Tips and Guides

Rather than configure email filter rules in your email client, you might want to configure filters on the server. Many hosted email servers such as iCloud and Gmail support this. The advantage is that rules are carried out before the message is delivered to all your devices and will even execute if

Turn off conversation view in Apple Mail on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad so each email appears separately. Follow the current settings for every device.

Easily import address book contacts into Apple Numbers. Just drag a selection of contacts or even a group name and drop it into an open Numbers document. A new table will be inserted with the selection's first and last names, phone number, and Email.If you need additional fields you can control-clic

Discover the path of your current folder in Finder by Command-clicking the folder name at the top of the window.You can jump up the folder tree by clicking on one of the folders from this dropdown menu.

Get definitions instantly with a single 3-fingered tap on your trackpad. Don't click down, just tap. This works in Apple software such as Safari, Mail, and Preview but seems to be lacking from most third-party apps such as Chrome and Firefox.

Set the default account for new contacts, calendars, reminders, and email in iOS. In your Settings app go to the "Mail, Contacts, Calendars" and "Reminders" sections and check these items.

Kill the duplicates in your Mac's "Open With" menu. Make sure your computer has a current Time Machine backup. Using Terminal can be dangerous if you mistype something. Launch Terminal from your Applications/Utilities folder. Copy and paste this command into Terminal and press retur

If children use your iOS devices then set the App Store to require a password "immediately"! If you don't, your device gives you a 15 minute window where you don't need to type your password again for purchases. Many parents have racked up bills in the thousands of dollars.Settings app &am

Use your MacBook as an external battery for your iPhone. Open your computer, plug in your iPhone, close the lid, and your iPhone will continue charging while your computer is asleep.This helped me get through PEPCO's infamous power outages.

Quickly insert a screen capture into Mail, Messages, Notes, and many other programs on OS X. Put the cursor where you want the screen capture inserted, go to the application menu (Mail, in the case of my example picture) > Services > then choose one of the three available capture modes

Get the formatting menu in iOS Mail. Simply select some text as if you were going to copy it (double tap a word then drag the edges to highlight the entire selection you want if needed). Then tap the right arrow in the popup menu. From there you'll see basic formatting such as bold, italics, and und

Quick Look has some really handy hidden uses. In addition to getting a preview of files in Finder you can use it to take a quick look at: files in Trash items in your print queue attachments in Mail documents in open/save dialog boxes spotlight search results (hover the mouse over the ite

Attach a photo or video to an email message that has already been started by using a hidden menu in iOS Mail. Double tap the white space where you want to insert, tap the right arrow on the popup menu, choose "Insert Photo or Video".

In the excitement of the iOS 6 release, I feel like I've kind of neglected the Mac. So today I want to talk about gestures. Gestures, which is Apple's name for the fancy fingerwork you can do on a trackpad as a shortcut for all kinds of cool features, has been introduced slowly over the past half a

Update : As of iOS 18 this is still accurate, except you will now find this setting in the Settings app > Apps > Mail > Signature For those of us whose Apple products cross back and forth between our work and personal lives, we've long enjoyed the option of using diffe

Update 4 Jan 2025 : Almost 13 years later, this article is almost entirely still accurate. The big exception is that on iPhone iPad you will find this in the Settings app > Apps > Messages. And it's now called an "Apple Account" instead of "Apple ID". Also, many of these se

I want to clear up some misconceptions about your apps running in the background. I even know several people who have gotten very bad information from Apple Store employees about this. If you "terminate" your apps when you are done with them you are wasting your time, and very possibly slo

There is a big difference between "resume" and "resumé". Hold a key for one second and a menu pops up providing several accented and character options. In the example picture above I'm holding the "s" key. Click the one you want or press the corresponding number key. Vo