a 2011 MacBook Pro I have a 2011 MacBook Pro. I decided to erase all contents and reinstall the OS. I used the original installation DVD, but I could not install the OS: after the boot I could only enter Disk Utility. I verified the hard disk and it was OK. I did a hardware test and all tests pass with no error.

When I do an installation of OSX on the hard disk, the Mac hangs for hours. I hear the DVD drive spin up, and after some time it spins down again. After that the computer displays the grey apple screen only.

Because the original installation disk looked scratched I assumed that the DVD may be damaged. I ordered a new installation disk from Apple (Mac OS X Snow Leopard - with a green sticker New version 10.6.3). When I start up from this DVD it only displays the grey Apple screen, I can't even select an installation language or use the Disk Utility; It's as if the DVD is not bootable.

What could be wrong?
What could be my next step?

According to this KB document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1159

MacBook Pro (Early 2011) requires at least OS X 10.6.6, so the disc you ordered (10.6.3) does not work on your unit as it does not contain the required drivers.

Solutions:
1. You can bring your MBP to a nearby Genius Bar for reinstall, or;
2. Find a older Mac that is supported by your install disc, put your MBP into target disk mode. Run installer on that older computer and install to your target-disk-mode MBP . Once you complete software updates to 10.6.8, your MBP should be bootable again.

I suggest you get Lion so that you may use Internet recovery in the future:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4904


What happened to my macros after update to Word for Mac 14.5.7? AutoUpdate loaded the Office Service Pack 14.5.7. When I open MS Word, my macros are no longer there. I tried restoring my Normal.dotm file from

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

Just realized that custom AutoCorrect entries still exist. I had assumed that they would be missing too.

Still no macros are showing up. Is this a bug or am I missing something?

Turns up that the Office update changed my preferences in MS Word. Previously templates had been stored in

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

When AutoUpdate ran, the location changed to

~"UserName"/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/


Can't delete Safari history entry on Mac! MacBook pro 2014, OSX El Capitan 10.11.6
There're two history entries that I can't delete (as seen in pics). Whether I chose to clear history of all time or manually delete entries, it just won't work. At first there's only a Feb 8 history entry stuck there which I didn't pay much attention but yesterday another Feb 28 shows up and really annoys me. I googled for a while but can't get any clue. I'm reluctant to resort to resetting because of data loss(saved passwords .etc). Please help!

After some googling I figured it out:

quit Safari;
open terminal and type:

cd ~/Library/Safari

rm History.db History.db-lock
open Safari again and they're gone.


How do you enable MouseKeys without using the mouse? Recently, I had to shut down a Mac with no mouse and only a PC keyboard with no Eject key.  (Incidentally, there are several solutions to that puzzle, and the one I settled on was to use the Terminal.) But as I first approached the problem, I thought: There is some universal access feature there to help if one can't use the mouse, isn't there? Yes: MouseKeys.  However, this nice page with the keyboard shortcuts for MouseKeys in Lion suggests that you have to enable a checkbox in a System Preferences pane before you can use it. So, how do you enable MouseKeys without using a mouse?

You can use the same menus and buttons you would if you were turning on MouseKeys using the mouse, but using them from the keyboard instead. There are a lot of standard keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate around without the mouse:

Ctrl + F2 to go to the Apple menu
Arrow keys and Return to choose an item from the pull down menus
Ctrl + F7 to cycle through the sections of a window
Tab to cycle through the controls in a section, and Space to use the highlighted button or checkbox.

This guide from the BBC's site puts it all together.


Why does it say I'm using more data than I am on my IPad? It says that I have used 12.1 GB of data, but when added all up, it's no where near 12.1 GB. Maybe 10 GB at most, and I recently deleted a BUNCH of videos to clear up space, but it did nothing!

I think it may be that it may be that your looking at the iCloud storage not the iPad storage (you probably haven't uploaded very much).


/usr/local/bin/ not found by Automator and Java but exists in Terminal Automator Shell Script

echo $PATH
eval /usr/libexec/path_helper -s
echo $PATH

Results:

after the first echo $PATH:

/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

after the second echo $PATH:

/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/opt/X11/bin

As ImageMagick is installed in /usr/local/bin it means that it fails unless I mess with the PATH first
anyone know where Automator (Java is the same) gets its path from and how to permanently add the missing paths

Automator uses the path variable hard coded in the kernel.

sysctl user.cs_path
user.cs_path = /usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

Actually, this is the path set for a user's launchd and is then inherited by Automator when you launch the application.

launchctl getenv PATH
/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin

Use the absolute paths to your executables or modify the PATH in the Run Shell Script.


MacBook Optimal Disk Formatting What's the optimal formatting for a MacBook disk?

My disk seems to be formatted as a LVG (Logical Volume Group) and it seems super slow...

Optimal is what it's formatted as when you get the machine.
GUID/HFS+

LVG/Core Storage is necessary if you ever enabled FileVault. [Some updates to Yosemite also seem to have triggered that conversion too]

Try Blackmagic Disk Speed Test to see what speeds it's actually achieving.


Does Deepsleep (Standby mode) resets uptime? Recently, I noticed that my MacBook Pro retina 15" 2015 mid takes a quite long time to wake up from sleep.

Today, I realized that my machine didn't wake up but actually boots up. How did I know that? I've just typed uptime command from a Terminal.app right after the screen shows up.

It says, for example,

  1:25 up 3 mins, ...

That means, my machine has been running for only 3 minutes and it does not take time before sleep into account.

Then, only one explanation is possible. My machine has been shut down between sleep and wake. And I misunderstood its new boot as wake up

Another rationale is, Deepsleep (Standby mode) resets uptime counter. Huh...

Which do you think more legit?

Your Mac is effectively shut down during the deeper sleep modes. The system state is stored as a file and then the Mac is shut down. On powering back on, the system state is restored from the file.

It is this behaviour that is most likely resetting your uptime results. At the lower UNIX level, most tools will treat the interval as time where your Mac was powered off.

You can learn more about the various sleep states in Apple's OS X: Saving energy with Sleep. Deep sleep is mentioned in the Standby Mode section:

  Standby Mode

  For Mac computers that are started from an solid-state drive, OS X includes a deep sleep mode known as Standby Mode. Mac computers manufactured in 2013 or later enter standby after one to three hours of regular sleep. A computer with a fully charged battery can remain in standby for up to thirty days without being plugged in to an AC power source.


zshrc file invisible in finder but present in terminal When I give ls-a in my root folder I can actually see zshrc.
but when I open my root folder in finder using the open . command, It's not visible. Actually many files are missing..As you can see the zshrc file is visible here. I can't find it in the finder.

According to Wikipedia:

In computing, a hidden folder (sometimes hidden directory) or hidden file is a folder or file which filesystem utilities do not display by default when showing a directory listing.

