Miscellaneous

• How to read through any article on the web with a paywall?
  • Method I: The easiest way to bypass paywalls is to just disable JavaScript for the site.
    • Step 1: Disable JavaScript (Or even better: Have a dedicated browser with JavaScript always disabled)
    • Step 2: Reload the page
    • Step 3: Read the article
    • Step 4: Re-enable JavaScript
  • Method II: Toggle Reader View
  • Method III: Use tools like https://12ft.io or https://removepaywalls.com
• Use the Shift key to type capital letters instead of relying on Caps Lock. It’s more efficient and helps prevent accidental ALL CAPS typing.
• If you’re curious about how a font looks in action, just Google its name — for popular fonts like Comic Sans, Roboto, or Courier, Google will sometimes render the search results page in that font. It’s a clever Easter egg that lets you preview the font in real-time. Great for designers or anyone picking fonts quickly. Note: it works best in Chrome and may not appear if you’re using certain browser extensions.
• You can create a link that highlights specific text fragment on a page by adding #:~:text=your%20text%20here to the end of the URL — it’ll auto-scroll and highlight the exact phrase. For example, linking to “climate change” on Wikipedia looks like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change#:~:text=climate%20change. On iPhone, there’s an even easier method: simply select the text, tap Share, choose Copy Link with Highlight, and Safari will automatically generate a highlight-enabled URL.
• If you’re on a computer, right-click on the YouTube video at the exact time you want to share, then select “Copy video URL at current time” to get a link that starts at the specific timestamp.
• Apple Maps for navigation. Google Maps for business overview.
• In most web browsers, holding Alt (Windows/Linux) or Option (Mac) while clicking a link triggers a quick download of the linked file or page instead of opening it. This browser shortcut is the same as right-click > “Save Link As”, making it useful for instantly saving PDFs, images, or other resources without right-clicking.

macOS

• How to add Trash to the Finder window sidebar? Open the Trash > Go to the File menu > Click “Add to Sidebar”
• Hold Option (⌥) and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar to quickly find your IP address.
• Run defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-delay -float 999999999999999999 && killall dock in Terminal to make the Dock practically impossible to trigger with your mouse—no third-party apps required. When you do need the Dock, just press Option-Command-D (customizable in Keyboard Shortcuts > Keyboard > Move focus to the Dock) to bring it up instantly. This keeps your workspace clean and ensures the Dock only appears when you really want it.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Cmd + / to show the menu bar search, which reveals the menu bar with the added benefit of putting the cursor in the search field, so that you can quickly type the command you want and hit Enter
• Batch rename multiple files
• Select multiple contiguous files at once in Finder
  • Method 1: Cmd+2 (List View) → Shift click for your selection → Cmd+1 (Icon View)
  • Method 2: Drag a rectangle around files
• Right-click a folder in Finder on macOS, you will get an “Import from iPhone/iPad” option. Click that and your iPhone/iPad will open a scanner app which lets you “Take Photo”, “Scan Documents”, and “Add Sketch.”
• Move (i.e., cut & paste) files&folders in Finder
  • Method 1: First Cmd + C, then Opt + Cmd + V → will paste the file and remove it from original location
  • Method 2: Install Sindre Sorhus’s Command X app for more intuitive keyboard shortcuts
• How to do forward-delete on a MacBook? Hold down the Fn button and then press Backspace
• How to view a GIF with animated frames on macOS?
  1. Open Finder and locate the GIF file.
  2. Select the GIF (without opening it) and press Spacebar to preview it.
  3. Alternatively, press Cmd + Y to open Quick Look.
  4. You can only preview one GIF at a time, but you can use Tab to cycle through files.
  5. Press ESC to close the preview.
• You can access the audio files of system sounds like ringtones, alerts, and notifications via /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ToneLibrary.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Ringtones/ & /System/Library/Sounds/. Files here are typically in .m4r, .caf, or .aiff format. This directory is read-only under normal user conditions, and modifying it requires elevated permissions.
• Enable “Speak selection” in System Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content to have any selected text read aloud. The default keyboard shortcut is Option + Esc. Great for proofreading, learning, or resting your eyes. ¹
• Use Clamshell Mode on a MacBook by connecting an external (1) monitor, (2) keyboard, and (3) mouse (via Bluetooth or USB), then plugging in the (4) power adapter. Once connected, close the MacBook lid—the external display should become the main screen. Wake the system using the external keyboard or mouse. Adjust screen mirroring or extended display settings under System Settings > Displays. Great for saving desk space and focusing on a larger monitor.
• To dictate text on macOS using an external microphone, plug it in and select the mic under System Settings > Sound > Input. Then enable Dictation under Keyboard settings and assign a shortcut key like Fn or Control. Double-press the shortcut (no need to hold it), wait for the mic icon, and start speaking. If the external mic stops working, open Terminal and run killall corespeechd to reset the speech recognition service.
• Type anything into Spotlight and press ⌘B to instantly open it as a web search in your default browser.
• Run caffeinate in Terminal to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep. Press ⌘ + . to stop it. You can also run caffeinate <command> to keep your Mac awake until that command finishes.
• Most people know ⌘ + Tab to switch between applications, but there are several useful shortcuts you can use while holding ⌘:
  1. ~ — Move backward through your open apps.
  2. Q — Quit the selected application.
  3. ← / → — Navigate through the app list. This is faster than repeatedly pressing Tab.
  4. ↓ — Show all windows belonging to the selected application.
• If an app doesn’t provide a keyboard shortcut for a menu command you use frequently, macOS lets you create one yourself.
  1. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → App Shortcuts.
  2. Click + to add a shortcut.
  3. Select the app you want to customize.
  4. Enter the command exactly as it appears in the app’s menu under Menu Title.
  5. Assign your preferred keyboard shortcut.
• Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Keyboard to adjust Key repeat rate and Delay until repeat. A faster repeat rate and shorter delay can make navigating and editing text much quicker.
• Hold Option (⌥) + click the WiFi icon in the menu bar to see detailed network info like IP address, BSSID, and channel. This trick isn’t limited to WiFi—many apps and system menus reveal hidden features when you hold Option, so try Option-clicking everything to uncover powerful shortcuts.
• Hold Shift (⇧) while pressing the volume keys to enable audible feedback, so your Mac plays a sound each time you increase or decrease the volume.
• Double-tap with two fingers to activate Smart Zoom, which automatically zooms in to fit the content on screen.
• You can add a Status Bar (View → Show Status Bar) and a Path Bar (View → Show Path Bar) to Finder. The Status Bar is useful when you want a quick overview of a folder, such as the number of items or available disk space. The Path Bar is useful when you need to see where a file or folder is located in the hierarchy or quickly navigate to one of its parent folders.

