fixed : “the file couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it“ error in Preview.app when trying to open a JPG-file

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Question :

I am trying to open a JPG-picture in Preview.app, but I get this error : “the file couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it“

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

It isn’t clear why you get this error message, but the way to fix it is rather simple :

  • first, Quit the Preview.app if it is open :
    • press the [CMD]+[Q] key-combo on your keyboard
  • then reopen the Preview.app
  • then Force Quit the Preview.app :
    • press the [CMD]+[ALT]+[ESC] key-combo on your keyboard
    • when the new window opens, select Preview (the app) from the scroll-list
    • then click on the Force Quit button (bottom-right)
  • then reopen the Preview.app
  • now, the JPG files should open in Preview.app without a problem

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : how to duplicate a calendar event on iPhone (or iPad)

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Question :

I am used to arranging my Calendar events mainly on my Mac, because I think I have more options there tan on my iPhone and iPad. But at this moment I do not have my Mac at hand and I want to duplicate (or copy-paste) a calendar event that is already in my Calendar to another date… but there doesn’t appear to be a simple button to do so…

Is there really no way to duplicate a calendar event on an iPhone/iPad ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is an option built into iOS/iPadOS to do so, but it’s not as straight forward as you might like :

  • open the Calendar app
  • go to the calendar event you want to duplicate (or copy-paste)
  • click on it, so the Event Details page will open
  • then click on Edit (top-right), so the Edit Event page will open
  • then click on the tiltle of your event, so the red cursor line appears
  • then click-and-hold on the title of your event again, and when you release the pop-up options will appear in black, then choose Select All
  • the title of your event will now be entirely highlighted in red, and slightly different pop-up options will appear in black, this time choose Copy
  • then click Cancel (top-left)
  • then click on the date (in red) top-left
  • in Calendar-roll page, scroll to the date where you want to place the duplicate calendar event
  • then click + (the red plus-sign top-right), so a New Event page will open
  • click-and-hold on Title (in grey), and when you release the pop-up options will appear in black, then choose Paste
  • now, the event name will be pasted, and the Location-line will be pushed downward to make way for a Suggeted Event
  • click on the Suggested Event and all the additional settings of the original event will be filled out (put differently : you now have a duplicate of the original event)
  • now, adjust all details, like date, time, calendar, alerts, etc. to your liking
  • when ready, click Add (top-right in red)

That’s it… you now have a copy-pasted (and edited) the original event !

enjoy 😉

fixed : Sony miniDV cam “for InfoLithium battery only” error

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Question :

I was planning to review some old miniDV videotapes to see if there was anything interesting on them that I might want to import into my Mac and edit it. However, when I plugged the battery onto my Sony PC1E miniDV camera, I immediately got a blue screen and an error saying “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only”, which is weird because the battery is an original Sony InfoLithium one…

So I plugged in the power cable and connected the power adapter to my Sony miniDV cam… but now I got even weirder : again, I can into the “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only” error… that’s impossible !?! this time it isn’t even a battery that’s connected, it’s the original power cable…

Is my Sony miniDV cam broken  ? (beyond repair maybe ?) Is it possible to fix this ?

 

Answer :

Even though your first reaction might be that your battery or maybe even your Sony miniDV cam is broken beyond repair… you are probably in luck if you haven’t used your Sony miniDV cam for a while and you get the “For InfoLITHIUM Battery only” error message… in that case, the solution is simple most of the time :

you probably got this error message because of the battery contact surface of your cam, your battery or your power adapter is greased or slightly corroded… so just clean it with a cleaning foam or cleaning fluid that is suited for use on electronic devices :

a good option is Multi Foam cleaning foamer by C-Inco, but others that are suited for use on computers and electronics should do as well :

D.RECT Cleaning Foam 400ml   buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

CRC 1 VisiClear Foam Cleaner 6.9oz buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

LogiLink RP0012 Foam Cleaner 400ml   buy it on Amazon DE

Weicon Cleaning Foam 400ml   buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Directions for use :

  • unplug the power adapter from the wall power
  • take the bottle of foam cleaner and shake well
  • then, spay foam on the contact area of the battery on the cam
  • then, spray foam on the contact area of the battery itself
  • then, spray foam onto the contact area of the power adapter
  • then leave it to dry
  • when all foam has dried, reconnect the battery or power adapter
  • then switch on your camera

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : USB-C memorystick for iPad Pro

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Question :

I have an iPad Pro 2018 with a USB-C port, and I found out that I can connect a regular USB-stick using a USB-to-USB-C-adapter and then browse and use all files on the USB-stick from within the Folders.app on my iPad Pro. That’s great !

Now, since I only have USB-C ports on both my MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro,  I was wondering : are there any good USB-C memory sticks available for an affordable price ?

 

Answer :

The answer is simple : Yes, there are USB-C memorysticks that work great.

We have tested this one, that is both USB-C and USB compatible, that makes it even more versatile :

Topesel USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

And there are several alternatives (that we didn’t test) :

SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Go USB-C : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Verbatim Store&Go USB-C Flash Drive : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Kenix on-the-go USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Kootion USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Meco Eleverde USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

Meco Eleverde 2-in-1 USB-C Memory Stick : buy it on Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon DE

enjoy 😉

fixed : use old iPad as an extra screen for your Mac (or PC)

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Question :

Since we are working from home a lot (and the children are home schooling), and we have several old iPads and iPhones lying around gathering dust, we were wondering if it would be possible to use them as second screens on our Macs and Windows PCs to make our work and homework easier by being able to do this (and more) :

  • manage our music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on our old iPad/iPhone whilst running  MS Office on our Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use our old iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on our Mac/PC
  • use our old iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for our Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation onour Mac/PC whilst making notes on our old iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

We noticed Apple has introduced this great feature called Sidecar that enables you to use your iPad (or iPhone) as a second screen for your Mac. But when I looked at the Sidecar requirements on the Apple website, I found that our older iPads/iPhones aren’t supported.