The ls command, of course, is a directory listing. The -a option "do not ignore entries starting with ." (ls man page)
So, yes the file is invisible, or hidden. But in the terminal, you are requesting to see all, including invisible or hidden, files.


Is the app age rating a warning? I would like to know if the app age rating is a warning. This is a very simple question but the answer is important for me. For example, by default, will people under 17 be able to download an app whose age rating is +17?
Is it just a warning? Is it only forbidden to download with parental control or something?

I would be glad to know if someone can help me out.

https://www.bewebsmart.com/ipod-ipad-iphone/how-to-restrict-apps-by-rating/

If Parental Control restricts a certain age criteria, yes it can be a filter. There are filters like 9+, 13+ etc. If all apps are allowed by the admin, no warning will be seen on the basis of age restriction. It will be just metric to judge content of the app.


Garageband Drum Question - half measures I have a song that is primarily in 4/4 but has two places where I had an extra half measure.

So for part of the song where I go from the verse to the chorus it is on the 3rd beat (half was in the middle of the measure).

For some reason, even though I use the exact same length (12 measures) for the "verse" part of the drummer, the entrance is automatically modified to some kind of fill instead of a  normal verse entry and is messing me up.

How can I get it to just lock into staying the same as the start of the track?  (Hope this makes sense).

Here's what I did

Use an empty 1/2 measure to make the drum fill sound right (even though it's in the wrong place)
Create a midi track just below your drum track, and set the midi instrument to the same one that the drum is using
Copy/paste the drum track into the midi track and now mute the drum track (note: opt-drag doesn't work here, has to be copy/paste)
Now edit the midi track as needed: drag left to close the empty 1/2 measure in the midi track


Can not send SMS to one contact I have an iPhone SE with iOS 13.2

Recently I noticed that no SMS messages arrive to one of my contacts (using an Android phone).

The contact has multiple phone numbers and I suspect the SMS is sent to a wrong one (not currently in use).

I think this started happening with the update to iOS 13.

No matter what I do, the messages don't arrive.

I had a similar problem before, because the Messages app does not show the used phone number, but only the contact name, so I was sending messages in thread A (the right contact, but wrong number) instead of thread B (right contact, right number).

But with iOS 13 it seems all threads of a contact are merged and I'm stuck with it.

If I try to start a new thread, select the contact and the correct number, I get transferred to the existing thread. Then if I type and send a message, it does not arrive.

Interesting detail: when I do the above (new message), when selecting the contact, by default the wrong phone number is selected. Apparently this number is used, no matter what I do.

One more detail: if I try to see which number of a contact was used, using his "simple" procedure: open thread, tap contact name on the top, tap "info", tap the ">" sign at the far right, then the "RECENT" mark is on the phone number that I last selected for sending SMS. But this seems just to be a GUI thing, as the message never arrives.

I don't have problems sending SMS message to other contacts (most of them have a single phone number).

I also have no problems receiving messages from this contact. They appear in the mentioned existing thread. I just can not answer.

Apparently this was fixed with one of the recent iOS updates.

Currently I have iOS 13.3 and this problem is gone.

Edit: "fixed" is an overstatement. I can now send a message that arrives by manually selecting the correct phone number. If I write another message in the same thread, it is again sent to the wrong number. The RECENT label, if inspected, is again on the same wrong number, as before the "fix".


How to Stop Encrypting process in external hard drive? I Have an external 8T external hard disk on "encrypting" process since 10 days in my MAC ... and stuck in 27% ...
* Seagate with APFS.
How can I stop the process and access to my info ?

There’s no option for stopping and reversing the encryption process. It doesn’t matter that it is an external drive, as it is still the same processs as is used when enabling FileVault on internal drives.

Note that if you unmount/unplug
the drive, encryption will be paused - but it resumes the next time it is plugged in.

In regards to accessing the content - you should be able to do this while the disk is encrypting. If you can not locate the disk in Finder, open Disk Utility to mount the external drive. You can use the drive as normally while it is encrypting - although performance will be impacted a bit.


Input sources missing All my input sources have disappeared.

I use Finnish, Japanese and Korean keyboards. For language switcher next clock on top menu-bar it shows "(NULL)" and "(NULL)" for Hiragana and Hangul input methods.

Other input sources like English are fine and still in place.

How can I re-install these?

Restart the computer, hold SHIFT before the apple logo show up, this will boot the Mac in safe mode, which will disable all other applications that are not required to start your Mac.  Note that this will take a few minutes. After this, try to locate the Input you need, it should be there.

If that fails, try the fix suggested by Apple.

If this fails, create a new Account.

祝你好运！！ (Good Luck!!)


What is the difference between these two cursors, with tmux? When running iTerm2 / Tmux, I have this cursor:

but when I hold the alt/option key, I have this cursor:

what is the difference?

Normally when you for example select a piece of text in iTerm2, your mouse activity is reported to the application you're currently running (for example a text editor). That application decides what happens.
However, when you hold down the alt/option key in iTerm2, you disable mouse reporting. This means that the application is not told of your mouse movements, and instead everything takes place inside iTerm2.
This can be used if for example you want to select and copy a piece of text to the macOS clipboard, but the application you're running does not allow you to do so (i.e. it has some other behavior triggrered by the mouse).


How to change the color and format of the static host/path/user string in the Terminal or iTerm? Example:

cookie:~ j$ date
Sun Aug  5 02:14:29 CEST 2012
cookie:~ j$

Just as it's pasted here, all three lines are of the same color. I would like to have "cookie:~ j$" or at least part of the string be of a different color than the rest.

I know that I can specifically enable color coding for specific applications like ls or git, but I haven't found anything like this.

Is there a way to change the coloring and format of the static host/path/user string in the Terminal or iTerm?

What you are looking for us customizing the prompt in the bash shell. Many articles on the web including this one.

This is basically done by setting the variable PS1 e.g.

PS1="\[\033[35m\]\t\[\033[m\]-\[\033[36m\]\u\[\033[m\]@\[\033[32m\]\h:\[\033[33;1m\]\w\[\033[m\]\$ "

gives for user mark on machine flat

This includes \t as time, \u as user \h as hostname and \w current working directory

The \[ then \octal number \] send commands to the terminal , in this case acting as an xterm and sets the colours.


How to access iTunes library from iOS device via HomeSharing when Mac is sleeping? I have stored my iTunes library on my MacBook and activated home sharing. If I now want to stream some music to my iPad, I can do so from within the Music app. If I like to remotely control my MacBooks library I can do so via Apple Remote app. But what if my MacBook is asleep? After closing it and waiting for several minutes I cannot see the library any more. How can I access my library after the MacBook went to sleep? Would I need an additional app to wake my MacBook over WLAN or is it somehow build in and I just need to set something in the preferences?

