Tag Archives: macOS

fixed : share EPUB (with digital watermark) accross Books.app on iPhone, iPad and Mac

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Question :
I want to purchase an eBook that is not available in Apple Books. I have found it is available on the website of a bookstore in EPUB (with digital watermark) version. It seems like I should be able to download it after purchase and then read it in Books.app on my iPad or iPhone, but is it also possible to read it in the Books.app on my Mac ?

How do I do that ?


Answer :

Yes, you can buy an EPUB (with digital watermark) [ a.k.a. EPUB with social DRM ] and then read it on Apple’s Books.app on either iPhone, iPad or Mac. To do that, do this :

NOTE : if you buy an eBook on Amazon, it will only be available in the Kindle.app (that will automatically sync across your devices also), but getting a Kindle eBook into Apple’s Books.app is problematic… so if you prefer to read all your eBooks in Books.app, avoid buying eBooks on Amazon.

  • first, make sure that you are logged into your iCloud account on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac (with the same iCloud account)
  • on your iPhone (or iPad) go to the online bookstore that sells the eBook in EPUB (with or without personal watermark or Social DRM)
  • purchase the eBook
  • when the download link appear, click on it
  • now the eBook will be downloaded to the Files.app on your iPhone (or iPad), which means it will be visible on the Desktop of your Mac also (which is automatically synced in iCloud)
  • now, on your iPhone (or iPad), click on the eBook in the Files.app and choose “open in Books”
  • now, the eBook will open in Books.app and is ready for reading
  • it will stay in the Library of your Books.app
  • if you have iCloud syncing switched on (most of us have) the eBook will now be available for reading in Books.app on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac
  • if the eBook is not showing up on all devices, recheck in Settings.app if iCloud-syncing is switched on for Books.app
  • if you want to manually add the eBook to your iPhone or iPad, do this :
    • – open the Files.app and find the eBook
    • – click on the eBook and choose “Open in Books”
    • – then wait for the eBook to open in Books.app
    • if you want to manually add the eBook to your Mac, do this :
    • – on your Mac, find the eBook on your Desktop (or in the Desktop folder)
    • – Option-click (right-click) on the eBook icon
    • – from the pulldown menu that appears, choose Open With > Books
    • – now wait for the eBook to open in Books.app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : XLOOKUP function not available in latest version of MS Excel

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Question :
I am running the latest version of MS Excel, but even though it should include the XLOOKUP function, it is not appearing when I want to use it in a formula.

What can I do to fix this ?


Answer :
The problem is that even though you have the latest version of MS Excel installed, the active license you have is one for MS Excel 2019 or earlier…
So, make sure you have a license for a newer version of MS Office for Mac, then do this :
– in Excel, click on “Excel” in the top menu bar
– from the pulldown menu, select “About Microsoft Excel”
– in the “About Excel” window that opens, at “License:” you will see “Office … 2019” (or something alike)
– now, go to the Microsoft website and download the License Removal Tool for Mac
– when downloaded, run the .pkg file and follow the online instructions
– when done, move the downloaded .pkg file to the trash
– then, open any MS Office app (e.g. Excel, Word, PowerPoint or Outlook)
– when prompted, typ your MS Office for Mac license code (for Office 365 or 2021 or newer)
– when done, restart your Mac to activate the license code
– then open Excel after startup and check : XLOOKUP will now be available under “Formulas” > “Lookup & Reference”

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

Note :
Microsoft’s website has further details that you can find here : “How to remove Office license files on a Mac”

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

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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 : contact Microsoft Office Helpdesk

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Question :
I have questions about Microsoft products that go beyond regular issues that are documented in the FAQ. Previously, I would contact the Microsoft telephone Helpdesk ( NL 020-5001500 ), but if you call that number nowadays, you just get a voice message telling you to go online since the Helpdesk is no longer supporting direct contact to callers…

But on the website mentioned, I am getting stuck in a loop… any progress I make sends me back to the same page were I can only typ a question, but there is no chat option given, even when specifically asking for β€œtalk or chat to helpdesk”…
Even Google searches or searching anywhere else on the Microsoft website, doesn’t get me to a page with a chat option… Even the Microsoft-owned chatbots ChatGPT or BingChat AI can’t help me…

What can I do ?

Answer :
Microsoft’s telephone helpdesk used to be great… but the options for contacting Microsoft are a complete mess… unbelievable !
But there is a chat helpdesk, but finding and contacting it is very complex… here’s how to :

  • Do this on a computer (it can be done on an iPhone, but the web chat interface is not really suited for that)
  • Go to the Microsoft website using this link :
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact
  • Β in the search field typ β€œtalk to agent” and (click β€œDone” and) click the blue β€œGet Help” button
  • scroll down and click the blue β€œContact Support” button
  • on the next “Tell us a little more about your problem” page, select your product or service from the pop-up list (activate the list by clicking on the triangular arrow on the right of the selection box)
  • when the second pop-up list appears, select your support category
  • then click the blue β€œConfirm” button
  • on the next page, click on β€œChat with a support agent in your web browser”
  • on the next page check if the email address shown corresponds to the one of the Microsoft account you are having problems with, if not typ the correct account email address first, the click the β€œConfirm” button
  • now, wait for the live chat will start

