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Build. That. Wall. (Sponsor)

I’ve talked previously about how Focus modes are underrated and underused. One of the first steps in setting up a Focus mode is having a wall in place to keep out distractions so you can get your important business done. With the help of SaneBox, MacSparky’s sponsor this week, you can start building this wall. 

SaneBox has a feature called Do Not Disturb. When you enable this nifty feature, you can take away the distraction of checking your inbox. SaneBox temporarily pauses new emails and moves them to your Do Not Disturb folder. Do Not Disturb is customizable so you can set your inbox to get these emails at a time and/or date of your choosing. You’re in charge of who passes through, so you can also choose if there are delivery exceptions, such as certain people or clients, that you don’t want to miss out on if there’s something really important going on. 

The battle to fight distractions is real, and with SaneBox and Do Not Disturb, you can keep interruptions at bay. Add SaneBox to your armor. Try it on with a free trial, and if you decide you like it, you’ll get a $10 credit you can use towards a SaneBox subscription. Focus on what matters and keep out the distractions with SaneBox.

Mac Power Users 704: “The Details Matter,” with Shahid Kamal Ahmad

Video game industry veteran Shahid Kamal Ahmad rejoins Mac Power Users to catch Stephen and me up on his work and evolving setup. Then, we dive into gaming on visionOS, the current state of Android, and a lot more.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • 1Password: Never forget a password again.
  • MacPaw: Introducing Moonlock, the new cybersecurity division at MacPaw, and the upgraded CleanMyMac Malware removal module.
  • Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU.
  • Tailscale: Secure remote access to shared resources. Sign up today.

Mac Power Users 701: The Safari Extension Roundup

On this week’s Mac Power Users, Stephen and I grab our lassos and gather up some of the best Safari extensions out on the free, open range of the App Store.

This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by:

  • TextExpander: Get 20% off with this link and type more with less effort! Expand short abbreviations into longer bits of text, even fill-ins, with TextExpander.
  • Zocdoc: Find the right doctor, right now with Zocdoc. Sign up for free.
  • NetSuite: The leading integrated cloud business software suite. Get a special one-of-a-kind financing offer: no interest, no payments for six months.
  • Tailscale: Secure remote access to shared resources. Sign up today.

Focused 180: A Focused Hodgepodge

On this episode of Focused, I’m reflecting on 18 months of freedom, Mike is reporting back from Craft + Commerce, and we’re both sharing our best advice for teaching kids how to focus. Join us.

This episode of Focused is sponsored by:

  • Squarespace: Make your next move. Enter offer code FOCUSED at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
  • ExpressVPN: High-Speed, Secure & Anonymous VPN Service. Get an extra three months free.
  • Indeed: Join more than three million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast.

Text Navigation with the Keyboard (MacSparky Labs)

You really don’t need your mouse when working with text. The trick is to just get a few, simple keyboard shortcuts under your fingers. Here’s how…This is a post for MacSparky Labs Level 3 (Early Access) Members only. <a href=”https://www.macsparky.com/join/”>Care to join?</a> Or perhaps <a href=”https://www.macsparky.com/?memberful_endpoint=auth”>do you need to sign in?</a>

Capture Text Anywhere on Your Mac with TextSniper (Sponsor)

My thanks to TextSniper for sponsoring MacSparky.com this week. This is an app that I use … often. Just a few examples from the last week:

  • I got the serial number from a picture of a tool
  • I pulled text off of a donation receipt for my taxes.
  • I pulled some text from an unfriendly website about my Japanese maple bonsai.
  • I got nutrition data off a box of cereal.

TextSniper is a Mac OCR app that can extract text anywhere on your Mac’s screen and automatically save it to your clipboard so that you can paste it anywhere you need it. It can even read the text to you. The whole thing works a lot like the built-in screen capture on the Mac, just way more powerful.

Also, TextSniper doesn’t collect your data. The text recognition is processed on your Mac and does not require an internet connection. 

With TextSniper, you can:

  • Quickly get a text from PDFs, Zoom calls, Presentations, and Videos. 
  • Copy text from anywhere, even images and websites that don’t let you select text.
  • Quickly grab data like email addresses, phone numbers, and links.
  • Read QR codes and barcodes.
  • Get text out of just about any image format, including JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, and BMP.

TextSniper works with macOS Catalina and later and also works with Parallels Desktop

Get TextSniper now and enjoy the fastest way to copy uncopyable text, wherever it may be. Use promo code TS2023 to get an additional 25% off.