In defense MacBook Pro With Touch Bar. He should have told me how to properly configure the touchpad, to make it as useful as possible.
It's a pity, but many still refuse to admit that the Touch Bar is a step forward compared to the F1-12 function buttons. It is for such doubters that we have prepared as many as 40 additional tips on how to upgrade your sensor strip.
Basic features:
1. Learn to look at the Touch Bar
Train yourself to look at the Touch Bar and you will love it
When Apple launched the first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in 2016, it felt awkward. But in fact, he was rather unusual.
The fact is that most Mac owners who work at the computer for a long time every day get so used to their keyboard that they don’t even look at it anymore.
Touch Bar requires different habits: you I'll have to learn to look wider and look at the touch strip.
As practice shows, you can adapt in a week or two.
2. Don't overload the Touch Bar with buttons
A clear example of adjusting the volume from a button
Keep in mind that you don't have to try to fit literally everything on the touchpad: It's better to use multi-function buttons.
For example, the “Volume Slider” will easily replace all other buttons for you to configure it. You don't just have to press it to bring up the controller - instead, hold it and slide it in any direction.
3. Be sure to configure the Control Strip
On the left are application control buttons, on the right is Control Strip
You can customize the Touch Bar from the " System Settings» > "Keyboard" > "Keyboard".
Select “Program Control Buttons” from the “Show in Touch Bar” menu, check the “Show Control Strip” box, and check “Extend the Control Strip” in the “Press the Fn key to” box.
This is the combination after a year of use proved to be the simplest and most universal. Now on the left side of the Touch Bar there will be application control buttons, on the right - computer control, which you can expand with the Fn button.
Now click “Customize Touch Bar” and drag only useful features for the Control Strip onto it: both the full and short version.
4. Actions for all applications can be customized
Application-specific Touch Bar settings are most often found in the View menu.
Check the View menu of standard and third party applications. Most often, this is where you will find the “Customize the Touch Bar” item, which will help you choose the content of the panel for yourself.
5. Figure out how to hide the Control Strip
If you don't have enough space for app buttons, hide the Control Strip
If you are using complex applications With more quick actions on the Touch Bar, you can hide the Control Strip in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard.
You'll still be able to access it by pressing Fn.
6. Think about what you can do to occupy the entire Touch Bar
This is especially true in third-party applications
If you are actively using Adobe Photoshop, be sure to set up the Touch Bar. In this program, this item is hidden in the “View” menu.
You can add buttons to the panel for working with brushes and fills, quick access to the history of changes, control of the opacity level - all this will help you take advantage of your space on the Touch Bar.
7. Understand switching between tabs
Note the arrow buttons
Typically buttons that have an arrow image are switches with additional features.
For example, when editing images in the Photos app, you can use the arrow button on the left edge of the Touch Bar to switch between settings, filters, and cropping.
8. Try the Incoming Call Panel
If your iPhone is set up to make calls from others Apple devices(Settings > Phone > On Other Devices) and you've accepted or made a call from your MacBook Pro, you can monitor its progress right from the Touch Bar.
9. Don’t be afraid to be left without the F1-12 keys
You can return the familiar function keys for your favorite apps
If any of your applications are not adapted to work with the Touch Bar (to be honest, we have not seen any), you can enable the usual function keys F1-12 for it.
To do this, go to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts and add it here.
Editing text:
10. Try predictive typing
Predictive mode will speed up text entry if you're not good at it
If you are not typing as quickly as you would like, predictive mode will help you with this - almost all standard and many third-party applications support it.
When you work with text, the Touch Bar will display word options for further input.
11. Enter Emoji quickly
Quickly enter Emoji using the Touch Bar
In Messages and other instant messengers, a button with a smiley face appears on the left side of the Touch Bar. It will help you quickly enter Emoji without going to the Emoji & Symbols panel.
12. Learn to switch between emoji sections
The button with the treasured arrow will help you with this.
