Phillip Ingham
Craig HockenberryDo you hate how hard it is to get to System Information now? (System Settings… > General > About > System Report…)
Just hold down the Option key in the Apple menu…
Futurist Jim Carroll@chockenberry I swear that this is due to the new Apple Department of Breaking Things That Were Once Perfectly Fine. They also screwed up the beep-the-iPhone feature on the Apple Watch that was once found by scrolling down and instead moving it to the side click. Imagine spending your life working at Apple making decisions that screw things up. And don't get me going on the new FaceTime gesture feature in Sonoma that happens to mess up anyone using OBS, Ecamm, Vmix, Streamyard, etc. That's from the other Apple group, the Department of Bumbling Incompetence.
And there is absolutely no one at Apple who listens to this stuff.
Applewise@jimcarroll @chockenberry Beep the iPhone is the actual name of that feature. I thought I read that it was coming back to the original location as a setting. 🤷🏻♂️
@applewise @chockenberry I guess that decision would have come from the Apple Department of Rectifying and Fixing Previous Stupid US Mistakes.
David Senate@chockenberry thank you for this tip !!
David Ham@chockenberry whoa they removed About this Mac?
@davidham Option key.
Tito Ciuro@chockenberry @davidham So obvious. 🙄
It used to be the case that options and features were primed for discoverability. Not once did I ever feel the need to refer to a manual or instructions.
For a short while though, the OS has gotten quite messy. Beautiful? Yes. Experience? Sub-par (compared to once-held-high Apple standards.)
@titociuro @davidham I’ve been using the Option key to expose advanced settings since 1984. 🤷♂️
@chockenberry @davidham Or finding easter eggs in About… boxes, like entering “Antler!” in early versions of Stickies (née Antler Notes) 😉
Recovered Expert@chockenberry wow, thank you for sharing! didn’t think of trying the Option Key thing there. This safes me several clicks (way too) often. Thanks again!
Melvin Gundlach@chockenberry Alternatively, System Information can be opened from Spotlight.
Michael Porter@melgu @chockenberry Or Siri, amazingly.
Son of a Sailor@chockenberry The Option key is the Mac's superpower.
(((Jann Gobble)))🏳️🌈@chockenberry WHOA! You are my macOS God!!!
Adlangx@chockenberry or I just never use Apple. That works for me.
Chris Mohajer@chockenberry Why does clicking “System Report” launch “System Information”? Shouldn’t they have the same name?
Jon Reid@chockenberry Thank you!
Edmundo Ruiz Ghanem
Mike Brogan@chockenberry such a great tip. I wonder when Apple added it. I know that it goes back at least Snow Leopard.
Tommy Palmer@chockenberry It is a shame so much of this is slightly hidden, but Option does a lot more. Option + the function keys will open up the relevant pane in System Settings. With brightness you get display, volume gets you sound, etc, etc.
adacosta
Len Spencer@chockenberry
♥️ this. 🙏 .
♥️ this. 🙏 .
@chockenberry @gruber For a wonderful period of time it was possible to option click the notification icon at the top right to temporarily hide notifications that built up on the right side of the screen.
In Sonoma, it seems to be back.
Next time you have a cluster of notifications, try option clicking the clock. Then option click it again.
🥳
@chockenberry @gruber 😫 I celebrated and shared too soon.
Option clicking the clock has the desired effect of hiding or revealing on screen notifications, but also turns on Do Not Disturb across all my devices
Crazor@chockenberry That’s been there forever. Is it still „About this Mac“ without the option key?
I can’t even remember how else you would get to System Information if not like this…
Cruising Steveswijk@chockenberry Thank you!
robertoranon@chockenberry 20+years using a Mac, and I didn't know the 'option key' trick for menus .... thanks!
Mo@chockenberry has someone created a website for all the things Option key unlocks? 😅 #lazyweb
Albert Kinng
Jaddie Dodd@chockenberry Thank you for this nugget!