These macOS Mojave features will make your life easier
I’ve been running prerelease versions of macOS Mojave, a.k.a. macOS 10.14, since July and am already intimately familiar with the best new features of this major system software update that went public last week.
Before I tell you about them, however, I feel obliged to offer my usual instructions for installing such upgrades:
1. Back up your startup disk.
2. Back up your startup disk again.
3. Test your backups by restoring a few files.
4. Check your apps’ compatibility at roaringapps.com/apps?platform=osx/.
5. Install macOS Mojave. I’ve also been writing “macOS Mojave For Dummies” and would like to call your attention to a handful of new Mojave features I think you’ll love.
Let’s start with my two personal favorites — new screen capture and Markup options. In the past, capturing your screen required memorizing arcane keyboard shortcuts — Shift + Command + 3 to capture the entire screen; Shift + Command + 4 to capture a selection; Shift + Command + 4 followed by the spacebar to capture a window or menu; press and hold the Control key while you click to capture to the clipboard (rather than to a file); and so on.
The good news is that while these shortcuts still work in Mojave, you don’t need to memorize them. Instead, just memorize Mojave’s one new shortcut to rule them all — Shift + Command + 5 — which offers those features and more including new screen movies; a 5- or 10-second timer; choose folder for automatic saves; and show or hide the mouse pointer.
In a related improvement, Markup tools are now available everywhere. Just look for the Markup icon — a pencil (or a marker) in a circle — which you’ll find in the preview panes of Mojave Finder windows, in Quick Look windows, and the new screenshot interface as well as in apps like Preview and Mail. Click it to add circles and arrows and text (and more) to the selected document.
Another feature I’m loving is Continuity Camera, which lets you use your iDevice’s camera to take photos or scan documents, which then appear on your Mac!
It currently works in the Finder and many Apple apps that accept typed input (i.e. Pages, Keynote, Mail, Messages, Notes, and TextEdit to name a few). The easiest way to determine if it’s available is to right- (or Control-)click in a document or on the Finder’s desktop. If Import from iPhone or iPad appears in the shortcut menu, select the iOS device you wish to use and choose Take Photo or Scan Document.
If you right-clicked in a document, the photo or scan will appear at the insertion point; if you right-clicked in the Finder, the photo or scan will appear on the Desktop by default.
I’ve already integrated these Mojave tools and techniques into my workflows, and they save me time and effort every day.