How to

How to set up Time Machine on Mac OS X

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2016

Time Machine is a Mac utility that allows you to automate hourly, daily, and weekly backups on an external drive that's connected directly to your Mac or via a local network. It's seen as the first line of defense against data loss, and features simple setup.

Setting up Time Machine, in its most basic configuration, is extremely easy. All you need to do is launch the Time Machine preferences, turn on Time Machine, select a Backup Disk, and you're pretty much set.

Of course, there's much more to Time Machine than just the initial setup, but in this first post in our Time Machine tutorial series for OS X, we'll cover some of the basic set up options.

Read More

How to automatically hide a Mac app when clicking elsewhere on the screen

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated May 30, 2023

Maintaining a clean workstation is perhaps one of the best ways to help with productivity and clear-thinking. Not only does this apply to one's desk or office, but for those of us who work with computers, it extends to the Dock, folders, and desktop. Keeping things clean and orderly in OS X is vital for getting things done efficiently, and this Mac tip helps do exactly that.

Read More

How to fix a “referencing media on the camera” error in Final Cut Pro X

Jeff Benjamin ∙ May 19, 2015

Every now and then, you may run into an issue with Final Cut Pro X where a file doesn't successfully import. Due to this, the media that you're working with in your project is still referencing the location where the file originally was (i.e. SD Card, Camera HDD, etc.).

When this happens, and you try to share/export a project, you'll receive an error message that says "This item cannot be shared while it is still referencing media on the camera."

To fix this problem, you'll need to reimport your footage from the original source using the File menu. It's fairly straightforward, but it's not exactly obvious as to what you should do when you first encounter this issue. Inside, we'll show you the error message and the quick fix in our brief video tutorial.

Read More

How to filter iPhone and Apple Watch screenshots in the Photos app on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

As you might imagine, I take tons of screenshots on a weekly basis for work. Instead of connecting my iPhone to my Mac and importing screenshots manually, or instead of using AirDrop, I simply use Photo Stream to do the grunt work.

Photo Stream allows me to access any photo taken with my iPhone, including screenshots, directly from the Photos app on my Mac. Just a few seconds after taking a picture with my iPhone, the photo appears on my Mac. This is great for quickly grabbing iPhone screenshots, and it even allows you to easily access screenshots taken on the Apple Watch.

In this post, I'll show you how I set up a simple Smart Album to separate screenshots—Apple Watch screenshots included—from regular photos.

Read More

How to quickly dismiss an autocorrect suggestion on Mac

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated June 26, 2023
Image to illustrate autocorrect on Mac

There are two ways to dismiss an autocorrect suggestion. There is the obvious one, which lets you use your mouse pointer to reject the autocorrection, and there is a keyboard shortcut that's actually much quicker to use, especially when you're currently typing.

In this brief post, we will show you how to swiftly ignore the autocorrect suggestion on your Mac using an easily accessible keyboard action.

Read More

How to manage received AirDrop files with Hazel on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Every waking day I send tons of screenshots from my iPhone to my Mac via AirDrop. And every day I wish that Apple allowed users to customize the AirDrop save location. Not only is the ~/Downloads folder the default save location, but it can't be modified, not even via undocumented methods.

As a workaround, I use Hazel ($29 w/ free trial) to automate the process of moving images sent via AirDrop to my Desktop. It's a great workaround that does the job. While it would be nice if Apple allowed you to specify an exact save location, this is probably the next best thing.

Read More

How to use the Pixelmator Repair Tool extension on Mac

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 21, 2015

One of the most under-the-radar new features to hit OS X Yosemite was the addition of extensions. Action extensions are particularly nice, because they allow apps to interface with other apps directly.

Some app developers, such as Pixelmator ($29.99 on the Mac App Store), have brought third-party extensions to the Mac, which demonstrates how beneficial extensions can be. Watch our video that showcases Pixelmator's Repair Tool extension to see what I mean.

Read More