This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox. SaneBox is the email utility that we all need. It is loaded with features, like the ability to auto-sort your email as it arrives. Every morning when I wake up, I don’t see 300 emails in my inbox but instead just a few. Importantly, those few emails are the ones that I really need to see. All of the advertisements and other nonsense are automatically sorted by SaneBox into separate folders so I can look at them later.

The past few weeks SaneBox has really been helping me out with its reminder service. It is the end of the year so on the legal side I’m sending a lot of client emails about getting their annual minutes prepared. I do this, because I am a nerd, through an automated email that I created in Siri Shortcuts. Part of that form email in Siri Shortcuts includes a blind copy field to 1week@SaneBox.com. SaneBox then automatically monitors whether or not I was a reply to that email. If I don’t in 1 week, SaneBox reminds me to follow up. I could have also done this with an OmniFocus project, but why when SaneBox does it for me automatically.

This is just one of the ways SaneBox helps me manage my email every day. I have heard from many listeners that decided to give SaneBox a trial just for a few days and then ended up subscribing within a few days because they immediately see the value in this product. If you’d like to spend less time on email, check out SaneBox and use this link to get a nice discount.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by PowerPhotos. There is a lot to like about Apple Photos on your Mac, but if you use it for any length of time, you’ll also realize the app is missing a lot of the tools you need to truly manage your large photo library.

That’s where PowerPhotos comes in. If you have photos scattered across multiple libraries that you want to merge together, have a library that you want to split up because it’s gotten too large, or want to get rid of duplicate photos, PowerPhotos can help you get your photo collection back in order.

PowerPhotos gives Apple Photos the tools it needs, but Apple didn’t provide. With PowerPhotos, you can work with multiple Photos libraries and store them wherever you want, including on an external drive or a network drive. You can also split up your giant library into smaller ones by copying photos and albums with a simple drag and drop, preserving metadata such as descriptions and keywords along the way. Or, if you already have multiple libraries, use PowerPhotos to merge them while weeding out duplicates along the way. PowerPhotos also features a powerful duplicate photo finder, a browser to let you see your photos without even opening up Photos itself, a multi-library search feature, and more.

PowerPhotos also has full support for dark mode on the recently released macOS Mojave.

You may recall an app from the iPhoto days called iPhoto Library Manager that gave you a similar set of tools. PowerPhotos is by the same developer, and it’s just as reliable.

So go check out PowerPhotos today. Best of all, MacSparky readers get a 20% discount. Just use the code MACSPARKY18 at check out.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by TextExpander. I feel like this is particularly appropriate because TextExpander has been helping me keep up with what can only be described as an email deluge over the last few weeks. Last month I released two field guides, which stretched all of my resources to their very limit. Every time I publish a new field guide, I get lots of email from customers and prospective customers about the new course. The last few weeks I’ve had that problem times two.

TextExpander has saved my bacon, again. I’ve created snippets to answer all of the most common questions and solve the most common problems. This lets me get through hundreds of emails in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise. Moreover, I have a team TextExpander account, so my assistant has access to the same snippets that I’m using and is just as fast at helping customers as I am. It’s productivity times two.

TextExpander allows you to simplify and automate what can be time-consuming and frustrating text entry. Not only does it substitute text at your will, but it also does things like insert dates, grab the contents of the clipboard, and even run AppleScript and JavaScript. It’s text expansion plus so much more.

I’ve written about TextExpander many times over the years because it’s so useful to me. I bet you have times where you get more email than you expect as well. Set yourself up with a TextExpander account and see just how much time you can save. It will surprise you. Use the links in this post and let them know you heard about it on MacSparky to get 20% off your subscription.

This week’s sponsor, SaneBox, might be my most used web service. SaneBox helps me manage the deluge of email. I’ve had a few releases in the past month, and that means the old inbox has been getting hammered. SaneBox has had my back the whole time, sorting email, with uncanny precision, into different folders automatically so I can find everything I need, exactly where I’d expect it.

Best of all, SaneBox works everywhere. The last few weeks we’ve had updates to both iOS and macOS and mail tools and plugins are breaking everywhere. Not SaneBox. SaneBox runs in the cloud so no matter how many times you update your operating system, change to different platforms, or just decide to switch mail apps, SaneBox keeps working for you.

There is a whole lot SaneBox can do to help you tame your email. To learn more, head over to SaneBox and use the links in this post to get a discount. Who doesn’t love a discount now and again?

For a lot of power users, project planning remains the undiscovered country. The trouble is that project planning software has this terrible (and well-earned) reputation for being difficult to use. This week’s sponsor, OmniPlan is the exception. The fact that it’s easy to pick up OmniPlan shouldn’t surprise you. The Omni Group group has been making difficult software easy since they first started. OmniPlan has a clean, simple interface giving you everything you need with just a few clicks.

