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As a Mac user, there will invariably be tasks you perform on your files and folders that are repetitive in nature. Wouldn't it be nice to have some way to automate those actions so you can focus on more important work?

Hazel is a popular utility that can monitor folders and files, and then take action based on rules you set up.

In this week's Foundation screencast Todd introduces you to the latest version of Hazel. He goes from installation and setup to the anatomy of a rule, as well as the various settings Hazel gives you. Todd then walks you through building a task made up of several pieces that work together to create a more complex and efficient workflow.

There are many good reasons you might consider doing a clean install on your Mac. Perhaps it has gotten sluggish over the years, you may have had a hard drive replaced which necessitates the process, or you'd like to have as close to a stock operating system as possible before installing the next major release of macOS.

But performing a clean install (some call it a "nuke and pave") may seem like a daunting task, one you may be reluctant to take on. In this week's show, Allison talks about all the reasons why you might want to do it, suggests some strategies to attacking the task, and then shows the process in action.

A very neat menu bar app that gives you direct access to a host of utilities and system functions.

In this tip video, Don explores some of the options and demonstrates just how useful One Switch can be.

With the ever-increasing number of subscriptions for software, apps and services, TrackMySubs is a great way to keep on top of everything.

This week, Don shows you TrackMySubs' free plan which allows you to track up to 10 subscriptions to assess your costs as well as receive optional alerts when subscriptions are due. This allows you to decide if you want to proceed or cancel before the subscription payment is taken.

Ironically, TrackMySubs also offers a subscription service if you want to monitor more than 10 subscriptions. Depending on your situation, the potential savings you could make on your unused subscriptions could easily offset that cost!

Ever wish you could open up links on iOS in other apps? Well with Opener, now you can.

This week Mike shows you how to open up web links in other apps you have on your device using this handy iOS utility.

TextSoap is a fantastic application that allows you to transform and manipulate text in many different ways. If you find you're constantly editing or fixing the same badly formatted text over and over again, TextSoap can save you hours.

Pre-loaded with many different pre-defined text cleaners, you can access the power of TextSoap through clipboard integration, a menu bar app, macOS services or even AppleScript.

TextSoap also allows you to create your own custom cleaners, with virtually unlimited flexibility.

In this tutorial, Don takes you through using the many different facets of TextSoap 8

Do your contacts need a little TLC?

This week's tip video shows you how Vignette for iOS can change all those unattractive grey circles with initials into something more useful. A simple search within the app will update all of your contacts' icons to their most recent photo or other image.

Do you ever get tired of loading a full-blown spreadsheet application just to do a few simple calculations?

Soulver 3 is a small, highly effective and powerful mathematical notepad. It's perfect for working out simple (and some not-so-simple) calculations, conversions, and much more. Even better, you don't need to load Soulver each time you need to use it, you can take advantage of it via macOS System Service, a Command Line Interface (CLI), through Alfred, or even via Automator.

In this tutorial, Don takes you through the basic steps of using Soulver 3 and demonstrates the external integration with other apps and services.

If you've ever wanted to learn WordPress but don't want to spend the money on hosting a site on the internet, how about running it locally on your Mac? Or perhaps you have a WordPress blog but you want to experiment with changing the look and feel to modernize it. Instead of interrupting your online presence, you could experiment with a local installation of WordPress on your Mac.

In this tutorial, Allison will walk you through the installation of a free piece of software called MAMP. She'll explain in detail how MAMP gives you a web server, a database and a scripting language, and the easy steps to configure them so you can run WordPress locally.

The steps themselves will probably take you into unknown territory but they're not that hard to follow. After WordPress is running, she'll give you some very basic instruction in creating Pages and Posts in WordPress and then installing Themes and Plugins. She'll show you where these files go on your Mac so you understand what's happening under the hood.

Scanbot for iOS is a scanning application that can automatically apply Optical Character Recognition (or OCR) to your scans and upload them to your cloud service provider.

This week, Mike shows you how to use Scanbot to scan receipts, a common workflow for many people who have to travel for work. You learn how to connect Scanbot to your cloud service provider, set up Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in multiple languages, automate file naming using Scanbot's built-in tokens, and scan and crop images so they turn out just right.

CleanMyMac X is a fantastic utility for ensuring that your Mac is always kept in tip-top condition. We've covered the overall functionality of Clean My Mac X in several episodes but in this tip video, Don takes a look at a new module in CleanMyMac X and that's Space Lens.

macOS has a hugely powerful indexing feature called Spotlight built right into the operating system. Spotlight can index hundreds of thousands of files, folders, email messages and more and store a multitude of information about each object. The problem is how to search this rich database of information and find the stuff you want, quickly and effectively.

That's where HoudahSpot comes in.

HoudahSpot gives you an expanded UI to allow you to craft complex and powerful search queries with the minimum of fuss.

With the recent release of HoudahSpot 5, this essential application has become even more useful and offers some additional features.

In this full tutorial, we take you through the basics of HoudahSpot, the enhanced UI, the HoudahSpot Helper and the integration of HoudahSpot with the Finder and many third-party utilities.

It really is an essential app for all macOS users.

You've probably seen QR code readers at the top of the App Store before. But with iOS 11 and above, you already have the ability to read these codes, no third-party app required.

This week, Mike shows you how to scan QR codes using your iOS device. You learn how to open up your camera ready to scan using 3D Touch, and also take a look at a few examples of what's possible with QR codes.

In this tip video, Lee introduces us to an open source application he has been used to modify the output of keys on his macOS keyboard for some years: Karabiner Elements.

You learn how Karabiner Elements makes entering a series of modifier keys a lot more practical, and how this will open the door to assigning special keyboard shortcuts. Lee also demonstrates some handy real-world use cases for this technique using Keyboard Maestro and macOS keyboard shortcuts

If you use AirPods on multiple devices, you probably already know how much of a pain it can be to get them to connect to your Mac after using them on your iOS device. AirBuddy brings the same AirPods connecting experience you have on iOS to the Mac.

In this week's tip, Mike shows you how to set up and install AirBuddy so you can quickly and easily connect your AirPods to your Mac, even after they've been connected to a different device. You'll also learn how to use the Today Widget in Notification Center to quickly check the charge of not only your AirPods and the AirPods case, but your iPhone as well.

If you've ever used an Apple TV, you've probably gazed in awe at the beautiful aerial screensavers displayed in all their glory. Well now you can download and display that same collection on your Mac, thanks to an Open Source project called Aerial.

In this week's tip video, Don walks you through the installation and operation of this additional screensaver option, and shares some useful hints and tips on how to run it without using up a significant amount of your system drive's storage.

Apple has done a terrific job in macOS Mojave in facilitating taking screenshots and screen recordings. All done using a single, easy to remember keyboard shortcut with immediate access to markup and editing tools.

It's never been easier to manage screenshots with the new Screenshot app.

This tip video walks you through the basic features of Screenshot, including annotating and editing, organizing your screenshots and screen recordings using Stacks, and even sharing them using iCloud Drive.

One of the problems with Shortcuts on iOS is finding a use for them!

This week's tip video demonstrates some real-life examples that Don used on a recent holiday. If you've ever cruised, you know just how expensive Internet access can be, and what a palaver it is, switching Wi-Fi on and off, accessing the ship's webpage and messing about with Mobile Data settings.

Why not create some shortcuts and add them to your Today View as Widgets? Or even trigger them using Siri?

This tip video explains all...

A quick and easy way to create voice memos or any audio recordings and have them sync across your iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Voice Memos has had a full redesign and is now available on all of your devices (except Apple Watch!).

With so many web applications and services available, it's becoming possible to automate more and more things. Zapier is the glue that can make all your web apps and services work together and do things you never thought possible.

In this episode, Don takes you through the basics of using Zapier using examples with Slack, OmniFocus, and MailChimp - just three of the 1000+ apps and services available to be integrated using Zapier.

You also have a peek at some of the integrations we use here at ScreenCastsOnline to work more efficiently and automate posting to social media.