By default, the emoji menu shows the last emoji you used. But you can move to other sections using the arrow button.
13. Turn ordinary words into emojis
Predictive input + Emoji
In addition to ordinary words, Touch Bar also offers Emojis, which can and should be used to diversify communication.
14. Unlock secret formatting tools
Auto-hide predictive input
When you highlight text in Notes or any other predictive app, it automatically hides so you can speed up the formatting process.
Finder Actions:
15. Change Finder Display with One Click
Switch how files are displayed in the Finder using the Touch Bar
In Finder, the Touch Bar is the easiest way to switch between file display options.
16. Quickly create folders and move files
Notice the button with the folder icon
Select several files to move to new folder, use drag-n-drop, click on the create folder button and drop these files into it.
This combo seems difficult at first, but over time it will greatly speed up working with files.
17. Send any file in a couple of clicks
The fastest way
Select any file in the Finder, click on the eye button to activate a preview, and then immediately click on the send button to transfer it in any convenient way.
This is much faster than using sending from the context menu.
Buttons for Safari:
18. Open links in a couple of clicks
The entire list of favorite sites on the Touch Bar
Just click on the input line, and it will immediately appear on the Touch Bar full list favorite sites with folders.
19. Sort links by importance
The bookmarks bar on the left should contain the sites you use most often
To make sure the sites you open most often are immediately accessible, move them as far to the left as possible in the bookmarks bar.
20. Enter site passwords quickly
Select the account you want to use
If you are using Keychain Access, simply click on the login or password entry field, and the Touch Bar will immediately display multiple accounts, which are available for entry.
21. Add reading mode to the Touch Bar
Reading mode on the Touch Bar in Safari can be added through Settings
Add Reading Mode to the Touch Bar in Safari via View > Customize Touch Bar and you'll be able to activate it as quickly as possible.
Other Apple software:
22. Mail: Hold the checkbox to change its color
Mark the letter with any color
In Mail, you can highlight emails with flags so you can later find information on a specific topic by color—you can do this using the Touch Bar.
First select a letter and then press the red checkbox to select a color.
23. Photo: scroll through pictures
Flipping through photos in Photos with the Touch Bar is great
You don't even have to look down at the touchpad: just flip through photos by swiping left and right.
24. Photo: Adjust the intensity of the setting
Make your photo darker and brighter, but not only
Select required parameter when editing a photo in “Photos” and change its value through the Touch Bar. This applies to brightness, color, white balance, and so on.
At the same time you will immediately see the possible result in the touchpad preview.
25. Photo: compare before and after
You only need to press one button!
Pay attention to the button to the left of the adjustments. It will give you the opportunity to quickly see the result before and after to understand that your manipulations did not make the photo worse.
26. Books: turn the pages
And through the Touch Bar in “Books” it’s convenient to quickly make bookmarks
Similar to Photos, the Books app has a convenient slider for turning pages. To the right of it there are also buttons for searching the book and bookmarks.
27. iTunes: Control from any app
The most convenient playback control
If you listen to music through Apple Music, on the Control Strip button is automatically added, which activates playback control mode.
With it, you can rewind a song, pause it, and also switch between recordings.
28. Calculator: use action buttons
Touch Bar makes your Mac a complete calculator
If you just upgraded to a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, you'll be pleased to see calculator control buttons on the Touch Bar.
Now you won't need to use the cursor to perform actions at all, and this speeds up calculations significantly.
29. Terminal: Use function keys
You can add up to 20 function keys in Terminal
If you need function keys in the same “Terminal”, go to the Touch Bar settings for this application and add up to 20 of them.
Third Party Applications:
30. Adobe Photoshop: Set Up Your Favorites
Customize any of the three panels
In Adobe Photoshop, you have three panels available to you for the Touch Bar: Layer Options, Brushes, and Favorites. You can first select any of them and then customize as you wish.
The item with touch panel settings in this case is hidden in the “View” menu.
