Unclock Your Mac! Hidden Macbook Pro Tips and Tricks

Do you know the best Macbook pro tips and tricks?

We want you to take advantage of the tips and tricks in this guide so that you can make the most of your Mac. We want you to be more productive with your laptop.

Here are the tricks you need to know of:

Signing a PDF

Many Mac users feel that they need to download Adobe Reader or another PDF program to sign a PDF.

Luckily, this isn’t the case. Using Preview – the free and default PDF viewer on Mac, you can sign a PDF.

All you have to do is first open a PDF in Preview. Then, you access the Annotations Tab. You’ll find an option to create a signature. All you have to do is create the signature and save it to the Preview application.

Accessing the Dictionary

While you can always open the dictionary app, there are ways to get the definition of a word much quicker.

When you are reading a word on your web browser and unsure of what it means, all you have to do is hover over it. Then you’ll have to right click the word. Here’s how to right click on Mac in case you don’t know.

Once you do, press ⌘⌃D and you’ll immediately bring up the dictionary definition of the word.

This is a much faster method than having to continuously manually type a word into the Dictionary application.

Inserting an Emoji

If you ever need to add an emoji into your text, it’s very easy with a Mac. Once your word processor is open all you have to do is press Ctrl +⌘ + space.

This will open a dialog box with special characters including emojis. All you have to do is click on the emoji of your choice and it will immediately add it to your text.

Dictating Your Text

Sometimes, it’s so much easier to dictate your text than to write it yourself.

All you have to do is open your word processor of choice. Then, press fn twice and you can begin dictating. Make sure you speak slowly and clearly and you can watch the text automatically typing on your screen.

Then, when you are done, just press the fn key one more time and the Dictation will stop.

Gradually Increasing Brightness and Volume

Another trick is to gradually increase the brightness and volume on your Macbook pro.

All you have to do is press Shift + ⌥ and then you can increase the brightness in smaller increments than usual. For gradually increasing the volume, all you have to do is press shift and press the increase volume key.

Hot Corners

Another great feature is to take advantage of Hot Corners.

This means that you can hover to a corner of your screen and a particular action will be triggered. This can range from opening a document to presenting you with a list of your favorite applications.

To launch this option, all you have to do is go to System Preferences. Then go to Desktop & Screen Savers – then navigate to the Screen Saver Tab and activate Hot Corners.

Change Apps

If you have several apps open and need to quickly toggle between them, press Command and Tab simultaneously.

This will open a display with all the icons of your open apps. Keeping the Command key held down, all you have to do is press Tab to toggle between the apps. Once you’ve reached the app of your choice, release the keys and the selected app will open.

Turning Off Notifications

Sometimes you just want to be left alone! To do this, you need to turn off your notifications.

Access the Notification Center. Keep scrolling down and you’ll come across a Do Not Disturb feature.

Once you turn it on, you will stop receiving notifications.

You can also schedule these notifications to not show for a select duration of time. You can also set notifications to not show when your Macbook Pro is connected to an external display.

This is a great way to focus on your work and not be disturbed while you are busy working away.

Have Several Desktops

Sometimes you feel that one desktop is not enough to manage your files. Don’t you wish you had more desktops to deal with?

By pressing F3 your open windows will become minimized and your desktop will be visible. You’ll see a + sign at the top right of your screen. Click on this + sign and it will open a new desktop.

You can now access this desktop and open applications, save files, etc., on this desktop. By pressing F3 again, you can toggle through your different desktops.

Unit Conversions

You can also do unit conversions through Spotlight. All you have to do is open the Spotlight and type in a number along with its measurement.

So if you type 14 lbs – you will get a unit conversion of how much this is in kilograms. If you type $1500, you’ll get a list of how much this converts to other popular currencies.

This is a quick way of converting units without having to do it yourself or looking it up online.

Taking Screenshots

There are two ways to take screenshots on your Macbook Pro. The first is to press Command + Shift + 3 and it will automatically take a fullscreen screenshot. The thumbnail of this screenshot will show up in the bottom right of your screen. Simply click on it to expand it and then save it.

If you need to take a screenshot of a small portion of the screen press Command + Shift + 4. This will create a cursor that you can click and drag over the selection. Let go of the cursor and your screenshot will be saved to your desktop.

Make the Most Out of Your Macbook Pro Tips and Tricks

Now that you know the best Macbook Pro tips and tricks, you are ready to get the most out of your Mac.

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