Try checking to see if 'wake for network access' is checked in your energy saver preferences:


Onscreen keyboard for Mac OS Sierra? I checked the obvious places which are in settings for keyboard and also for language because I read that somewhere. This is a Mac Mini from 2011 if that makes a difference. Thanks for your help.

Go to System Preferences > Keyboard and check the Show keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar:

This will alow you to use the keyboard viewer:

In the Keyboard System preference, click the Input Sources tab to choose alternate languages:

Click the Plus sign at the bottom:

Choose your desired languag(es):


10 month old unlocking iPhone My 10 month old has figured out how to open both my wife’s iPhone 7plus and my iPhone 7.  The iPhone can be locked which would require fingerprint touch or 6 digit passcode, but for example a moment ago she was ‘editing’ my carrier settings. My baby bought an app a month ago and upon my requesting a refund Apple told me to make sure my phone was locked, which i thought it had been...but gave it the benefit of the doubt.  But, recently I have been catching more and more times when we let her explore the item ensuring it’s locked only to have her unlock it.

Any ideas how she could do this? Do I need to eliminate lock screen shortcuts?  They require Touch ID.  Turn off fingerprint recognition?  I thought fingerprints were unique, and her fingers are tiny.
  I want her to be able to explore technology; so I don’t t want to completely remove all devices.

There's something like a 1:50k chance of someone having a fingerprint that can unlock your phone, according to Apple.

Those odds drop dramatically for a relative - though right now I cannot find a citation for that, I did read it on teh interwebz so it must be true ;-)
Googling finds a million scare stories but I can find no hard fact to support my claim.

I'd say you just have to keep watching her until she does it, see if her fingerprint can actually unlock your phone. [I'm not experienced enough at parenting to suggest you make her do it repeatedly to see if it works.]

The chances are very much against her guessing the passcode - it would be far more likely that she'd activate the timed lockout instead.


mid-2014 rMBP multiple monitors I have a mid-2014 MBP retina with the Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB GPU running Yosemite.

Current setup:

1x 27" Thunderbolt Display
1x 27" Cinema Display

I went to connect another non-Apple monitor to my MBP via HDMI or also the Thunderbolt port on the back of my Thunderbolt display however the 3rd external monitor does not detect a single. Searching around I find out that there is a limit to the number of displays a MBP can run although I see some people are able to get 3 external monitors to work. Tried shutting my MBP to enable clamshell mode hoping that it would allow me to have my 3rd monitor to work since it would turn the MBP display off, no luck.

Is there any way I can get this 3rd monitor to work via HDMI or a mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort adapter?

I would be willing to allow my 3rd monitor use a usb video card knowing the frame rate will be far less (I'm not gonna run video or games on it). Would like to know what would be a good adapter that would work.

You can run only 2 external monitors. If you want you can also run the MacBook Pro monitor, achieving in this way the 3 monitors configuration.

The only way to run 3 external monitors is to use an external graphic card to connect the third monitor.

This answer comes from personal experience and Apple technical details. I've the same model and I've tested all the possible combinations, also trying passive and active DVI connections.


looking at buy MacBook that needs OS installed I'm looking at getting a MacBook, and the seller did a Factory Reset and said it just needs the OS installed. Is there anything I should look out for?

Really, DON'T.

The Mac O/S is licensed to be used with a big dongle that prevents it being installed elsewhere. That dongle is called "A Macintosh."

Yeah, wipe the drive before selling. that is what they call "A Good Idea."

Just remember that a Mac with no O/S on it is a Mac that you can't really run basic diagnostics on:

Does it have the hard disk and RAM capacities as indicated?
Does everything work? (EG all the ports, WiFi, monitor, etc.)

So why didn't they at least reinstall from the media that came with the Mac. or from newer ones, install from the COMMAND-R, internet restore? It doesn't take long. And failing to do that makes me think (correct or not) that they may be trying to hid a problem.

Yeah you can bring an O/S install DVD with you and do some basic checking. or even TechTool Pro and sit there for an hour while it does a comprehensive check on all the hardware.

But really, when someone is selling you a Mac with no O/S installed, just say no.


Auto adjust screen brightness data I was wondering if there is a way to retrieve the data generated by the brightness sensor of the screen in a MacBook with this auto brigthness capabilities.

Do you know something how can we do something like this?

See Amit Singh's Experimenting With Light On Apple Notebook Computers but note Apple do not provide official support for these methods:

  Please note that there are no Apple "APIs" to access the motion sensor or the ambient light sensor.

Amit's code examines the IOKit entry from AppleLMUController.

Also related to your question is How do you programmatically access the ambient light sensor on Mac OS X 10.5+?


nVidia GPU Disable hack via NVRAM, any software way to power-off the chip? Following this guide and substituting GeForce for AMD, I've been able to get my mid-2012 MacBook Pro Retina functional again, albeit without the advantages of the discrete GPU (background: original GPU failed sometime between 2013 and Oct 2017 but machine continued to function and I had no reason to check for the GPU until Oct of 2017, Apple replaced logic board Jan 23 2018, second GPU failed most likely on last Friday evening and machine refused to boot at all).

The only problem, or at least the only one that I'm going to worry about, is that things are running a bit hot. Is there any way through software that I can either power down or throttle the GPU? At least I assume from the information in that guide that it is the GPU causing extra heat due to there not being any drivers loaded to control it.

gfxCardStatus is a menu bar app that lets you choose which of the integrated or discrete GPU is active.

I believe if you choose 'integrated only' the dedicated GPU won't be used. Just remember to set it each reboot, I haven't found a way to get it to remember settings across shutdowns.


Is there any kind of authoritative guide to Apple's Volume Purchase Program, Device Enrollment Program, and Mobile Device Management? I'm fairly new to the whole world of Apple and macOS. As I'm currently writing my thesis about the possible enrollment of macOS devices via Device Enrollment Program (DEP) (in connecting with some other stuff), I searched the Web, books and the Apple's Developer documentation, but I have not found a reliable guide on how to use Volume Purchase Program (VPP) and DEP (or at least a "quotable" description), only the handbook for ABM (which is pretty good, but does not answer all my questions).

Am I just blind or are there some "hidden" gems that i seem to overlook? Maybe there is a guide in Apple Business Manager (ABM) directly, to which i don't have access - yet - ?

I'm sure if you'd searched the Web just with the keywords that you have listed, you'd get a lot of official resources right on the first page of the search results.

But nonetheless, here are some links to get you started:

Apple Deployment Programs - Volume Purchase Program Guide
Apple Deployment Programs - Device Enrollment Program Guide
Apple Deployment Reference - Mac
Apple Deployment Reference - iPhone and iPad
Mobile Device Management Settings
Apple Deployment Programs
Upgrade from Apple Deployment Programs
Volume Purchase Program
Apple Business Manager User Guide
Business Support
Getting Started Guide - Apple Business Manager
Upgrade your organization to Apple Business Manager


Before putting an iPhone5 into very long-term storage should I fully drain battery? I just migrated an iPhone5 to an X. I'd like to put the iPhone5 into very long-term (probably 1+ year) storage. While I'll hopefully never need it again, I'd like to keep a back-up iPhone at the ready.