iOS

• Instead of using the traditional copy-and-paste approach to move text/images/files/urls/etc. between apps, use the hidden drag-and-drop feature.
• Move multiple Home Screen apps at once: Tap and hold on one app, then tap more apps to add them to your stack
• Good phone charging habits to maximize battery lifespan
  1. Keep battery between 20–80% Charge once daily (~1 hr) when below 20%, instead of multiple short charges.
  2. Avoid overnight charging Unless Optimized Battery Charging is enabled (default on most modern phones).
  3. Use certified chargers Stick to original or MFi-certified accessories to protect your device.
• 在 iPhone 輸入中文時，可以先輸入每個字的首個注音符號，待所有字母輸入完畢後，再依照建議詞彙或上下文選字。這種方式有助於提高輸入速度，特別是在熟悉鍵盤佈局後，可減少中斷思考的時間。
• Saying “Remind me” to Siri can create a reminder in the default list.
• To scan documents on your iPhone, open the Notes or Files app, tap the three dots, then choose “Scan (Documents).” Hold your phone over the document—if “Auto Shutter” is enabled, it will scan automatically. After scanning, you can sign or annotate the document using Quick Look > Markup. This method is straightforward and sufficient for occasional use. Pro move: scan multiple pages in one pass, then export as a single PDF.
• Instead of typing letter by letter, slide your finger across the keyboard and don’t lift until the word is done. Apple’s built-in swipe keyboard, known as QuickPath, is much faster once you get used to it. To enable it: Settings → General → Keyboard → toggle “Slide to Type”.

Apple Ecosystem

• Use Universal Clipboard to copy and paste between your Apple devices
• How to create clickable links to Apple Notes (applenotes:note/…)? In Apple Notes, select (or double-tap) a word or symbol, press Cmd + K (or tap Add Link), and type part of the target note title. Then right-click (on macOS) or tap and hold (on iOS) the link, and choose Copy Link (macOS) or Copy (iOS). Paste the resulting applenotes: link into any rich text app — it’ll work just like a regular hyperlink, e.g., applenotes:note/xxxx-xxxx-xxxx.

Developer Productivity

• When browsing a GitHub repository, simply press the . key or replace .com with .dev in the URL to launch the repository in the VS Code for the Web —a full-featured, browser-based code editor. Example: https://github.com/user/repo → https://github.dev/user/repo. This is perfect for quick edits, reviews, or exploring code without cloning locally.
• You can quickly launch tools and code sandboxes using special .new URLs, a domain originally created by Google to streamline content creation. Typing react.new or vue.new in your browser instantly opens a ready-to-code sandbox for React or Vue.js, without needing a local setup. URLs like docs.new, sheets.new, and slides.new create new Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides with one click. Other services, like YouTube or Spotify, use URLs such as playlist.new for fast playlist creation.
• Holding Option (⌥) while clicking lets you move the text cursor (insertion point) to that exact position in the current command line, so you don’t need to press ←/→ repeatedly.