Monday, June 6, 2022

Recent Questions - Ask Different

Recent Questions - Ask Different

AppleScript to write the browser tab's URL as a comment in metadata (for files downloaded from that page)?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 03:43 PM PDT

If there's a way to have ALL files I ever download contain the URL of the page I downloaded them from, I'd be in heaven. (This is oftentimes a different URL than the "wherefrom" URL.) Any thoughts on how to go about this, I'd be grateful. FWIW, I generally use Google Chrome as my primary browser. Thanks in advance!

Stop facetime video pausing when switching spaces

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 02:15 PM PDT

When I facetime call from my macbook (macOS Mojave) how can I stop the facetime video from turning off when I switch spaces?

Images in Keynote: how to edit rectangular mask into a parallelogram (or any other square surface)

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 01:12 PM PDT

I'd like to create a Keynote presentation that has a vintage / retro comic style. For this I want images not as boring exact rectangles (i.e. with four edges of exact 90 degrees), but in various "squary" shapes, i.e. a parallelogram, or even more "extreme" shapes that do not have any parallel sides anymore.

enter image description here

Is this possible in Keynote? Under Format → Image → Mask with shape, I only find "Rectangle", but no way to transform it (except making it smaller or bigger).

How to stop microphone from capturing system audio during a call?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 12:43 PM PDT

I am a one day Mac user. I am trying to stop sound played on the laptop to be captured by my microphone but I cannot figure a way out. I have been searching for two hours now. Please help.

I am running on macOS Monterey.

The audio I have played on the laptop could be heard, I checked this with my friend during a call today using the laptop. Is there is a way to stop this?

Thank you

Delete com.apple.MobileAddressBook from Apple Watch

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 11:38 AM PDT

After removing the Contacts app from my Apple Watch (to free up storage) there's still this com.apple.MobileAddressBook entry taking up a lot of space.

How can I remove this?

Keep iMessage Phone Number with new SIM Card

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 03:12 PM PDT

I recently went to Mexico and I purchased a SIM card for my trip as it was much cheaper than paying the international rates. The SIM card worked fine, but I didn't realize no one would be able to contact me on my USA number via iMessage. Is there a way to keep my number associated with my iCloud account while I have a different SIM card in?

I have a cellular enabled iPad that I no longer have service for--would putting my SIM card in my iPad accomplish this?

com.docker.docker repository doesn't display it's real name

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 10:35 AM PDT

I have Docker on my Mac and just for curiosity's sake, I went to the Docker repository to see a bit how it is : ~/Library/Containers/Docker

But this repository is kind of strange. When I display its info, it is written that its real name is com.docker.docker while it displays Docker.

Anyone knows how it is possible ?

What does sips --man option do

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 10:54 AM PDT

sips, or "scriptable image processing system" is a command-line tool shipping by default with macOS which allows basic image manipulation (think ImageMagick but not as powerful).

I found something odd on it's man page:

 --man         Generate man pages

It's not clear at all why this tool would benefit from a way to generate man pages, nor how the feature works. What does it do and how does one use it?

Monterey Calendar

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 11:32 AM PDT

If a repeat question, please forgive me. With age, I am losing the memory to check my calendar every day and therefore just forget some issues. I have searched all the major search engines with the following question and find nothing. When I reopen the desktop from sleep mode, is there a way to force the calendar to open with it so I can check and recheck what is going on in my life? It seemed to be a simple idea, and notifications are on, but there seems to be no means of activating the calendar to open from sleep. The computer is never turned off so that is not an issue. I just want the calendar to appear whenever it awakes from sleep no matter how many times in a day.

Thanks in advance

How to access secondary iCloud mail settings on iOS, iPad & iPhone?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:53 AM PDT

In iOS 15, I have a primary iCloud account on my iPhone and iPad, but I also have secondary accounts.

Those secondary accounts that I have from a previous iOS version are already configured as desired, but now that my mother has passed, and I inherit her email to settle estate, I can't rename the description to something shorter than the whole email, removed emails are sent by default to Trash rather than Archive, etc etc.