31. Adobe Photoshop: Switch between changes
The history menu on the Touch Bar is simply brilliant
Notice the history button on the Touch Bar. It will open to you a whole set of iterations of your image, and you can select the one you need based on the preview.
32. Adobe Illustrator: Combine Objects
One of the most popular functions when working with vector graphics
The most popular button on the Touch Bar when working with Adobe Illustrator It has long been a practice to combine several simple figures into a more complex one.
33. Microsoft Word: Switch Between Styles
This greatly speeds up formatting
Activate the style editing feature and quickly use them with text via the Touch Bar. This speeds up formatting documents in this editor literally significantly.
Try it.
34. Microsoft Office: Open recent documents
Quickly search for recent documents
To quickly open one of your latest documents, simply click on the clock button - this works in any application Microsoft Office.
35. Take Touch Bar screenshots
And then edit them
To take a screenshot of the Touch Bar, simply press Command+Shift+6. After that, you can make the necessary notes on it using the screenshot editor built into macOS.
This will help you explain the touchpad features friend, as I am doing now, or, conversely, ask questions.
36. Customize the area for screenshots
Select the area to take the screenshot and where to save it
Press Command+Shift+4, and then select more screenshot options on the Touch Bar.
37. Figure out how to tell if there are a lot of elements on the Touch Bar
Note the shading on the left and right
This can be seen by the darkening of the elements on the left and right sides of the touchpad.
38. Customize your site for Touch Bar
To have a beautiful icon on the Touch Bar
To ensure your web page icon looks optimal on the Touch Bar, follow Apple's instructions for site owners.
39. Add Automator Actions to the Touch Bar
Automator Quick Actions button in the lower right corner
If you're a heavy user of Automator, you can add a button with your favorite quick actions to its base on the Touch Bar.
So it will be possible to launch them easier and faster.
The Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro is its most controversial component (apart from the keyboard itself). If for some reason you don't like the Touch Bar, you can simply turn it off. Instead of a touchbar, you will have a regular set of keys that will not change depending on what program you are using.
The touchbar line will display the ESC, brightness down, brightness up, Mission Control, Launchpad, keyboard brightness down/up, audio playback control, mute, volume control and Siri keys. You can also select other keys. In any case, they will be static and will not change in different programs.
How disableTouch BaronMacBook Pro
- Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
- Select the "Keyboard" icon and then the "Keyboard" tab in the window that opens.
- Find "Show in Touch Bar" and select "Advanced Control Strip" next to it.
- The keys listed above should appear on the touchbar.
Now the touchbar interface will not change in different programs, it will remain constant and will look more like a regular keyboard. Naturally, the keys will be virtual on the small touchscreen.
Disabling Touch Bar is the most effective method get standard keyboard. Or you can use an external keyboard. Disabling the touchbar will not return physical buttons to the keyboard, but it will help you get rid of unnecessary elements. Like most options, this one can be canceled by returning the settings to their previous state.
In addition, the Touch Bar can not be disabled, but simply configured. For example, you can remove the Siri icon if you keep pressing it by accident and add a lock screen icon. There are many more options, so we encourage you to explore the settings and see what works best for you.
Don't miss Apple news - subscribe to our Telegram channel, as well as YouTube channel.
Emoji can rightfully be called the universal language of communication. With the new MacBook Pro, you won't be limited in how you can use its dictionary. Click on the emoticon located on the Touch Bar, and you will see the entire list of emotionally rich symbols that are available on your phone. And yes, the developers have not forgotten about your favorite Poo emoticon.
2. Easily navigate through downloaded images
If you're tired of constantly looking for the right photo, opening and closing images on your computer, Touch Bar will solve your problem. As soon as you open a photo from the “Pictures” folder, all the recent photos you took will appear on the display. All you have to do is select the photo you want - it will immediately appear on big screen.
