On macOS, Messages has several of the fun effects that can be found on its iOS counterpart to help liven up your conversations. However, Messages for Mac isn't quite the same app as Messages for iPhone and iPad, with a number of effects left out of this version that have made their way to the mobile app.
Using this guide, find out what you can do, what you can't do, and how you can work around some of the limitations of Messages for macOS with other apps and tools.
The Mac offers several ways to switch between accounts. The most straightforward way is to log out of one account and then log in to a different account. A faster and more convenient way is to use Fast User Switching, which essentially lets you switch accounts without having to log out of one account first. Sep 20, 2016 macOS Sierra boasts a new “Memories” feature, letting you rediscover favorite and forgotten moments from your library by automatically creating gorgeous slideshows and curated photo collections. Nov 03, 2015 How long should it take for a user account without admin privileges take to delete? I recently created a user account for our Son to use on the iMAC to edit some photo's (375 JPEGs nothing else). He had been using iPhoto, Elements 11 and Google Chrome, nothing else. After two weeks I wanted to remove the account. First, some notes about the different user accounts you can set up on the Mac: The first account on any newly set up ©Mac is the administrator account. There has to be at least one. This account is the one you need to set up a new user from. Administrators can add and manage other users on the Mac, install apps, and change settings.
Messages features you can use in macOS
Here's what you currently can do with Messages and macOS.
Rich links
Rather than simply displaying a link when you paste it in an iMessage conversation, now Messages generates a slick preview of the link, including a headline and a photo. Messages also allows you to watch YouTube videos from within your conversation as well.
Big emoji
Emoji are now three times larger than they have previously been. The emoji you send will appear this size when you send three or fewer characters.
Tapbacks
Tapbacks are quick reactions that you can attach to message bubbles. You can select from the following: heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, 'Ha Ha', '!!', or '?'.
What's missing from Messages in macOS
Unfortunately, while Messages on iOS has features like bubble and screen effects to add extra flavor to your messages, these effects have yet to make their way to the Mac.
Also absent from Messages in macOS are stickers and iMessage apps. These features require the iMessage App Store, and as such, it's not surprising to see them excluded — still, their absence is felt, especially when iPhone- and iPad-touting friends send a constant barrage of stickers. That said, you can still take advantage of services, apps, and utilities to bring a little more fun to Messages on the Mac.
GIPHY
Giphy puts thousands of GIFs right at your fingertips that you can easily share with friends and family just as you would any other image. Just bookmark the site, then head there and search to find the right GIF for your conversation.
GIF Keyboard
Just like its counterpart for iPhone and iPad, GIF Keyboard for Mac lets you quickly search for GIFs and add them to any conversation. The app lives in your Mac's Menu bar, and you can just drag and drop your chosen GIF into any message thread in any app you want, including Messages.
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Rocket
This is a useful little utility that makes adding emoji to your messages quick and easy. Just type your trigger character (':' by default), and follow it with the name of the emoji you want to use. You can download it for free, then upgrade for $3.99 for access to custom emoji phrases, GIF support, and more.
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But what about my apps?
If you've been using iMessage apps on your iPhone, you might be wondering what you can do to get those apps on your Mac. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that iMessage apps will be making their way to macOS anytime soon. For now, you'll need to head to the websites for OpenTable, Fandango, and Square Cash, among others, in order to make use of these services on your Mac.
Questions?
If you have any questions about using effects in Messages on macOS, be sure to let us know!
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Updated January 2020: Up-to-date for macOS Catalina.
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With Photos for Mac, all the pictures and videos you've taken on your iPhone or iPad, or imported into iPhoto or Aperture, will always be available to you on any of your Macs, as will any future pictures and videos you take or import, including your DSLR images, even in RAW!
Add to that automatic, intelligent grouping based on time and place, and face detection, non-destructive editing, and the ability to order prints, books, and more, and Photos for Mac makes for the ultimate picture and video app for the mainstream.
Here's your ultimate guide to setting up and using it!
How to get started with Photos for Mac
Photos is your one-stop shop for just about everything you'd want in a photo organization app. You can store, edit, share, and more in Photos for Mac, and all you have to do is dive in and get started. Here's how!
How to get started with iCloud Photo Library
iCloud Photo Library aims to deliver on the promise of having all your photos available on all your devices all of the time. To accomplish this, iCloud Photo Library works with Photos for Mac as well as with Photos for iOS and iCloud.com, as the glue that holds everything together. Shoot a video on your iPhone, take a picture with your iPad, import from your DSLR on your Mac, and all of it goes up to Apple's servers and is made available on all your other devices. Part backup, part sync, part storage optimizer, if you let it, iCloud Photo Library can make micromanaging your pictures and videos a thing of the past.
How to find and manage your pictures and videos in Photo for Mac
Photos for Mac uses the same hierarchy as Photos for iOS — intelligently grouping images and videos into moments, collections, and years. That lets Photos for Mac show you small moments in time and space, like yesterday at the park, but also collections of moments marked by larger changes, like that party across town or that week at the beach, and even an entire year all at once. That way you can quickly zoom out, drill down, or scrub through to find exactly the photos and videos you want to look at, edit, or share. And all it takes is a few clicks and swipes! Of course, you can also find by faces, location, keywords, and more!
How to edit your pictures and videos in Photos for Mac
From magic wand, to basic color, light, and black & white tweaks, or full, granular control over exposure, saturation, intensity, and more. You can also rotate, flip, crop, and straighten, remove redeye, touch up blemishes, and more. Photos for Mac has everything you need to make your pictures look exactly how you want. What's more, all the edits are non-destructive, so if you don't get something perfect the first time, you can change it again whenever you like, or even go right back to the original. Combine that with the large screen, and editing photos on the Mac isn't just easy, it's accessible to everyone.
How to share pictures and videos from Photos for Mac
Share directly via iCloud, Mail, Messages, or AirDrop, or socially with Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo, or Flickr. Either way, you can do it quickly and easily right from Photos for Mac. Simply find the picture or video you want to share — or multiple pictures or videos — choose the way you want to share them, and you're good to go. Thanks to sharing extensions, other services can plug in as well. It's the fastest, easiest way to get your pictures and videos from where they are to where you want them to be.
Questions?
Do you have a question about Photos for Mac? Let us know in the comments below!
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A more musical homeApple's new 'Behind the Mac' vid shows James Blake making music at home
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