Tag Archives: WhatsApp Desktop

fixed : easiest way to get a macOS screenshot into a Whatsapp message

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Question :
In the latest versions of macOS any screenshot I make is no longer immediately saved to the Desktop, but instead I get a popup screen with a preview asking me what to do with the screenshot… but there if I click on the Export button there is no option to export to the Whatsapp.app and it’s impossible to drag&drop the preview into the Whatsapp.app either…

What is te easiest way to get the screenshot into Whatsapp ?

Answer :
The easiest option would have been to just drag&srop the Screenshot preview… but as you already mentioned, that’s impossible.
There are 2 options to get to your desired result as quickly and easily as possible :

Option 1 : using Preview.app
– on your Mac, open the Whatsapp.app and start a new message, no need to typ anything in it yet, just make sure it’s ready
– on your Mac, create a screenshot by pressing the [CMD]+[SHIFT]+[4] key combo
– when the screenshot preview window opens, click the Export button (square with an upward pointing arrow – top right, next to the Done button)
– in the pulldown menu that appears, click Preview
– now the Preview.app opens the screenshot, so in Preview.app click the document name Untitled
– in the document info pulldown menu, set Where: to Desktop
NOTE : you need to (temporarily) save the screenshot anywhere on your Mac before macOS lets you move it to Whatsapp
– then, click on the document name Untitled again, and a document icon will appear left-next to Untitled
– drag that document icon into the Whatsapp.app and the screenshot will appear in your (already open) message
– now, typ any additional text for your message and send it out
– then close the screenshot from the Preview.app
– when you get a window asking you to save screenshot Untitled, click the Delete button since you proably don’t need to keep it
NOTE : no need to save the screenshot on your Mac if you don’t have any use for it – even if you need it later-on, you can get it back by taking it out of your Whatsapp message

Option 2 : the old style
– on your Mac, open the Whatsapp.app and start a new message, no need to typ anything in it yet, just make sure it’s ready
– on your Mac, create a screenshot by pressing the [CMD]+[SHIFT]+[4] key combo
– when the screenshot preview window opens, click the Done button (top right)
– now, drag&drop the screenshot from your Desktop into the Whatsapp.app and the screenshot will appear in your (already open) message
NOTE : if you have a lot of windows open, it will be faster to long-click on the Finder icon bottom-left in the Dock, select New Finder Window from the pulldown menu, click Recent in the menu on the left ot the new Finder window that opens and find your latest screenshot on top and drag&drop it into Whatsapp.app from there
– now, typ any additional text for your message and send it out
– then drag&drop the screenshot to the Trash (or Bin) to delete it (either from the Desktop or from the Recents folder if that’s where you took it from)
NOTE : no need to save the screenshot on your Mac if you don’t have any use for it – even if you need it later-on, you can get it back by taking it out of your Whatsapp message

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : can I send iPhone text messages to Android users from my Mac ?

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Question :
If I want to send text messages to my friends that have Android phones, I can do that from my iPhone using Whatsapp.app or iMessage/Messages.app, but when I’m working on my Mac, it would be far more convenient to do send and receive messages on my Mac.

Is there a way to use Whatsapp and/or iMessage/Messages on my Mac as if I was using my iPhone ?

Answer :
Yes, There is.

Whatsapp to Android from Mac
To send and receive Whatsapp messages, from both Apple and Android users, on your Mac, you only need to install Whatsapp for Mac.
You can get Whatsapp for Mac from the Whatsapp website or from the Mac AppStore.
( the Appstore version is slightly different, but the big plus is that it is automatically updated )
After installing you just need to link it to you iPhone using the iPhone’s Whatsapp.app

Note : even though the iOS version of Whatsapp is listed as Phone/Tablet on the Whatsapp website, it will NOT run on iPad !!! ( as all current iPads run iPadOS, not iOS – an iPadOS version has been in the works for years, but it had still not been released to the general public )