3. Control the video
9to5mac.com Touch Bar allows you to conveniently manage not only photos, but also videos. Thanks to it, you can quickly rewind a movie or video and pause it. The feature does not yet work with players such as BBC iPlayer and Netflix, but this problem is only a matter of time.
4. Think twice before purchasing
9to5mac.com Touch ID makes every purchase much easier and faster, and Apple makes sure you don't waste your money. Every time your finger touches the ID on the panel, the Touch Bar will remind you of the amount you are about to part with. You'll soon get into the habit of thinking twice before you buy anything!
5. Quickly cycle through tabs
Most people have one problem when surfing the Internet: an endless number of open tabs. To get back to what you need, you often have to go through them all, which takes time. Safari browser in tandem with the Touch Bar easily eliminates this inconvenience: images of the pages of open tabs will now be right in front of you.
6. Add, divide, multiply
The calculator is an invention of a bygone century. However, it is unlikely that it will ever become irrelevant. The Touch Bar will make using the calculator somewhat easier: you can perform all mathematical operations quickly and without Shift keys and Command.
7. Travel through time
You've probably spent a long time flipping through the “Calendar” to find out if you have any events planned, for example, on January 10th. When you go to Calendar on your new MacBook Pro, you'll see month, week, and date shortcuts on the Touch Bar. You can now find out your schedule for any day literally in a split second.
8. Format tables without hassle
It can be difficult to join multiple tables that use different ways input. Now that you're in the Number app, the interactive panel will give you instant formatting commands, making your work much easier.
9. Become a DJ
Perhaps this is one of the functions for which the Touch Bar was created. We all love listening to music on our laptop, but having to constantly turn iTunes on and off just to change the track gets annoying. Problem solved. The new MacBook Pro feature will allow you to perform absolutely all operations with music without leaving the cash register: adjust the volume, select a track, add songs to a playlist.
10. Use a color spectrum
Touch Bar allows you to quickly and easily change text color. Just highlight the letters you need and click on the colored button with the “A” symbol on the panel. It will immediately turn into a color spectrum, on which you can quickly select the desired shade.
11. Return old functionality
Do you think the Touch Bar has left function keys in the past? Not at all. You can always customize the panel to your own taste. And if the ability to quickly change screen brightness, backlight and volume is so important to you, then know that Apple has not forgotten about you.
It promised to become iconic and revolutionary. This year Apple laptops turns 25 years old, the Pro and Air lines have not been updated for a long time, everyone was waiting for a bunch of “amazings”.
Tim Cook and his team tried to keep the public's interest for more than an hour, but at the same time they showed only one new product. year on the Air line (laptops are more powerful and smaller) and set a new standard in the segment of compact but powerful ultrabooks.
The main innovation of the firmware was the second display, or rather the touch panel Touch Bar.
I believe that the new feature is a step back, and not a cool revolutionary innovation, to this engineering solution A number of complaints arise.
1. Why was the top row of keys removed?
Many users regularly use EFKs for work; they often adjust the display brightness or the volume of the device without even looking at the keyboard. Now you can't do this blindly, and when another application's buttons appear in the panel, you'll have to switch to the Finder or desktop to turn down the volume or increase the brightness of the keyboard backlight.
The touch key raises the most questions Escape. The button is quite often used in games and applications, touch input without feedback however, not the best solution.
2. Panel height is too low
During the presentation, we saw how the Touch Bar helps when working in professional applications. The panel contains keys for applying various effects; you can view the color palette or timeline, depending on the program.
From my experience working in video editors, I can say that sometimes even a third of the screen is not enough to comfortably work with the Timeline, not to mention a small strip the size of a cut-down key.
Displaying previews of windows with photos and open ones on the panel Safari tabs causes a fit of laughter. It looks fine on the big screen during a presentation, but try looking down at the keyboard and imagining a series of pictures the size of the F1 button.
3. There is no feedback
Clicking a virtual button has no feedback. The user will have to control the operation of the keys at all times.
