Apple included exclusive features in this Mac laptop to improve the user experience. There are tools like Compressed Memory and App Nap to reduce battery consumption. Enable Mac’s sleep mode when you are not using the device. It will help you to conserve the MacBook Air’s battery life.
Forgot the Mac password? Use the built-in Touch ID sensor to unlock the laptop. Additionally, you can enable the Voice Control feature to write a text. Editing music files has become easier with MacBook Air’s Garageband app. Besides, you can open a document using the Fn key and right arrow key combination.
Do you need to take a quick note? Press the Mac keyboard’s Control key to add a new note to the device. Access the recently closed web page using the Control, Command and F keys together. Use the Command and C key shortcuts to copy a selection portion of text when the touchpad stops working.
Need to learn more tricks? Follow this guide to know what cool things can you do on a MacBook:
Take a Screenshot of the Mac Screen
MacBook Air users don’t need to install any app to capture the screen. You can do that by pressing the Command, Shift and 3 keys together. And, hold the Shift, Command and 4 keys together to select a portion of the Mac screen. Release the mouse button or touchpad to take an instant screenshot.
Does the Mac laptop use the latest macOS Mojave? Press the Shift, Command and 5 key combos to open the screenshot app. This tool allows you to capture the enter screen, a window or a selected screen portion. Besides, it lets the users choose to store the screenshot in Clipboard or Documents.
Did you buy the latest MacBook Air model? Hold the Command, Shift and 6 keys together to take a screenshot of the Touch Bar. This feature is only available in the 16-inch MacBook Air. If you own an old Mac laptop, use the other key combos to capture the screen.
Close the Startup Apps
Few apps run in the background when you restart the MacBook Air. And, these apps could prevent the Mac device from working properly. Close these problematic apps to use the laptop without hassle. Open the Apple menu and choose “System Preferences” when the pop-up menu appears.
Tap on “Users & Groups” and move towards “Login Items”. A new window will open with the list of the apps that load after the reboot. Right-click on them, and select “Remove” to disable these startup apps. Restart the Mac laptop and these programs won’t further run during login.
Add Special Characters & Emojis
In the latest MacBook Air, users can add special characters and emojis to the Touch Bar. Open the search box, write “Character Viewer” and press Enter. Select the app where you want to insert the emoji. Tap on the Search icon of the Touch Bar to open the Emoji & Symbols menu.
Find the right emoji characters and double-tap on them to add. Moreover, special characters, like “@” or “!” are crucial when writing a document. Add them to the Touch Bar by tapping on the Quick Actions tool. Or, use the Touch Bar’s search tool to insert the required special characters on time.
Do more with the Spotlight App
Apple’s Spotlight app helps the users to find apps, emails and documents. But, do you know you can use this macOS app as a calculator? You can do simple calculations directly in Spotlight’s search box. And, it can be also used as a unit converter. For instance, you can find out what the Celsius value is for 98.6F using this app.
Additionally, Spotlight has a real-time currency converter capability. Thus, you can figure out how much is 100ED in dollars with this Mac app. Besides, you can get weather updates and live sports scores in this program. Track the airline flights or get updates about the latest movies using Spotlight.
Paste Texts without Changing the Format
Apple added a new tool to MacBook Air to paste texts without formatting. Once you copy the text, press the Shift, Option, Command and V keys together. It will move the selected text to the document without changing its format. And, this keyboard shortcut will work on programs like Xcode, Airmail and Apple iBooks.
Create New Keyboard Shortcuts
Add new keyboard combinations to open the applications quickly. Access the Apple menu, and opt for “System Preferences” when the pop-up menu opens. Tap on “Keyboard” and select “Shortcuts” afterwards. Click the plus “+” icon to add the shortcuts to the required applications. Head towards “Keyboard Shortcut” to customise the key combinations.
Customise the File or Folder Icon
Open the Preview app from the Apple menu. Press the Command and A key combination to choose all the files. And, hold the Command and C keys together to copy them. Right-click on the folders or files that you want to change the icon.
Tap on “Get Info” and wait until the next window appears. Select the preferred thumbnail or icon from the list. Press the Command and V keys together to paste the new pictures as the customized folder/file icon.
Record the iPhone or iPad screen from Mac
MacBook Air has a built-in screen recording feature. And, you can use that to capture the iOS device’s screen. Connect the iPhone or iPad to the Mac laptop using a USB cable. Open Mac’s QuickTime Player app and move towards “File”.
Locate “New Movie Recording” and tap on the down arrow key button. Choose “iPad/iPhone” from the iOS device list. Additionally, you can also record screens of the latest iPod using this app. Opt for “Record” when the new page opens to start the recording.
Add a Reading List in Safari
Apple removed the RSS feed from Safari after the recent update. However, you can still add your favourite websites in the browser. Open a web page, and hold the Shift, Command and D keys together to add that to the reading list. And, the best part about this feature is that it adds the list to all your Apple devices.
Edit the PDF files without Additional Software
MacBook Air has a Preview app to annotate and edit PDFs. Additionally, you can add your signature to a document using this macOS app. Or, you can also remove the saved signature from a file. Change the image format from JPEG to HEIC using Preview.
Do you have more than one PDF file and want to merge them? Use this app to do that. Protect the important PDF files with a password with Preview. Add letters, numbers and special characters to make the password hard to decode.
Resize the Mac Windows
This Mac laptop has a feature to minimize the screen size. But, sometimes, this feature might stop working while resizing the windows. Press the Shift keys in such circumstances to resize all the corners of the tab. And, hold the Option key to resize the window from the centre.
Open the Dictionary using Key Combos
Apple included a built-in dictionary in the new MacBook Air M1. Use that to know the meaning of a word while reading an article. Moreover, accessing this app is pretty easy. Press the Command, Control and D keys simultaneously to open the Dictionary. Enter the word in the search box to get the definition and synonyms right away.
Fix the Screen Freezing issue
Don’t turn off the MacBook Air when the screen freezes. Instead, press the Command, Option and Escape keys together to resolve the problem. This keyboard shortcut opens the Force Quit Applications window. From there, you can close all the applications that are running in the background.
Hide the Menu Bar
Do you want to remove the Menu bar when editing the videos? Open the Apple menu, and select “System Preferences” from the pop-up window. Click “General” to open the window with the customisation options.
Select “Menu bar” and tick from the “Automatically hide and show” checkbox. The Menu bar will disappear from the Mac screen after this. Move to the cursor on the device’s screen to re-access the Menu bar options. Alternatively, you can press the Ctrl and F2 shortcut keys to get the Menu bar.
Delete the Files Right Away
Mac stores the deleted files or folders on the Trash Can. And, this can consume a lot of space on the MacBook Air. Remove them from the device using the Option, Command and Delete key combos. Free up the device storage using this instant file removal option.
Additionally, you can use the Command and Delete keys to move a file to the Trash Can. Press Shift, Command and Delete keys to clear the deleted files.
Do you want to remove files from Trash Can without a confirmation dialogue? Hold the Option, Command, Shift and Delete keys together to do that.
What Else Can You Do on the MacBook Air?
Run the Windows OS on the Mac device using the Boot Camp program. Set up iCloud’s photostream as the MacBook Air’s wallpaper. Press the Command and R keys together, and open the Recovery Mode to reset the password. Contact the MacBook Repair India experts if you fail to unlock the device.
