Tag Archives: 10.11 El_Capitan

fixed : retrieve WiFi-password from iPhone [without hacking]

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

We have a password-protected WiFi-network at our local sports club. My iPhone automatically logs on when I’m near, but now my son is a member too and he would also like to connect to the WiFi when he’s around. Problem is, nobody seems to know the password… I’ve typed the password once long ago, but I didn’t write it down… Is there any way to see the password that is stored on my iPhone ?

 

Answer :

Yes, but you need a Mac and iCloud for it.

To be more precise : you can’t retrieve passwords on your iPhone (or iPad) the way you can on your Mac, by just opening the Keychain utility.

But there’s a way around this :

  1. on your iPhone, go to Settings –> iCloud
  2. there, make sure “Keychain” is set to “On”
  3. then, on your Mac, go to Apple [top left corner] –> System Preferences –> iCloud
  4. in the window that opens, make sure there’s a checkmark in front of “Keychain”
  5. then, on your Mac, click anywhere on your desktop
  6. then make sure “Finder” is displayed top left, next to the Apple-icon
  7. then press the [SHIFT]+[CMD]+[U] key-combo on your keyboard
  8. in the window that opens (named “Utilities”) double-click on the “Keychain Access” icon
  9. in the window that opens (named “Keychain Access”) select “iCloud” from the list on the left
  10. now, find the name of the WiFi-network you are interested in, and double-click on it
  11. in the window that opens (named like the WiFi-network), make sure the “Attributes”-tab is selected
  12. then, put a checkmark in front of “Show password:”
  13. in the (unnamed) window that opens it is said ‘Keychain Access want to use the “Local Items” keychain.’ typ your Administrator’s password and click “OK”
  14. now, the WiFi-password you are looking for will be displayed in the previous window (at “Show password:”)

…that’s it !

enjoy 😉

Donate Button (MacManusNL)

fixed : grey NoEntry-sign when trying to move items to OSX 10.11 El_Capitan System folder

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

I used to be able to drag&drop tweaked or additional system files to the general Libraries folder inside System folder. I only had to typ my administrator’s name & password to give extra authentication. But, since installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan, I can’t seem to be able to drag&drop like that any longer… I get a grey circle with a slash in it…

Even when trying to change folder permissions for folders within de System folder, through the “Get Info” panel, I can’t change the permissions…

What is the problem ?

And how can I bypass this ?

 

Answer :

The grey circle with a slash in it is actually a grey version of the red traffic sign that is used as a “No Entry”, “No Access” or “Prohibited” sign.

With the upgrade to OSX 10.11 El_Capitan, System Integrity Protection (SIP) has been introduced to OSX. The positive side of this is that it is now extremely hard to accidentally mess up the OSX system. The negative side however is that is no longer possible to get access to some system folders without downgrading security and using the Terminal.

But… the collaboration between the ~/System/Library folder and the ~/Library folder is now working far better than in previous versions of OSX.

So, the solution : if you want to put files or items in a folder that’s inside the ~/System/Library folder, now put them in the corresponding folder inside the ~/Library folder and everything should work as intended

e.g. :  items that you used to put in the ~/System/Library/Fonts folder, can now be drag&dropped into the ~/Library/Fonts folder

NOTE : for items that you used to put in a folder within ~/System/Library that isn’t available inside ~/Library the solution is to create a folder with the correct name in there to put those items in

e.g. : for items that you used to put in the ~/System/Library/Filters folder, you should now create a ~/Library/Filters folder first to put the files in first

TIP : to be able to view the ~/Users/[username]/Library folder, make sure “Finder” is indicated next to the Apple icon in the upper left corner, the select “Go” and press the ALT-key on your keyboard and the Library folder will magically appear in the pulldown list

enjoy !

Donate Button (MacManusNL)

fixed : why am I typing a TM-sign instead of a Euro-sign ?

Posted on by
4

Question :

Today, I had to type some text that included some financial figures, but for some reason I got a TM-sign on screen every time I typed the Euro-sign by pressing the key-combo [ALT]+[2].

I’ve never had this before.

What is wrong ?

 

Answer :

How you got this problem is unclear, but the solution is simple.

Have a look at the top menu bar (of the Finder), is there a US-flag next to the current time ?

If so, your keyboard is set to US-layout and in US-keyboardlayout the [ALT]+[2] key-combo will give the TM-sign (Trademark-sign) on screen.