4. Constantly changing panel capabilities
It will be very difficult to learn the location of changing icons, which means that the speed of working at the computer will decrease. Only when working with Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, the panel can change depending on the selected tool, the selected operating mode, or the selected area of photos and videos.
It’s simply impossible to get used to such a variety of icons on the Touch Bar.
5. Why duplicate hotkeys
Most of the actions that were performed using the touchpad during the presentation can be done by pressing the corresponding hot keys. Shortcuts have been present in the system for a long time, we are used to them and have learned the necessary ones; we can quickly press them blindly.
Why instead shift your gaze to the touchpad and press down on the sensor without feedback?
6. Cross on touch dialing
But I began to master the 10-finger touch typing method and was already accustomed to not looking at the keyboard of my computer. Why is Apple trying to take me back a step again so that I regularly “jump” my eyes between the buttons and the screen.
PC users in the US, 95% of whom have touch typing skills, will have to get used to looking at the keys to perform certain actions.
It was very sad to see how all the presenters at the presentation were forced to bury their eyes on the keyboard in order to convince us of its convenience and usefulness.
A ray of light
The only one the desired function The new panel has a Touch ID sensor. It significantly expands the capabilities of laptops, allows you to pay for purchases without smartphones and instantly switch between user accounts.
Unfortunately, the fingerprint scanner was not included in the low-end MacBook model without the Touch Bar.
We are very interested in your opinion about the main innovation of 2016.
No matter what Tim Cook says, Apple has once again proven that it frankly doesn’t care about the Mac family. Rumors that circulated before the presentation predicted a total update of the entire line of computers, however, only the MacBook Pro series was lucky. Apart from the expected cosmetic and hardware upgrade, the only thing the new firmware could boast of was the Touch Bar, a touch panel that eliminated a number of function keys and brought a completely different Mac experience.
Trying to keep emotions in check, we will try to talk about the new MacBook Pro in a classic style, that is, let's start with the dimensions. Apple never tires of repeating that size matters: the 13- and 15-inch versions are 14 and 17 percent smaller (14.9 and 15.5 mm) compared to their predecessors; models dropped 3 and 4 pounds (1.3 and 1.8 kg) and slimmed down quite a bit overall. What are we talking about - MacBook Pro 2016 is even thinner MacBook Air who should have been retired a long time ago. From a design point of view, Yabloko made a muscular modification of a simple MacBook from the firmware and, I must say, we liked it.
Of course, we also worked on productivity, demonstrating our love for GPUs Radeon family. Just in case, we note that Apple has assigned 15-inch models a role powerful flagship, providing it with the most aggressive iron:
- quad-core processor Intel Core i7 2.6 or 2.7 GHz, overclocked Turbo Boost up to 3.5 or 3.6 GHz respectively;
- 16 GB random access memory with a frequency of 2133 MHz;
- Radeon Pro 450 or 455 graphics adapter
- 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Touch Bar and Touch ID
Three 13-inch models boast the following characteristics:
- dual core Intel processor Core i5 at 2.0 or 2.9 GHz, with Turbo acceleration Boost up to 3.1 or 3.3 GHz respectively;
- 8 GB of RAM with a frequency of 1866 or 2133 MHz;
- 256 or 512 GB SSD;
- graphic Intel adapter Iris Graphics 540 or 550
- 2 or 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports
- Touch Bar and Touch ID (the lowest version does not have them)
By the way, it’s quite interesting that Apple chose to completely remove the innovative Touch Bar and fingerprint sensor from the “budget” model. Also, any more or less advanced user will notice that the new Pro have disgracedly switched to the Thunderbolt 3 interface, which arrived in 2015 and promises new horizons in how to work with external devices, and in nutrition. On the body this standard expressed in the form of USB-C ports, which have proven themselves successfully. They allow you to connect two displays in 5K resolution, provide a speed of 40 Gbps and full charging. True, prices for a basic two-meter cable are at the level of 11 thousand rubles. And that's just the cable!