Given the chemistry of iPhone batteries, before putting it in a safe place for a very long time, should I drain the battery to 0%? or 100% charge, and power-off?

It is fresh off of a factory reset, so there is no data to be lost on the phone.

When it comes to Apple products and batteries I recommend users refer to what Apple has to say about its batteries.
However, to answer your question, I quote directly from Apple:

Store it half-charged when you store it long term.
If you want to store your device long term, two key factors will
affect the overall health of your battery: the environmental
temperature and the percentage of charge on the battery when it’s
powered down for storage. Therefore, we recommend the following:

Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device’s battery — charge it to around 50%. If you store a device when its battery is
fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state,
which renders it incapable of holding a charge. Conversely, if you
store it fully charged for an extended period of time, the battery may
lose some capacity, leading to shorter battery life.
Power down the device to avoid additional battery use.
Place your device in a cool, moisture-free environment that’s less than 90° F (32° C).
If you plan to store your device for longer than six months, charge it to 50% every six months.

Depending on how long you store your device, it may be in a
low-battery state when you remove it from long-term storage. After
it’s removed from storage, it may require 20 minutes of charging with
the original adapter before you can use it.


Are there any differences, feature-wise, between Firefox for Mac and Firefox for Windows? I know that Chrome for Windows and Chrome for Mac are extremely similar. So similar that I only notice one difference for the Mac version: the green + button doesn't maximize. However, that can be remedied: http://maximizechrome.com. According to Google - I'm not sure where - there's only one difference: dragging highlighted text. I didn't notice this, but I don't usually drag highlighted text.

I don't use Firefox very often, but one thing I do appreciate is when an app behaves the same no matter your OS. I might even switch to Firefox if it does this. Thus, the question: Are there any differences, feature-wise, between Firefox for Mac and Firefox for Windows?

I mean real differences, not just things like the dropdown box styling provided by the OS.

There is a significant issue in viewing PDFs on web sites.

Adobe Reader for Mac has a browser plug-in for viewing PDF files. It's never been compatible with FireFox for Mac, or Safari 5.1 and higher for Mac.

With FireFox on Mac, there's no reliable way to view a PDF file that's on a link from a Web site within FireFox itself. The best you can do is download it and open it using a PDF viewer on your Mac.

With Safari, you can view a PDF file in the browser window with Mac OS X's built-in PDF display capability. It works well enough, but it isn't the Adobe Reader Browser Plug-in, and that can create some problems with services that depend on the Adobe plug-in.


Can't see Macbook WiFi-access point on Android smartphone I'd like to connect my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy Nexus running Stock JellyBean) to my Macbook Pro (early-2012, running OSX Lion) via an access point created by my Macbook Pro.

Sadly I can't even see the access point on my Android phone.

Does anyone know a possible solution to this problem?

Additional information: A nearby Windows-PC and iPhone can connect to the AdHoc-network of the Macbook. The android phone can connect to all other wifi.

Sadly, most versions of Android do not support adhoc networking (only infrastructure), which is almost certainly what your Macbook is broadcasting. There is a program called Wifi Adhoc Enabler on the Play Store, which will allow the device to see adhoc networks. I think it requires root access though.


Is it possible to downgrade Boot ROM SW to try and fix unbooting Late 2012 iMac from Single User Mode? I currently have 283.0.0.0.0 Boot ROM SW installed on my crippled Late 2012 iMac - which I upgraded HDD->SDD, tried to unsuccessfully install Mojave, then broke fusion setup, erased drives and am now stuck (see other questions on that...)

Specifically one thing I would like to try is to use the last standalone EFI update dmg from Apple support website Apple EFI and SMC Updates for my model  (iMac13,2)

I can only access Single User Mode - I don't make it as far as Recovery with Utilities and Terminal options.

Is it possible to do this from Single User Mode? I can put files onto a Mojave or High Sierra external image which I could then access but I don't know enough about what commands and scripts to use to update firmware.

Thanks

The panic report you posted in your previous question indicates an unrecoverable error in the IOAcceleratorFamily kext while trying to communicate with the NVDAResman kext.  This indicates a problem with the GPU, probably related to the weird firmware update you applied.  I think you're out of luck at this point.  Only Nvidia has software to downgrade a GPU ROM version, as far as I know.


YouTube on Safari Very Stuttery After 11.3 I just updated my Mac mini to macOS 11.e3, and it seems as if all of the videos I watch are now very laggy and stutter and I don't know why. Anyone else having this problem or know how to fix it?

You can try doing a Safe boot (clear system caches) by holding Shift key at boot and then reboot the Mac.


How can I restore sent mail from a backup? I like to keep sent mail, I file it periodically.  Unfortunately, I must have changed my settings to delete mail older than 1 month.  So now I'm trying to restore mail from a backup.  (Don't ask me why I can't enter Time Machine.  I guess I should ask that as a separate question.  I can back up but not enter Time Machine!  So I'm trying to do this manually).  I can find
Sent Messages.ewsmbox
Sent Items.ewsmbox
and I can read that they have lots of good stuff in them, but when I copy them into Mailboxes, they don't show up in my Sent folder when I go to Mail.

Have you tried importing those .mbox files?

In the Mail.app menu bar:

File -> Import -> Import Mailboxes...

and point to your .mbox files


How to cancel an iCloud download on macOS X (Sierra)? The "X" button in the "Downloading" window does not seem to work as clicking it did not cancel the process. It actually finished despite pressing the button repeatedly.
Also, where do the downloaded files go? There was no "Save to" dialog box or anything similar to let me choose the storage location. It just automatically started.

You will normally find these is ~/Library/Mobile Documents.
This is the location that syncs your iCloud files with your devices - Macs, iPads, and iPhones.  It’s not a download like what you do when you select a file download link in a browser like Safari.  iCloud is making a “copy” of what you have in the cloud to what you have local on your device.


Can I open a text file in Preview from the Terminal? I know that I can open a file with an external program from the Terminal with open, and that works for most applications. However, when I try to use a command like open -a Preview info.txt, it launches Preview, but the file is not opened.

I am on Mavericks 10.10.2.

Is there a way to use the open command (or any other built-in command) to actually open a file in Preview from the Terminal?

Preview only works with PDF files and some image files (png, jpg, gif, tiff, bmp) so you won't be able to open a text file on Preview.

To open your info.txt file from terminal you need to choose an application that can open text files, like TextEdit or any other text editor.

You also could use open -e file, to open any file using TextEdit.


