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Ask: Yosemite Mouse Malfunction.
17 May 2015 Leave a comment
-MacLife-
Ask: Yosemite Mouse Malfunction
Question:
Since upgrading to Yosemite, there has been an issue with the mouse cursor and it’s behavior. Depending on the use, the cursor blinks, jitters, and switch between the cursor and the hand. It also jumps when trying to draw lines in Photoshop to a point that it’s unusable. How can I fix this?
Answer:
This has not been a reported issue in Yosemite that we’ve previously heard of; however, there’s always a chance that with your hardware and software combination there could be something going on. Before heading out to the Genius Bar, though, there is something that you can definitely try to resolve this: an OS X reinstall.
Sometimes, if you’re experiencing a weird problem on your Mac, the best option is to reinstall OS X.
Before reinstalling, first back up your Mac with Time Machine or use another backup utility to protect your valuable files. Though a reinstall shouldn’t erase your content, it’s always good to have a “just in case” backup.
To begin the reinstall process, perform these steps:
1. Restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R key to boot into recovery mode. (If you’re not connected to Wi-Fi, you’ll be prompted to select a wireless network to connect to.)
2. When the recovery interface finishes loading, select “Reinstall OS X,” then Continue.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall OS X.
This process will overwrite any potentially corrupt system configuration files. Once the reinstall has completed, try to see if you can still replicate the problem. If you can, then there might be an issue with mouse hardware or the surface on which you’re using the mouse.
How to Recover Deleted Images in Photos App for Mac OS X.
16 May 2015 Leave a comment
-OSXDaily-
How to Recover Deleted Images in Photos App for Mac OS X
Users managing a Photos app library on the Mac have almost certainly deleted a picture, video, if not dozens of them. Sometimes this is intentional, sometimes it’s accidental, and sometimes it’s regretful, and perhaps later, a user wishes they could recover those deleted pictures. If you find yourself in that situation, then you may be able to recover the deleted images with the help of a Photos app recovery feature, without even having to turn to backups from Time Machine in OS X.
Recovering deleted pictures from Photos app in OS X is very easy, but there are a few limitations that are in place which could prevent an image or movie file from being restore through the app itself.
Here’s how to access the Recently Deleted album and recover images that have been deleted from Photos app on the Mac:
- Open the Photos app in OS X if you haven’t done so yet
- Pull down the “File” menu and choose “Show Recently Deleted” – this will switch to the “Recently Deleted” album that is otherwise hidden in Photos app
- Select the picture(s) and/or video(s) to undelete and to recover, be sure they have a blue checkmark in the corner of the thumbnail indicating they are selected
- Click the “Recover” button in the upper right corner of Photos app, this will recover the image and send it back to its original location in the original album that it came from
- When finished, click back on the “Photos” or “Albums” tab to leave the Recently Deleted album
You can repeat this as often as necessary to recover deleted pictures in Photos app. You will notice that image thumbnails have a timer of sorts underneath them, indicating the amount of time that is left before the picture is completely removed from Photos app – this is also the grace period that the user has and is allowed to recover the pictures without having to turn to a separate Time Machine backup or whatever other alternate backup method the Mac user has.
The limitations for Photos recovery are basically how much time has elapsed since the image(s) were deleted, and how much disk space is available on the Mac. Images will delete themselves permanently after 30 days from the initial removal, and if the available disk space is basically nil then images will be deleted quicker as well.
How to make a picture of your Mac’s screen.
13 May 2015 Leave a comment
-MacTips-
Mac Tip #436, 12 May 2010
Sometimes you just want to show how your screen looks — what a window shows, some confusing message, or the cool way you’ve set up your software. The way to do that is with a screenshot. Here’s how to make screenshots on your Mac. It’s easy, and free.
Command Shift 3 captures the whole screen
A screenshot of screenshots.
Without doing anything special you can make screenshots any time you like.
Press and hold both the Command (⌘) and Shift (⇧) keys, then press and release the 3 key. Then release the other 2 keys. If you have the volume turned up you’ll hear a ‘shutter’ sound, as when you take a photo with your camera.
A new file appears on your Desktop, named like this one of mine: Screen shot 2010-05-10 at 9.54.26 AM.png. Note that the name includes the date and time when the screenshot was made.
Don’t see .png at the end of the filename on your Mac? Read How to set Finder Advanced Preferences.
Open that screenshot file with Apple Preview and it shows a picture of your whole computer screen, at full size.
Make partial screenshots with Command Shift 4
You may not want the entire screen, but only part of it. Command (⌘) Shift (⇧) 4 can help you out.
Press Command (⌘) Shift (⇧) 4 and the cursor changes to a ‘crosshair’. Drag the crosshair across the screen so as to enclose just the area you want to capture. When you let go the mouse the screenshot is saved to the Desktop. I didn’t hear a shutter sound when I used this technique.
To capture just one window it’s a little easier: Press Command (⌘) Shift (⇧) 4 and then press the Spacebar. This time the cursor changes to a small camera icon. Move the camera icon over the window you want to capture and then click. This time just the window is captured as a screenshot, and saved to the Desktop.
Capture to the Clipboard
Command (⌘) Shift (⇧) 3 and Command (⌘) Shift (⇧) 4 save screenshots to the Desktop as separate files. Instead you may want to save the image to the Clipboard so you can paste it in to another application. Both commands can save to the Clipboard instead of a file: just add the Control (⌃) key.
Other Tips will explain how to change the default key commands, how to use the built-in Grab application for screenshots, how to use Quicktime Pro to make a movie of your computer screen, and how to make the file size smaller for use on forums and blogs and in emails. These are all handy things to know about.
My Sweet Spot 