7 unknown Mac tricks that many users don't know

Working with a Mac is usually very efficient and pleasant because Apple does a lot right with the macOS user interface. For real power users, as Apple likes to call them, the operating system also has keyboard shortcuts and other shortcuts that you can use to speed up your work even further.

The problem is that they are not collected anywhere and you only get to know one or two tricks when you read about them somewhere or are made aware of them by a friend.

In this post I would like to give the seven best tips that help me work with the Mac every day.

1. Hide current app window

This function used to be called “parent button”. This is a practical keyboard shortcut that hides the app currently in focus and all of its windows on the Mac. Practical when the boss just comes in and you don't want him to see that you're reading Sir Apfelot.

To hide the app, press CMD + H and to show it again, simply click on the app icon in the dock.

2. Show invisible files in Finder

With the default settings, macOS ensures that certain files that are not important or interesting for the normal user are simply invisible. In some cases, however, you also need to be able to see such files. Using the key combination CMD + SHIFT + . (period) you can make these files visible in the Finder and with the same key combination they become invisible again.

3. Customize folder icons

Every folder on macOS looks the same: chic blue. If you want something a little more creative, for example to be able to see directly from the icons which customer or project a folder belongs to, you can easily adapt the icon of your folders.

To do this, look for a new icon file with the ending .INC. Then mark the corresponding folder and open the information window for this folder with CMD + I (or with the right mouse button). Next, drag the ICN file onto the folder icon in the info window.

If you only have a JPG or a PNG, you can also proceed as follows: Open the file in the preview app, mark the entire area, press CMD + C, go to the folder's information window, mark the icon in the window and press CMD + V. This pastes the graphic from the clipboard into the field for the folder icon.

4. Emoji shortcut when entering text

Emojis are now often used in short messages, but on the Mac I always had a bit of a hard time with the small images because it wasn't that easy to enter the emojis.

Fortunately, there is a keyboard shortcut that gives you a field with all the emojis: CMD + CTRL + Spacebar. The most recently used emojis can also be found in the upper area of ​​the field, which is extremely practical.

5. Move files with ALT key

If you work with files in the Finder, you can copy them either with the right mouse button or with the keyboard shortcut CMD + C. However, if you want to move files instead of copying them, use the shortcut CMD + ALT + V instead of the shortcut CMD + V for pasting. This means that the files are cut from the original location and pasted into the new location.

6. Merge videos with QuickTime

If you just want to quickly put two video snippets together and save them as one video file, you can do this easily using macOS's on-board tools. To do this, open the first video in QuickTime and then simply drag the second video onto the window. QuickTime then appends it to the second video and you can save the combined video via File > Save.

7. Always display folders at the top of file lists

If you have opened a folder with many subfolders and files in it, you can sometimes find your way around more quickly if all folders are shown at the top and then all files afterwards. To do this, click on the Finder icon in the Dock and select Finder > Preferences from the top menu. Then click on the “Advanced” icon and check the “Show folder at top: When sorting by name in windows” option.

Of course, sorting only works if you have selected either list or columns in the “Display” option for the folder view and “by name” for sorting.