I can see these settings on my primary iCloud account and non-Apple emails through the Settings > Mail > Account > iCloud Account > Mail > Advanced.

On secondary accounts, the Mail list item is a toggle, not a settings screen. I cannot find where the detailed settings would be for newly added accounts, nor any control to change settings on those accounts which were imported from previous OS versions that once used to surface these settings.

How to set 'default voice line' by country code?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:15 AM PDT

My iPhone has two sims from different countries. How can I set a default voice line by country code? In settings (screenshot below), I can only choose a single default voice line for all numbers.

This must be a pretty common use case for users with sims from multiple countries. In my case, I want to default to the +44 sim for +44 numbers and default to the +41 sim for +41 numbers. Currently I have to choose the correct line manually for each number but sometimes I make an expensive international call by accident.

enter image description here

The screen flickered for a second, now files without extension have a folder icon instead of the usual plain paper icon

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 12:29 PM PDT

For example, touch Test would normally create a Test file without an extension that should have the usual plain paper white icon. Now it's always set to a blue folder icon. The system "knows" it's not a folder since it's opening it in TextEdit and Open with: is set to TextEdit.

touch Test or echo "test" > Test both create files with the bad icon.

I also tried creating a new text file with TextEdit; kept the Untitled.txt, then removed the extension leaving only Untitled. The icon jumped immediately to a folder icon.

I tried many things from restarting the system to clearing the iconservices, and the iconcache. I also tried Killing the Dock and Finder, rebuilding the LaunchServices database, and restarting again. I just can't get the icon associated with files without extension to go back to the basic plain paper white one.

Any idea on how I can get the default plain paper white icon back? Thx

Complementary info: The extension is not hidden with Hide extension, there's simply no extension like with Makefiles, etc.

System Info: MacBook Pro M1, macOS Monterey 12.4

More things I tried:

  • qlmanage -r cache && qlmanage -r followed by a killall Finder didn't help
  • I also tried with a Guest User account but the problem persists.

How to change option after hitting Cmd+Q with just the keyboard?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 12:41 PM PDT

I am trying to exit Skitch using Cmd+Q. When I hit Cmd+Q, I get a pop-up that says:

Discard Current Skitch Note  You are about to discard the current Skitch Note. You cannot undo this action.

I have two options to choose from:

Discard Skitch Note  Cancel

However Cancel is the only one that is highlighted. How can I change the option to Discard Skitch Note, using only the keyboard?

EDIT: I am using an M1 MacBook Air... if that helps.

How to make a dock icon for a specific Terminal profile?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 07:55 AM PDT

I'm running Big Sur 11.6.6

I have a number of Terminal profiles. I know how to select any of these different profiles after I have started Terminal, but I'm wondering if there is any way to set up icons in the dock, each of which will open Terminal using a different one of its profiles.

I'm guessing that I possibly could somehow manage this via Automator, but I'm hoping that there might be a more straightforward way of accomplishing this, so that I can avoid Automator altogether.

Can I script startup as a document file so I can have shortcuts in my dock?

I am constantly getting "Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'" on my MAMP website

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:15 AM PDT

The error message is:

Warning: mysqli_connect(): (HY000/1045): Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost' (using password: NO) in /Applications/MAMP/htdocs/newsportal/admin/includes/config.php on line 6

Failed to connect to MySQL: Access denied for user root @localhost (using password: NO)

enter image description here

Here is the php config code for this website:

<?php  define('DB_SERVER','localhost');  define('DB_USER','root');  define('DB_PASS' ,'');  define('DB_NAME','newsportal');  $con = mysqli_connect(DB_SERVER,DB_USER,DB_PASS,DB_NAME);  // Check connection  if (mysqli_connect_errno())  {   echo "Failed to connect to MySQL: " . mysqli_connect_error();  }  ?>

Can the MacBook Pro 14” charge via its USB C port?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 02:03 PM PDT

I see that the new (2022) MacBook Pro 14" has gone back to a separate charging port for a dedicated charger to hook up to. Can it also be charged via its USB C ports as well?

