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Simple, step-by-step answers for your Mac, with real screenshots and the exact macOS version. macOS 27.0.1 and macOS 26 · 65 guides.
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How these Mac guides are made
Last checked 10 November 2026
Every Mac guide here was made on our own Macs. New guides show a MacBook Neo on macOS 27. Some older guides still show macOS Tahoe 26 on a MacBook Pro, and each guide names the Mac and the macOS version at the top. If your Mac runs an older macOS, check that line first, because Apple moves settings between versions.
| Shot on | Version shown | Guides |
|---|---|---|
| MacBook Neo | macOS 27.0.1; macOS 27.2 | 52 |
| MacBook Pro | macOS Tahoe 26 | 13 |
65 guides with real screenshots from these devices. Each guide names its device and version at the top.
All Mac guides by topic
Troubleshooting
9 guidesHow to force quit a frozen app on a Mac
Press Option + Command + Esc (or choose Apple menu > Force Quit…), select the frozen app and click Force Quit, then click Force Quit again to confirm.
Mac won't connect to Wi-Fi? 5 fixes that work
Switch Wi-Fi off and on under System Settings, Wi-Fi, and restart the Mac. Then check that the date and time are set automatically, disconnect any VPN for a test and…
No sound on your Mac? 5 fixes to try
Press the volume up key and check that Mute is not ticked, then open System Settings, Sound, Output and select the built-in speakers or your headphones. Disconnect…
Mac camera not working? 6 fixes to try
Update macOS, make sure Camera is Allowed in Screen Time's Content & Privacy Restrictions, and allow the app in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera. Then…
MacBook not charging? 4 fixes to try
Unplug the power adapter from the socket, wait 30 seconds and plug it in again, then try another socket and another USB-C cable. Restart the MacBook, read the charge…
Mac won't sleep or wakes up by itself? 8 things to check
Open System Settings > Lock Screen and set the two Turn display off times. On a MacBook, click Battery > Options… and set Wake for network access to Never. Then switch…
What the MacBook Neo can't do, and what it does have
On our MacBook Neo with macOS 27.2, Displays has no refresh-rate menu and no True Tone switch, Siri has no Apple Intelligence row and Network has no cellular option. It…
Messages not working on a Mac? 4 things to check
Check that the Mac is online and signed in under Messages, Settings, iMessage, restart it and install the latest macOS update. Make sure the date and time are set…
How to repair a disk on a Mac with Disk Utility First Aid
Open Disk Utility, choose View, Show All Devices, and select the last volume shown under the disk. Click First Aid and Run. Then do the same for each item above it…
Privacy & Security
7 guidesHow to turn on the firewall on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Network, then Firewall, and turn on the Firewall switch. Confirm with Touch ID or your password. Click Options… afterwards if you want…
How to lock the screen on a Mac
Press Control, Command and Q, or choose Lock Screen from the Apple menu. To lock automatically, open System Settings, Lock Screen, pick short Turn display off times and…
How to show a message on the Mac lock screen
Open System Settings, click Lock Screen, switch on Show message when locked and click Set to type the message. The message appears in the login window when the Mac is…
How to make a Mac ask for both name and password at login
Open System Settings, click Lock Screen, and under When Switching User set Login window shows to Name and password. The login window then no longer lists the users of…
How to hide notification previews on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Notifications, and set Show previews to Never, or to When Unlocked. The menu decides when previews are shown: Always, When Unlocked or Never.
