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10 Mac Hacks You Should Know About

Make life easier with these Mac shortcuts and hidden features.

MacOS is considered easier to use than other operating systems such as Windows and Linux, according to the digital inclusion consultancy Digital Unite. If you’re one of the millions of Mac users, you’ve probably come across a few MacOS features that have surprised you. There are plenty of hidden features in the operating system that Mac users might not know about, like taking a screen recording on your Mac without having to install additional software. 

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Here are 10 Mac features, tips and tricks you don’t want to miss out on.

Use Split View

Split View lets you have two apps running side-by-side on one Mac screen without having to resize either window. This saves you from switching between apps and losing your place if you’re working in two different programs. 

Here’s how to enable and turn off Split View.

1. Open two apps and place them on opposite sides of the screen.

2. In the top left corner of one app’s window, hover over, or click, the green bubble to open a dropdown menu.

3. Select either Tile Window to the Left of Screen or Tile Window to the Right of Screen. That app will fill that side of the screen.

4. Click the other app on the opposite side of the screen for the app to fill the remainder of the screen.

To exit Split View, click the green bubble again or press Esc on your keyboard. This only exits one app from Split View — the other app will now be in full screen mode on its own Desktop.

Force quit with Option

If an app on your Mac has frozen or isn’t working properly, you can use the Option key to quickly force quit the app. Press and hold Option, then in the dock across the bottom of your screen click with two fingers the app causing you issues. Then click Force Quit to shut down the malfunctioning app.

Use Spotlight for conversions and simple math

One gallon to liters equals 3.79 litersOne gallon to liters equals 3.79 liters

Spotlight can make conversions and solve simple math problems.

Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET

You can use your Mac’s built-in Spotlight feature to perform searches as well as conversions or do simple math. To open Spotlight, press Command + space bar or click the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of your screen in the menu bar. Then, type in a math problem or what you want to convert — like gallons to liters — and Spotlight will do the rest. No Google needed. 

Try different shortcuts to take a screenshot

Screenshots are an easy way to maintain receipts for digital purchases or have extra copies of tickets for flights or sports games. On a Mac, there are a few different shortcuts to take screenshots.

Pressing Command + Shift + 3 takes a screenshot of your entire screen. This is a useful way to screenshot a video quickly so you don’t miss a frame.

Press Command + Shift + 4 turns your mouse into a crosshair. This lets you click and drag the frame for your screenshot part of your screen or an app’s window.

If you press Command + Shift + 4 and then press your space bar, your mouse turns into a camera icon and it can take screenshots of the window, application or other element your mouse is over. When your mouse is over a specific element for a screenshot, that element will have a light-blue filter over it to show it’s being selected. Taking a screenshot this way also makes the screenshot look cleaner and gives it a nice shadow. 

Finder folder showing four filesFinder folder showing four files

Taking a screenshot of a window makes the image appear cleaner.

Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET

Easily take a screen recording

Sometimes people learn better by watching a video than reading instructions. In these instances, taking a screen recording is better than any detailed list you might write.

Press Command + Shift + 5, then in the toolbar that appears near the bottom of your screen, click either of the icons highlighted below. The icon with the dashed border on the right will allow you to set a border to what you’re recording, and the icon on the left will record your whole screen. When you’ve selected which you want to use, click Record. To stop recording, click the Stop icon in your Menu bar across the top of your screen, or you can press Command + Control + Esc. 

Icons for different screenshot and screen recording tools with a yellow border around the screen recording iconsIcons for different screenshot and screen recording tools with a yellow border around the screen recording icons

These two icons enable screen recording on Macs.

Zach McAuliffe/CNET

Save screenshots and recordings in a different location

Screenshots and recordings save to your desktop by default, and they can quickly clutter your workspace. But you can choose a new location to save these files so you can keep your desktop nice and tidy. Here’s how.

1. Press Command + Shift + 5.

2. Click Options.

3. Under Save to, click one of the preselected destinations, like Documents or Messages, or Other Location to save your screenshot and recordings somewhere else, like a specific folder. 

Easily preview files

If all your files in Finder or on your Desktop are named something similar or look the same, you can preview your content without opening them. Click a file once and then press your spacebar. Your file is now viewable without opening the Preview app. To close the file, press your spacebar again. 

You can also quickly view and exit a file by selecting a file, holding the spacebar to preview it and then releasing the spacebar.

Copy text while previewing files

If you’ve got a document or screenshot full of text, you can copy the content from those files while previewing them. Preview the file by selecting it and hitting the spacebar, then move your mouse over what you want to copy and your pointer will transform into the cursor icon. You can now select and copy text like you normally would. This can be especially helpful if you’ve taken a text-heavy screenshot, like a recipe, and want to convert it into a document for better organization.

Write with emoji online and in apps

The emoji menu under the Google search barThe emoji menu under the Google search bar

You can use the emoji keyboard in more places than just your iPhone.

Zach McAuliffe/CNET

Emoji are a fun way to communicate with people in text, online chats and comments. Most people know how to access their emoji keyboard on their iPhone, and you can access the same keyboard on your Mac, too. You can use the emoji keyboard in certain apps, like Notes, social media chats online and search tools, like Google. However, this doesn’t seem to work on certain sites, like Google Docs. 