The GPU on the Radeon Pro 450 (455) promises a twofold increase in performance. Solid State Drives flaunt a 50% increase in speed. Stated time battery life for all versions it is at the 10 o'clock mark (when watching movies and surfing the web).
Now to the screen. The already gorgeous Retina displays are now 67% brighter and more contrasty, and their colors are 23% more saturated. Schiller said nothing more.
The keyboard in the new MacBook Pro provides a more stable response, that is, the key travel has been improved. The butterfly mechanism is still used, but now of the second generation. But that's not the main thing. The main thing is a twice as large trackpad with the Force Touch function: the yard box has been transformed into an entire football field for your fingers!
We doubt that the increased range of speakers and the increased volume threshold will seriously affect the sound, given the design of the MacBook Pro, but it is worth announcing this fact.
And now we move on to the most interesting, most revolutionary part of the review and presentation as a whole - the Touch Bar and the Touch ID sensor. Everyone is familiar with the latter from the iPhone, where the fingerprint sensor appeared with the iPhone 5s in 2013. It works the same way on Macs: you simply tap your finger to unlock macOS without entering a password. Also, thanks to Touch ID, purchases on sites with Apple support Pay. All scanner activities are focused on the Apple T1 chip.
The fingerprint sensor is smarter than what is used on iOS. If several users work on a computer, each has their own account and, accordingly, your customized fingerprint, then macOS, having recognized the owner, will instantly switch to the data of the person who just accessed Touch ID.
We decided to leave the Touch Bar for last to give our thoughts a chance to gather in our heads. A number of function keys on the new MacBook Pro have disappeared, Escape has disappeared, but an extraordinary (in all respects) feature has been added, which in some places radically simplifies, and in others, on the contrary, complicates the work.
Touch Bar can be flexibly adjusted to different applications. What I liked most was how the know-how behaves behind the DJ console, allowing you to compose mixes using several virtual sliders displayed above the keyboard. The Touch Bar also combines quite productively with video and music editors, moving around the ribbon or using editing tools.
But the behavior in the browser, instant messengers, Photos and Photoshop applications raised a bunch of questions that tear apart the concept of working with a MacBook Pro as a whole. Why look for a website tab on a narrow panel when you can make one click in Safari? Why there address bar, navigation buttons and predictive input, when all this is much more convenient to use through a keyboard or trackpad? Have you noticed how carefully Craig Frederighi chose the emoji on the Touch Bar? There are a lot of controversial issues, and we’ll keep silent about working in Photoshop, because the user will have to literally be torn between the usual input tools and the sliders on the touch panel.
Again, we repeat that such a thing as the Touch Bar needs to be tried out personally, applied to work applications for every day, let into your world, and not criticized in absentia, since the feature turned out to be really ambiguous. Someone, the same DJ, will raise the Touch Bar to the skies, and a journalist, touch typing, will laugh at how they want to force him to look at the keyboard, although he learned the opposite.
It remains to talk about the configuration and prices. MacBook Pro 2016 will be available in two colors: Silver and Gray space. To become the owner of the new firmware, you will have to fork out at least 119,990 rubles - the cost of the most budget 13″ version without Touch Bar and Touch ID; the maximum configuration for 15″ will cost you 222,990 rubles. All prices and modifications are presented above.
Of course, the update of the MacBook Pro line to meet the requirements of 2016 is a very encouraging event: the workhorses have become more compact, lighter, more powerful, received unlocking via Touch ID and a unique Touch Bar, which - we have no doubt - will prove itself, but... But what about Mac mini, the last upgrade of which was in 2014? Why didn't they say a word about the iMac? Will the Air series be retired? Will the price tag exceed Mac Pro, still running on hardware from 2013, for a million rubles (maybe Apple is afraid of it :)? Alas, these questions remain unanswered for now.
Loading...
