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314 votes
3 answers
194k views

Hotkey to show hidden files and folders in File Open dialog?

This question is very similar to Is it possible to always show hidden/dotfiles in Open/Save dialogs?. How to show hidden files and folders in finder? is also related. However, I don't want to always ...
user avatar
195 votes
12 answers
178k views

Why is it not possible to use the "cut" command to manipulate a file in the Finder?

On OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard), I don't seem to be able to us the "Cut" command on a file in the Finder, like you can do in Windows Explorer on Microsoft Windows. (In Windows, once you select a file and "...
Marty's user avatar
  • 2,177
180 votes
239 answers
47k views

Which OS X Applications do you find indispensable?

Please Search Prior To Posting! There are many applications already listed. In all likelihood, this includes the one you are thinking of. Please check the existing answers to avoid duplicates, and ...
176 votes
20 answers
419k views

How to arrange two windows easily to left and right side?

In Windows 7, we can easily arrange two windows with these shortcuts: Option (Alt) ⌥ + ← maximizes the window to the left side of the screen, and Option (Alt) ⌥ + → maximizes the window to the right ...
Benjamin's user avatar
  • 1,863
156 votes
9 answers
500k views

How can I mount an SMB share from the command line?

I would like to mount an SMB network share from the command line (terminal); how would I go about that? I am using Mac OS X 10.6.4.
Eyvind's user avatar
  • 1,725
106 votes
4 answers
99k views

How can I type unicode characters without using the mouse?

I want to type unicode characters with the keyboard. I'm looking for a solution with no mouse usage. For example, below I have a line with the unicode "PILE-OF-POO" character: 💩 The codepoint for ...
wim's user avatar
  • 1,414
104 votes
2 answers
181k views

Why doesn't Mac OS X source ~/.bashrc? [duplicate]

I found a lot of people figuring out why instruction similar to this : Put X to your ~/.bashrc and you can do Y don't work. It always turns out that Mac OS X's bash's startup files (or Mac's Bash ...
Paweł Brewczynski's user avatar
102 votes
10 answers
146k views

How do I control Macbook volume when a DP display is connected?

When I plug my Mac into a DisplayPort monitor that has loudspeakers, the Mac's volume controls become disabled. Is Apple assuming that if I have external speakers I am so much better using their ...
jay613's user avatar
  • 2,558
74 votes
8 answers
94k views

What is wired memory?

I'm trying to figure out what is using all of the memory in my Macbook Pro running OS X Lion. I have 8 GB of memory total. When I quit all active programs except Finder and Activity Monitor, then run ...
cisellis's user avatar
  • 935
70 votes
2 answers
108k views

What is com.apple.bird? Why does it grow so big?

When trying to clean up their hard disk, some users discover ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.bird is pretty big, sometimes in the order of many gigabytes. What is it?
hectorpal's user avatar
  • 861
51 votes
11 answers
5k views

Is it generally advisable to get anti-virus software for Mac OS X?

Is it worth to buy an anti-virus software for Mac OS X? I heard both opinions like "it's not possible to get a virus on Mac OS X" and "Mac OS X is also vulnerable against virus... " Which is true? ...
gsharp's user avatar
  • 1,010
47 votes
7 answers
76k views

Bandwidth shaper or bandwidth controller application for Mac OS X

I'm looking for a bandwidth/packet throttle/shaper program with the following features: Similar to Windows-based Netlimiter. GUI based and not terminal or command line. Shows list of all applications ...
Rishi's user avatar
  • 571
46 votes
5 answers
13k views

Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp?

Why is /tmp a symlink to /private/tmp on Mac OS X? In other words, why isn't /tmp just a regular directory, like on Linux or BSD? I understand how it works and I don't mind it, I'm just interested in ...
otto.poellath's user avatar
45 votes
6 answers
11k views

App crashes, dock icon remains, can't reboot, yet no process in ps aux to kill

I've been encountering an extremely annoying problem since I upgraded to Yosemite. FCPX (but I've been having reports of this problem on other computers with finder.app and safari.app) sometimes will ...
Marco Carandente's user avatar
44 votes
6 answers
77k views

How to add hibernate mode to MacBook Pro

I have recently switched to Mac from Windows hence I do not have much information. I want my Mac to go to safe sleep state on closing the lid. I also need an extra option available somewhere which ...
anuja's user avatar
  • 441
40 votes
8 answers
34k views

SRM gone in macOS Sierra (10.12)

I've just updated to macOS 10.12 and when I try to execute srm in Terminal, it says -bash: srm: command not found. Is srm removed? How to fix this?
Niktin Roman's user avatar
39 votes
4 answers
29k views

Easy way to remap non-modifier keys on Mac?