What MAC address should I use for my Thunderbolt Ethernet on a MBPR? I use MAC addresses to assign static IPs on my network and have recently added a new MacBook Pro Retina with Thunderbolt adapters in stead of Ethernet ports. On the box one MAC address is given for the "Ethernet" but when I plug in to the Thunderbolt ports using the Ethernet-Thunderbolt adapter, I see a different MAC address for this connection.

Which MAC address does the DCHP server see when assigning IP addresses?

I should add that the Ethernet-Thunderbolt adapter doesn't seem to work at all for me. It either incorrectly reports that no cable is connected, or self-assigns an IP address.

When an interface self-assigns an IP it generally means the interface isn't getting any response from your router or DHCP server. This is a feature of OS X to let the machines build an adhoc network when they cannot determine the actual network they're on -- you can put a bunch of Macs on a dumb hub and almost get them to self-organize and function with this feature.

Your router and DHCP server are going to see the MAC address listed for the device in the Network Preferences pane. Go to System Preferences -> Network and click on your Thunderbolt interface. Click on the Advanced... button and then on the Hardware tab:

That's the MAC address that your interface is broadcasting on the network when it's trying to acquire an IP on your network from your DHCP server.


Mouse moves vertically on login OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 - USB mouse (steelseries Sensei)

When trying to move the cursor, the movement is limited only to vertical direction. What could be the possible problem?

The most likely answer is that something is installed or loaded at the user level that allows the mouse to function properly.

Can you try creating a fresh user and logging in as them and see if you get the same fixed result once you're logged in?

Alternately can you try another 3rd party external USB mouse to see if it experiences the same issue.


How do you remove a hyperlink from a cell in Numbers '08 version 1.0.3? I have an address in a cell which is hyperlinked. I've also searched other posts on the topic and the selecting text and "right-clicking" does not bring up a menu with how to remove the link. I'd really appreciate some help if anyone's worked out how to do this.

Select the hyperlinked text then ⌘+K.  This will bring up the Link dialog where you can remove the link via the Remove button.

One can also change the link here as well.


OS X App store hangs when trying to open it This is in the preceding El Capitan Beta (15A278b). I found lots of references with google to hanging app stores but none of the fixes apply to me.

What happens is simple. I click on the App Store and the spinner spins indefinitely. I have tried:

Rebooting
Using the "debug" menu in app store, reset the app, clear cookies
Killing the softwareupdated process
Running softwareupdate -l, which says "no new software available"

All and in different order and combinations.

Any tips? Thanks!

Tried the ideas above, none worked. Tried them repeatedly.

What did work? Doing a Safe Boot, and updating to El Cap Release Candidate. After that all seems fine again.


System Formatter Failed While Erasing External Hard Drive Mac I have been trying to erase my external Hard Drive "My Passport", however there was a problem and then the Hard Drive disappeared from the Desktop and could't be found. Only Disk Utility would see it but it would't mount it. I tried erasing it and partitioning it, however nothing helped and i'd always get this error: "System Formatter Failed".

I found a few links that worked on previous version of OS X, eg. Link 1, or Link 2. None of those worked, I always would get the error message and could never mount the drive.

The solution that works on both OS 10.11 El Capitan and on OS 10.10 Yosemite is:

Open up Disk Utility
Select the actual drive, which is the lower part that will most likely be greyed out:
Then go to Erase
Select MAC OS EXTENDED (Journaled, Encrypted) It's important to select Encrypted
Then enter a password and wait.(It will run without a problem )
Then you can again erase and take the password down and use your drive again.


Encrypt old Time Machine backup for archival purposes? I have a couple of old Time Machine backups (for computer A and B) that are stored unencrypted on an unencrypted drive. I would like to encrypt them for archival purposes but they need to remain working with TM (e.g. browse using the TM interface, restorable to a new computer using TM and so on).
I followed the instructions at https://www.howtogeek.com/305540/how-to-encrypt-your-macs-time-machine-backup/ but since A and B are long gone I used computer C. That didn't work out very well, at the final step, instead of starting to encrypt I got this message:

How can I encrypt an old TM backup when I no longer have access to the machine that was the source for that backup?

Warning: I haven't tested this procedure, and there's at least one report of this converting the volume to APFS, which might cause trouble. So I can't really recommend this, I'm just posting it for the record.
An encrypted Time Machine backup is just a regular Time Machine backup stored on an encrypted volume (or an encrypted disk image, if it's on a network server -- not relevant here). Therefore, you can convert an unencrypted TM backup to encrypted just by encrypting the volume it's stored on. For some reason, this option isn't available in Disk Utility, but you can do it in the Finder by right-clicking (or Control-clicking) on the volume, and choosing 'Encrypt "volume name"'. You'll need to enter an encryption password (be sure not to lose this!), and then leave the disk attached for possibly quite a while as it converts the entire thing to encrypted format.
Note that @Allan's comments about TM not really being suitable for archiving still apply, whether the backup is encrypted or not.


OSX: move to archive (compress a folder and remove it) I'm looking for a way to zip (or 7z) files via a file manager in such a way that the original folder is deleted right after the zipping finished (less clutter when batching compression of multiple folders).

In "Total Commander" it was called "Move to Archive".

Is there any OSX file manager which has this functionality?

I've tried PathFinder 7 and ForkLift, but they don't seem to have this option (or it is hidden somewhere).

TIA.

Karol

You can make use of automator to make a simple program that can do such a thing.
Make use of : Create Archive : to do it, and add an additional block to delete the original file.


DVD mounted but not accessible from Finder I have burnt a set of data DVDs on my Windows PC. These read fine on the PC, but for some reason OS X misbehaves. I have Hardware Growler installed, so when I insert the disc I get a notification that the drive has been mounted (with a label I set during burning).

The problem the disc doesn't appear on my desktop along other drives and in Finder it is greyed out and not accessible.

Interestingly enough if I use ForkLift.app it reads fine - files are being opened in their respective apps without any problem. Can access it from Terminal, too.

There is an ampersand character in the disc's label - could this be a problem?

Indeed - it turned out the ampersand was causing the issue. The same DVD without the apostrophe in the DVD label works just fine.


Possible to reconstruct sparsebundle from bands folder only? I have an encrypted sparsebundle from mid-2013. I am aware of the encryption type (AES-256) and the passphrase used to create the sparsebundle.

Unfortunately, dropbox has somehow deleted all but the bands folder of this sparsebundle. Is it theoretically possible to recover the data from this sparsebundle without the Info.plist and token files? I have bands 0 and 1.

To follow up on this - no, it is conclusively not possible to repair an encrypted sparsebundle without the token file. The token file contains the initialization details and salt for the encryption algorithm, which is just as essential as the passphrase for decrypting the data.


Is buying iPhone apps like a subscription or a one time purchase? I've got a couple of questions regarding buying iPhone apps.

1) If Fruit ninja is $0.99 does it mean that if I buy it i will have to pay $0.99 every year? or is it a one time payment (what other hidden payments are there?)