Is there any way to use Sidecar (or something similar) on our old iPads/iPhones ?

 

Answer :

Yes, even though you cannot use Sidecar on any unsupported iPad, iPhone or Mac, there is an alternative that works just as great for any old iPad (or iPhone) and is not limited to a Mac, but does support Windows PCs also… and best of all : it’s FREE.

This is ideal for working from home and home schooling since you can do all this (and more) :

  • manage your music playlist (iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify) on your iPad whilst running  MS Office on your Mac/PC without switching apps
  • use your iPad/iPhone’s touchscreen to put a signature under a PDF-document whilst typing it on your Mac/PC
  • use your iPad/iPhone as a drawing tablet for your Mac/PC
  • videochat or view an online presentation on my Mac/PC whilst making notes on my iPad/iPhone using a full-size keyboard (and easily swapping the two around when needed)

This FREE alternative for Apple Sidecar is Splashtop Wired XDisplay. It enables you to use any iPad/iPhone running iOS 7 or newer as a second or third (touch)screen for any Mac running OSX 10.9 Mavericks (or PC running Windows 7) or newer.

This means that all these iPhone / iPad / Mac models are supported :

  • iPhone 4 or newer
  • iPad 2 or newer
  • any iPad mini
  • any iPad Air
  • any iPad Pro
  • any aluminum iMac (iMac “Mid 2007” or newer)
  • any iMac Pro
  • Mac mini “Early 2009” or newer
  • Mac Pro “Early 2008” or newer
  • white MacBook “Early 2009” or newer
  • any aluminum MacBook
  • MacBook Air “Late 2008” or newer (2nd gen MacBook Air or newer)
  • MacBook Pro “Mid 2007” or newer

To install, do this :

  • install the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on you Mac/PC
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for Mac or Windows here
  • install iTunes on your PC if you have done so yet
    • you can download iTunes for Windows here
    • on a Mac you don’t need additional software for your iPad/iPhone to be recognized
  • install Splashtop Wired XDisplay on your iPad/iPhone
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPhone here
    • you can download Splashtop Wired XDisplay for iPad here
  • then, plug your iPad/iPhone’s USB-cable into your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your Mac/PC
  • then run the Splashtop Wired XDisplay app on your iPad/iPhone
  • then goto the Settings on your Mac/PC, find the Screen Settings and arrange your screens the way you like
    • you can choose “Mirror Screen” to see exactly the same on your MAc/PC and your iPad/iPhone
    • you can choose “Extend Screen” to arrange the iPad/iPhone as an add-on for your desktop
    • if you already have a second screen attached to your Mac/PC, you can use your iPad/iPhone as an additional third screen also

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : charge and use headphones at the same time on USB-C iPad Pro

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Question :

My 2018 iPad Pro is great. I can use it for most of the office work I previously did on my MacBook. I have also started to use my iPad Pro for conference calls. For that I would like to wear my favorite over-ear headphones, which have a 3.5mm mini-jack and noise canceling. I got an official Apple USB-C-to-minijack adapter for that, but then I run into the problem that I cannot charge my iPad Pro at the same time. I have seen that there are various docking stations and port-multipliers that work with the USB-C iPad Pro, but those are very expensive…

Isn’t there a simpler solution ?

 

Answer :

Yes there is, but your choices are very limited : there are various splitters available that split the USB-C port into a USB-port and an audio-port… but : BEWARE ! nearly every single one of them does NOT work with the iPad Pro !!! (most of them only work on Android devices)

There is only one of the simple (and very affordable) splitters that is tested to work with the 2018 iPad Pro :

ESR 2-in-1 USB-C PD Headphone Jack Adapter ( buy it on Amazon UK / Amazon DE )

Note 1 : this splitter’s USB-C port is only capable of charging, not for a USB-(data)stick or a USB-keyboard or anything other than a USB-C charger

Note 2 : this splitter’s audio mini-jack does support both audio-out and audio-in, so when using headphones with a microphone (like gaming headsets) that microphone is used, but when using a regular headphone, the iPad Pro’s built-in microphone will be used

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : where can I get an Ancient Greek keyboard ?

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Question :

I am learning Classical Greek (a.k.a. Ancient Greek) in school, and since I am home-schooling now, I would like to have a Greek keyboard.

Where can I get one ?

 

Answer :

For Ancient Greek, you would preferably use the so called “Greek Polytonic Keyboard” setting on your computer, which is slightly different from a regular / modern Greek keyboard layout.

To enable the “Greek Polytonic Keyboard” on your Mac or PC, see this post :

https://macmanus.nl/2019/02/14/typing-ancient-greek-text-on-mac-or-pc/

However, you are asking for a piece of hardware, a physical keyboard. If you want to buy an actual Greek Polytonic Keyboard, your options are extremely limited and really expensive, especially if you want a real Mac-keyboard (not a Windows-keyboard). You could of course use a modern-day Greek Keyboard instead, but getting yourself one if you’re not living in Greece is rather difficult (and expensive). So I would suggest one of these :

  • …or you can make some stickers yourself, using small round 12mm multi-color stickers and a marker (that you can get in most supermarkets and bookstores)

…and stick those onto an old USB- or Bluetooth-keyboard that you are not currently using. Here’s an example of the layout (yellow & blue are regular keys, white are shift-keys)

If you need an affordable new keyboard, buy the Logitech K120 keyboard (or something alike). Even if you are using a Mac, this Windows keyboard will do since you will be stickering the keys :

 

That’s it !

enjoy 😉