5 Tips and Tricks for Using Mac to Double Your Work Productivity ...

For those who transition to Macs after a long use of Windows computers, the fact that there’s no PrintScreen key on the keyboard seems strange. How are you supposed to take a screenshot? You absolutely need that shortcut if you’re a writer, blogger, team manager, tutor, teacher, or anyone who uses the computer to explain something.

Don’t worry. As always, Apple devices make functions easy. This is how to screenshot on Mac: use the Command + Shift + 5 keyboard shortcut.

This is a versatile command that allows you to do a few things:

- Capture a selected portion of your screen
- Capture a particular window
- Capture the entire screen
- Record a selected portion of the screen
- Record the entire screen

See? Windows doesn’t make it that easy. When you hit this keyboard shortcut, you’ll get a menu with all five options. Choose what you want to do, and the screenshot or recording will be automatically saved on your desktop.

Let’s get serious: computers would be much less functional without the copy-paste function. This simple feature revolutionized the digital era: when we realized we could get such a level of convenience, we started asking for more. Companies started giving us more.

If you’re wondering how to copy and paste on MacBook Air, you won’t be surprised with the answer:

- Highlight the text that you want to copy and paste.
- You can use a keyboard shortcut to copy: hold the Command and C key together. It’s the same command that Windows computers use. Then, hold Command + V to paste the text where you want it.

- You can do the same thing by highlighting the text and applying a right click over the highlight. You’ll see the Copy option. Then, head to the place where you want to paste the text, use a right click and choose Paste.

That was easy. But if you’re really interested in how to copy and paste on MacBook Air, you should know that the Apple ecosystem allows you to do this between devices. You can copy text on the Air and paste it in a document on your iPad.

- Open System Preferences on your MacBook
- Enable the function “Allow handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices” under General

- Go to the General settings on your iPad or iPhone, and enable the same function

- Now, you can copy and paste between devices. If you press Command + C on your computer, you can double-tap and use the Paste option on your mobile device. You can also highlight text and tap Copy on your iPhone and use the Command + V function on your MacBook.

Knowing how to copy and paste on MacBook Air can save you a lot of time in creating documents and having conversations online.

Sometimes you want to write in a document while looking at another window. Maybe you need information from the web while filling in a spreadsheet. Windows makes the split screen option easy, but what is the shortcut for split screen on Mac?

- Each window on your Mac has three colored buttons in the upper left corner: red, yellow, and green.

- If you click and hold the green button, you’ll see a drop-down menu. In addition to entering a full screen, it gives you two other options: tile window to the left of the screen or tile window to the right of the screen. If you choose one of these options, you’ll immediately see the split screen mode. You’ll see the chosen screen on the chosen side, and all other windows will appear on the other side. Choose the one you want to view in that section of the screen.

Are there any symbols that you frequently use? Maybe you’ll want to add an arrow shortcut Mac, since it’s not available in the default settings.
First, you should learn where to find the symbols:

- Press and hold Control + Command + Space on your keyboard.
- You’ll see a pop-up with various characters that you can use in text. To find the one you need, use the search bar. For example, you can type arrow, and you’ll see all arrow symbols in the pop-up.
- You can navigate through the category of symbols to find the ones you need.
- When you find the needed symbol, just double-click on it and your Mac will add it to the text.

If you plan to use a particular symbol a lot, you should use the replace text feature. Let’s say you need an arrow shortcut Mac. Here’s what you do:

-Go to System Preferences and find Text under the Keyboard settings.
-You’ll see a + button. Click on it and type the text that you’ll type when you want the arrow symbol to appear. For example, you can type arrw or any other word that you won’t use as a word in your text, but you’ll easily remember. In the Replace column, add the symbol that will substitute that word.

We can’t talk about productivity without mentioning any tips for using Mac notes. Apple Notes is a simple, but highly effective app.

- You can take notes from any device in the Apple ecosystem, and you’ll access them all through your computer.

- Organize your notes in folders. That will make it easy for you to search through them.

- Use the dictation feature to make the note-taking process more convenient. All you need to do is turn Dictation on under System Preferences > Keyboard. While you’re in the note, choose Start Dictation from Edit in the main menu. There you go; you just got faster and way more effective in the way you take notes.

Your Mac is a powerful machine. It would be a shame to use it as a fashion accessory. Explore it and learn about its features! You’ll get excited to realize that you’re getting more productive during the process.