12 Hidden macOS Features to Boost Your Mac Productivity
Discover how Hot Corners, Spotlight actions, and Automator can save you time with these essential macOS tips.
On this page
We start with those you use every day and move up to automations, which save you from repeating the same sequence of clicks twenty times. These tips apply to macOS 26 Tahoe, the current version; on previous versions, almost everything works the same way—only a few menu names might differ.
Move around and search faster #
Spotlight can do much more than just search #
Cmd + Space opens Spotlight, but most people only use it to open applications. From Tahoe onwards, the bar also performs actions: you can type a command name and run it, create a reminder, start a Shortcut, or call up your clipboard history to grab something you copied half an hour ago.
It also works as a calculator and converter: type 128 gbp in eur or 18*4,5 and the result appears without opening anything else.
Hot Corners #
Hot Corners turns the four corners of your screen into commands: move your pointer to a corner and something happens. You can set them in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Hot Corners, at the bottom of the page.
Among the actions are Quick Note, Notification Center, and Screen Saver, but only a few are actually used: one corner to lock the screen when you walk away, one to show the desktop, and one for Mission Control. Leave the corner where you usually close windows free; otherwise, it might trigger by itself at the wrong time.
Smart Folders in Finder #
A smart folder doesn’t contain files: it contains a saved search that updates itself. In Finder, go to File → New Smart Folder, set your criteria (file type, date, tag, content), and save it to the sidebar.
For example, a folder that collects all PDFs modified in the last seven days, wherever they are on your disk. That way, you no longer have to remember where you saved last week’s document.
Windows, Dock, and Menu Bar #
Files and folders directly in the Dock #
The right side of the Dock, after the separator line, also accepts folders and individual documents: drag your current projects folder there (or select it in Finder and choose File → Add to Dock) and use right-click to choose either Stack view or Grid view. With one click, you can see the contents without opening Finder.
Double-click on the title bar #
In System Settings → Desktop & Dock, there is an option for “Double-click a window’s title bar to”: you can choose to minimize it, add it to the Dock, or do nothing. If you work with many open windows, minimizing to an icon is often more convenient.
Customizable Menu Bar and Control Center #
The Control Center can be customized: in System Settings → Control Center, decide which controls always stay in the menu bar and which stay in the panel. By enabling Now Playing, you’ll have a mini player in the top right to pause or skip songs, regardless of which app is playing them.
If your menu bar is too crowded, hold down Cmd and drag the icons to reorder or remove them.
Screenshots, text, and content #
The full screen capture tool #
Cmd + Shift + 5 opens the full panel: screenshot of the entire screen, a window, or a portion, but also screen recording. From the Options menu, you can set where to save, a timer, and microphone recording.
Two faster variants: Cmd + Shift + 4 immediately selects an area, and pressing then the space bar captures a single window with its shadow. Adding Ctrl to any of these combinations sends the screenshot to your clipboard instead of your desktop.
Live Text and subject lifting #
On any image—even a quick photo or a frame from a paused video—you can select text with your cursor and copy it: this is the Live Text feature, enabled by default. It’s incredibly handy when someone sends you a photo of an address instead of typing the address out.
On the same image, a long press on the subject lifts it from the background: you can drag it directly into a message or a document, already cropped.
Preview and Quick Actions in Finder #
Select a file and press the space bar: the preview opens without opening the app. From the preview, you can rotate an image, sign a PDF, or trim a video.
By right-clicking one or more files, the Quick Actions menu can convert images, combine PDFs, and rotate videos without opening anything. The automations you create will also appear in this same menu.
Open apps at startup #
If you open the same programs every morning, let your Mac handle it. In System Settings → General → Login Items and Extensions, click the + under Open at Login and add the apps you want. This also works with documents and folders, which will open automatically upon login.
On the same page, further down, you’ll find the apps that launch in the background: if your Mac takes a long time to start up, this is the first place to look.
Automating repetitive tasks #
This is the part almost nobody uses, and it’s the one that saves the most time. macOS includes two companion tools: Automator, a classic that is still present, and Shortcuts, which is newer and shared with iPhone and iPad.
If your automation works on files from Finder, Automator is more direct. If you want to find it on your iPhone and iPad or launch it via Spotlight, use Shortcuts.
A workflow with Automator, step by step #
The classic example: resizing images before uploading them somewhere. Here is how to turn that into a right-click menu item:
Open Automator from your Applications folder and choose Quick Action as the document type.
At the top, set “Workflow receives” to image files and “in” to Finder.
From the library on the left, drag in the Copy Finder Items action (so your originals stay intact) and then Scale Images, setting it to the pixel size you need.
Save it with a recognizable name, for example, “Resize to 1200 px”.
From then on, right-click one or more images in Finder → Quick Actions → the name you chose.
The same logic applies to converting to PDF, batch renaming, merging documents, or moving files to an archive folder.
Shortcuts and scheduled automations #
The Shortcuts app does the same things but with a more modern editor, and it also allows for automations: actions that trigger automatically at a certain time, when you connect to a Wi-Fi network, or when you open a specific application.
One useful and simple shortcut to build: when connecting to your home network, turn on Focus mode and open your work apps. Another one: every Friday at 6:00 PM, move files downloaded during the week to an archive folder.
Two combinations to remember #
- Ctrl + Cmd + Space opens the emoji and symbol picker in any text field. From there, using the arrow in the top right, you can access the full character viewer.
- Cmd + Ctrl + Q locks your screen instantly. It’s faster than any Hot Corner when you need to step away from your desk.
You can change these combinations: in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts, you can change system shortcuts and, in the App Shortcuts section, create new ones for a specific program’s menu item by typing its exact name.
Text replacements #
In System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Text Replacements, you can define abbreviations that expand automatically: @@ becomes your email address, //iban your IBAN, and firma your email sign-off.
These work in all system apps and sync with iPhone and iPad via iCloud. If you frequently type the same things, this is the trick that will save you more time than anything else on this list.
FAQ #
Are these features available on older versions of macOS? #
Almost all of them are: Hot Corners, screen capture, Smart Folders, Automator, and text replacement have existed for many versions. Recent updates mainly concern Spotlight, which in macOS 26 Tahoe performs actions and shows clipboard history. In older versions, the panel name is different: “System Preferences” instead of “System Settings”.
Has Apple abandoned Automator? #
It hasn’t been removed and is still included in macOS, but development has shifted to the Shortcuts app, which receives new features and is also available on iPhone and iPad. For file workflows from Finder, Automator is still convenient; for everything else, start with Shortcuts.
Does a macOS update delete these customizations? #
A standard update keeps them: Hot Corners, keyboard shortcuts, text replacements, and automations stay in place. Their appearance might change or they might move to a different panel when Apple reorganizes System Settings, as happened during the transition from Preferences to Settings. However, after a clean install, you will have to set everything up again.
How can I discover more features of my Mac? #
Browse through System Settings panel by panel: almost all these features are in there; they just aren’t highlighted for you. Then there is the pre-installed Tips app and the Help menu in every program, which allows you to search through menu items to find exactly what you need.
