Setting New Finder Window Preferences

Isn't it annoying when you open a new Finder window (Command + N) and it defaults to a list of recent files or a completely unrelated folder?

I grew tired of this inconvenience and explored Finder preferences, discovering that under “General,” you can customize “New Finder windows show:” to open any folder you prefer.

I set mine to display my Home Folder, as I frequently switch between my Movies, Pictures, and Documents folders. While I often use my customized Sidebar for quick access, I prefer Finder to open to a useful folder rather than something confusing like Recents.

Quickly Grab Application Icons

What does it mean to “grab an application icon?” While it may not seem significant, it’s a game-changer for content creators, writers, and graphic designers.

Instead of wasting time searching for high-resolution icons online, there's a simple method: navigate to your Applications folder, right-click on the desired application, and select “Get Info” (or press Command + I). A window will appear with the application’s icon in the top-left corner. Click on it to highlight it with a blue border.

Now, just press Command + C to copy it, and you can paste it (Command + V) into any application you need.

Problem solved—no more endless Google searches for application icons!

Signing PDFs with Your Actual Signature

Not everyone uses services like DocuSign for signing electronic documents. Sometimes you need to add your signature to a PDF received via email or text.

Please don’t resort to printing it out, signing it with a pen, and then scanning it back in!

macOS includes a built-in app called Preview, which allows you to open PDF files and annotate them. You can also create a custom signature for signing any PDF document.

This feature makes it easy to ditch your unreliable printer once and for all!

Effortlessly Launching Applications

There are several ways to launch an app in macOS, including clicking its icon in the Dock or browsing through Finder.

However, if the app isn’t in your Dock, it can be tedious to dig through Finder to locate it.

Instead, use Spotlight, a feature that lets you search your computer's contents. You can quickly access it by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar, but an even quicker method is using the keyboard shortcut Command + Spacebar.

Once Spotlight is open, just start typing the app’s name, and when it appears highlighted, hit return to launch it. This method is significantly faster than sifting through Finder or Launchpad.

Creating Spaces in Your Dock

You might think it’s impossible to add blank spaces to your Dock, but it’s actually quite simple!

Why would you want to do this? It helps you organize your apps better by visually separating different types of applications, making it easier to locate what you need quickly.

To create a space, you’ll need to open Terminal. Don’t worry; I’m here to guide you through it.

Open Terminal (found in Applications > Utilities, or by searching for it in Spotlight), and enter the following command:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add ‘{“tile-type”=”spacer-tile”;}’; killall Dock

After hitting return, your Dock will refresh, and you should see an empty space appear towards the far right. You can drag it around or remove it if you wish.

And there you have it—an easier-to-navigate Dock!