Mac Owners: Use Your iPad as a Second Monitor for Your Computer

If your computer’s screen isn’t enough, use your iPad as a secondary display.

Even if you have a large Mac screen, it may not always be enough. Many people invest in a second monitor to get some breathing room when they’re gaming, streaming and multitasking. However, if you don’t want to spend money on another device that takes up space, you may not have to — with an iPad, you can get dual displays for free.

As long as you have a Mac and iPad that are compatible, you can quickly and easily connect the two Apple devices and use the iPad as an extra display for your Mac computer. Using Sidecar, which comes built-in to supported devices, you can either extend your MacOS desktop or just mirror it onto your iPad, equipped with touchscreen controls to seamlessly use the two devices together. Here’s what you need to know.

In the market for an iPad? Here is a list of the best iPad choices for 2023 and the best deals on iPads.

Requirements to use your iPad as a second display
As mentioned above, both of your devices need to support Sidecar, which is the feature that allows you to use your iPad as a second monitor for your Mac. For your Mac, you must be running MacOS Catalina or later and it has to be one of the following models:

MacBook Pro (2016 or later)
MacBook (2016 or later)
MacBook Air (2018 or later)
iMac (2017 or later and Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
iMac Pro
Mac Mini (2018 or later)
Mac Pro (2019 or later)
Mac Studio
And for your iPad, it must be running iPadOS 13 or later and be one of the following models:

iPad Pro
iPad (6th generation or later)
iPad Mini (5th generation or later)
iPad Air (3rd generation or later)
It’s best to update your devices to the latest software available to avoid any issues. Also, both devices must be logged in to the same Apple ID account, using two-factor authentication.

If you plan on going wireless, the two devices must be within 30 feet of one another. You can also use your USB to connect the two devices, with the advantage of being able to also charge your iPad while it’s in use as a second monitor.

Share your entire Mac desktop to your iPad
Depending on what software update you have on your computer, sharing your computer desktop to your tablet may vary. If you’re running MacOS Big Sur or later, click the Display icon in the menu bar at the top right. In the menu that appears, choose your iPad.

If you’re on MacOS Catalina, you’ll instead click on the AirPlay icon in the menu bar and then select your iPad. If for some reason you don’t see the AirPlay icon, click the Apple menu in the top right and go to System Preferences > Displays and check Show mirroring options in the menu bar when available.

Once your Mac and iPad are connected, you have several options to choose from that appear in the Display/AirPlay menu:

Mirror Built-in Retina Display: Mirror your exact desktop to your iPad. This will shift your computer desktop to look more like your iPad.
Use As Separate Display: Use the iPad as an extension to your desktop. To use your iPad display, drag any window or files from your Mac computer to the right of your screen, which will take you to the tablet. To go back to your computer, simply drag your cursor back to where you came from.
Share only one Mac window to your iPad
Alternatively, you can quickly share a window instead of dragging it over to your iPad. For example, you could share your web browser in Safari or what you’ve jotted down in your Notes. To do this, simply hover your mouse cursor over the green full-screen button that appears on the top left of most windows. After a second of hovering, you should see an option that says “Move to iPad,” which will share that window to your tablet. You can share multiple windows, in succession, to your iPad.

Using the sidebar controls, gestures and Touch Bar on your iPad
Once your screen is shared over to your iPad, a set of controls will appear on the left side of your iPad, which are sidebar controls you’ll commonly see on your Mac. That includes, from top to bottom:

Menu bar: Show or hide menu bar when in full-screen
Dock: Show or hide dock
Command: Double-tap to lock key
Option: Double-tap to lock key
Control: Double-tap to lock key
Shift: Double-tap to lock key
Undo: Undo last action
Keyboard: Show or hide keyboard
Disconnect: Disconnect iPad from Mac
In addition to these Mac controls, you can also use a number of swipe gestures to control certain things on the second monitor (you won’t be able to use the touchscreen as usual though). That includes swiping with two fingers to scroll, pinching in with three fingers to copy, swiping left with three fingers to undo and more.