How to find your IP address on a Mac (macOS 27)
Open System Settings, Wi-Fi and click Details next to your network. The IP address and Router rows are near the bottom; TCP/IP shows the subnet mask too. That is the…
How to let someone use your Mac safely with the Guest User
Open System Settings, click Users & Groups and click the info button next to Guest User. Turn on Allow guests to log in to this computer, then click OK. An…
Camera, Photos & Screenshots
3 guidesHow to take a screenshot on a Mac
Press Shift + Command + 3 for the whole screen, Shift + Command + 4 to drag over part of it (then Space for one window), or Shift + Command + 5 for a toolbar with…
How to convert HEIC photos to JPG on a Mac
Select the HEIC photos in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions > Convert Image. Check that Format is JPEG, pick an Image Size and click Convert to JPEG. The…
How to resize an image on a Mac with Preview
Open the picture in Preview, choose Tools, Adjust Size, type a new width or height and click OK. Keep Scale proportionally ticked so the picture is not stretched. The…
Display & Accessibility
12 guidesHow to turn on dark mode on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Appearance and choose Dark, the middle option in the Appearance row. Or choose Auto, on the right, to let the Mac switch between light and…
How to reduce motion and animations on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Motion, and switch on Reduce motion. On the same page you can also switch off Auto-play animated images and switch on…
How to make the mouse pointer bigger on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Display, and drag the Pointer size slider to the right. To find a lost pointer quickly, keep Shake mouse pointer to…
How to increase contrast and reduce transparency on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Display, and switch on Increase contrast, Reduce transparency or both. On macOS 27 both switches sit near the top of the…
How to make the menu bar text bigger on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Display, and under Text select Large next to Menu bar size. Log out and log in again if the change does not show. Select…
How to play background sounds like rain on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Audio under Hearing, and switch on Background sounds. Click Choose… next to Background sound to pick a sound such as…
How to make a Mac flash the screen for alerts
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Audio, and switch on Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs. The screen then flashes when you receive an alert, so…
How to play stereo sound as mono on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Audio under Hearing, and switch on Play stereo audio as mono. Apple says the Mac then plays stereo tracks as mono in…
How to make a Mac read selected text aloud
Open System Settings, click Accessibility, then Read & Speak, and switch on Speak selection. Then select text in any app and press Option+Esc, the shortcut shown on our…
How to change the accent colour on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Appearance in the sidebar, then click a colour circle in the Color row under Theme. The name of the chosen colour appears under its circle…
How to always show scroll bars on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Appearance, and under Show scroll bars in the Windows section select Always. Apple says scroll bars then stay visible in windows whose…
How to make sidebar icons and text bigger on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Appearance, and set Sidebar icon size to Large. The icons in the Finder sidebar, and in the sidebar of apps such as Mail, News and Photos…
Keyboard & Typing
4 guidesHow to set up text replacements on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Keyboard, then Text Replacements…. Click +, type the short code under Replace and the full text under With, click Add, then Done. Typing the…
How to turn off autocorrect on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Keyboard, then click Edit… next to Input Sources. Switch off Correct spelling automatically and click Done.
How to change the keyboard backlight on a MacBook
Open System Settings, click Keyboard, and drag the Keyboard brightness slider. Adjust keyboard brightness in low light lets the Mac set the level by itself. Turn…
How to move between buttons with the Tab key on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar and switch on Keyboard navigation. Then press Tab to move the focus forward between controls, and Shift Tab to move…
Battery, Storage & Updates
4 guidesHow to stop apps from opening at login on a Mac
Open System Settings, click General, then Login Items & Extensions. Select an app under Open at Login and click the minus button, then switch off apps you do not need…
How to stop a Mac from going to sleep
Open System Settings, click Lock Screen and set Turn display off on power adapter when inactive to Never or a longer time, then confirm with Touch ID or your password…
How to turn off the startup sound on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Sound, and switch off Play sound on startup. The Mac then starts without the startup chime. Switch it on again to hear the chime when you restart.
How to check and free up storage on a Mac (and what System Data is)
Open System Settings, General, Storage. The bar shows what fills the disk; Recommendations and the (i) buttons free space. System Data is the last row and has no (i)…
Dock, Windows & Finder
14 guidesHow to set up hot corners on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll to the bottom and click Hot Corners…. Open the menu for a corner, choose an action such as Lock Screen or Mission…
How to use Quick Look on a Mac
Click a file once in the Finder or on the desktop and press the Space bar. A Quick Look preview opens without starting an app. Press the Space bar again, or Esc, to close it.
How to rename your Mac
Open System Settings, click General, then About. Click Name, enter your password and click Modify Settings, then type the new name and press Return.
How to hide the Dock automatically on a Mac
Press Option-Command-D to hide or show the Dock. To hide it all the time, open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, and switch on Automatically hide and show the…
How to move the Dock to the side of the screen on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, and set Dock position on screen to Left or Right. The Dock can sit along the left, bottom or right edge of the screen.