I'm used to doing this on my 2019 MacBook Pro 16", for example taking power from the USB Thunderbolt connection with my Apple-bought LG 27" 5k screen.

Can the 14" be charged via its USB port?

External Hard Drive No Longer Detected On Macbook Pro

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 12:01 PM PDT

My MacBook froze and I had the spinning wheel. At that time I had my 2TB external drive mounted of which I have never had problems during multiple uses. I had to hold down power and just restart so I could get back on. Now, since that, my MacBook no longer recognizes my external drive. Nothing comes up at all. I tried unplugging everything, restarting laptop, trying different outlets, trying every USB port. Nothing. My drive just keeps blinking white colored light when plugged in. Now, I'm pretty sure nothing was updated in terms of software. It is a WD 2TB Drive.

Any help would be so thankful. Please, help me.

How to set default secondary screen position to top

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 07:04 AM PDT

I often plug my macbook to a secondary screen, but different ones. Every time I change the secondary screen, the macbook considers it as a secondary display (this is ok) but on the right of my main display. I would like it to be on top by default, without having to go to System Preferences -> Display and then dragging the secondary display.

Is there a way to change a settings so every time I plug a new display, it is placed on top of my main display?

enter image description here What happens by default

enter image description here What I want by default

Whether this wireless charging speed for iPhone is 7.5W or not?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 03:01 PM PDT

iPhone SE 2, iOS 15.2, MagSafe wireless charger

From 11% to 31%: 1.21% per minute.

From 43% to 64%: 1.03% per minute.

From 63% to 68%: 0.87% per minute.

Do you think the speed is 7.5W or at least faster than 5W?

Change shortcut system-wide to match keyboard

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 11:01 AM PDT

I know from experience that macOS sets the default keyboard shortcut according to the language choice (and maybe keyboard choice, not sure) at the first setup.

Now I set up my new computer to French (Swiss), which set all keyboard shortcuts according to the French AZERTY keyboard. Alas, my keyboard is Swiss-French, which makes all those shortcuts unusable.

An example: the Calendar app has shortcuts Cmd+1 to Cmd+4 to set the view on daily to yearly, respectively. On the AZERTY keyboard, those shortcut become Cmd+&, Cmd+é,Cmd+", and Cmd+', respectively, which is totally fine when using the French layout but unpracticable with mine.

I know that if I had set my computer to German/Swiss-German, those shortcuts would have been the way I wanted. I know that I can either manually correct every shortcut that bothers me or reset the system. But is there a way to correct that system-wide on an existing system?

PS: This is in essence the same question as this one, but I'm asking because, since 2017 and 3 major OS updates later, some new tool might have come up.

How can I clean my keyboard without turning my Macbook Air on?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 08:00 AM PDT

I would like to turn off my Macbook Air in order to clean the keyboard and not repeatedly press buttons. However, when pressing any button, the Macbook immediately turns on again.

Is there any way to disable this behavior, so that for example only the unmarked button in the top right turns it on?

"Show In Playlist" CatalinaOS

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 04:04 PM PDT

I've created a custom keyboard shortcut for the "Show In Playlist" command in the Music app. When I use the shortcut, I can see the menu bar is selected, but it does not open a menu showing the playlists. I am aware this is possible by right/cmd-clicking on a song in the library, but this is a tedious process for a large library. Thanks!

Catalina (10.15.5) Spotlight calculator CPU spike?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 01:00 PM PDT

I noticed that I would have insane CPU spikes (400%+) whenever I type in a math equation (even something simple like 1+2) into spotlight. The task that spikes is called mds_stores. Does anyone know if this is just an issue with my system/is there some sort of software fix coming?

Attached = picture of the spike

High CPU spike

macOS Terminal doesn't paste correctly

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 08:15 AM PDT

Recently after upgrading to macOS Mojave, my workflow has been seriously impacted by the inability for macOS Terminal to be able to paste the contents of my clipboard correctly.

