4 more basic Mac OS questions

Tech Talk MacOS
1

On my Mac mini, my screenshot files show up on the desktop. How can I change the default folder for screenshot files? And what default editor should I use for editing my screenshots? They’re currently set to open in ;Preview’. When I take a screenshot on iOS, I have the option to resize and draw diagrams or whatever. How do I do the same on my Mac?

The sub folders in my finder aren’t inheriting the ‘view’ settings from their parent folders. How can I set the default view for all folders to show as either lists or columns (I’m still deciding which option I prefer) and to be ordered by ‘kind’ in ascending alphabetical order?

I’ve been told that closing all my iPad open windows isn’t good for the iPad’s battery life. Is there a similar rule for Macs?

How do I uninstall programs on the Mac?

2

Yes, you can.

  1. Start a screenshot
  2. While the frame is shown, press Command + Shift + 5
  3. Click on Options and select a new folder location.
1 Like
3

You drag them from the Applications folder to the trash bin on the Dock.

No. It is not the same. You can close your apps if you’re worried about power. Apps do tend to sleep and sip power… but you’re on a Mac Mini, so you’re not on the same battery constraits as an iPad. I don’t think you’ll notice a big difference on your power bill if you leave Calendar open forever.

4

Thanks. Is this a permanent fix or do I have to do it each time I create a screenshot?

5

Sounds reasonable. I’m not concerned about my power bill. More of just an OCD thing or whatever you want to call it. As well as having to double check that I’ve navigated tp the correct window or tab. But I can learn to live with it.

6

It seems to remember the destination you chose last time.

7

Thanks again. Just checked it out. Neat trick, I clicked on options and there was the choice to have it remember the last settings.

8

Adam Engst is the OT – the original teller – of this tale. You can find it in his TidBITS Blog at Why You Shouldn’t Make a Habit of Force-Quitting iOS Apps or Restarting iOS Devices.

Adam is a clever analytical guy with a truly wonderful and long-running Apple blog. However, I have never seen any hard data to back up this claim. If force-quitting apps really drained battery life, then someone should be able to quantify that effect.

I considered making a YouTube looping short where I showed a bunch of apps getting force-quit on an iPad. Fun Fact: when you force-quit apps, you can actually drag two of them off simultaneously. You could have the apps make shrieks of despair as they were being dragged into oblivion. And then the video would loop to make the app-killing nonstop. What would Adam say? I hope he’d be amused.

On my M1 MBP, I run with a filthy number of apps all the time. The processor and the OS are so darn good that it’s never a problem. The only annoyance is some overzealous Javascript code that seems to madly loop on certain webpages; I believe that Stop The Madness will tame those problems. That dev should advertise on MBW!