To change that, do this :

  • click on the US-flag in the top menu bar (of the Finder)
  • in the pulldown menu, click on “Open Keyboard Preferences…”
  • in the window that opens, make sure the “Input sources”-tab is selected, then click on de + (Plus-sign) bottom left
  • from the list in the pulldown window that opens, choose “British” (UK-flag)
  • then click “Add”
  • back in the previous window, click on “(UK-flag) British” at the left to select it
  • then close the Preferences window by clicking the red button top left
  • then in the top menu bar (of the Finder) make sure there is a UK-flag
  • if there still is a US-flag, click on it and select the UK-flag from the pulldown menu

…then try typing the [ALT]+[2] key-combo in a text and see if it works

…that’s it ! enjoy 😉

Donate Button (MacManusNL)

fixed : close that one window that blocks off the rest of Safari

Posted on by
2

Question :

While browsing the internet using Safari, I suddenly got a popup window which I can’t close. I expect it to be a scam, as there is only one button ; an OK-button.

As I don’t agree with the text I am supposed to agree on, and I don’t trust the sender either, I just want to close this popup-window. But the red ‘Close Window’-button is not responding, and I can’t switch to any other open browser windows either. Safari seems to hang.

I could of course restart Safari, but I have several windows open I haven’t saved yet and it would be a real hassle to loose them…

Isn’t there any way to shut this popup down without loosing any other open windows ?

 

Answer :

The popup you have encountered is most definitely a scam-popup, as there is no option to ‘not agree’.

It’s rather simple to get out of this awkward situation :

  1. shut down your WiFi-connection : goto the ‘piece-of-pie’ icon in the top menu bar of the Finder –> then select “Turn Wi-Fi Off” from the pulldown menu that appears
  2. pull the ethernet-cable from your Mac
  3. now you’re disconnected from the Internet, you can safely click on the OK-button in the popup-window
  4. the popup-window will now close, and you will now be able to normally use Safari again
  5. now close all other windows you don’t need to have open
  6. even though you could now reconnect to WiFi- or Ethernet-internet, it’s recommended to do the following first
  7. still without internet-connection, open a new browser window : File –> New Window (or just press the CMD + N key-combo)
  8. then open the Reading List sidebar in that fresh window : View –> Show Reading List Sidebar (or just press the SHIFT + CMD + 2 key-combo)
  9. now drag all open browser windows you want to keep to the reading list
  10. when done, clear Safari’s history and website data : Safari –> Clear History…
  11. in the popup window that opens asking you to “Clear history will delete related cookies and other website data.” click on the “Clear History”-button
  12. then close Safari
  13. then reconnect to the Internet (either via WiFi or Ethernet-cable)
  14. and reopen Safari

…you can now find all previously open windows in the Reading List

 

enjoy !

Donate Button (MacManusNL)

fixed : animated GIFs not playing in Preview.app

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

For my work I regularly get animated-GIF for online advertising campaigns send to me offline. As it turns out I can only view them in the Finder’s preview, but when I double-click on them, they open in Preview.app as a static picture…

What can I do ?

 

Answer :

As any .gif-file is considered as a picture by OSX, both static and animated GIFs will be opened in Preview.app by default. Too bad, but Preview.app can only display static pictures, no movies, nor dynamic pictures…

The solution is simple ; just make OSX by default open all .gif-files in an application that can handle animations, like your web browser.

to do so :

  • locate and select any of your animated .gif-files in the Finder
  • then press the [cmd]+[i] key-combo on your keyboard (a.k.a. “get info”)
  • in the info-window that opens, scroll down to “Open with:”
  • make sure the triangular arrow in front of “Open with:” is pointing down
  • if the triangular arrow is pointing to the right, click on it
  • just below “Open with:” you will see “Preview (default)”
  • click on that, and change it to “Safari” (or any other application that can handle animated GIFs, if you don’t see the application you’re looking for listed, select “Other…” and select the one you prefer from you Applications folder)
  • then, don’t forget to click on the “Change All…”-button also

…that’s it, from now on, any .gif-file on your Mac will be opened in Safari (or your chosen alternative) by default, and you will see all animated-GIFs opened as animations when you lick on them.

enjoy !

😉

Donate Button (MacManusNL)

fixed : install OSX 10.11 El_Capitan on unsupported Macs

Posted on by
3

Question :

I read somewhere that it is possible to install the latest version of OSX 10.10 Yosemite on my Mac, even though the official installer refuses to install.

Can you give me any directions ?

 

Answer :

Installing newer versions of OSX on slightly older Macs that do not meet the official system requirements can be done using MacPostFactor (MCPF).

MacPostFactor also supports installing OSX versions up to OSX 10.10 Yosemite on older Macs. And a new version that supports installing OSX 10.11 El_Capitan is in the works.

For more info (and downloads), go to the info page on MacRumors.com :

http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/os-x-yosemite-on-unsupported-macs-guide.1761432/

or see the (less readable) official page of the MacPostFactor team :

http://osxhackers.net/MCPF/

…in short :

!!! THIS IS FOR (RATHER) EXPERIENCED MAC-USERS ONLY, AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE ON YOUR ‘ONE AND ONLY’ MAC !!!

!! REMEMBER : DO FOLLOW THE COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE : MacPost Factor info page on MacRumors.com

…that should be it !

enjoy !

😉

Donate Button (MacManusNL)