Make life easier with these Mac shortcuts and hidden features.

Whether you’re new to the Mac world or have been an avid user for years, there are lots of little tricks and shortcuts many people don’t know about that can make your experience with these devices more productive. And what better time to learn a few new things that make your virtual life easier, now that most people are stuck inside due to coronavirus lockdowns and quarantines? 

It doesn’t matter if you’re running MacOS Catalina or a prior version of the operating system (though, you should download Catalina for a number of reasons) — you can still do all of these simple things to stay organized and get more done on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac or Mac Pro.

Here are 10 tips and tricks for things that you may not have known your Mac could do. You should also check out some of the Mac’s best hidden features you may not know about, and how to set up a new user on your Mac if you’re sharing a device.

Read more: MacOS Catalina review: Mac goes pro, makes iPad a partner

1. Turn your desktop folders into emoji

Make your desktop folder icons easier to differentiate (and just more fun) by turning each folder into the emoji of your choice. Here’s how to do it: 

1. Create a folder on your desktop by clicking File > New folder.

2. Do a Google Image search for the emoji you want (e.g. “heart emoji” or “star emoji”).

3. Drag the image you want to your desktop.

4. Double-click the image to open it in Preview.

5. To make the image transparent, press the markup icon (it looks like a magic wand), click the background of the image so that a moving outline appears around it and click Edit > Cut.

6. Click the markup icon again, and click and drag a box around the emoji. 

7. Click edit, select all. Press Command + C.

8. Go back to the original folder you created on your desktop and right-click on it.

9. Click Get Info. 

10. In the screen that pops up, click the blue folder icon and press Command + V. You should see your emoji appear.