How to stop Dock icons bouncing on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, and switch off Animate opening applications in the Dock group. Dock icons then no longer bounce when you open apps.
How to stop a click on the desktop hiding windows on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, and under Desktop & Stage Manager set Click wallpaper to show desktop to Only in Stage Manager. A click on the wallpaper…
How to remove recent apps from the Dock on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock and switch off Show suggested and recent apps in Dock, the last switch in the Dock group. Apple says apps you put in the Dock…
How to turn off window tiling when dragging on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll to Windows and switch off Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile. Also switch off Drag windows to menu…
How to stop Spaces rearranging themselves on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, then under Mission Control switch off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use. Your desktops then stay in…
How to make a Mac ask before saving changes
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll to Windows and switch on Ask to keep changes when closing documents. When you close an edited document, the Mac then…
How to change the title bar double-click action on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, then choose Fill, Zoom, Minimize or No Action from the menu in the Window title bar double-click action row.
How to use tags in Finder on a Mac
Control-click a file in Finder and click one of the coloured dots above Tags, or click Tags to type a name of your own. To see everything with a tag, click the tag in…
How to sync the Desktop and Documents folders with iCloud on a Mac
Open System Settings, click your name, then iCloud and Drive. With Sync this Mac on, switch on Desktop & Documents Folders and click Done. Apple says the files then…
Trackpad & Mouse
5 guidesHow to right-click on a Mac
Click with two fingers on the trackpad, or hold the Control key and click. To change how the trackpad does it, open System Settings, click Trackpad, then Point & Click…
How to turn on tap to click on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Trackpad in the sidebar and, on the Point & Click tab, switch on Tap to click. A light tap with one finger then counts as a click, so you no…
How to change the trackpad speed on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Trackpad, and drag the Tracking speed slider toward Fast or Slow. It sets how fast the pointer moves across the screen when you move your…
How to turn off Force Click on a Mac trackpad
Open System Settings, click Trackpad, and switch off Force Click and haptic feedback. A firm press on the trackpad then no longer triggers Quick Look, Look up and the…
Mac trackpad gestures: the full list and how to change them
Click with two fingers to right-click, slide two fingers to scroll and pinch to zoom. Swipe up with three fingers for Mission Control and sideways with three fingers to…
More settings
7 guidesHow to add a user account on a Mac
Choose Apple menu > System Settings…, scroll down the sidebar and click Users & Groups, then Add User…. Enter your password and click Unlock. Apple says you then choose…
What's new in macOS 27.2 on a MacBook Neo
On our MacBook Neo, macOS 27.2 (26B123) added two Siri settings, Excluded Apps and Suggestions, and a new brightness and volume pill split into steps. The new Podcasts…
How to stop Siri using an app on a Mac (Excluded Apps)
On macOS 27.2 or later, open System Settings, click Siri, then Excluded Apps. Click Add Apps, tick the app and click Done. Apps on the list are excluded from Siri…
How to change the default browser on a Mac
Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll down to Default web browser in the Widgets section and choose Google Chrome or another installed browser from the menu.
How to use Screen Time on a Mac
Open System Settings and click Screen Time. Apps & Websites lets you allow or block apps. Screen Time Schedule first asks you to turn on Screen Time Activity. Content &…
How to format an external drive on a Mac
Back up anything on the drive first, because formatting erases it. Open Disk Utility, choose View, Show All Devices, select the drive at the top level, click Erase…
How to print double-sided on a Mac
Choose File, Print in the app, open the Double-sided menu in the print window and choose On. For pages that should flip like a notepad, choose On (Short Edge). Then…
Guides in other categories that also involve Mac
2 guidesComing from Windows: 10 habits and the Mac way
Right-click is Control-click or a two-finger click. Command replaces Ctrl for copy and paste, Command-Delete moves a file to the Trash, Option-Command-Esc opens Force…
How to transfer photos from an iPhone to a Mac
Connect the iPhone with a cable and unlock it. In Image Capture, click the iPhone under Devices, choose a folder in Import To and click Download or Download All. In…