When I paste contents, the letters in my clipboard become garbled and are pasted out of order of their actual text

this was in my clipboard as doc_header.to_html and came out like this when I pasted it

enter image description here

this was in my clipboard as doc_header

enter image description here

I have been a Mac OS user since the 1980s and I have developed code on Mac OS since 2001. With problems & bugs like these it makes me seriously wonder if macOS continues to be a viable platform for developing software in the future.

video is here https://imgur.com/gallery/VmscMde

this is Mac OS Mojave 10.14.6 running on MacBook Air Early 2015 2.2 Ghz Core i7 with 8GB of ram

How can I fix things when LaTex issues a package minted error for "Pygments" or pigmentize?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:05 AM PDT

I am trying to install the "Pygments" package to Python via terminal on my Mac so that I can utilize the "minted" package in Latex.

I have downloaded the package via the terminal by using the following code: 

curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py > get-pip.py

followed by:

sudo python get-pip.py

and then

sudo pip install pygments

It took a couple tries of repeating the same commands but it finally successfully installed. I don't know what to do now though. I'm still getting the same error from LaTex:

Package minted Error: You must have `pigmentize' installed to use this package.

Does anyone have any experience with this issue and could possibly provide some assistance?

How do you turn off suggestions when adding a new event in calendar?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 10:30 AM PDT

I would like to disable suggestions in the Calendar app on my iphone. Since my last update, if I add a new event and start typing it flashes through lots of suggestions. This makes it difficult to add the event you are trying to add, as often I cannot scroll past these to fill out the event, and if you accidentally touch one of the suggestions while you try and scroll you have to delete and start over.

I have seen this question asked in a few places, but no responses, so I suspect this "feature" is something you can't control, but if anyone has found a way to turn this off I'd like to know.

cmd-tab behavior on Mavericks with multiple displays

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:15 AM PDT

I have a MacBook with Cinema Display, I have my dock on the MacBook screen side and my menubar is set to Cinema Display. In 10.8 this worked well, when I pressed cmd-tab to switch apps the task switcher would come up on the "main" Cinema Display.

In 10.9, however, it's always on the MacBook's screen, very annoying. Is there a setting I've missed?

How can I avoid repeated "Time Machine must create a new backup" errors when backing up to a third party NAS?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 09:41 AM PDT

My backups seem to go well backing up to my NAS however randomly after a few weeks I get the following error. Several users get this error intermittently however I have yet to find a solution. Any ideas?

Time Machine completed a verification of your backups on "NAS". To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you.

Click Start New Backup to create a new backup. This will remove your existing backup history. This could take several hours.

Click Back Up Later to be reminded tomorrow. Time Machine won't perform backups during this time.

enter image description here

How to set Mail.app to always open URL's in the external browser in the background?

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 10:02 AM PDT

I'm on Mountain Lion and in Apple Mail whenever I click a link in an email it opens my browser in front of Mail.

I'd like to keep reading the email and open all links behind Mail, then switch to my browser and read the links later.

I'm aware of right clicking a link and selecting "Open Link Behind Mail", and I know of the "command-click" method to achieve that. But I want that to be the default behavior, so I don't have to do any extra clicking, I just want the links to always open in the background. How do I set it to do that?

Cursor as full screen crosshairs

Posted: 06 Jun 2022 01:22 PM PDT

I have a 27" iMac running Snow Leopard. In a wide range of applications I often need to use a straight edge to compare different values on charts, even sometimes charts generated by different applications. To do this I have made do with clumsy solutions like creating a floating and transparent Sticky or using Shift + Command + 4. I've also tried a small app called Crosshairs.

None of these things do what I really want. Ideally, I'd like a full screen crosshair centered on the cursor. Another way to think about this, it would give me a full height vertical and full width horizontal line that would show up over (on top of) any and all applications, just as a cursor does. Nice to haves it would give the coordinates of the display and have toolbar or right click access to turn it on or off.

Any suggestions?
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