7 Mac Hacking Tools Designers Should Know About
Are you a designer looking to up your Macbook skills? Then check out our guide to Mac hacking tools you need to know about.
As designers, improving your workflow and saving time is a must. Spending precious time searching for files, troubleshooting issues, and restarting your MacBook can quickly become stressful situations.
Isn’t the whole point of having an Apple MacBook to improve your user experience? While Mac technology and software can help your workflow run smoothly, we inevitably encounter problems.
Fortunately, many great Mac hacking tools and tricks help you avoid these issues. They range from shortcuts for finding hidden characters to troubleshooting your MacBook when your software glitches or freezes.
Have you experienced a stressful situation with your MacBook? Are you hoping to save time with your work? Here are seven genius Mac hacking tools every designer must know about.
- Move and Organise Your Dock
A unique feature of Mac OS is the ability to move and customize your dock. When you’re working on your Mac, you want your favorite design software to be easy to find and access. You can do just that with Mac Dock.
You can move the dock on your Mac almost anywhere on your screen. You can move your dock to the bottom, top, or either side of your screen. Besides moving the dock, you can also customize what apps and shortcuts are in it.
Open your Applications folder to place your favorite design apps in the dock. You should see all of your apps and software on your MacBook. Click, hold, and drag the app or apps you want to your dock.
If you need to remove apps from the dock, right-click (control + click) on the app, hover on Options,” and click on “Remove from Dock” in the side menu.
- Mac Hacking Tools for Saving Fonts
Fonts are one of the most space- and speed-consuming assets every designer has. Storing fonts in FontBook is quick and easy, but it can slow down your computer and take up a lot of valuable hard drive space.
Instead, try a font management program. The purpose of this software is to safely store all of your fonts in one place and turn them “on” or “off” when you need them. This also prevents your computer from slowing down.
There are many types of font management software programmes, ranging from free to several hundred dollars per month. Most free ones will require you to turn on and turn off fonts manually and may have limited storage. The more expensive ones can automatically turn fonts on and off, compare licensing, compare fonts, and more.
- Rename Files in a Snap
You may have a dozen or more files that need renaming as a designer. You could spend the time to go through and rename them one-by-one. But what designer wants to do that?
A helpful Mac hacking tool is the ability to batch rename files on your MacBook. There was a time where you needed 3rd party software to help with this process, but today Mac OS can do it for you.
Start by opening the folder with all of your files and using shift + click or command + click to select and highlight the files you need to rename. Right-click on the files and select “Rename x items…” from the menu. In the rename pop-up box, select the formatting and the name you want, then click “Rename.”
- Mac hacking tools to fix overheating issues
If you’re a designer who uses popular design software, you’ve likely experienced an overheating computer. Design software, like Adobe Creative Cloud, is powerful. But with this power comes hardware issues such as battery drain and overheating.
You don’t want to ignore an overheating computer. Doing so can cause your computer to crash, cause file damage, and possibly cause hardware damage.
But don’t worry; you can fix an overheating computer. Of the many great Mac hacking tools, fixing your overheating MacBook is one of the most important hacks to know. Here’s where you can learn how to fix your MacBook’s overheating issues.
- The Console App
The Console app is a handy Mac hacking tool to find and fix problems on your MacBook. This is where you go to see how your computer is running and find any problems you’re experiencing.
The Console app is a log that organises everything regarding the operating system. Some messages include a timestamp, the app or process name, and a log message. If you’re having a problem with a specific app or piece of software, you can narrow your search within the console to that app.
To the left of the window, there’s a list of reports you can view. They include crash, spin, log, diagnostic, and more reports. Once you find the error you’re experiencing, you can search for it online or talk to your IT department to learn how to fix it.
- Mac Hacking Tips to Find Special Characters
Finding those special characters, such as accents on vowels or other characters, can be tricky. Most design software applications have a way for you to find and insert these special characters. However, Mac OS comes with easy shortcuts to make finding special characters easier and faster.
To view all of the Mac key symbols, navigate to System Preferences, select Keyboard, then select the box next to “Show keyboard and emoji viewers in the menu bar.” A flag in your language should appear in your top menu bar. Click the flag and select “Show Keyboard Viewer” to view the different key combinations available.
- Make the Most of Spotlight Search
Every MacBook comes with a handy search bar known as Spotlight Search. It’s a shortcut that lets you search for specific apps, folders, and files. You can also complete calculations, make conversions, or find definitions.
To open Spotlight, hold control and spacebar together until a search bar pops up on your screen. Type in what you’re looking for and press “Return” or click on the search icon. If Spotlight can’t find what you’re looking for on your computer, it can direct you to your preferred search engine to search for it online.
Make the Most of Your Mac
Macs are the computer of choice for designers everywhere. With these great Mac hacking tools for designers, you can make your Mac work faster, smarter, and safer. Start spending more time on your designs.
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