And finally, you may also be able to use the Touch Bar, if the application on your iPad is compatible. For instance, if you move Safari over to the iPad, you’ll see Touch Bar controls to go back and forward, use the search bar, flip between tabs and open a new tab. In Messages, you would see controls to create a new text, send an emoji and predictive text. The Touch Bar may not appear for every app you use on your iPad.

If you don’t want to use the Sidebar or Touch Bar controls, you can also get rid of them. On your Mac, click on the Display icon in the menu bar, and underneath your connected iPad, you should see Hide SideBar and Hide Touch Bar. Click on either or both options to hide the controls from your iPad.

Using your iPad while connected to your Mac
Even if you’re using your iPad as a second monitor, you can still swipe up to exit the Sidecar application and use your iPad as usual. In your dock, you’ll see a blue icon with two monitors on it — this is Sidecar. To go back to using your iPad as a second monitor, tap on the Sidecar app icon in the dock.

If you’re interested in learning more about what your iPad is capable of, check out how to declutter your iPad dock by removing this annoying feature and nine things to do immediately after you get a new iPad.

Lenovo’s Rollable Concept Screen Seems Almost Like Magic

This laptop’s screen grows taller with the double-tap of a button.

Motorola has already impressed us with its rollable concept phone at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but parent company Lenovo is getting in on flexible displays too with its mind-boggling concept laptop featuring a screen that grows taller at the double-tap of a button.

Having seen it in person, it’s almost like magic.

Seen on its stand at the mobile trade show, the concept device appears mostly as a regular laptop with a keyboard, trackpad and 12.7-inch display. That display is flexible, however, and actually slides in and out of the body of the laptop. A double-tap of a button on the side and the full length of the screen begins to slowly work its way out, resulting in a much larger 15.3-inch display with an 8:9 aspect ratio.

This tall screen format could be great for working professionals because it offers a lot more real estate for scrolling down web pages or for working on large documents or spreadsheets.

It’s similar in principle to the tech used in Motorola’s rolling concept phone, which also features an extendable screen that provides a larger surface for watching 16:9 videos. Like the phone, Lenovo’s laptop is purely a proof of concept and there are no plans to put it into production or even to use the technology on future devices.

However, with clearly a lot of time, effort and money gone into the development of this laptop, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if we see this tech in some form on sale a few product generations down the line.

Everyone Should Be Using Safari’s Hidden Picture-in-Picture Mode on Mac

You might not have known this video feature even existed.

I’d like to think I’m pretty good with a Mac. I mean, I’ve consistently used one for over a decade. Yet there always seems to be a noteworthy feature I find out about later than everyone else — like Safari’s somewhat hidden Picture-in-Picture mode, also known as PiP.

Suppose there’s a video playing in your web browser. Whether it’s on YouTube or even CNET, you can enable PiP to create a floating window of that video and move it around your screen, so you can surf the web and visit other websites while you watch. There are several ways to enable PiP, which I’ll show you below.

PiP is one of the more underrated features on the Mac. Want to learn more about others? Check out these underrated Command keyboard shortcuts on MacOS and the hidden Hello screensaver. You should also read about 10 Mac tips and tricks you probably didn’t know about.

Safari’s PiP button is hidden in the address bar
If a video is playing in Safari, go to the address bar at the top of the window, right-click the blue audio button on the right of the website address and click Enter Picture in Picture. The video will then automatically move to a floating window.

The floating window playing the video will appear above all other open applications, including Safari, and will snap into any of the four corners of your desktop. You can adjust the size by hovering the mouse over the window’s borders and corners and then clicking and dragging to make it bigger or smaller.

The window also has two buttons: One to pause/play the video and the other to snap the floating window back into the web browser. You can also just close the floating window with the X button on the top left.

There are two other ways to enable Picture in Picture on MacOS
If you don’t see the blue audio button in the address bar or have multiple videos playing in Safari, there are two other ways to use Picture in Picture.

