Just upgraded to MacOS Monterey? Here are the best macOS Monterey tips and tricks to improve the overall Mac experience.
MacOS Monterey brings a boatload of new features to the Mac. From big new features like SharePlay to handy small touches like Shortcuts, there’s a lot to explore in the new Mac operating system from Apple.
We’re here to show you some of the best MacOS Monterey tips and tricks. Each one will help you get even more from your Mac and all the new tricks up its sleeve, so be sure to read to the end.
Apple always slips in a few nifty features and hides them in almost every iteration of macOS. Big Sur had a few hidden tips and tricks for and so does the latest macOS Monterey. Sometimes these are hidden in plain sight but most of the time these tips and tricks are buried deep in settings. Here are the best macOS Monterey tips and tricks you should try first.
Without further ado, here are all the best macOS Monterey tips and tricks.
1. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Focus Mode
If you’re tired of receiving notifications while you’re trying to get work done, this macOS Monterey trick will automatically block certain notifications and messages during certain times of the day. You can set up different focus modes for different activities, and these modes will work across all your Apple devices at once.
You can create multiple Focus profiles such as writing, coding, editing, and make relevant changes in the Focus profile to let only work apps and contacts send notifications.
To set up a focus mode in macOS Monterey, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of your screen and select System Preferences. Then click Notifications & Focus and the Focus tab at the top of the window. Finally, select one of the focus modes in the left sidebar or click the plus sign at the bottom to create a new focus mode.
From here, you can customize each focus mode. To do this, click the plus signs on the right side of the window to add people and apps you don’t want to block. Then you can set up a schedule to automatically turn your focus mode on and off at certain times. Finally, you can check the box next to Share Focus Status to send an automated message to anyone who tries to contact you.
Don’t worry. While this macOS Monterey trick will notify people when you are busy, there is still a way for them to get through to you in case of an emergency.
2. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Shortcuts
Shortcuts automations are designed to simplify repetitive tasks. After updating to the macOS Monterey, you will find the Shortcuts app installed in the Applications menu.
The Mac Shortcuts app lets you automate the things you do most often. In doing so, you can save a lot of time by turning multiple steps into just one. For example, with the Shortcuts editor, you can connect your go-to apps and services. From there, you can run them from your Dock, menu bar, the Finder, Spotlight, or with Siri.
3. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use the in-built Password Manager
With macOS Monterey, there is a Dedicated Password Section in System Preferences and a Built-In Authenticator. You can find this in the system preferences which has a new section called Passwords that houses all of your iCloud Keychain logins and passwords so they’re easier to get to, edit, and manage. You can also import and export passwords. Monterey also brings an in-built authenticator for sites that use codes as 2FA, the in-built feature will now automatically fill the backup codes when you log in and are stored in the iCloud keychain.
4. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Tab Groups in Safari
Safari in macOS Monterey now features the long-awaited “Tab Groups” to let you organize tabs to your heart’s liking. So, if you want to put an end to chaotic tabs management, simply use tab groups in Safari on macOS Monterey.
Open Safari, select relevant tabs, and give the tab group a name such as Shopping, Social, etc. You can create multiple tab groups and navigate through them without feeling lost in the browser.
5. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Tags in Apple Notes
The Notes app now uses tags, which makes it a powerful alternative to many third-party note-taking apps, considering it comes pre-installed on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Now that the functionality is finally here, using it is just as easy as any other note-taking app.
macOS Monterey brings a natural system for adding tags to your notes. This means that in order to tag a note, all you need to do is type in a hashtag followed by the tag label. You can do this naturally while typing and place them wherever you want in the text, making it less intimidating and time-consuming.
A hashtag within text in a note in the Notes app can be easily identified since it turns yellow as soon as you add it. The note is then automatically categorized according to the tag and is instantly searchable.
6. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Create Smart Folder in Apple Notes
This macOS Monterey trick lets you create a Smart Folder in Apple Notes and add a condition with tags. For example, you can create a Smart Folder with the name of a bank and set it up to include notes carrying #finance, #creditcard, etc., in it.
No manual input is needed here. The Smart Folder automatically adds notes based on the specified conditions.
7. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Create Reminders with Smart lists and tags
Similar to the smart folders option in the Notes app, you can also create smart lists in the Reminders app in the macOS Monterey update. But besides just using tags for the organization, you can also use other factors like priority, date, time, and location to organize different lists in the Reminders app.
To create a smart list, click on file->new list and enable the make into smart list option. You can then select what filter you want to use to organize the smart list and select a name and an icon to create the list.
8. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Quickly Create a Quick Note
This macOS Monterey trick lets you take notes from anywhere on your Mac instantly.
Simply move your cursor to the bottom right corner of your Mac, and the Quick note pad will pop up. You can then write whatever you want on the note, and it will be synced to your iPhone and iPad as well.
This feature makes it convenient and efficient whenever you want to note down something on your Mac quickly. You can also assign the quick note trigger shortcut to any of the other three corners on your Mac.
9. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Create FaceTime Link
Apple is finally getting serious again with video calls on Mac. macOS Monterey brings a much-improved FaceTime experience on the desktop.
