How-Tos

Add handwritten notes in Polaris Office on Galaxy Note devices

Sometimes only so much explaining can be done with text on the screen. Adding a handwritten drawing or diagram can help pull together and solidify an idea. This is especially true when you're following along on a document that was given to you, like a business plan or notes for a class.

Polaris Office works with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF files. When using this app on a Galaxy Note series device, you can use the included S Pen to draw directly in your documents. Here's how:

First, open a document or presentation in Polaris … Read more

Set up quick access to the Galaxy S3 or Note 2 camera

This How To isn't about lock-screen widgets. Yes, they are exciting. And yes, they bring additional functionality to your lock screen -- but unfortunately, a lot of people have not had their devices updated to Android 4.2 as of yet. If you have, check out Jason Cipriani's post on how to set up lock-screen widgets.

Instead, let's work with the wonderful world of TouchWiz that comes preloaded on your Samsung Galaxy S3 or Note 2. TouchWiz, in short, is a home replacement for Android (think Facebook Home), that adds proprietary theming and options. … Read more

Set up Reading Mode on the Galaxy Note 8

Using a tablet as an e-reader can save you money and lighten your load while on the go. Unfortunately, a lot of tablets aren't optimized for reading text for long periods of time (like e-books, RSS feeds, or just long Web posts) and may cause mild eyestrain. Luckily, the Galaxy Note 8 comes with a feature to help solve this issue: Reading Mode.

However, Reading Mode isn't turned on for all of your apps by tapping on the icon in the notification panel. Why doesn't this mode work in all apps by default? No idea, but fixing … Read more

How to make quick work of text navigation in OS X

When composing documents in OS X, sometimes moving the cursor around with arrow keys is more convenient, and a bit more accurate, than using the mouse.

The arrow keys therefore offer a great advantage both in offering a precise input option (one tap moves over one character, or up one line, etc.), but also in that they are right there on the keyboard. However, if you are unfamiliar with the modifiers you can use with the arrow keys to place your cursor faster, you may resort to pressing and holding them to get the cursor where you want it.

Recently … Read more

How to quickly set accessibility options in OS X

OS X includes a number of accessibility options that are intended to help those with disabilities but which could be useful for everyone. For example, the OS X screen-zooming option offers an easy way to increase the size of items on your screen, and the use of sticky keys can help you trigger complex hot keys with one hand where they might otherwise be easier with two.

These features can be set up through the Accessibility system preferences, but if you make use of some of the common ones, Apple has a quick option for accessing their settings.

If you … Read more

How to use optional list-sorting methods in the OS X Finder

When you view a Finder folder in both standard lists and the Cover Flow view in OS X, you have the option to sort the list by any of the view's columns.

By default, these are the item's Name, Date Modified, Size, and Kind (for example folder, picture, PDF) which you can click to sort in either an ascending or descending list. However, there are some additional ways to locate the files you need.

Add more columns In addition to the default column categories, OS X includes a number of others that can be enabled on a per-folder … Read more

Find practically any file in OS X

The Spotlight feature in OS X is a convenient tool for locating your files, contacts, e-mails, and other information by searching through an index of file content and metadata in addition to file names. While this feature's primary use is for locating user data and resources you may use, such as Applications and system preferences, it can also be used to find practically any file on the system.

Spotlight's index of your hard drive includes information on practically every file on the drive, but since it is geared toward relevant search results, by default Spotlight does not include … Read more

Tip: Generate preview images for a collection of documents

Apple's QuickLook technology in OS X is a quick way to preview a document's contents before opening the document's handling program. QuickLook works by using a small plug-in that reads the document's format and generates a small PDF, HTML, or thumbnail preview of the document that is presented to you as a representation of its layout.

The ability for OS X to generate a preview of a document is convenient for QuickLook, but also may be handy for other uses as well. For example, MacFixIt reader Paul recently wrote in wondering how one might use this … Read more

Treat your Mac to World Backup Day

This Sunday, March 31, is World Backup Day, an independent initiative geared to raise awareness for data security and the importance of backing up computers and other devices that may contain important information. In light of this, you might want to consider taking the time to ensure that all of your systems are set up with a proper backup routine.

Backing up a system used to take a number of steps, and while there are many options and approaches for doing so, these days most devices include some sort of regular backup option that, if used, should be enough to … Read more