The first is by clicking the PiP button in the video’s playback controls. Not every video player will have the PiP button, so you’re limited in use. The PiP button appears as two rectangles with an arrow pointing from one to the other, but you can also just hover your mouse over the various buttons to find the Open Picture in Picture mode option.

If you don’t see a PiP button, you can right-click the video and see if you get an Enter Picture in Picture option. On YouTube, you have to right-click twice to get the correct menu, but you may only need to right-click once on other websites to find the PiP setting.

iOS 16.4 Is Almost Here. You Should Still Download iOS 16.3.1 Now

The iOS 16.3.1 update comes with a number of fixes, including one for an issue that might be used to hack your phone.

Apple has released beta versions of iOS 16.4 to testers, so Apple will likely release that update to the public soon. But you should still download iOS 16.3.1 as soon as possible.

Apple released iOS 16.3.1 on Feb. 13, a few weeks after the release of iOS 16.3. Though iOS 16.3 included new features like security keys for Apple ID and support for the second-generation HomePod, the latest update fixes some issues that iPhone users might’ve run into recently, including a bug that Apple said might be actively exploited.

Here’s what’s included in Apple’s iOS 16.3.1 update.

What’s in iOS 16.3.1
The latest iOS update includes bug fixes and security updates that address issues with iCloud, Siri, Find My and crash detection.

Apple’s security notes say this latest update patches an iPhone bug that may’ve been actively exploited. Apple writes that the bug may lead to arbitrary code execution, and the bug affects iPhone 8 models and later. According to Okta, arbitrary code execution could allow hackers to steal your data.

The update could also fix an iCloud issue some users ran into after the release of iOS 16.3. Some users on Reddit and Twitter have said they haven’t been able to back up to iCloud since the release of the previous update.

Another issue that iOS 16.3.1 could address has to do with crash detection on iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models. Crash detection has helped alert first responders to some car crashes, but it has also been triggered when some users ride roller coasters with their phones.

Here’s what Apple says is fixed with iOS 16.3.1.

iCloud settings may be unresponsive or incorrectly display if apps are using iCloud.
Siri requests for Find My may not work.
Crash detection optimizations on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models.
For more, check out all the features you missed in iOS 16.3, what iOS 16.4 beta features testers can try now and how you can sign up to test Apple’s iOS beta software.

iOS 16.4 Beta 2: New Features Public Beta Testers Can Try Now

New emoji, changes to Apple Podcasts, and what else testers can try now.

Apple released iOS 16.4 beta 2 to public beta testers Wednesday, a few weeks after the company released the first iOS 16.4 public beta. Beta testers can now try out new iOS features, like new emoji and updates to Apple Books.

These features are only available to people who are a part of Apple’s Beta Software Program. New iOS features can be fun, but we recommend only downloading a beta on something other than your primary phone, just in case the new software causes issues. Apple provides beta testers with an app called Feedback. This app lets testers notify Apple of any issues in the new software so the problem can be addressed before general release.

Here are some of the new features that testers can find in the iOS 16.4 betas.

Apple Books animation
The iOS 16.4 beta 2 update brings the page-turn curl animation back to Apple Books after it was removed in a previous iOS update. Before, when you turned a page in an e-book on your iPhone, the page would slide to one side of your screen or it would vanish and be replaced by the next page. Beta testers can still choose these page-turn options.

31 new emoji
The first iOS 16.4 beta software brought 31 new emoji to your iOS device. The new emoji include a new smiley; new animals, like a moose and a goose; and new heart colors, like pink and light blue.

The new emoji all come from Unicode’s September 2022 recommendation list, Emoji 15.0.

Apple Podcasts updates
The first beta brought a few changes to how you navigate Apple Podcasts. Now you can access podcast channels you subscribe to in your Library. You can also use Up Next to resume podcast episodes you’ve started, start episodes you’ve saved and remove episodes you want to skip.