2) Is there anyway we can be tricked into buying something that is not what we thought it is.. like if i search for fruit ninja (or some other game) how big is the chance that there is a "con app" waiting for me to buy but isn't actually the original one.

1) It's a one-off payment.

2) Apple don't allow duplicate app names in the store, so as long as you make sure that the name of the app you're buying exactly matches the name of the app that you want, then you should be OK. Or if it's a popular app, like Fruit Ninja, just buy it from the listing of most popular apps.


What's the best way to edit the look and feel of the dashboard I need advice if there's a best method in changing the look and feel of the existing dashboard. I've already mocked up the look and feel that I wanted.

I wanted a method where I can also let other user download this theme and install on their computer.

The obvious method I'll be doing is editing the existing assets from my ~/Library/Widgets/ but I'm not sure if that's the best way to do it or there are other methods.

Thank You!

There's not really an official way to theme widgets, or at least not an Apple-endorsed method for theming.

Editing the widgets is fine though, although be prepared that the system widgets in /Library/Widgets may get replaced on OS X updates, so keep backups and be prepared that things may change (they may rename the resource files, etc). Alternatively, copy the widgets out of that folder into your ~/Library/Widgets so that they are preserved on OS X updates.


Two finger tap selects text in web browsers Because of the selection I see a different context menu and it's really annoying. How to change this behaviour? It's the same for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox.

This is a feature implemented across the entirety of macOS, through web views and text areas. There is no option to disable it.


Is there a single user mode or safe mode on a Mac? Is there any single user mode or safe mode on a Mac? I'm using 10.10 (Yosemite).

I want my Mac not to load some plists in the LaunchDaemons directory and some kext files.

If you don't want to load some items that usually start on bootup or login, you can startup your machine in safe mode. From Apple document HT201262:

Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

Start or restart your Mac.
Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

If that doesn't prevent your startup items from loading (which it won't if they're kernel extensions), you can boot in single user mode. To do that, hold down ⌘ + s while your machine is booting. You will find your machine boots to a console prompt rather than the graphical interface. Once there, you can move the kext files out the way, etc. Once you're done, type reboot to restart in multi-user mode (and your machine will again boot to the graphical interface). You can find out more about single user mode in  Apple document HT201573.


How can I sync multiple Google calendars in iCal? I'm using iCal on Lion to sync with my Google Calendars. I set up iCal to use Google's CalDAV server and it successfully syncs my primary calendar, but not my others. How can I get it to sync the other calendars I have as well?

Create a new google account for each calendar.

Or ask your favorite search engine and find the answer quite at the top of the list. For example, this one http://www.ehow.com/how_8251009_sync-multiple-google-calendars-ical.html.

Added 2012-09-07:

It seems to be even much easier. Under Settings->Account enter the credentials to access the primary calendar on google. Then select the pane "Delegation". There you will find your other calendars, select "Show" and violà, they will appear in iCal (at least under Mountain Lion).


How can I download streamed content in Safari? Activity Viewer seems to have been removed from Safari 5.2. I used it to download streamed content.

Is there a workaround to do that without Activity Viewer?

Do you have the Develop menu item enabled?

If so, go to "Show Page Resources." Its very similar to the Activity Monitor and will show you the URL of contents. It's not exactly like it, but as close as you are going to get.

If you don't have the Develop menu enabled, go to:

Preferences-> Advanced -> Show Develop menu in menu bar


Apple Hardware Disk Utility Unallocated Space on my Hard Drive While trying to get Boot Camp set up on my MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina 2015 it asked me to partition my hard drive. Doing so I partitioned my 1 TB hard drive so that it dedicated 750 gb to mac and 250 gb to Boot Camp. However the Boot Camp set up was not successful and now my Mac's hard drive is only 750 GB big. With Boot Camp uninstalled it is still 750 GB. The 250 GB can not be added again on my Mac. Every time I try and add a partition to the "unallocated space" it does not work. I can't get my hard drive back to the full 1 tb. It looks something like this.

.

Someone please help me restore my Mac to its 1 TB hard drive. It would be very much appreciated.

OS X Yosemite automatically converts hard drives to Core Storage volumes, whose sizes can't be changed. You need to undo the Core Storage conversion.

Here are instructions for making that happen. (source - this method worked for me). This method should be non-destructive, but as always, take a backup first!

Boot into Recovery HD. If for any reason you don't have Recovery HD, then you'll have to make a bootable Yosemite drive and boot into that.
In the Menu Bar, select Utilities > Terminal.
Run diskutil cs list. You'll get an output that looks like this (credits to the Ask Different user in my source):

Select your Logical Volume ID (the one highlighted in the screenshot) and copy it to the clipboard.
Run the Terminal command diskutil cs revert Paste-Your-Logical-Volume-ID-Here.
Run diskutil cs list to verify that your computer can't find any CS volumes.
You're done! Now Disk Utility should be able to resize your HD!


MacBook shuts down with 60% battery My laptop shuts off with 50%-60% battery levels without saying anything - just dims the screen go off. If I try to turn it on again, it shows me the big "low battery level" indication and won't start unless i plug it in. Is it normal?

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Early 2013)

macOS Sierra 10.12.3

This is not normal, shutdown the laptop and the press the Power Button and hold down Command + Alt/Option + P + R. Hold these buttons for around 20 seconds. This might fix the issue.

I had the same issue on a MacBookPro10,1 (15" Retina, Mid 2012) and reseting the NVRAM fixed it for me.

If that does not fix it, it might be a worth a trip to the Apple Store.


Scan USPS barcode from a Mac Is there any App that permits scanning barcodes?  An app that also supports UPS and Fedex would be useful.

The following search did not bring up any obvious results.  http://alternativeto.net/software/scan--qr-code-reader-/?platform=mac

You can scan barcodes on the Mac with Delicious Library (available for free from https://delicious-monster.com/). You can use it to scan in the barcodes of your CD / DVD collection, but I don't know if it will read the barcode formats used by USPS/FedEx/UPS.


Can I extend my guest network with an Airport Time Capsule? My Apple Airport Extreme (3rd generation) is configured as a router and creates a main network (dual band: 2.4 and 5 GHz)) and a guest network. My Time Capsule (1st generation), configured as a bridge, connected by ethernet to my Airport Extreme and using the same wifi network name and password (roaming) will extend (on 1 band only: 2.4 GHz) the distribution of my main network.

I know that, if I configure it as a router, I cannot use it to create a guest network. Here it is just a bridge.

Will it distribute the Aiport Extreme's guest network ?

Yes. If the extending Time Capsule is in "Bridge Mode" (in Airport Utility settings), it should extend both your main and guest wireless networks. This is how I have my network configured.


How do I create an automator to forward mail? My parents both have GMAIL accounts. We were wondering if there was a way to forward email so when my dad's account receives email from a certain sender it would be forwarded to my mom's account.

