fixed : Nintendo Switch can’t see iPhone’s Personal Hotspot

Question :

I am on holiday and since there is no WiFi-internet here, I would like to connect my Nintendo Switch to my iPhone’s unlimited internet plan by connecting to it’s WiFi using the Personal Hotspot feature in iOS. But if I have Personal Hotspot turned on, my Switch can’t see it… even if I can connect to the Personal Hotspot from another iPhone.

What is wrong ?

Answer :

There’s an easy fix for this :

  • on you iPhone, goto the Settings.app
  • in the Settings window that opens, click on “Personal Hotspot” (should be just below “Mobile Data” – if it is not, your mobile phone provider has blocked this and you have no way of wirelessly sharing your iPhone’s internet connection)
  • in the Personal Hotspot window that opens, set the “Allow Others to Join” slider to ON
  • you can just use automatically generated WiFi password for your Personal Hotspot, but if you want to set your own password, click on the triangular arrow right next to the password and a new page wil openen where you will be able to set the password of your liking
  • now, the one crucial step : set the “Maximise Compatibility” slider to ON
  • then exit the Settings.app
  • goto your Nintendo Switch and now you will see your iPhone’s personal hotspot listed as an available network

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : replace keyboard keys (keycaps) on MacBook Pro 2020

Question :

I have a 2020 MacBook Pro and some of the keys on the keyboard are completely unreadable since sweaty and greasy fingers have ‘eaten’ away the black and white paint. The MacBook Pro is still working great, so is there any way to replace just the keys / keycaps and not the entire keyboard ?

Answer :

Yes there is !

And it is actually very simple, if you know how to do it.

First, you will need new keycaps. You can get them from a broken MacBook Pro 2020 of course, but you can also buy new ones ( note : if you are fine with just replacing the letter keycaps since the rest of the keys are still okay, you don’t have to worry about the keyboard layouts ( like QWERTY, AZERTY, QWERTZ ) of the keycaps you’re buying, but if you also need specific irregularly shaped or printed keycaps, you have to pay attention to the keyboard layout of the keycaps ) online at Amazon e.g. :

US keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon affiliate link)

US keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon.co.uk affiliate link)

DE keyboard keycaps for MacBook Pro 2020 (Amazon.de affiliate link) ; can be rearranged to QWERTY or AZERTY

To get a keycap off, do this :

  • slide your fingernail ( note : if you have artificial and/or weak fingernails, use a spudger-tool ) under the top right edge of the keycap
  • then slide your fingernail (of Uspudger-tool) to the top left edge of the keycap
  • the top of the keycap will now loosen
  • now, flip the keycap toward you and it will pop out

note : since you now have the keycap off, you now have the opportunity to clean out any debris (like dust, hairs and bread crumbs) from under the keycap – just make sure you don’t accidentally break the key’s mechanism

To place a new keycap back, do this :

  • hold the keycap in a slight angle compared to the keyboard
  • place the bottom of the keycap in place first
  • then, gently press the top the keycap back into place (you will hear/feel a soft click)
  • now, check if the keycap is in place as intended – if not, take the keycap off entirely (using the above instructions) and do a new attempt to place it properly

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : insert a picture into a PDF using Preview.app

I need to fill out a PDF-form and include a picture also. I tried to do this using Preview.app but drag&drop didn’t work and copy&paste didn’t work either…

Is there any way to do this ?

Answer :

Yes, you can add a picture into a PDF using Preview.app. To do so, do this :

  • open the PDF in Preview.app
  • then, open the picture in a separate window in Preview.app
  • then, in the window with the picture, do this :
  • – select all ; by using the [CMD]+[A] key combo
  • – copy ; by using the [CMD]+[C] key combo
  • – paste ; by using the [CMD]+[V] key combo (when still in the window with the picture in it)
  • – resize the picture to about half-size ; by dragging the edges
  • – copy ; by using the [CMD]+[C] key combo
  • then, in the window with the PDF in it, do this :
  • – paste ; by using the [CMD]+[V] key combo
  • – resize the picture to the desired size ; by dragging the edges
  • – move to the desired location on the page ; by dragging the picture
  • then, save the PDF (under a different name if you like)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : calculate the number of days between 2 dates

Question :

I want to integrate a formula in my spreadsheet (in Excel or Numbers) that calculates the number of days between 2 dates that I have in other cells on the spreadsheet.

How do I do that ?

Answer :

there are 2 formulas available to do this, choose the one that works best for you in Excel or Numbers :

formula =DUR2DAYS(enddatestartdate)+1

or

formula =DATEDIF(startdate, enddate, “D”)+1

NOTE : the “+1” in both these formulas is only needed if you want the number of days including both startdate and enddate !

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : convert .webp animation to animated .gif

Question :

I just received a message with an animated picture in it, that I want to save on my Mac to maybe send it to someone else later on. I thought it would be an animated-GIF file, but it turns out to be a .webp-file when I save it to my Mac.

Is there a way to convert this .webp animation to an animated .gif ?

Answer :

Yes, and it is rather simple, just do this :

  • on your Mac, right-click on the icon of the .webp-file
  • in the popup-list that appears, choose “Get Info”
  • in the “Get Info” window that opens, goto “Name & Extension” and replace the “.webp” extension by “.gif”
  • and to make double-checking easier, uncheck “Hide Extension”
  • then, close the “Get Info” window (by clicking the X-marked red dot top left)
  • now, open the renamed file in Preview.app to check if it has multiple images inside
  • then, open the renamed file in your webbrowser to check if the animation runs smoothly

That’s it !

Note : this works if the original file inside the .webp-animation is an animated GIF, it’s not sure if this will work for any .webp-animation

enjoy 😉

fixed : create a poll or multiple-choice questionaire in WhatsApp

Question :

I want to test the waters on some subject in a WhatsApp-group I’m in. Let’s say I want to know how everybody feels about doing something together or not. I’ve seen someone else post a polling questionnaire like that in another WhatsApp-group, and I want to do something similar…

How do I do that ?

Answer :

To create a poll (a questionnaire) in WhatsApp, do this :

  • make sure you have the latest version of WhatsApp installed on your iPhone
  • open WhatsApp and go to the group you want to post the poll in
  • click on the + (the Plus-sign) bottom left (next to the field where you normally type new messages)
  • in the popup list that opens, select “Poll”
  • in the “Create Poll” window that opens, at “Question” type the initial question for your poll/questionnaire
  • then, at “Options”, add the first multiple-choice answer you have in mind
  • then, just below, type the second multiple-choice answer
  • now, upon typing the second multiple-choice answer, you will see that an extra field will appear for an extra answer you have in mind
  • if you want to add a third (or fourth or fifth) multiple-choice answer, type it
  • so, when you have all multiple-choice answers typed, leave the bottom field empty (it will be marked with “Add” in grey)
  • now, if you want people to limit their response to only one answer/option, set the “Limit to only one choice” open (to the right) ; if not, leave it closed (to the left)
  • then click “Send” top right and your poll will be posted in your WhatApp-group
  • as soon als people start filling out your poll/questionaire, their face-icons/avatars will show up next the answer of their choice, so you can monitor the most and least popular answers

That’s it !

enjoy 😉