The Hazel Video Field Guide

I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest Video Field Guide. This one is all about Hazel. For years, Hazel has been one of the best kept secrets on the Mac. Using Hazel, anybody can automate large portions of their work. The thing I love about Hazel is the way it can turn mere mortals into automation gods. Anybody can do this. You don’t need a lick of programming knowledge.

The Hazel Video Field Guide assumes that the viewer has no knowledge of Hazel and starts with the basics but by the end ramps up to advanced techniques including home automation via Hazel. One of the workflows, for instance, shows the viewer how to automatically lock their Mac when they leave their home or office using a combination of IFTTT, a simple AppleScript, and Hazel.

The Hazel Video Field Guide is a two-and-a-half hour video screencast with 35 separate chapter markers that teaches you everything you need to know about Hazel.  You can start the screencast without knowing a thing about it and by the end of the screencast you’ll be using Hazel to automate everything from filing your bills to having your Mac play some of your favorite music as you arrive home. There is a lot you can do with Hazel and this screencast explains it all including:

1. MASTER OF DOCUMENTS

Hazel will manage your documents for you. Not only can Hazel help you name and file documents, it can also reach inside documents and look at their contents and then use that data in naming the file and putting it in the right place. Hazel is a document management beast and both more efficient and reliable than having a human manage electronic documents. Hazel is also an excellent copilot as you start tagging files. Some of the workflows in this Video Field guide explain how to automatically apply tags to categories of documents so you have the benefit of tagging without the work of creating them. 

2. TAMER OF FILES

Hazel can do a remarkable job of cleaning up after you on your Mac. Hazel can keep an eye on any folder on your Mac, including your downloads folder and your desktop, and keep things nice and tidy. Set your rules once and never have a messy computer again. 

3. MEDIA AUTOMATION

Sorting and filing your media is a pain in the neck. Hazel can take this burden on for you. Using Hazel, you can have your images automatically filed in the Photos application or you can have Hazel automatically sort and organize folders full of images by their date. You can even use a Hazel to automatically rename your images while you’re organizing them. Hazel can also manager music for you. Hazel has the ability to automatically import new music into iTunes so you don’t have to.

4. REMOTE CONTROL

Not many people realize what a powerful tool Hazel can be for automation. Hazel is always watching. It will jump into action with something as simple as a new text file being added to your hard drive. Moreover, once Hazel kicks in, it can do just about anything on your Mac. One section of this Video Field Guide demonstrates how you can use AppleScript and services like IFTTT to easily create automation scripts for your Mac. One of the sample Hazel workflows will automatically lock your Mac when you leave your house. Another will play your favorite music when you arrive home. Once you understand how these work, and I demonstrate every step, you can alter the scripts to make your Mac do just about anything you want at anytime you want.

5. Manage Your Trash and Smart App Deletion

Another common pain point for Mac owners is managing the trash. If you’re not watching it, your Mac’s trash can fill up your hard drive. Hazel takes care of this problem for you with the ability to automatically empty the trash after a set period of time or when the trash gets to a predefined size. The settings are easy and completely remove this problem from your life. Likewise, Hazel can also take care of deleting and restoring applications from your Mac. Hazel doesn’t just delete the application but all those obscure resource files that are scattered over your drive.

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY

Hazel does the tedious work so that you can do the important work. This lovingly crafted video is just shy of two-and-a-half hours. There are 35 chapter markers and the video covers every aspect of this super-powerful Mac application. Who doesn’t want to wield super-powers over their technology?

Get the Hazel Video Field Guide today for $19.99.

Want a peek? Here’s 30 minutes of the Hazel Video Field Guide.

The U-Turn Podcast


Today the U-Turn podcast published an episode all about me. In it, I talk with Eric Jorgensen about my journey from “firm” lawyer to solo and how much I like being MacSparky. The episode came out great and if you are into the hippie side of things, you’ll enjoy this. I’ve been binging on the U-Turn podcast since recording the episode and Eric does real nice work of getting guests to open up.

The Apple Pencil for Navigation

The last week or two I’ve been using the Apple pencil increasingly for navigating around the iPad Pro. I know I’m a little bit late to the game and a holy war has already been fought with Apple to retain this ability. At the time all of that went down, I thought it was silly and didn’t foresee myself using my Apple Pencil to scroll, swipe, and otherwise tap on my iPad. Somehow, nonetheless, I ended up trying it out and to my own surprise, I like it.

One of the reasons pencil navigation is nice is because of the length of the Apple Pencil, I can easily scroll through lists and check off boxes with very little movement of my hand. This workflow is particularly useful for the morning sweep through OmniFocus and email. Strangely, I never find myself using the Apple Pencil on the springboard or otherwise navigating between applications.

If you own an iPad Pro and have held off on the Apple Pencil, I’d encourage you to give one a try. You can pick them up at the Apple Store and they have a two-week return policy so if it really doesn’t work for you, you’re not out any money.

I think Apple made a mistake with the initial launch of the iPad Pro with all the emphasis on using the Apple Pencil for fine art. While obviously it’s good for that, I find a lot of uses for it that have nothing to do with art.

MPU 321: Geeking Out with TJ Luoma

Geek, preacher, and all-around-nice-guy TJ Luoma joins us in MPU 321 to talk about using an off-site Mac mini, rolling your own backup, workflows for preachers, and TJ’s new secret project that will update your Mac software for you.

Sponsors include:

  • 1Password Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you don’t have to worry about that anymore. 
  • Gazelle Sell your iPhone for cash at Gazelle! 
  • Freshbooks: Online invoicing made easy.
  • Gemini: Duplicate files can run — But they can’t hide. Now, you can find & remove them with Gemini.