Perhaps using Automator or applescript running on OS X 10.10 to solve this?

There is an easy way to do that right in Gmail. In the settings tab, go to settings and first add a forwarding address under Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Enter the desired forwarding address and confirm it by entering the confirmation code or clicking on the confirmation link. Then go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab in settings. On the bottom of the page choose "create a new filter". In the first line enter the email from the certain sender that you would like to forward, then click on "Create filter with this search", which will bring you to the next page. Here check the "Forward it to: choose an address" box, and choose the address.

That should do it. Gmail has great filters for mails
Hope this is helpful, might not be Automator or applescript, but it's right inside gmail, fast and easy... cheers


Time Machine backup extremely slow after upgrade to Yosemite I recently updated my MacBookPro from Mavericks to Yosemite and found that Time Machine backup speed has really slowed down.

I realized the amount of new/changed files jumped quite a bit after the upgrade, so I expect the first backup to take a while. However, the backup speed seem unusually slow.

I let it run overnight and in 12 hours it copied 18GB out of 500GB, for an effective transfer rate of about 0.025 GB/min. At this rate it will take something like 14 days to complete.

For comparison, and to make sure the external drive and USB ports were basically happy, I copied a 4GB file over to the external drive manually and it measured at 8.5 GB/min (very fast).

Has anyone else seen this and/or have any suggestions for troubleshooting?

My system:

MacBookPro, retina, 15-in, late 2013
2.6GHz i7
16 GB RAM
500 GB SSD
Seagate Backup Plus Slim portable drives, USB 3.0 (1TB and 2TB)

I have a Macbook air late 2013 on Yosemite with similar specs but I have an Apple time capsule instead and the only thing I have found to improve speed is an ethernet cable. Get a connecter from thunderbolt to ethernet and then use an ethernet cable to connect it to the external drive. I haven't really tested this much but it did work the few times I have. Also, your external drive might be getting old. For me it usually takes about an hour or less to do a 90 GB backup. Also check your other computers or devices because if they are backing up, it will slow it down. Hopefully this helps!


Mac OS X (10.9) and 8192 bit certificates - Error -67762 I've only recently upgraded to Mavericks and hence I'm not entirely sure whether this is a Mavericks only problem or not, but here it is:

Security update 2006-007 apparently broke 8192-bit certificates on OS X and no one bothered to fix it (https://discussions.apple.com/message/3650856#3650856). However there is (or rather used to be) a solution for this bug (or feature?) and it is in https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2668985
You've just got to execute

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.crypto RSAMaxKeySize -int 8192

in a Terminal prompt. Well I did, then I also restarted my macbook. However this had no effect other than setting the RSAMaxKeySize. Here is how I know the defaults command worked:

ingenious@book ~  $ sudo defaults read /Library/Preferences/com.apple.crypto  RSAMaxKeySize
8192

However trying to import a (valid!) 8192-bit self-signed certificate into my system keychain (using Keychain Access) I keep getting the following error:

Error: -67762

So, can anyone confirm this in 10.8.*? Is there any alternative way to make 8192-bit certificates work on OS X?

Edit: Could this thing actually be related to the new openssl in 10.9? (http://curl.haxx.se/mail/archive-2013-10/0036.html)

The answer, as discovered by shizmob, is that Apple moved the location of this preference in Maverics to /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security. So what you need to run is

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.security RSAMaxKeySize -int 8192


How can I shut down using keyboard shortcut and not reopen windows on login? I upgraded from OS X 10.6 to OS X 10.8 a few days ago. I find that when I use the keyboard shortcut (⌃ ctrl + ⌥ alt + ⌘ cmd + ⏏ eject) to shutdown, on startup all the previously open applications are reopened automatically. When I shut down from the Apple menu, there is an option "Reopen windows when logging back", but there isn't one when I use the keyboard.

So how can I shut down my Mac Pro using the keyboard shortcut and not reopen windows on login?

I don't wish to disable the feature as described here but I will if I have to.

If you uncheck the checkbox, it should stay unchecked by default in 10.7.5 and later. After that you can shut down by just pressing ⌃⌥⌘⏏.

In 10.8:

If "Reopen windows when logging back in" is checked, applications that were open before you logged out are reopened after you log back in, and the state of the applications is restored. It doesn't depend on whether "Close windows when quitting an application" is checked or not.
If "Reopen windows when logging back in" is not checked and "Close windows when quitting an application" is not checked, applications that were open before you logged out are not reopened after you log back in, but the state of the applications is still restored if they are opened manually or as login items. If "Close windows when quitting an application" is checked, the state of the applications is not restored when they are opened manually or as login items.

In any case, the state of applications is still restored (or there is an option to restore state) after the Mac was forced to shut down.

The list of applications to reopen at login is stored in ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.loginwindow.*.plist.


Pinyin input placed behind Hangouts window Usually when I type Pinyin input, the suggestions appear over the window like this:

However, when using Google Hangouts, they appear behind which makes it somewhat useless:

How can I make it so that they appear in front of the window as normal?

You can disable the on top feature of that window.

  "Change settings that apply only for the Hangouts Chrome desktop app
  Click the Chrome launcher icon . If you're using Windows, you may see
  a window asking you to sign in to your Chrome browser. Sign in with
  your Google Account. Click the Hangouts Chrome desktop app . At the
  top of your Hangouts list, click settings . Choose one of the settings
  below to change. Keep in mind these settings only apply to the Chrome
  desktop app, not Hangouts in Gmail, Google+ or the Chrome extension.
  Start Hangouts app when Chrome starts: Check this box to start the
  Chrome desktop app whenever you start Chrome. Always on top: Check
  this box to see the Chrome desktop app on top of all other apps or
  browsers that you have open on your computer. Uncheck this box to undo
  the setting. Auto-hide conversations: Check this box to automatically
  minimize the conversation windows when you're not clicked in the
  actual chat window. Uncheck this box to undo the setting. Show message
  preview for new message: Check this box to show a preview of a new
  Hangout message. Uncheck this box to undo the setting."

https://support.google.com/hangouts/answer/6101837?hl=en


How to merge multiple image files into one pdf file with page and its original size for every image? I have some images and I need to print it to ONE pdf file with size of pages as size of its images. How can I do that?

In other words I would like to achieve sth like this:

Read rectangle is a pdf file with 8 pages. Content of every page is an image.

Now what I have is pdf file with 8 pages scaled to white paper size A4 and then the image is centered within every white page.

Solution:

I found a tool that will do exactly what you want (one PDF, pages the size of images). You can find it at https://smallpdf.com/jpg-to-pdf. Upload your files, choose 'auto' as the size, choose 'no margin' as the margin and you're good to go.


Cycle through windows with keyboard in Adobe Acrobat I use Adobe Acrobat Pro a lot, and often keep multiple documents open. Does anyone know of a way of cycling through the open windows of this application without resorting to the mouse?