To access the emoji keyboard in most places on your Mac, click into a text box or other location you’d type a message and press either Function — the Fn key — or Control + Command + spacebar. Both will pull up your emoji keyboard where you can search for the emoji you want, as you would on your phone.

Easily rename files

Renaming files can help keep your folders organized and easily searchable. To easily rename items, select a file and press Return. The file name will be highlighted and you can start typing your new file name.

For more Apple news, check out what’s new on your iPhone with iOS 16.4, the highs and lows of Apple’s Classical Music app and the rumors around Apple’s AR/VR headset.

Technologies

Bank of America Warns Bond Market Echoes 2022 Conditions

Bank of America warns that current bond market conditions mirror those of 2022, when rising yields and rate hikes triggered a significant equity correction. The firm advises investors to consider hedging strategies as real yields break out of trading ranges.

The bond market is giving 2022 vibes right now, and not in a positive way, according to Bank of America. Yields skyrocketed to multiyear highs this week, as oil prices stay elevated and new U.S. data suggests the Federal Reserve may need to hike rates even more to quell inflation. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield reached levels not seen since 2007 above 5.2%. The 30-year bond yield also spiked to its highest levels since 2004. Equities, for their part, weathered the move higher well. The S & P 500 is up around 1% week to date. The Nasdaq Composite jumped nearly 2%. But for BofA technical strategist Paul Ciana, this may be the calm before the storm. US10Y YTD bar US 10-year yield in 2026 “We see parallels with 2022, when the US 10-year real yield broke out of a trading range and rose from approximately -1% to +1.5%. Around that period, the SPX, Euro and Bitcoin formed important peaks and declined, while equity, rates and FX volatility accelerated higher,” Ciana wrote. “The comparison does not require an identical outcome, but we do think it argues for greater caution.” Stocks entered a bear market in 2022, as the Fed quickly raised rates to fend off a massive surge in inflation. The S & P 500 fell more than 19% that year, marking its worst annual performance since 2008 — when it tumbled 38%. Ciana noted investors can hedge by scooping up put options on the SPY ETF , which tracks the S & P 500. “Investors seeking protection may consider one- to three-month SPY 750 puts or 750/730 put spreads,” he said. “The lower strike corresponds to the July lows.” “However, the rise in real yields is quite stretched on weekly RSIs. If yields retrace lower and positive SPX seasonals follow through, hedges may not perform,” he said, referring the relative strength index, a popular indicator that helps assess whether an investment may be overbought or oversold.

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Technologies

Anthropic warns investors of AI’s ‘existential risk to humanity’ in IPO prospectus, reports say

Anthropic’s IPO filing dedicates 80 pages to the risks of AI, nearly double the 48 pages it spends discussing its business plans, according to Reuters.

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Technologies

U.S., Iran hold separate mediator talks as Mideast oil exports hit war-time high

Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire, as Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded to war-time high.

Iranian and U.S. officials reportedly met separately with mediators Monday to push for a ceasefire.

Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February.

An outright export ban by Washington on diesel would keep roughly 1.2 million barrels a day at home, and risks overwhelming Gulf Coast storage, according to Kpler.

The building of the destroyed Shajareh Tayebeh primary school is pictured surrounded by rubble in Minab in Iran’s Hormozgan province on August 10, 2026. Six months on, a team of AFP journalists obtained rare access to the school which has remained largely in ruins, its collapsed walls and twisted steel now surrounded by portraits of the children killed as Iranian flags flutter above the rubble. Iran says the attack on the school involved two separate US Tomahawk missiles but neither the United States nor Israel has officially claimed responsibility for the strike. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images) /

Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images

U.S. and Iranian officials have reportedly held separate indirect talks with mediators on Monday, reviving efforts to end seven months of war as Tehran presses for a response to a revised ceasefire framework and Middle East crude exports climb to their highest level since the conflict began.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York, where he remained after the United Nations General Assembly, and reportedly said he expects Washington’s reply by Tuesday. “We talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran’s conditions,” Araghchi said, adding that he planned to return to Tehran once a response arrives. “Whenever the Qataris have a response, they know how to get it to us.”

Iran’s proposal, first presented on the sidelines of last week’s General Assembly, calls for a four- to five-day U.S. timeline to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, with nuclear talks beginning within seven days. Tehran has tied any reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to those steps.

President Donald Trump had on Sunday called the plan “unacceptable” and rejected it, telling reporters Iran wants a swift deal because of the economic pressure it is under. Speaking at the White House Monday, Trump said U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but gave no further details, adding: “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly.”

The diplomatic push comes as physical supply data shows the war’s toll on the oil market easing. Middle Eastern crude exports rebounded this month to around their highest level since the war began in February, Kpler data showed. “Middle East crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels,” the tracking firm said in a note on Monday.

The Strait of Hormuz itself remains far from normal. Kpler’s real-time tracking showed total clearance through the strait at 10,591 kilobarrels a day on Saturday, against a pre-war baseline of 17,133.

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