For starters, you can open the FaceTime app and create a new link for the upcoming video call, share it with your friends and family, and join them over a group call.
The good news is you can even let your Android and Windows friends join a call. Yes, Apple finally acknowledged rival platforms and launched FaceTime on Android and Windows via the web.
Of course, it’s missing all the bells and whistles, but hey, something is better than nothing.
10. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Hide My Email
This is a part of iCloud improvements coming to iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey.
Sign in with Apple is getting an upgrade with Hide My Email on Mac. From the System Preferences > Profile > iCloud menu, you can select Hide My Email and glance over all the random email IDs you created on iPhone with Sign in with Apple.
What’s more? You can even create a new temporary email ID from the Hide My Email menu. Of course, it will require you to buy an iCloud+ plan first.
11. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Hide your IP and prevent tracking using Private relay
One of the most exciting feature added to the macOS Monterey update is Private relay. While it’s still in the beta stage, it mainly works without any issues. To enable the private relay feature, navigate to System preferences->Apple ID->iCloud.
Once enabled, the feature will hide your IP address and protect your browsing activity from advertisers and online trackers to ensure that your data will remain anonymous and your privacy will be protected. While you will still get ads even if you enable Private relay, they will not be personalized to you as the advertisers won’t be able to collect any data from you to show relevant ads.
12. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Quickly access things from Shared with you section
Shared with you is another cool macOS Monterey trick, and you can find the new Shared with you section basically on every system app, including the Messages app, Photos, Safari, Apple Music, Podcasts, Apple News, and the Apple TV app.
Every time someone shares with you an image, link, video, podcast, or TV show, it will appear under the Shared with you section in the corresponding app. My favorite use case for this feature is that I can instantly access links shared by my friends by clicking on them in the Shared with you section in Safari instead of scrolling through messages to find them.
13. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Check Media Information in the Photos App
With macOS Monterey, you no longer need to save images from the Photos app to the Finder menu just to check image size and other data. Now you can do the same from the Photos app on Mac.
Simply open an image or video in the Photos app and click on the i button to view all the information, including date, time, location, size, and more. What’s more? You can even edit the date and time of the media in the Photos app on Mac.
14. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Add Music from Apple Music in Photos Memories
Memories – Apple Photos’ excellent function to create a video out of recent photos is getting a new feature with the macOS Monterey update. Now you can add music tracks from the Apple Music app in the Memory to create a beautiful video on the go.
15. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Enable Low Power Mode
iPhones have had a Low power mode for quite some time. The same function is arriving on MacBooks with macOS Monterey.
Low power mode makes changes to display brightness, UI animations, and other things to extend battery life when you need it. It’s the perfect companion to extend your MacBook’s battery life just enough to get things done before you run out of juice. Apple says this toggle reduces system clock speed and display brightness to achieve longer battery life.
16. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Set up Verification Mode in iCloud
This is handy, especially for Mac users. You can use a two-factor authentication app on iPhone or iPad, but the same apps aren’t available on the Mac platform.
With macOS Monterey, you don’t need them. The two-factor authentication is built right into the Passwords menu on Mac.
Open System Preferences > Passwords and open a relevant entry that supports 2FA. Click on the Verification Code and set up a key.
17. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Start Screen Sharing on FaceTime
With this macOS Monterey trick, you can share the current or minimized Mac window with participants over a FaceTime call.
Once again, this is more useful on desktop than iPhone. You can easily share a presentation or PDF and discuss work details on FaceTime.
18. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Turn off Safari Color Tabs
We are sure you won’t like the default Safari settings on macOS Monterey. The browser is getting colors tabs that take inspiration from the primary color from the website.
When you deal with dozens of tabs in Safari and switch frequently among them, it will look like a mess with multiple colors in different browser tabs.
Thankfully, you can go to Safari Preferences > Advanced and disable the Show color in tab bar menu. The browser will revert to the familiar and easy-to-read white/grey theme in tabs.
19. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Universal Control
This is one of the best macOS Monterey tricks on Mac. It’s a boon for someone using an iPad with Mac on a daily basis. Universal Control lets you use a keyboard, mouse, and trackpad across all Apple devices.
For example, you can extend the trackpad functionality from Mac to iPad. With Universal Control, you can slide your cursor from left to right between your devices. That way, you will see the Mac cursor on your Mac and a round dot cursor on your iPad.
You can even drag and drop items such as files, pictures, or any type of media between devices – just select it on your iPad and drag it over to your Mac. This could be useful to boost productivity when sketching, designing, planning, or otherwise going through a busy day.
20. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Activity View in Apple Notes
If you are someone sharing Apple Notes with others frequently, this one can be helpful to you. You can share an Apple note and see live editing and changes right from the Activity View in Apple Notes.
21. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use Translator
The Translate feature from Safari is available system-wide in macOS Monterey, iOS 15, and iPadOS 15. Simply pick a text and right-click to open the Translate menu, which supports a variety of languages. You can translate text in images using system-wide translation and Live Text. It also gives you the ability to translate offline or online.
22. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use iCloud Collaboration Folder
Another macOS Monterey trick is the iCloud Collaboration Folder which is built into the new Finder. You can find this folder on the left pane of the Finder. This section makes it easier for you to track files and documents shared with you in a single place. You can also see who modified the file last, the status of collaboration invitations, and other metadata.
23. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Interact with text in any photo using Live text
Live text is possibly my most favorite and the most useful trick added to the macOS Monterey update. This macOS Monterey trick lets you select and interact with any text in any image you can find on the Photos app, Safari, Screenshot, and Quick look app on your Mac, and you can also copy the text, translate it and use the lookup function by simply selecting and right-clicking on it.
24. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Airplay to Mac
Finally, Mac now support Airplay from iPhone or iPad to Mac in the macOS Monterey update. Simply open any file, image, or video on your iPhone or iPad and then click on the share icon, and select Airplay and select your Mac to wirelessly project your iPhone or iPad’s content to your Mac’s display.
You can also share your screen by using the Screen mirroring option from the control center of your iPhone or iPad. This will share the entire screen of your iPhone or iPad to your Mac in real-time. The best part is that you don’t need to enable any additional settings on your Mac or your iPhone to use this feature.
25. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Add shortcuts to the menu bar
The popular Shortcuts app from iOS and iPadOS has finally made its way into Mac with the macOS Monterey update. With this macOS Monterey trick all the shortcuts you have created on your other Apple devices will automatically sync to your Mac, and you can create any number of new shortcuts you want.
My favorite feature is the option to add shortcuts to the menu bar, so I can use them to quickly turn the lights in my room on or off or quickly log my water intake.
To add the shortcuts to the menu bar on your Mac, simply move the shortcut to the Menu bar folder in the left pane of the shortcuts app, and the shortcuts icon will appear on the menu bar.
You can find some of the useful shortcuts in the Gallery folder, and my favorite ones are the shortcut that turns any text into an audio file and the shortcut that quickly opens Safari and the Notes app on a split-screen. You can also modify this shortcut to open any two apps you want on a split-screen.
26. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Automatically skip silence in audio recordings
The Voice memos app has gotten a terrific new addition after a long time in the macOS Monterey update, an option to automatically skip any silent parts or gaps in an audio recording to let you save precious time.
To use this macOS Monterey trick, record a new voice note in the Voice memos app or select an existing voice recording and then click on the edit menu at the top and choose the Skip silence option to automatically remove any silent parts and gaps in the voice recording.
27. macOS moterey tips and tricks: Maximize productivity with window management
There are also finally some new options for window management in the macOS Monterey update. Just click and hold on the green button on the top left of any app to choose between options to tile the window to the left or right of the screen or enter the full-screen mode.
Based on the tiling option you select, you can also choose to open any other active application on the other side to use both of them simultaneously in a split-screen view. To exit this, simply click the green icon again to go back to the full-screen mode.
28. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Get 2FA codes using a Built-in authenticator in Safari
If you use an app like Microsoft Authenticator or Authy to get two-factor authentication codes for signing into your accounts, then you might find this feature really useful as you can now get 2FA codes generated and auto-filled directly from Safari across all your Apple devices.
Not only is this more secure and convenient, but it also eliminates the need to download and rely on any third-party app for getting 2FA codes for signing in to your online accounts. To use the built-in 2FA code generator from Safari, go to the Safari preferences menu and switch to the passwords tab.
From here, select any account you want, click on the edit button, and click the Enter set-up key button on the next page to paste the setup key from your account’s security settings page to set up getting 2FA codes for that account directly from Safari.
29. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Customize your mouse’s cursor color
Here’s a hidden macOS Monterey trick: You can now customize the color of your mouse pointer. Why would you want to do that? …Anyway, go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Vision > Display > Pointer. Here, you’ll find two different options: “Pointer Outline Color” and “Pointer Fill Color.” Click on either to get a color selection tool and switch to any color that you like; the change will take effect immediately. If you want to go back to how things used to be, click the “Reset” button.
30. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Use an interactive Memoji on the lock screen
If you use your Memoji as your avatar, you’re in for a treat: Your Memoji will now keep animating and switching poses on the lock screen, just like it does on the Memoji watch face on the Apple Watch. When you get your password wrong, your Memoji will even scoff at you.
If you aren’t using your Memoji as your avatar, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups, click your profile picture, and switch to “Memoji.”
31. macOS Monterey tips and tricks: Quickly Convert HEIC images to JPEG or PNG files
Apple’s HEIC format for photos is efficient, improving image quality while making them take up less space—provided you keep said image on your phone. This macOS Monterey trick lets you quickly convert HEIC images to JPEGs or PNGs (and vice-versa).
Right-click the image file and choose Quick Actions > Convert Image. From here, choose the image format and the size and click the “Convert to JPEG” button. The new image will be saved in the same folder.
That concludes our list of best tips and tricks for macOS Monterey. With each macOS update, Apple is tightening its grip on vertical integration among all Apple hardware. macOS Monterey is no exception here. Which trick did you like the most with macOS Monterey? Share your views in the comments section below.