Tag Archives: key combo

fixed : use Window Tiling to quickly arrange windows on-screen

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
Is there a way to quickly arrange the active windows of various apps on my macOS screen ?


Answer :
Yes, since macOS 15 Sequoia you can do this with the Window tiling option.

The main ways to use Window Tiling are :
1. using the on-screen buttons
2. using keyboard shortcuts

-1-
Window Tiling buttons
The Window Tiling buttons appear in a popup-screen when you hover the cursor over the GREEN button that’s top-left in every window, be it a Finder-window, an App-window, a Settings-window or any other on-screen window.

NOTE : there’s an extra option (almost hidden) here : the “Move to iPad”-button that enables you to move the active window to your iPad if it’s in the direct vicinity of your Mac (and connect to the same iCloud account)


-2-
Keyboard shortcuts
By pressing various key-combos on your keyboard you can also move the active window(s) – the primary 1, 2 or even 3 windows – to the desired half or quarter of the screen …and still leave the top menu bar and The Dock visible.
These are the main keyboard shortcuts for Windows Tiling :

[fn]+[CTRL]+[F] = FILL the entire screen with the active window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[C] = CENTER the active window in the middle of the screen
[fn]+[CTRL]+[R] = RESTORE to the previous window location(s)

These are the keyboard shortcuts for filling only one half of the screen :

[fn]+[CTLR]+[RIGHT] = fill the RIGHT half of the screen with the active window
[fn]+[CTLR]+[LEFT] = fill the LEFT half of the screen with the active window
[fn]+[CTLR]+[UP] = fill the UPPER half of the screen with the active window
[fn]+[CTLR]+[DOWN] = fill the LOWER half of the screen with the active window

These are the keyboard shortcuts for filling both halves of the screen :

[fn]+[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[RIGHT] = fill the RIGHT half of the screen with the active window AND the left half with the secondary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[LEFT] = fill the LEFT half of the screen with the active window AND the right half with the secondary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[UP] = fill the UPPER half of the screen with the active window AND the lower half with the secondary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[DOWN] = fill the LOWER half of the screen with the active window AND the upper half with the secondary window

And these are the keyboard shortcuts for filling one half and two quarters of the screen :

[fn]+[CTRL]+[ALT]+[SHIFT] +[RIGHT] = fill the RIGHT half of the screen with the active window, the left top quarter with the secondary window AND the left bottom quarter with the tertiary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[ALT]+[SHIFT] +[LEFT] = fill the LEFT half of the screen with the active window, the right top quarter with the secondary window AND the right bottom quarter with the tertiary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[ALT]+[SHIFT] +[UP] = fill the UPPER half of the screen with the active window, the left bottom quarter with the secondary window AND the right bottom quarter with the tertiary window
[fn]+[CTRL]+[ALT]+[SHIFT] +[DOWN] = fill the LOWER half of the screen with the active window, the left top quarter with the secondary window AND the right top quarter with the tertiary window

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : screen and Touch Bar stay black when starting up MacBook Pro

Posted on by
Reply

Question :
I was trying to start up my MacBook Pro this morning but when I did, nothing appeared on screen… the screen stayed black… even the Touch Bar above the keyboard stayed black… I think I could hear a distant startup chime sound, but that was all… no indication of any response to my start-up attempts…
I thought that the battery might be empty, so I plugged in the USB-C power cable (which unfortunately does not turn on any light that indicates it’s charging), but the result of my start-up attempts stayed the same : black screen, black Touch Bar and only a dim, distant start-up chime…
Is this some kind of hardware failure (broken screen) ? Or is this a software problem that I can fix myself ?

What can I do ?

Answer :
This is a software problem.
You can fix this by doing the following :
– simultaniously press this key combo on your MacBook Pro’s keyboard :
[CTRL] + [CMD] + [ON/OFF] for at least 5 seconds, then release

[CTRL] = the ‘Control’ key
[CMD] = the ‘Command’ key, the key with the stylized 4-leaf-clover, previously known as ‘Apple’ key
[ON/OFF] = the ‘Touch ID’ key on the far right of the Touch Bar that is used for starting up, shutting down, and Touch ID

…and now, your MacBook Pro should start-up as usual, starting with a white Apple logo appearing on your black screen…
if it still doesn’t work, use this slightly longer procedure :
– press the [ON/OFF] key for at least 10 seconds to shut down your MacBook Pro
– then press the [CTRL] + [CMD] + [ON/OFF] key combo for at least 5 seconds to start-up

…That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰




fixed : easiest way to hide & unhide hidden files on your Mac

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

Yesterday my text editor app crashed, and even though I had automatic saving turned on, I can’t find the automatically saved latest version anywhere…

I expect I might find it in the hidden files and folders on my Mac.

What is the best app to hide (and unhide) hidden files on my Mac ?

( Note : I know this can be done using the Terminal, but I’m very hesitant towards using the Terminal.app )

 

Answer :

When your Mac is running macOS 10.12 Sierra or newer, you don’t need Terminal.app or any other application to toggle between showing and hiding hidden files, you can now use a simple key-combo to do this :

simultaniouslyΒ typΒ [SHIFT] + [CMD] + [.] to (un)hide invisible files

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

 

Note #1 : this is even the simplest and quickest way to open the User’s Library folder.

Note #2 : if your Mac is running MacOSX 10.11 El_Capitan or older, you cannot use this key combo, so you’ll need to use an application like HideSwitch.app or ShowHiddenFiles.app or Funter.app (or the Terminal.app) to hide/unhide invisible files

 

fixed : how to take a screenshot on an iPhone X / XS / XR ?

Posted on by
Reply

Question :

Whenever I wanted to take a screenshot of my iPhone’s screen, I used to press the Home-button and the ON/OFF-button simultaneously, and I would have my screenshot. Since I now have a new iPhone without the physical Home-button, I can no longer do that… but I haven’t figured out how to take screenshotsΒ now…

What should I do ?

 

Answer :

On the new iPhones that no longer have a Home-button, like the iPhone X / XS / XS Max / XR, the buttons to press to get a screenshot have slightly changed :

press the ON/OFF-button (right) and the VolumeUp-button (left) simultaneously for more than a second, and you’ll hear the ‘camera-shutter-sound’ and see the screen flash ; this means the screenshot has been taken and you’ll see it appear in reducedΒ size bottom-left on your screen… and it will be placed in your Photos.app

That’s it πŸ˜‰

enjoy !