At the same time, OmniPlan also delivers power. OmniPlan includes powerful project planning tools like filtering, violation resolution, leveling, earned value analysis, and Monte Carlo simulations allowing it to match even its most difficult-to-use competitors.

I use OmniPlan for project planning on the legal side. Clients love the nice, clean reports generated by OmniPlan showing my plans for their legal problems. I’ve grown to like the tool so much that now I’m also using it to plan out future Field Guides. My use is actually pretty small but some OmniPlan users manage giant projects in fields like construction, software, and mergers and acquisitions just to name a few.

If you’ve got a use for project planning, OmniPlan is the place to go. It’s powerful and easy. Download the free trial. You’ll be surprised at how powerful and easy to use OmniPlan is.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by TextExpander. While TextExpander is a fantastic personal productivity tool, it’s even more helpful for teams. With TextExpander team accounts, everyone can access, search, and share common snippets. You can have your best writers prepare your snippets, and everyone can use them on multiple platforms: macOS, iOS, Windows, and the web.

I am a TextExpander for teams subscriber. While my team is pretty small–just two people–TextExpander for teams has been extremely helpful the last few days as you guys have been flooding me with requests to transition your video courses to the new learn.MacSparky site. To solve this problem, I updated the links and codes in the shared TextExpander library so my assistant could get up-to-date information. As I was updating the links and information, she wasn’t even aware of the changes. She could still use the same snippets to send out the customer emails that are now magically updated.

As a result, I was able to make this transition more efficiently. And that is with just a team of two people. Imagine if you had 100 people using TextExpander. If you’re on a team, TextExpander will change your life, leaving more time for what you do best. For larger teams, TextExpander supports Single Sign-On (SSO) and grouping accounts to make on-boarding a breeze.

If you are on a team, you should consider implementing TextExpander to make you more productive. To learn more head over to TextExpander.com and let them know you heard about it at MacSparky.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by SaneBox, the powerful email tool that can help you conquer your inbox. I’ve written before about SaneBox filtering, which is awesome. However, SaneBox smart filtering is just the beginning. SaneBox can also sort your inbox, keep track of reminders and snoozed emails, rescue email from your spam folder, upload attachments your cloud, and more.

One of my favorite features is SaneReminders. This feature alone can be a game changer for you. When I send an email to someone that requires a follow-up, I just blind copy to “1week@sanebox.com”. If in the following week my recipient doesn’t reply, SaneBox sends me a reminder so I can follow up. This whole workflow is the most seamless way to keep up with email responses and I use this feature multiple times a day. This is all very powerful and just one more feature you get with a SaneBox account.

SaneBox is a great service that I use every day to manage my email. You should too. To learn more head over to SaneBox.com and check it out. MacSparky readers even get a discount.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by Hoban Cards, makers of fine letterpress calling cards and stationery. I’ve been using Hoban Cards for years and it seems I get a compliment on my business cards every time I give one away. They have solutions for every budget from beautiful existing designs to custom cards. Lately, they’ve also started doing letterpress colophon cards that really stand out. (I’m probably going to end up buying a set of those for myself.)

At the source of all of the beautiful Hoban produts is their collection of vintage letterpress machines. While you may think your cards look just fine made with a Mac and a laser printer, you really haven’t seen anything until you see a calling card made with 1500 pounds of steel and iron. I’m hooked on Hoban’s stationery and cards and I bet you will be too. 

Best of all, mention “MacSparky” at checkout for a little help on your order. Learn more at Hoban Cards.

This week MacSparky is sponsored by the Omni Group and their latest version of OmniFocus for the iPhone and iPad, OmniFocus 3. The latest version adds several new features while still keeping it a beautiful (and usable) app. What features you may ask? Why don’t you try these on for size:

• Tags! Make them for people, energy level, priority, location, or whatever floats your boat. 
• The Forecast view now shows your tasks and calendar events in order, so you can better see what’s coming up in your day and adjust if needed. 
• Enhanced repeating tasks are easier than ever to set up and they work with real-world examples, such as the first weekday of the month. 
• Batch editing has been brought over from the Mac, and it lets you set due dates, tags, and other data for multiple tasks all at once. 
• Flexible inspectors now allow you to show only the features you use and reorder them, so your favorites are where you want them. 

There is a bunch more. Just try it for yourself. Also, did you know that the Omni Group has world-class support? If you need help, they even have an 800 number. 

Conquer your task list today with OmniFocus 3.