Preview Mastodon links in Messages
Apple’s first iOS 16.4 beta enabled rich previews of Mastodon links in Messages. That’s good because Mastodon saw a 400% increase in the rate of new accounts in December, so you might be receiving Mastodon links in Messages.

Music app changes

The Music interface has been slightly modified in the first iOS 16.4 beta. When you add a song to your queue, a small banner appears near the bottom of your screen instead of a full-screen pop-up.

See who and what is covered under AppleCare
Starting with iOS 16.4 beta 1, you could go to Settings to check who and what devices are covered on your AppleCare plan. With iOS 16.4 beta 2, this menu will show you a small icon next to each device that’s covered under AppleCare.

Focus Mode, Shortcuts and always-on display
If you have an iPhone 14 Pro or Pro Max, iOS 16.4 beta 1 lets you enable or disable the always-on display option with certain Focus Modes. A new option in Shortcuts called Set Always on Display was also added, in addition to new Lock Screen and Set VPN actions.

New Apple Wallet widgets
You can add three new order-tracking widgets for Apple Wallet to your home screen with the first iOS 16.4 beta. Each widget displays your tracking information on active orders, but the widgets are different sizes: small, medium and large.

More accessibility options
The first beta update added a new accessibility option, too. The new option is called Dim Flashing Lights, and it can be found in the Motion menu in Settings. The option’s description says video content that depicts repeated flashing or strobing lights will automatically be dimmed. Video timelines will also show when flashing lights will occur.

Two new keyboards
The first iOS 16.4 beta added keyboards, for the Choctaw and Chickasaw languages.

There’s no word on when iOS 16.4 will be released to the general public. There’s no guarantee these beta features will be released with iOS 16.4, or that these will be the only features released with the update.

For more, check out how to become an Apple beta tester, what was included in iOS 16.3.1 and features you may have missed in iOS 16.3.

Microsoft Adds Bing AI to Windows 11, Expanding Access Further

The AI, based on Bing search and technology from OpenAI, is intended to remake the way we use computers.

Microsoft is adding Bing AI to a free update for its Windows 11 software powering desktop and laptop PCs, the company announced Tuesday, marking another way the tech giant is throwing its weight behind the nascent artificial intelligence technology it first announced earlier this month.

The new features will add Bing AI to the bottom menu bar of Windows computers, effectively making the technology more easily accessible. Microsoft said people who have already received access to test the new Bing AI will be able to begin using it in Windows after updating their computers. Those who don’t yet have access to Bing AI will still need to sign up in order to join the wait list.

“The Windows PC has never been more relevant in our daily lives, and this is increasingly the case as we approach the next wave of computing led by the mass adoption of AI,” Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer, said in a blog post talking up the new technology. “It is a new era in search, chat, and creation and with the new Bing and Edge you now have Your own Copilot for the web.”

Microsoft’s move to add Bing AI to its Windows software comes after it’s quickly integrated the technology into its Bing mobile app, Skype chat software and Edge browser as well. Microsoft’s technology combines Microsoft’s less-popular Bing search engine with technology from startup OpenAI, whose ChatGPT responds to prompts for everything from being asked to write a poem to helping write code and even everyday math to figure out how many bags can fit in a car.

While the tech giant has received praise for the capabilities of its Bing AI, it’s also been criticized for bizarre responses the system’s given, including Bing telling a New York Times columnist to abandon his marriage, and the AI demanding an apology from a Reddit user over whether we’re in 2022 or 2023. The reports have led some people to worry the technology isn’t ready for prime time.

Microsoft responded by reducing the lengths of chats people can have with the test version of its Bing AI, while it also began testing different “tone” personalities for more precise or more creative responses.

Microsoft’s new Windows 11 software released Tuesday also included technology to link Apple devices to Windows, allowing iPhones to share text messages, phone calls and app notifications with Windows PCs. Microsoft said it’s making that feature available to a “small percentage” of testers and will expand over time.