Sponsor: OmniOutliner


This week MacSparky is sponsored by OmniOutliner. OmniOutliner, in my opinion, is the best outlining solution for the Mac, iPad and iPhone. So many big projects in my life start out as a couple of entries in OmniOutliner and grow into much bigger things from there. OmniOutliner is fast, efficient, attractive, and with to OmniPresence, I can sync my outlines seamlessly between my Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Lately I’ve been using OmniOutliner a lot on my iPad Pro and the Omni Group really delivered on OmniOutliner for iPad.

Everybody inevitably has to deal with a disorganized mess of information. When that’s you, try OmniOutliner. You won’t regret it. Learn more about OmniOutliner at the Omni Group’s website.


Home Screen: Ernie Svenson and Small Firm Bootcamp


This week’s Home Screen features Ernie Svenson (Website)(Twitter). Ernie and I have taught courses together at the American Bar Association and Ernie is one of my favorite teachers. This week Ernie’s just announced a new online course for lawyers called “Small Firm Bootcamp”. If you’re a solo or small firm attorney, you should sign up for Ernie’s course. When I went solo, Ernie gave me tons of advice and saved me from many self-inflicted wounds.


What are some of your favorite apps?

My “favorite” apps are probably those that I use most often without thinking about it. So they deserve more appreciation than I probably give them. Included among those would be Dark Sky, Overcast, and iMessage.

Which app is your guilty pleasure?

Definitely it’s Enlight, which is a photography app that’s basically like having Photoshop on your iPhone but easier to use. I use it to quickly manipulate photos in cool ways like making part of the picture black & white and leaving the rest in color.

What app makes you most productive?

Two apps fit that category in my mind: Trello and Skype. I use these apps to communicate with my virtual assistants that are located in Croatia and Romania. One of my VA’s likes to communicate by Skype and the other uses Trello. I love being out, like I was at the recent 7 day jazz music festival in New Orleans, and responding to questions from my VAs.

Not many people can say that they’re moving important work along as they sit in a grassy field listening to Steely Dan. So my “Bodhisattva” is Trello and Skype 😉

What app do you know you’re underutilizing?

OmniFocus, but fortunately I know a guy named David who has some great videos that I can watch to up my game in that department.

What is the app you are still missing?

The self-driving car app. But apparently you have to buy a Tesla to get that, so I’m working on that.

How many times a day do you use your iPhone/iPad?

So many times that I can’t even imagine being without my iPhone. My iPad is used sporadically because when I went to the large iPhone I basically didn’t need it much.

What is your favorite feature of the iPhone?

I like Siri a lot now. I use it constantly, and will probably use it more as time goes on. I also like the new Notes app and rely on that a lot too.

If you were in charge at Apple, what would you add or change?

Make the notifications on the iPhone and Apple Watch more intuitive, or somehow easier to use.

Do you have an Apple Watch? Show us your watch face tell us about it.

I do and I use the default watch face that shows me the time, date, temperature, and my next appointment.

What’s your wallpaper and why?

I use the “Live” wallpaper, and love how it moves when I push on the screen. It’s the little things in life that keep me going… 😉

Anything else you’d like to share?

I bought the first iPhone when it came out. I can’t even remember how little it did compared to the phone I have now. I feel like I could do almost anything with my iPhone now, and in some ways it’s more convenient than my computer.

Thanks Ernie.

MPU 320: Always Good Advice

It’s time again for Mac Power Users Live. This month we share listener tips and feedback on a variety of topics including backup workflows, securing your technology and menu bar applications. We also answer listener questions and follow-up on the 9.7″ iPad Pro.

Sponsors are:

  • PDFpen from Smile With powerful PDF editing tools, available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone, PDFpen from Smile makes you a Mac Power User.
  • Fujitsu ScanSnap ScanSnap Helps You Live a More Productive, Efficient, Paperless Life. 
  • Automatic The connected car company that improves your driving and integrates your car into yoru digital life. Enter code MACPOWER to get 20% off your purchase. 
  • Drobo Created by you. Protected by Drobo. Save $100 off select models using code MPU100

About the Hypothetical iPhone 7

It seems like there is enough smoke in the air to think the hypothetical dual-camera system in the iPhone 7 plus may be a real thing. Most recently Mac Rumors released drawings from an alleged Apple casing subcontractor.  If true, the 5.5 inch phone is getting a dual-lens camera system.

This could mean that the camera in the iPhone 7 Plus is significantly better than the camera in the iPhone 7. It looks like the iPhone 7 Plus may also exclusively get a smart connector. 

If the rumors are true and they end up removing the headphone jacks and increasing the disparity between the normal and plus sized iPhones, people are going to go nuts when they announce these in September. Buckle in.

Automating OmniFocus on iOS

I’ve had my head down a lot lately between the day job and the upcoming Hazel Video Field Guide. One thing that’s happened is that I’ve gone completely mad with automating OmniFocus on my iPad. A few weeks ago The Omni Group released a new version of OmniFocus that can interface with template files to create project templates on iOS.
 
Given the inherent limitations of iOS, it’s a pretty elegant system once you figure it out, and I’m going to explain further as soon as I get done with these big projects. Now I prefer to set up project templates on iOS. I didn’t see that coming.

MPU 319: Teddy Svoronos

This week’s Mac Power Users episode is one of my favorites. In it, Teddy Svoronos, a Harvard PhD student and teacher in their graduate program joins us to share some delightfully nerdy workflows for presenting to groups of people and doing big-boy research projects.

Sponsors are:

  • Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit with promo code ‘mpu20’
  • Casper: Because everyone deserves a great night sleep. Get $50 off with the code ‘MPU’
  • Igloo: An intranet you’ll actually like, free for up to 10 people.
  • The Omni Group They’re passionate about productivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad.