tip : use 3-finger swipe on your iPhone speed things up

Question :

A friend told me I could speed up my interaction with my iPhone by doing things like swiping with multiple fingers at the same time…

How do I do that ?

Answer :

The 2-finger gestures that you can use on your iPhone :

  • the basics : put 2 fingers on the screen next to each other, then spread them (‘pinch’ gesture) to zoom in on a picture or map
  • the basics : put 2 fingers on the screen apart of each other, then bring them together (‘reverse pinch’ gesture) to zoom out on a picture or map
  • the extras : when the onscreen keyboard is shown, long-press the spacebar (with one finger) to get a cursor that you can move though the text (‘trackpad-mode’), then add a second finger and with 2 fingers you can now select parts of the text
  • the extras : when in a list (like in Mail.app or Notes.app) use 2 fingers to tap one item, then drag down (or up) to select multiple items together – if needed you can still deselect individual items using only one finger

The 3-finger gestures that you can use on your iPhone :

  • the basics : put 3 fingers on the screen and swipe to the left to undo any action you just did
  • the basics : put 3 fingers on the screen and swipe to the right to redo anything (especially if you just did an undo action)
  • the extras : after having selected a text, put 3 fingers on the screen and spread them (‘reverse pinch’ gesture) to copy the selected text
  • the extras : after having copied some text (when it’s in the invisible clipboard), put 3 spread-out fingers on the screen and move them together (‘pinch’ gesture) to paste the text into your document
  • the extras : when in any text app, tap 3 fingers on the screen to bring up a menu that enables you to copy & paste

that’s just a few of the very handy gestures that you can use… enjoy 😉

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fixed : trackpad not responding when clicking

Question :

I had left my MacBook Pro (Late 2008 running OSX 10.11 El_Capitan) running and had forgotten all about it… after completely recharging everything seemed to be okay on first sight, but it turned out that even though I could use the (internal) trackpad to move the cursor, I wasn’t responding at all to any clicking on it. I therefore had to connect a USB-mouse. Even after restarting, the trackpad was responsive to moving the cursor, but not to clicking…

Is my MacBook’s trackpad broken ? Or is there a software solution I could try ?

 

Answer :

Even tough it’s not possible to completely rule out the scenario that your trackpad is broken, chances are you will be able to get it working properly again by an action that is normally referred to as “Resetting the PRAM”. Here’s how to do that :

  1. shut down your MacBook
  2. take out all cables and USB-sticks (this is just to rule out complications)
  3. restart your MacBook using the POWER-button
  4. immediately press and hold the key-combo [CDM]+[ALT]+[P]+[R]
  5. make sure you do so while the screen is still black
  6. when the screen lights up in light grey, you’ll hear the startup-chime
  7. now release all your fingers from the keyboard before the Apple-logo appears
  8. let your MacBook startup fully, then test if all works as expected
  9. then reconnect any cables and USB-sticks needed

Note : no worries if you act too slowly or too quickly ; if you are too late to press the key-combo, just let your MacBook startup, then shut down and try again ; if you keep pressing the key-combo for too long, you will hear the startup-chime multiple times (you will have reset your PRAM multiple times, but that’s no problem) so just release the keyboard, and just let your MacBook startup and you’re done… 😉

If the problem persists, you might have an ‘exploded battery’ problem. To check this, see if your trackpad is appearing to bulb out of it’s bezel/housing. If that is the case, you probably need to replace the battery to fix this problem. For most MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s from 2012 and older this is something you can do yourself. Some of these models have a battery-lid that can easily be opened, some models need a little unscrewing. (note : MacBook Airs and more recent MacBooks and MacBook Pros have batteries that are really hard to replace, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done in most cases.) The main problem will be that you need to find the right replacement battery. Amazon has replacement batteries available for most MacBooks and MacBook Pros, don’t mind if it’s not an official Apple battery, read the reviews to make your final choice, because often the imitation batteries are better than the refurbished ones. Here’s a link to one of the most common of these batteries :

replacement battery for 13″ MacBook Pro versions ‘Mid 2009’ to ‘Mid 2012’

enjoy !

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