Editors’ note: CNET is using an AI engine to create some personal finance explainers that are edited and fact-checked by our editors. For more, see this post.

iPhone SE 4 Reportedly Back in Development With Apple-Built 5G Modem

A noted Apple analyst says the iPhone maker has a new plan for its next mid-range phone.

Apple may have solved a big issue holding back its future phone plans, as the company has reportedly restarted development of the iPhone SE 4, its next affordable handset.

At the beginning of the year, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the company had canceled the fourth generation of its iPhone SE line. But now he believes the phone is back on track and may use the first of Apple’s internally-developed modems, or 5G baseband chips, Kuo tweeted in a lengthy thread of predictions.

Rumors have swirled for years that Apple has wanted to build its own baseband chips, which handle the iPhone’s antenna functions. Back in 2021, Kuo predicted that Apple may stop using Qualcomm’s silicon in favor of its own baseband chips in as little as two years, though that effort seemingly stalled as Apple struggled to develop its own connectivity hardware.

Kuo’s newest update suggests Apple may have solved at least some of its issues with producing an in-house baseband chip, though he noted that it will only support sub-6 5G, the midband set of 5G frequencies that most carriers around the world use for their 5G networks.

See Also
Best iPhone in 2023: Which Apple Phone Should You Buy?
iOS 16 Cheat Sheet: What to Know About the iPhone Update
All the Most Important Rumors About iPhone 15
But since it’s still unclear if Apple’s baseband chips will support the higher-speed millimeter wave flavor of 5G or satellite communications for the Emergency SOS feature, Kuo doesn’t know whether the first flagship iPhones that could use the chips — the iPhone 16 series coming in 2024 — will have them.

If Apple starts producing baseband 5G chips for the iPhone SE 4 in the first half of 2024, then those chips could come to the iPad and Apple Watch next, Kuo said. That would mean much fewer orders for Qualcomm connectivity chips.

Aside from the new silicon, the iPhone SE 4 could pack an OLED display instead of an LCD screen, six years after the first flagship iPhone switched to an OLED display with the iPhone X in 2017.

Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment by time of publication.

How to Easily Take Screenshots on Windows 10 and 11

Here are keyboard shortcuts, built-in tools and more ways to take screenshots on your PC.

Microsoft no longer sells Windows 10, but the software giant will still support the operating system until October 2025. Afterwards, you’ll have to switch to Windows 11. There are some differences between the two operating systems, but one thing both operating systems have in common is they each offer a few ways to take screenshots.

Taking screenshots of important documents, like plane tickets or receipts for online purchases, is a good way to make sure you have access to your documents in case ticket apps or your email aren’t working. Whether you have Windows 10 or Windows 11, there are a few easy ways to take screenshots of all (or part) of your screen.

Here’s how to use built-in tools and other shortcuts for taking screenshots in Windows 10 and Windows 11, so you can decide which you like best.

Snip & Sketch
The Snip & Sketch tool is easier to access, share and annotate screenshots than the old Snipping Tool. It can now capture a screenshot of a window on your desktop, a surprising omission when the app was first introduced that kept us on Team Snipping Tool until recently.

The easiest way to call up Snip & Sketch is with the keyboard shortcut Windows key + Shift + S. You can also find the Snip & Sketch tool listed in the alphabetical list of apps accessed from the Start button as well as in the notification panel where it’s listed as Screen snip. Or you can just search for it if you don’t commit the keyboard shortcut to memory. (If you’re a frequent screenshot taker, we recommend pinning the app to the taskbar.)

Either the keyboard shortcut or the notification button will dim your screen and open a tiny menu at the top of your screen that lets you choose which type of screenshot you want to take: rectangular, freeform, window or full-screen. Once you take your screenshot, it will be saved to your clipboard and show up momentarily as a notification in the lower-right corner of your screen. Click the notification to open the screenshot in the Snip & Sketch app to annotate, save or share it. (If you miss the notification, open the notification panel and you’ll see it sitting there.)