    NOTE :Β 
  • If you would prefer to chat in your local or native language, you need to tell this in the chat to the English speaking agent…
    (unfortunately, at the time of writing, the autoranslate service is not working and waiting queues for local language chats are extremely long, so chatting in English is about your only option…)

    That’s it !
    enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : how to increase the playback speed of a QuickTime video

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Question :
I have some MP4 videos of online courses that contain a lot of blabla… if they were Youtube videos, I would be able to increase the playback speed to 1.5x (150%) or even 2x (200%) to increase my efficiency. However, these online courses were delivered to me for offline playback in QuickTime on macOS, but now I can’t find the button (or maybe ‘the trick’ ?) to increase the playback speed… so I seem to be stuck on having to watch them at the ‘normal’ s…l…o…w… playback speed…

Is there any way to speed this up ?

Answer :

Yes, there is !
Even though it’s a little more hidden than you are used to with YouTube videos, QuickTime is able to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in three ways, that differ in the range and number of playback speeds available :

1. the basic method :
– when de video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then click on the >> button (top right on the control panel)
– from the popup list that appears, select “Playback Speed“
– then, select the desired speed from the 5 options that appear :
   0,5x  ( half speed )
   1,0x  ( normal speed )
   1,25x ( 25% faster )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster )
   2,0x  ( double speed )

2. the precise method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down the ALT-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in small steps of 10% :
   1,1x  ( 10% faster / slower )
   1,2x  ( 20% faster / slower )
   1,3x  ( 30% faster / slower )
   1,4x  ( 40% faster / slower )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster / slower )
   1,6x  ( 60% faster / slower )
   1,7x  ( 70% faster / slower )
   1,8x  ( 80% faster / slower )
   1,9x  ( 90% faster / slower )
   2,0x  ( double speed / half speed )

3. the hyper speed method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down either the CMD-key or the SHIFT-key or the CTRL-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in huge steps :
   2x  ( double speed forward or backward )
   5x  ( 5x faster = 5 seconds per second forward or backward )
   10x  ( 10x faster = 10 seconds per second forward or backward )
   30x  ( 30x faster = half a minute per second forward or backward )
   60x  ( 60x faster = one minute per second forward or backward )

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : current version (or replacement) of Jaksta downloader app on macOS

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Question :
For years I have been using the Jaksta app for downloading online videos like YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo, and even embedded videos from any website. But now, for some reason Jaksta has stopped updating the Jaksta for Mac (apart form one picture still claiming “Video and Music Downloaders for Windows and Mac”, but all other reference to the Mac version and support or download options have gone).
I’ve found some video-downloaders that can only download from YouTube, and apps like YTD, 4K Video Downloader and VideoProc, but those are primarily made for Windows users and they are nowhere near as versatile as Jaksta….

What can I do ? How do I download embedded videos on my Mac ?

Answer :

Currently there are 2 Mac-apps that can do about the same that you were able to do with Jaksta for Mac, so not only download videos from YouTube and other online video platforms, but also download embedded videos :

Downie by Charlie Monroe
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in
– combination with Permute-app delivers extra fast video conversion to multiple formats & sizes

PullTube by MyMixApps
– downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other online video platforms
– downloading embedded videos from nearly any website
– download videos in any available resolution (even 4K and up)
– a FREE plugin for downloading from within Safari (or other webbrowser) is available
– video conversion to MP4 build in

PullTube, Downie and Permute are available in FREE test-versions, where unlimited use can be unlocked by buying a licence or via the Settapp subscription service that gives access to over 200 macOS & iOS apps for a monthly fee.

If you think the regular pricing of any of these apps is too high (e.g since you expect to only need them for the incidental use), you can search the web for discount codes or check if macOS app bundles like BundleHunt and StackSocial currently feature them.

fixed : how to remove a legacy system extension from your Mac

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Question :
I got a warning from macOS that there is a legacy system extension om my Mac that will not be compatible with the next version of macOS.
Is there any way to remove this extension from my Mac ?

Answer :
If you know which extension is causing this problem, you can remove it.

The main problem is that the warning message will probably not mention the name of the system extension itself, but only the name of the developer. In that case you will need to look up the name of the developer on the Internet and see which system extension that you have installed is/was made by this developer. Once you know the name of the app and the associated system extension, you can remove that particular system extension.

If you can’t figure out which system extension is causing the warning, DO NOT remove any extension !! DO NOT proceed to the next steps if you are not completely sure about the exact system extension you need to remove, because removing the wrong system extension will cause serious problems !!

If you are completely sure, and only if you are entirely sure, about the exact System Extension that is causing this problem, you can remove it by doing this :
– click somewhere on the Desktop to open the Finder
– make sure that “Finder” is visible next to the Apple-icon in the far left of the top menu bar
– select “Go” from the top menu bar
– in the pulldown menu that appears, click on “Go to Folder…”
– in the search field of popup window that appears, type the following text :
/Library/Extensions/
– then hit the [Enter]-key on your keyboard
– in the window that opens, the “Extensions” folder will be highlighted and its content will be visible
– select the .kext-file that has the name of the System Extension you are looking for and drag it to the Trash
– in the popup window that appears, type the password that unlocks your Mac and click “OK”
– then empty the Trash
– and close all Finder windows

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