{"id":74446,"date":"2021-05-07T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=74446"},"modified":"2021-05-05T15:39:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T20:39:52","slug":"little-known-macos-system-preferences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/74446-little-known-macos-system-preferences\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Known macOS System Preferences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"System<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In macOS, System Preferences<\/strong> controls many of the settings that make your Mac different from every other Mac. While most of us are familiar with a handful of these preferences, today we\u2019ll look at some that are less well known.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Getting More Out Of System Preferences<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some people have an innate fear of poking around System Preferences. The thing to remember is that almost any System Preference you change can be returned to its initial state by simply unchecking a box you checked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about System Preferences, launch the app, click on a specific button for a pref, and then click the small question mark button in the lower right corner of the screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That button brings up information in the macOS User Guide<\/a> for the preference. In the screenshot below, you see the guide\u2019s info about Apple Marketing Emails<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The macOS User Guide explains any System Preference with a click on the question mark button<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Apple Marketing Emails<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel like you get way too many marketing emails from Apple? If so, there\u2019s a somewhat hidden way in System Preferences to get fewer emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click on System Preferences, then click the Apple ID<\/strong> settings button at the top. On this preference pane, click Name, Phone, Mail. Near the bottom of the screen are three checkboxes for Announcements; Apps, Music, TV, and More; and Apple News Newsletter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncheck all of these and you\u2019ll receive very few marketing emails from Apple. Check them all and you\u2019ll get announcements about products, software and services, a constant stream of emails about new apps, music, TV shows and more, as well as the \u201cbest stories\u201d from Apple News.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do Not Disturb<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I used to teach a lot of Mac and iOS classes at the local community college. When I\u2019m making a presentation, it\u2019s annoying to see messages and notifications from friends, relatives, or marketers show up on the screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"macOS<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The System Preferences Notifications<\/strong> pane starts off with Do Not Disturb<\/strong>, and it\u2019s possible to keep notifications from interrupting during specific times, when the display is sleeping or the screen is locked. For those presentations, there\u2019s a checkbox for \u201cWhen mirroring to TVs and projectors\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the box you want to check if you want to avoid having potentially embarrassing notifications show up on the screen during your presentation. Not that it\u2019s ever happened to me, of course\u2026 🙄<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Computer Name<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I like to name all of my Apple devices. On the Mac, the name is usually the default, which is my first name followed by the type of computer \u2014 for example, Steven\u2019s MacBook Pro. You can name your Mac anything you\u2019d like!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The computer name<\/strong> is most useful when you\u2019re sharing data with another person, which is why it shows up under the Sharing<\/strong> system preference. To change the name from the default to something different, launch System Preferences > Sharing and then click the Edit\u2026 button below the Computer Name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Sharing System Preference lets you change the name of a Mac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the dialog that appears (see screenshot above), type in the new name. In this example, I\u2019ve changed the name from Steven\u2019s MacBook Pro to Denali, since all the rest of my Apple devices are named after US National Parks as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Menu Bar Clock<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Mac menu bar has a feature that I use all the time \u2014 a clock. It\u2019s usually the rightmost item on the menu bar, and on my Macs it shows the day of the week, the month and date, the time, and whether it\u2019s AM or PM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In macOS Big Sur, customizing the Menu Bar Clock<\/strong> is done through the Dock & Menu Bar<\/strong> System Preference.  You\u2019ll need to scroll down a bit on the sidebar to find the Clock settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Dock & Menu Bar System Preference: Where the menu bar clock controls are hidden<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you make changes by clicking the various checkboxes and radio buttons (see screenshot above), you can see your settings reflected in the blue simulated menu bar clock in the upper right of the pane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date and day of the week are optional. Don\u2019t like the digital clock? Clicking \u201cAnalog\u201d does away with all of the other info and simply shows a tiny analog clock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep the digital clock and you have the choice of using a 24-hour clock (for example, 4:30 PM is 16:30) or showing AM\/PM, flashing the time separator once a second, or displaying the time with seconds. One other setting allows you to have the time announced every hour, every 30 minutes or every 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sounds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since the dawn of Mac back in 1984, the computer has always had a startup sound. Early on it was a beep, then it changed into the iconic tone that we hear today. Apple removed the startup sound in macOS 10.15 Catalina, causing much distress among Mac users. The ability to turn the startup sound on or off is now available in macOS 11 Big Sur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"System<\/a>
System Preferences Sound tab: Control the startup sound<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While in System Preferences, click Sound<\/strong>, then open the Sound Effects tab (see screenshot below). There\u2019s a choice of alert sounds, a way to choose which speaker(s) the sound effects are played through, a way to set the alert volume, and then the all-important checkboxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those checkboxes let you decide whether or not to play the startup sound, have sound effects play while using the Mac user interface (like when emptying Trash or copying a file), or to “Play feedback when volume is changed.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Show a Lock Screen Message<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Did you know you can show a message on your screen when someone tries to unlock it? This can be useful if you want to display contact information or a message for a sneaky co-worker who wants to access your Mac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In System Preferences, select Security & Privacy<\/strong>. Click the lock in the lower-left corner and enter your password. You can then check the \u201cShow a message when the screen is locked\u201d checkbox, click the Set Lock Message, and then type in your message.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Set<\/a>
Set a Lock Screen message in Security & Privacy<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Click OK, and the next time your Lock Screen appears, the message is displayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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System Preferences: Displays<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The last set of little-known macOS System Preferences we\u2019ll look at all have to do with displays. These prefs are useful when you have more than one display attached to your Mac, but can also help if you\u2019re having issues reading text on your screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have more than one display, each display shows its own Display<\/strong> settings. For example, when I have a 27-inch LG HDR 4K display attached to my MacBook Pro and bring up the Display system preference panel, I see the appropriate settings window on each display:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Each<\/a>
Each display attached to a Mac gets its own Display system preference panel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the settings for the LG HDR 4K display, you\u2019ll notice that it just shows a slider with five options for Scaled. If I want to see the actual resolution that is being displayed, I can hold down the Option key and click on Scaled to view a list of the available screen resolutions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Option-click<\/a>
Option-click on “Scaled” to toggle between a slider and a list of screen resolutions<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With multiple displays, you might not know that the Arrangement tab on the main display gives you some options. As you see below, I have my LG display sitting above my MacBook Pro. The menu bar is shown on the lower (built-in) display, but I can make the big LG display my primary display by dragging the white menu bar up to the big screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Working the Night Shift<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One other setting that I find useful is Night Shift. This is Apple\u2019s display control that shifts the color of screens (not only the Mac screen, but any other attached display) toward warmer colors in the evening. Why do they do this? The usual cooler bluish light of a display tends to make people less sleepy, so Apple found that giving the display a warmer (more orange) hue toward bedtime made it easier for people to fall asleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The default is to have Night Shift scheduled between sunset and sunrise, but you can click on Schedule to change it to a custom schedule or turn it off completely. The Manual checkbox lets you turn on Night Shift until the next sunrise. The Color Temperature slider? It\u2019s there to help you if you find the orange twilight hues to be TOO orange or not orange enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By the way, if you’d ever like to hide some of the System Preferences panes from inquisitive youngsters or annoying co-workers, here’s a tip on how to make them disappear<\/a> (and reappear). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those are some of the lesser-known System Preferences. If there are any others that you would like to know more about, let us know in the comments area below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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