I want to remap § to ` and ± to ~ on my Mac keyboard because they are located in a place I am not used to. Is there an easy way to do this?
Mahdi's user avatar
  • 573
38 votes
4 answers
7k views

How can I prevent iPhoto from opening everytime I plug my iPad/iPhone?

How can I prevent iPhoto/Photos/Image Capture from launching everytime I plug in my iPad/iPhone?
aneuryzm's user avatar
  • 5,419
28 votes
6 answers
40k views

How to disable battery charging?

From the pmset man page: POWER SOURCE ARGUMENTS -g with a 'batt' or 'ps' argument will show the state of all attached power sources. […] Certain Apple battery calibration tools may ...
Ryccardo's user avatar
  • 1,594
27 votes
6 answers
270k views

Can I downgrade to Mavericks after installing Yosemite (beta/developer preview)?

I have installed the developer preview for Yosemite. Huge mistake. Everything in my workspace is broken. I don't have any sort of backup image. I was wondering if I could re-download Mavericks and ...
Saturn's user avatar
  • 1,532
24 votes
4 answers
48k views

How can I merge primary APFS partition with other empty APFS partition?

Using the latest Macbook Pro with currently High Sierra 10.13.1, I was using bootcamp for a year, and I decided to get rid of the Bootcamp partition this morning. The Bootcamp utility would not let me ...
Scaraux's user avatar
  • 433
24 votes
4 answers
7k views

Macbook Pro Retina running at native resolution

A question I've had in my head since I first saw screenshots of the display preference pane on the new Retina MBP is this: Can it be made to run with what you could call a 1.0 UI scaling factor (same ...
mludd's user avatar
  • 470
22 votes
4 answers
13k views

Which command controls the open file limits?

Which command / configuration file controls the open file limits on OS X? Is there a different command for OS X 10.5 / 10.6 / 10.7? The options I explore below are ulimit, sysctl, and launchctl "...
keflavich's user avatar
  • 1,289
19 votes
5 answers
14k views

My Mac mini's computer name keeps changing when it resumes from sleep

When I wake my Mac mini from sleep, it occasionally comes up with a dialog saying "The name of your computer "whatever" is already in use on this network. The name has been changed to "whatever (1)"" (...
Piku's user avatar
  • 383
15 votes
5 answers
12k views

Will an iOS reinstall make a jailbroken iOS device "unjailbroken" and “supported by Apple” again?

Will an iOS reinstall Work on any jailbroken-iPhone and Make a jailbroken-iPhone "unjailbroken"? Make a jailbroken-iPhone "supported by Apple"? Similarly, does such an iOS reinstall reset the iPhone ...
Johnny Utahh's user avatar
  • 1,259
14 votes
3 answers
164k views

Accessing WhatsApp iCloud backup?

I have WhatsApp set up on my iPhone with iCloud backup. I don't want my WhatsApp media polluting my Photos stream, so I've disabled "Save to camera roll", as I didn't see a way to keep WhatsApp images/...
Timmy O'Mahony's user avatar
14 votes
7 answers
31k views

Can I plug two external monitors in to a MacBook Pro?

I'd like to use two external monitors for some excels, coding, email, not games or video content. Can someone please explain how I can go about using two external monitors with my MacBook Pro, and ...
steve's user avatar
  • 1,333
12 votes
4 answers
26k views

Completely synchronise multiple Macs

I actually have a Macbook Pro with Snow Leopard (I plan on upgrading to Lion). I may have to buy an Mac mini in order to have a full dual screen (external identical screens) layout (see my previous ...
Matthieu Napoli's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
5k views

OS volume shows as type 'FFFFFFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFF-FFFFFFFF' after attempting to delete some Linux partitions—cannot log in

I was unable to just delete the partitions left by an old Linux Mint installation by pressing the '-' button in disk utility. I looked online and read that I could reformat them to a journaled format ...
George's user avatar
  • 73
7 votes
2 answers
5k views

Unable to boot up my Mac. Getting a flashing folder with a question mark

I currently own a 15 inch MacBook Pro with retina display model ( early 2013) . My Mac was working fine and all of a sudden my Mac won't boot up. I see a flashing folder with a question mark symbol on ...
vasu1486's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
7k views

Install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox?

I’m trying to install macOS Sierra on VirtualBox, but can’t seem to make it work. For reference, here are the steps I took. Downloaded the Install macOS Sierra app from the App Store. Used the ...
BoxTechy's user avatar
  • 161
6 votes
1 answer
21k views

Boot Camp Assistance is stuck on create a partition?