If you open Snip & Sketch from the Start menu or by searching for it, it will open the Snip & Sketch window instead of the small panel at the top of the screen. From here, you need to click the New button in the upper left to initiate a screen capture and open the small panel. It’s an extra step to proceed this way, but it also lets you delay a screenshot. Click the down-arrow button next to the New button to delay a snip for 3 or 10 seconds.

What to Know About Windows 11
Windows 11 Review: Microsoft’s Subtle Changes Make You Ask, Update or Wait?
Every Difference You Should Care About Between Windows 10 and Windows 11
The Best Windows 11 Features: Android Apps, Widgets and More
Snipping Tool
The Snipping Tool has been around since Windows Vista. Windows has warned for a couple years that the Snipping Tool is going away, but it’s still kicking around in Windows 11. The Snipping Tool has been delisted from the list of apps in the Start menu, but you can still easily access it via the search bar.

Click the New button to begin the screenshot process. The default snip type is rectangular, but you can also take free-form, full-screen and window snips.

Snipping Tool does not automatically save your screenshots — you will need to manually save them in the tool before you exit — and it does automatically copy your captures to the clipboard.

Print Screen
To capture your entire screen, tap the Print Screen (sometimes labeled PrtScn) key. Your screenshot won’t be saved as a file, but it will be copied to the clipboard. You’ll need to open an image editing tool (such as Microsoft Paint), paste the screenshot into the editor and save the file from there.

You can also set the PrtScn button to open the Snip & Sketch tool by going to Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard and toggling on Use the PrtScn button to open screen snipping under Print Screen Shortcut.

Windows key + Print Screen
To capture your entire screen and automatically save the screenshot, tap the Windows key + Print Screen key. Your screen will briefly go dim to indicate you’ve just taken a screenshot, and the screenshot will be saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.

Alt + Print Screen
To take a quick screenshot of the active window, use the keyboard shortcut Alt + PrtScn. This will snap your currently active window and copy the screenshot to the clipboard. You’ll need to open the shot in an image editor to save it.

No Print Screen key?
If your computer doesn’t have the PrtScn key, no worries, Microsoft has another keyboard shortcut for you. You can press Fn + Windows logo key + Space Bar to take a screenshot. It will then be saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.

Game bar
You can use the Game bar to snap a screenshot, whether you’re in the middle of playing a game or not. First, you’ll need to enable the Game bar from the settings page by making sure you’ve toggled on Record game clips, screenshots and broadcasts using Game bar. Once enabled, hit the Windows key + G key to call up the Game bar. From here, you can click the screenshot button in the Game bar or use the default keyboard shortcut Windows key + Alt + PrtScn to snap a full-screen screenshot. To set your own Game bar screenshot keyboard shortcut, to Settings > Gaming > Game bar.

Windows Logo + volume down
If you’re rocking a Microsoft Surface device, you can use the physical (well, sort of physical) buttons to take a screenshot of your entire screen — similar to how you would take a screenshot on any other phone or tablet. To do this, hold down the Windows Logo touch button at the bottom of your Surface screen and hit the physical volume-down button on the side of the tablet. The screen will dim briefly and the screenshot will be automatically saved to the Pictures > Screenshots folder.

Want more Windows info? Check out CNET’s Windows 11 review and every difference between Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can also check out what Microsoft 365 Basic offers.

Apple May Launch a Low-End VR Headset in 2025, Analyst Says

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple may launch the second generation of its rumored mix-reality headset, including a low-end device, in 2025.

Apple has yet to confirm plans for its first augmented and virtual reality headset, but there are already rumors brewing about a second generation of the device.

A second-generation AR/VR headset from Apple will include both high-end and low-end models that will “likely” launch in 2025, said Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a Medium post on Friday.

Apple’s first mixed reality headset could be unveiled in June at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, according to Bloomberg. The long-rumored device is expected to be priced in the $3,000 range. It could be similar to Meta’s Quest Pro, with mixed reality and eye tracking onboard.

