fixed : open your open pages from macOS Safari on your iPhone

Question :

I overheard someone telling they could open the internet pages they have opened on their Mac from their iPhone also. I’ve never seen it in practice, but I think it would be great to be able to continue browsing on my iPhone what I had started on my Mac. I have asked my colleagues and friends, but no-one could tell me how to do that.

How do I do that ?


Answer :

Yes, you can continue the internet browsing you’ve started on one Apple device on another Apple device, if you use iCloud.
First step is to activate iCloud Safari syncing. To do so, do this :
– on your Mac, goto Apple-icon (top-left in the menu bar)
– select System Settings from the pulldown menu
– in the window that opens, click on Apple ID (just below your name, top left)
– when the Apple ID page opens, click on iCloud
– when the iCloud page opens, click on the “Show more apps” button
– in the popup window that opens, make sure that the slider at Safari is set to ON (green)
– then, exit the System Settings
– now, on your iPhone, open the Settings.app
– in the page that opens, click on your own name (Apple ID, iCloud+, Media & Purchases)
– in the Apple ID page that opens, click on iCloud
– in the iCloud page that opens, click on Show All
– in the Apps using iCloud page that opens, make sure that the slider is te to ON (green)
– then close the Settings.app

With iCloud Safari syncing set, you can now see the webpages you have open on your Mac from Safari on your iPhone. To do so, do this :
– first, make sure you have at least one page open in Safari on your Mac
– then, open the Safari.app on your iPhone
– now, in the Safari.app, click on the Tabs-icon (bottom right – two squares on top of each other)
– then, in the preview page of all open tabs (open pages), click on the Plus-sign (bottom left)
– when the Favourites page opens, scroll down to the bottom
– there you will have at least one chapter named “From Mac…” with “Show All” next to it
– click on “Show All” and find all the pages you have open on your Mac
– if you don’t see the “From Mac..” chapter, click the “Edit” button at the bottom and make sure that the slider at “iCloud Tabs” is set to On (green) and return to the previous page

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : no internet connection while WiFi and LAN are okay (after running Jaksta)

Question :
I was running an app (Jaksta Media Recorder) that crashed. Now I am no longer able to make any connection to the internet from macOS using my regular settings. Safari, Apple Mail.app and Whatsapp for macOS can no longer get propper connection to the internet.
I have tried resetting my internet modem, and my VPN now works, but the apps still cannot get a propper internet connection… so it appears to be a DNS problem, but changing DNS servers didn’t help…

What can I do to solve this ?


Answer :
As you might have expected, Jaksta Media Recorder has caused this problem when it crashed… to fix it, do this :
– restart your Mac
– do not startup any apps, startup the Jaksta Media Recorder app first
– when the Jaksta Media Recorder window opens (where you can see your previous downloads a.k.a. recordings) go to the bottom left corner and put the slider (that is turned ON automatically) in the OFF position
– then quit the Jaksta Media Recorder app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

Note : Jaksta Media Recorder for Mac is no longer being supported, as of 2023 Jaksta is a Windows-only app, so if you run into any problems with Jaksta for Mac you are pretty much left hanging… so, if you’re looking fro an alternative for Jaksta, see this post :
fixed : current version (or replacement) for Jaksta downloader app on macOS

fixed : save Instagram pictures to Photos.app on macOS

Question :

I came across some group photos on Instagram that I am on but that I did not take and/or post myself. I would really like to save them to my Photos.app but I can’t figure out a way to do that…

How do I do that ?

Answer :

Yes, this is possible, but… DO NOT use any app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac that needs your Instagram login credentials to do that !! as by doing that, you are granting third party access to your Instagram and you are thereby making your Instagram account extreme vulnerable to hacking, fraud and identity swapping !!

Instagram has made it impossible to save pictures from within the Instagram.app (either on iPhone, iPad or Mac) so the only ‘good’ way to do this is via the website. To do so, do this :

  • on your Mac, open the Photos.app
  • then, open Safari and in the top menu bar goto Safari > Settings > Advanced
  • in the “Advanced” window, make sure that there is a checkmark at “Show Develop menu in menu bar”
  • now, close the Settings and goto http://www.instagram.com
  • login using your account name and password
  • scroll through the pictures and select one that you want to download / save to Photos.app
  • now, in the top menu bar goto Develop > Show Page Source
  • the underwater screen will now appear in the bottom half of the browser window
  • inside the underwater screen, in the menu on the left, click on the folder named “Images”
  • now, in the main past of the underwater screen you will see just the pictures of your Instagram page
  • scroll through these pictures and when you find a picture that you want to download drag&drop it to Photos.app’s main screen and it will be imported to your Photos.app (note that you could also drag&drop the image to your Desktop or any folder in the Finder to save the picture to your Mac)
  • repeat this drag&drop action for every picture you want to download
  • when done, close Safari
  • now, goto the Photos.app and in the menu list on the left, click on “Imports”
  • then, on the main part of the Photos window, all recently imported pictures will appear
  • scroll down to the very bottom and you will see the pictures you have imported from Instagram
  • from here on, you can use the downloaded Instagram pictures however you like…

…that’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed” error in WordPress Dashboard

Question :

My WordPress.com website has been shifted to the revamped version of the WordPress Dashboard, but now, when I am trying to re-edit posts from before September 2020, I can only see the post’s title in the edit page… the body text is replaced by an error message saying “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed”.

What can I do to fix this ?

Answer :

The underlying problem is not exactly clear, but the solution is rather simple :

  • make sure you are running the latest version of macOS, if not : upgrade to the latest version of macOS
  • make sure you are running the latest version of Safari (or the browser you are using), if not : upgade to the latest version
  • open Safari
  • goto “View” (in the top menu bar)
  • click on “Reload without Content Blockers” (from the pulldown menu)
    • Note : the regular β€œReload Page (CMD+R)” will NOT solve the problem !

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : how to retrieve Safari Strong Password from iCloud

Question :

I am setting up an app (ToDoist.app in this case) to work across my devices. I have set up the app (ToDoist.app) on my iPhone about a week ago, and now I am trying to set up the app on my Mac. The problem is I need to login to my ToDoist-account on my Mac, but since I have used the password that was automatically suggested I have no recollection of the password I have set…

Is there any way to retrieve the password from iCloud ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is πŸ˜‰

To make the actual password visible, do this :

  • make sure that both your iPhone and your Mac are logged in with the same iCloud-account
    • on your iPhone, goto Settings.app > [your name] (listed on top) > iCloud
    • on your Mac, goto System Preferences > Apple ID (grey tile with the white Apple logo, top right)
  • then, make sure that iCloud’s password backup is switched on
    • on your iPhone, in Settings.app > [your name] (listed on top) > iCloud > “Apps using iCloud” > Keychain should be ON
    • on your Mac, in System Preferences > Apple ID > “Apps on this Mac using iCloud” there should be a check-mark at “Keychain”
  • if it wasn’t, restart the app on your iPhone
  • then, on your Mac, goto Safari > Preferences > Passwords
  • then, login on the window that opens ( using your Mac’s screen unlock password )
  • in the next window, scroll down the list and select the appropriate website
  • then, left-click on the dotted-out password ( so the actual password will be shown )
  • then, right-click on the password and select “Copy Password” from the pop-up list
  • now, paste the password into the app’s login-window

…this will unlock the app πŸ˜‰

enjoy !