Messages ( iMessage including SMS ) to Android from Mac
To send and receive iMessages on your Mac, you can just use the pre-installed Messages.app from macOS. But if you use it the standard way, you can only send iMessages to Apple users with it… if you want to include sending SMS text messages with it, so you can also send and receive text messages from Android users, you need to switch on some extras :
– open your iPhone
– open Settings.app
– on the page taht opens, scroll down to ‘Apps’ and open it
– on the new page that opens, in the search field, typ ‘Mes…’ and Messages will appear
– click on Messages to open it
– on the next page, scroll down to ‘Text Message Forwarding’ and open it
– on the next page that opens, select you other Apple devices ( switch them ON / green )
– then exit
– now, on your Mac, you will be able to use the SMS functionality in the Messages.app

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : copy WhatsApp profile picture to macOS Contacts address book

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Question :
I am using WhatsApp to communicate with some people that I have only seen a few times in real life. But as we are communicating in a WhatsApp Group it is really handy to see their profile pictures to remember who is who. But now I need to eMail them and it would be great to distinguish them by their profile pictures also… Is there any way to copy their WhatsApp profile pictures over to my macOS Contacts address book ? I’ve tried dark&drop, but that doesn’t work…

Answer :

Yes, but it’s slightly more time-consuming than drag&drop. Here’s how to :

  • make sure you have the official WhatsApp Desktop-app installed on your Mac
  • make sure the WhatsApp Desktop-app is open and you are logged in
    • note : you will need your mobile phone to log in (for the first time)
  • in the WhatsApp Desktop-app do this :
    • open an old conversation with the person who’s profile picture you need
      • you can use the Search-option to find this person if you don’t see them in your recent chats immediately
    • in the person’s profile picture that is visible in the middel of the top menu bar
    • when the Contact Info window opens, right-click on the (large) profile picture that is displayed
    • now, click on the “Copy Image” text that appears
    • then, exit WhatsApp Desktop-app and open Preview.app
    • make sure that “Preview” is listed in the macOS top menu bar, next to the Apple logo
    • goto “File” > “New From Clipboard” and click on it
      • if “New From Clipboard” is greyed out, there is nothing on your clipboard, so you should go back into WhatsApp Desktop-app and do the “Copy Image” procedure again
    • now the profile picture will be displayed as a Preview document
    • goto “File” > “Save” and click on it
      • when asked, you can just leave “name: Untitled” and “location: Desktop” and click OK
      • now a new file (icon) named “Untitled” will appear on your Desktop
    • then, exit Preview.app and open Contacts.app
    • in Contacts.app find the person you want to add the profile picture to
    • click on the person’s name to open their personal info
    • then, drag&drop the “Untitled” file from your Desktop to their profile picture area
    • frist, in white, the word “edit” will appear, when the Plus-sign appears, drop the file
      • you can do this even if you don’t click on the “Edit” button bottom right
    • you will get the option to size the profile picture, so you can zoom in if you like
    • then click OK and you’re done
    • That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : compress video for WhatsApp (or eMail)

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Question :

I would like to send a small piece of a video I just shot at a birthday party to a group of friends on WhatsApp, but it’s too big to upload.

How can I compress it for easy viewing on Whatsapp ?

 

Answer :

If you have shot the video on your iPhone you can send it right away, and iOS will do the compression for you.

However, if you already have the video on your Mac and you want to compress it before you send it using WhatsApp Desktop (for macOS), do this :

  • make sure you trim down the length of the video to a clip that only includes the most relevant part of the video
    • you can do this in QuickTime Player (included in macOS for FREE)
  • use Smart Converter (FREE from Mac AppStore) and choose β€˜for iPhone or iPod’, then click β€˜Convert’ to convert
    • this will convert to an .mp4 video with 1280×720 resolution at 30 frames per second and AAC sound (file size ca. 10MB per 10 seconds)
  • use Handbrake (FREE from handbrake.fr) and choose β€˜Presets’ > β€˜Gmail Large 3 minutes 720p30’, then click β€˜Start’ to convert
    • this will convert to an .mp4 video with 1280×720 resolution at 30 frames per second and AAC sound (file size ca. 2MB per 10 seconds)

Note : even though the frame rate and screen size are the same, the β€˜Gmail’-ready file will be much smaller than the β€˜iPhone’-ready file, even though (or rather β€˜because’) this comes with the downside that quick-moving objects will blur in the β€˜Gmail’-ready video (compared to the β€˜iPhone’-ready video that hardly has any blur and is similar in size and quality to the β€˜Fast 720p30’ preset in Handbrake)Β 

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