UsingMac.com - Mac Tricks and Tips, Wallpapers and Applications for Mac Users

I encountered many unique and interesting events today, such as my Windows user friend is using my Mac, my Mac cannot log out automatically, etc and from these incidents, I got more knowledge on operating my Mac, such that:

Look Up the Synonym

You should have known that using Command-Control-D you can mouse hover a word and directly see the definition of the word without the need to open your Mac Dictionary.

However, this trick is widely known. But I can't even find any single source talking about feature like Look Up in Thesaurus. Here is how to do it:

1. Open your Dictionary
2. Go to its Preferences Pane
3. Drag the order of Thesaurus to the first one

Then, next time you invoke this feature with Command-Control-D, you will get the synonym of the word (if any) instead of the word definition itself. You can also do the same way for other kinds of dictionary.

Use Your Fingers to Scroll

My friend kept searching for scroll bar to scroll down the page and at the same time, he kept complaining on how suck the Mac is. As a Mac fanboy, this action drives me crazy.

After I demonstrated him how we can actually scroll through the page with two fingers on the Trackpad, he scrolled in silence.

Keep Your Files Arranged

As a typical Mac user, it will be required for you to keep your documents and files nicely arranged, even though you need to resize your Finder window all the time.

One of my Mac users friend said that, "Hey, it's easy to arrange your Finder files. Just use Control-Click and then choose Arrange By ▸ Name. Then it's done". Then I resized the Finder and the files aren't following the window flow. They're not moving even an inch!

The correct way to arrange files is:

1. Open Show View Options (keystrokes: Command-J)
2. Find the section with naming Arrange by:
3. Choose the arrangement method

Now, whatever the window size for your Mac Finder, you will always get your files following the window flow.

Let Your Mac Sleep

There are times when my Mac acting strangely, it won't sleep automatically. After I find out the reason, I laughed at myself.

The reason is really simple, I forgot to save my documents. You will need to take note that your Mac won't go to sleep if you still have unsaved documents.

Handle Dual Display

When you're using dual display, you can put both of your display to run the screensaver. But there are also an option to show the screensaver only for main window. This option is an easy-to-spot checkbox labelled Main screen only located inside System Preferences ▸ Desktop & Screen Saver ▸ Screen Saver

There is another thing you would likely to know here: Using dual display, you can put both of your display to display random wallpaper with different changing interval.

Control Battery Charging

Last but not least, don't forget to manage your battery charging by disconnecting the charger at around 70%-90% battery charge and then connecting it again at around 20%-35%. This is intended to let the "juice" inside your battery flowing continuously. If not, you will often have the need to replace your Mac battery.

Defrost Freezing Dashboard

There is a possibility for your Dashboard to freeze. Outdated or malicious widgets may cause this. In order to defrost your freezing Dashboard, the way achieved without great effort is by using Terminal command: killall Dock.

Word Auto-Complete

The most straightforward way is to press Escape at the end of your incomplete word. Pop up menu will appear instantly, containing several available words.

This is particularly convenient for me and those people whose main language are not English.