5 Free Mini Utilities for macOS to Make You More Productive

1. blurred

It's rare that we really need to keep multiple windows in front of our eyes at once while we're working, so they're usually just a distraction. Blurred fixes this by dimming everything in the background and leaving only the active app visible. Thus, the utility allows you to focus on it and not scatter attention to the rest.

The degree of hiding is adjustable: from light darkening to completely black background. If necessary, the function can be quickly disabled and activated from the menu bar or shortcut. The default is Shift + Cmd + E, but the combination can be changed. For owners multiple monitors there is a Parallel mode, in which all windows except the active one are hidden, not only on the main display, but also on additional ones.

2. Yippy

The macOS clipboard can only store the latest text, file, or picture. In a word, it has only one "memory cell". With active work, this is not enough and it would not hurt at least two or three. With the Yippy utility, the clipboard can easily be expanded up to 1,500 slots.

To call Yippy, the default is shortcut cmd+v. But it can be changed - for example, to Option + Cmd + V. By keyboard shortcut, a floating window with a list of recently used items will be displayed. They can be selected with the cursor, keyboard arrows, and the last values ​​at all through Cmd + 0, Cmd + 1, and so on. Available search, setting the size and location of the Yippy window, as well as the number of memory slots.

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3. Rectangle

If your job involves frequent switching between windows, changing their size and position on the screen, try Rectangle. With this utility, the process will become much easier and faster.

With the help of ready-made or custom shortcuts, you can instantly switch between more than 30 templates. The screen is divided into two, three, four or six parts, and each of them has its own key combination. At the same time, to select a template, you can simply drag the window to one of the "sticking" zones.

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4. Today

The standard "Calendar" in macOS has various display modes, as well as a widget for viewing the schedule for the day. But the Today app offers a quicker and easier way to check your plan. A click in the menu bar displays a compact list of upcoming tasks with time and labels. There is also a function to add a new event.

Today supports not only iCloud, but also other services, including Google and Microsoft, which are activated through the parameters of the standard "Calendar". In the application settings, you can change the icon, disable calendar labels and select other display options.

5. cheat sheet

Hotkeys save a lot of time, but many rarely use them. Just because they don't know. The CheatSheet utility will help you learn useful combinations for all your applications.

It is enough to hold down the Cmd key for a second, and a list of all supported shortcuts for the running program will be displayed on the screen. And so for each of the installed applications. By clicking on the combination, you can perform the selected action. The settings allow you to set a display delay on pressing Cmd, as well as print a set of hot keys.

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