(Cmd+` (backtick) does not work.)

I use OS X 10.6.4 on a 13" MacBook Pro.

You can try Cmd + F6. It's working on both Mac OS & PC.


Error when using `sudo shutdown` on remote machine I'm remotely shutting down a bunch of Macs by using ssh to execute the shutdown command on each of them. I've asked the question before (Shutdown "no tty present and no askpass program specified"?) and got it working by adding ADMIN ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /sbin/shutdown -h now to the sudoers files as recommended.

In the meantime two of the remote Macs got upgraded to Sierra and I again get

sudo: no tty present and no askpass program specified

even though the line in the sudoers file is still there.

What do I need to change to make this work with Sierra?

A proper solution for your remote shutdown script is the following:

Script (please adjust the MAX_UPSEC value, for testing purposes I used a low value):

#!/bin/bash
BOOT_TIME=$(sysctl -n kern.boottime | sed -e 's/.* sec = \([0-9]*\).*/\1/')
CURR_TIME=$(date +%s)
MAX_UPSEC=300 #Seconds

SECS_UP=$(($CURR_TIME - $BOOT_TIME))
    if [ $SECS_UP -ge ${MAX_UPSEC} ];then
        echo "Mac is going to shutdown because it is already $SECS_UP seconds running"
        shutdown -h now
    else
        echo "No shutdown needed because the Mac is only $SECS_UP seconds up"
fi

If you run the shutdown script (assuming the script is located at ~/bin/sh/) with the following command:

ssh admusr@host  'sudo bash -s' < /Users/admusr/bin/sh/ShutdownUPTIME.sh

the proper sudoers lines on the remote hosts are then

root        ALL = (ALL) ALL
%admin      ALL = (ALL) ALL
admusr      ALL = (ALL) NOPASSWD: /bin/bash


Boot Camp Assistant - Setup from SD Card I am trying to install Windows 7 using the Boot Camp Assistant. I have downloaded the ISO, however I don't have a CD drive as its a MacBook Air and all my USB drives are too small. I am trying to install it using an SD Card as I read that they are handled in the same way as USB drives, however I can't find a way to get the assistant to recognise the SD card. Can any one help?

You can't do that as neither, OSX nor W7/W8 support booting from an SD card.

Get a simple usb-sd card adapter (not a multi card reader) and that'll work. In fact its what i used a micro-sd card in a usb adapter with an old 8gb card.


For security reasons, what should I block with the firewall? For security reasons, what should I block with the firewall?

I'm just interested in the system itself, not additional installed software. For example, I'd like my system to synchronize the clock or download system updates in the background.

Or, to turn the question around:

What on my computer would need incoming connections?

I don't use my Mac as a web server, but is there anything else that needs to receive incoming connections?

Well, basically the standard Firewall blocks incoming connections only. So as long as any network accesses are triggered by your Mac (as in the case of clock synchronization or software downloads/updates), you can block all incoming connections.

Once you have the firewall set up if you install anything that requires a connection you will be prompted to allow or deny that connection - so turning it on has little downside and lots of upside from a security standpoint.


Transfer OS X Dashboard Widgets Between Computers Can anyone tell me an easy way to transfer my dashboard widgets from one OS X computer to another?  If there was a way to keep their positioning/settings too that would be great.

Widgets are saved at /Library/Widgets/ and /Users/[user]/Library/Widgets/

If you copy /Users/[user]/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dashboard.plist that will copy your Dashboard configuration.

Each widget will have it's own configuration file in /Users/[user]/Library/Preferences/, for example widget-com.apple.widget.weather.plist


Can I move my logic board between different models of MacBook Air? If I take out my logic board in my MacBook Air 2011 11-inch i5 2 GB RAM and put in a MacBook Air 2011 11-inch i7 4 GB RAM, will it work? If not why?

Yes, it will work.

The only thing you need to understand is that logic board is a determinative component in a MacBook and all the other parts (like flash drive, Wi-Fi module, etc.) just connected to it. But all of them are completely changeable.

So if you got two MacBook Air 11" 2011 you can interchange their parts in any order you want.

Just don't forget to use credible disassemble guide. I strongly recommend you ifixit.com.


Back to Factory settings except one folder I would like to give my mac to another person after a few years.
The mac is full with private and cached data that I obviously can’t find/remember, and a lot of wasted memory usage.

I would like to delete everything and back to a "new mac", but to leave only 1 folder with some data that I want to keep on desktop.

How would I do that ?

First back up to a USB what you want to keep.

Then follow instructions from Apple how to ready your Mac.

Do not forget to Log out from iCloud, iTunes, App Store...ect..


How to transfer iPhoto slide show to view on PC from iPhone I have created a slide show on my iPhone using iPhoto. How do I get that onto my PC or convert it into a video / mov or something?

Fastest way is to save (Export) your slide show as QuickTime.mov file.

Use or download QuickTime for your PC.


iPhone 6 after death My 89 yr old Dad just died.  Before I catch static, yes, I have a death certificate.  He was somewhat forgetful and would often forget passwords and reset them (and forget those too).  I have his phone and I know his iCloud ID but I do not know his phone unlock code nor his iCloud ID.  When I try to reset his iCloud ID, it wants to notify his iPhone (which I cant unlock).

Can I:

erase his iPhone -- so it will be unlocked
have iCloud send the password reset to the iPhone
get into his iCloud and then restore the phone?

I guess your objective is to be able to use iPhone again and not recovering anything from the phone. You can follow this guide to erase your phone and remove the passcode.

https://support.apple.com/en-sg/HT204306


What are the best apps for rescuing deleted data on flash drives? I'm searching for an app to rescue my deleted data on my flash memory. They happily deleted with a Windows virus. What's your recommendation for this case?

I recommend ProSoft's Data Rescue which can recover a very wide variety of file types. Even if you don't see the file type listed, ProSoft maybe able to help you recover the data. I once had a client delete a their QuickBook's for Mac data file. It was a new version of QuickBooks with a radically different file format from prior versions. The current Data Rescue didn't recover the data; however, ProSoft was able to provide a new file definition and all of the data was recovered.

There are separate Mac and PC versions of Data Rescue. I have used both with good results, but I have far more experience with the Mac version.

I find $99 for Data Rescue to be a very fair price, however, if you are only needing to recover image files from digital cameras, checkout ProSoft's Image Rescue for $20. I believe Image Rescue comes with both Mac and PC licenses.


Map volume controls to Function Keys on Sierra Since Karabiner is not yet updated for macOS Sierra, is there a way to map volume controls (increase, decrease and mute) to function keys (in my case to F10, F11, F12)?

From System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Display, I can map brightness keys, but is there a workaround for volume too?

To be clear, it's not an Apple keyboard.

Karabiner-Elements is the successor of Karabiner and available for macOS Sierra.