Here are a few capabilities of the Mac that make me feel flexible for my own sake and efficient for the sake of others.

Embed Links in Text

When I compose email messages that reference websites for clients, I prefer to embed the addresses in the text of the message. This gives a much cleaner appearance than pasting the URL inline.

iOS has begun to get better text formatting features, such as in Notes, but in common applications this capability remains unique to the Mac.

In most apps that support composing rich (formatted) text, there is an Add Link command and the keyboard shortcut is usually Command+K. You can simply select some text, issue this command, and type or paste a web address.

Generally, links are automatically colored and underlined, and as of macOS Catalina, the color of a link respects the Accent Color set in the General pane of System Preferences.

Pick Up Where You Left Off

Previously, I mentioned Handoff, one of whose features is the ability to copy and paste across devices. Another feature of Handoff is continuing to use an application that exists on multiple devices.

For example, suppose you’re composing an email on your iPhone using Mail. Have you ever noticed the Mail icon appear on your Mac at the same time?

Look on the Dock next to the Finder. You’ll see it has the badge of the type of device it references. Mouse over it and that device is identified more specifically. Click the icon and Mail on your Mac will open with the specific draft you were just working on.

This Continuity feature works with web browsers, Notes, Messages, and more. Really any app that you have on more than one device enables you to continue using it in this way. You can jump to such an app on iPhone or iPad using the app switcher, where the app appears at the bottom.

Bring Back the Startup Chime

From 1984 until 2015, every Mac made some kind of sound at startup indicating that it was doing so. This feature gave users important feedback about the state of their Mac. However, starting in 2016, Apple eliminated the “startup chime” from new Macs.

Did you notice? Did this frustrate you to no end? Well, @chaysegr recently discovered there’s a hidden way to bring back it back. Just open Terminal, type the following command, and press Return:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

When prompted, type your computer password and press Return, ignoring that no characters appear as you type it. When next you restart, the sound will be back.

You can always mute your volume to prevent the chime from sounding while muted. However, if you want to return to startup silence regardless of volume level, the inverse command is:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

[Update: Starting in macOS Big Sur, released about 8 months after this publication, Apple started offering a built-in Sound setting for the startup chime: “Play sound on startup.”]

What fun tips have you discovered as you’ve explored your Mac? Send them my way and perhaps you’ll find them included in a future edition of Mac Mondays.