Even if the rumored headset is introduced at WWDC, Apple tends to announce new products months before they’re available. Kuo seemed to back up that point on Friday, saying the “probability of the headset launch alongside iPhone 15 in 3Q23 is rising.”

2023 is gearing up to be a major year for virtual reality headsets, with both the PlayStation VR 2 and Meta Quest 3 being released — in addition to Apple’s rumored headset.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Get Acquainted With These Mac Keyboard Shortcuts. You Won’t Regret It

If you want to make your life easier, you should memorize these underrated Command keyboard shortcuts on MacOS.

Every time you’re on your Mac, you’re using modifier keys on your keyboard. These modifier keys, like Command and Option, are probably the most important keys you have, because they can perform shortcuts that are necessary to be more productive and efficient on your computer.

The most basic and common examples are copy (Command-C) and paste (Command-V), but these keyboard shortcuts also allow you to do more complicated things like force-close an app (Option-Command-Esc) or quickly take a screenshot (Command-Shift-4).

And the most important modifier key of them all? Command.

With it, you can copy and paste text, undo typing, select all your items at once, open a new window and so on. And in addition to all the routine shortcuts it’s known for, the Command key is much more powerful than you might think.

Even if you’re a MacOS power user, you may not be acquainted with everything the Command key has to offer, such as the ability to quickly hide windows cluttering up your desktop or search for anything stored on your computer.

Check out six not so commonly known keyboard shortcuts that use the Command key below.

And if you want to learn more about your Mac, check out the best MacOS Ventura features, as well as 10 tips to help you flex your Mac superpowers.

  1. Cycle through all the open windows on your desktop
    The keyboard shortcut Command-Tab allows you to quickly step through every app window open on your desktop. As long as the window is open on your desktop and not minimized in your dock, holding down the Command-Tab combination will bring up a window with all your open apps. Continue holding down Command as you tap the Tab key to cycle through the apps and let go when the app you want brought to the front is highlighted.
  2. Hide the window that’s currently open on your desktop
    Instead of minimizing your window with the yellow minus button up in the top left corner, you can quickly hide any window that’s open on your desktop with the Command-H shortcut. Unlike minimizing, the hide keyboard shortcut hides the window from both your desktop and dock, without closing it completely. To open the window back up, simply click the app icon in either your dock or elsewhere. And if you want to hide all app windows except for the one in front, you can use Option-Command-H.
  3. Bring up Spotlight to search for files and apps on your computer
    Spotlight search is one of the Mac’s most powerful features. Bring up the search bar and type whatever you want to search for, such as text messages, emails, documents, applications, notes, music, settings, movies or locations. You can use the magnifying glass in the menu bar to bring up Spotlight search, but this keyboard shortcut is at your fingertips: Command-spacebar.
  4. Highlight the URL in your web browser to quickly share it
    Usually, if you’re sharing a web address you double-click in the search bar and then copy the selected text to your clipboard. However, there’s a faster way to do this: use Command-L. This will immediately highlight whatever is in the address bar in Safari, Chrome or another web browser, whether it’s something you typed or the URL of the website you’re on. You can then hit Command-C to copy it so you can paste it elsewhere.
  5. Reopen any closed tabs in the Safari web browser
    You may be familiar with Command-T in Safari, which opens a new tab, but there’s also a shortcut that can reopen an accidentally closed tab. Simply hit Command-Shift-T and you’ll recover whatever tab you most recently closed. And if you’ve closed several tabs and want to recover all of them, you can continue pressing the Command-Shift-T shortcut to open multiple closed tabs.
  6. Open something new in various native Apple applications
    The Command-N keyboard shortcut is not nearly used enough. While it’s almost universally known for opening up a new window in many popular applications, on your Mac the Command-N shortcut can open a new email in Mail, a text message in iMessage, a window in Safari, a note in Notes, an event in Calendar and more. Try it out in your favorite apps and see what Command-N can open for you.