I have a MacBook Pro, Late 2013. I have done a clean install of High Sierra macOS 10.13.3. I am trying to install Windows 10, Fall Creators Update, on my Mac by following Boot Camp Assistant's ...
user75758's user avatar
  • 303
6 votes
2 answers
7k views

App Store: Not enough disk space to install Xcode

Similar to Xcode free space requirement, but different details. We could not complete your update There is not enough disk space available to install the product. The download size lists: ...
jsejcksn's user avatar
  • 631
5 votes
4 answers
10k views

MacBook Pro randomly discharges from 100% to ~90% when plugged

My 15 inch 2018 Mac Book Pro with Mojave 10.14 randomly starts draining battery when plugged in. When I try to move the cable, change the power cable to a different USB slot nothing helps. The battery ...
OlehZiniak's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
6k views

Recover deleted Encrypted OS X Extended volume

I accidentally formatted an external 1TB HD to FAT file system using Disk Utility in Mac OS. The disk used to be HFS+ encrypted. Encryption was done when I created the OS X Extended partition, not ...
waffle's user avatar
  • 81
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Can I use Siri with these apps?

Could YouTube, Todoist, myEmail (fill in name app your looking for) be controlled/used with Siri? Could a third party iOS app be controlled by Siri?
user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

How to tell Messages "I'm not at home"?

I leave my Mac running 24/7, but I'm not always sitting at it. Is there any way to tell the Mac, or Messages specifically, if my phone isn't on the local wifi subnet, don't take messages, leave them ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
  • 116k
4 votes
2 answers
5k views

How to detect if Mac if rebooting after a power failure using terminal?

As I asked in the title, how can I check if a Mac is rebooting after experiencing a power failure. It would be preferable to check this using terminal or some other script, as I would like to test ...
Matthew N's user avatar
  • 1,141
3 votes
1 answer
5k views

HFS+ invalid number of allocation blocks

Okay so a few days ago I wanted to install Ubuntu GNOME over regular Ubuntu and it gave me the option to automatically overwrite my Ubuntu installation (that I had on a separate partition from my OS X ...
Roemer's user avatar
  • 147
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

New SSD problem

I've just installed a new SSD replacing an HDD in my old (late 2008) iMac. When I switched it on all I got on screen was a question mark. On the advice of my son I tried cmdR during switch on with ...
Charliehp's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
1k views

External Hard Drive no longer working

I am on a MacBook Pro 13 running latest Sierra. I have an external Seagate solid state hard drive that was working and out of the blue stopped working. The only thing on it was my Adobe Lightroom ...
Byron Mansfield's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
11k views

How to make remove free space and make APFS container take it up

I am on 11.1 Big Sur beta. I have a partition with no disk identifier called (free space) I would like to remove this, and then make the APFS container take up the free space. Here is a screenshot of ...
user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
5k views

Does Apple offer a page that lists all versions of published Boot Camp drivers?

I realise that the recommended way of obtaining the latest drivers for Boot Camp is via Apple's official Boot Camp Assistant built into macOS, but was wondering if Apple offers an official index that ...
elliott94's user avatar
  • 1,193
1 vote
1 answer
6k views

Danger of damaging 13" macbook pro by charging it with 85w charger? [duplicate]

We've got a range of laptops in our office all macbook pros some of which are 13" and some of which are 15". The 15" laptops came with 85w chargers, and the 13" came with 60w chargers. I want to ...
sam's user avatar
  • 3,895
558 votes
13 answers
206k views

Remap "Home" and "End" to beginning and end of line

Most of my computing time is spent in Linux (with occasional time in Windows). On these platforms the Home and End keys universally jump to the beginning or end of the current line. I am gradually ...
Caleb's user avatar
  • 7,073
404 votes
133 answers
246k views

Got any tips or tricks for Terminal in Mac OS X?

One tip or trick per answer. My favorite is open . Opens the folder you're currently browsing in Finder. You can also pass URLs, images, documents or else to open. If you specify a program name ...
180 votes
107 answers
55k views

What tiny thing in Lion makes you smile or has caught you off guard?

I would like to call for a place to list some little things that surprise you about Lion. There are so many articles and lists of all the new features with information overload, I would rather focus ...
167 votes
4 answers
526k views

Using The Terminal Command to Shutdown, Restart and Sleep My Mac?

I'm getting more interested in using Terminal as an alternative way to address solutions on my Mac. I have seen this question entitled "Is there a better way to shutdown/restart OSX?". I would ...
Simon's user avatar
  • 7,451
155 votes
23 answers
184k views

How to stop OS X from writing Spotlight and Trash files to memory cards and USB sticks?

When plugging a USB stick into a Mac, OS X creates a number of hidden files on the stick, including a Spotlight index and Trash folder. Example from the terminal for a USB stick "Untitled": $ ls -a /...
j-g-faustus's user avatar
  • 1,653
150 votes
10 answers
173k views

How to change the default behaviour of the fullscreen/maximize button?

There is a question that deals with the different behaviour of the fullscreen button in the window bar. There, it is shown that by doing: ⌥ + ⇧ + Click on green or outer right icon (plus icon) I can ...
k0pernikus's user avatar
  • 4,437

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