Apple

Suddenly, the Apple Mail icon in the dock was not longer showing unread items as a number in white against a red background. I wonder whether I inadvertently turned something off.

To get it back, go to Apple / Notifications, and choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Notifications in the sidebar.

Choose which mailboxes to include in the count of unread messages in the red circle, called a badge, that’s shown on the Mail icon in the Dock. In my case I want the unread messages from all the email accounts in Apple Mail.

Then activate the unread count, but note this important caveat. The count appears only if “Badge app icon” is selected for Mail in Notifications settings.

How many times do I type out my email address in a form? Same for my phone number. Too many not to want a simpler, quicker way of doing it. I thought there had to be an easier and cheaper way than using TextExpander at the monthly price they charge for a subscription.

TextExpander can probably do much more than the inbuilt Apple Mac option, but then I don’t want to sink under the weight of all the shortcuts and contractions I might add. That is a road to ruin as I spend time cycling through my mind for the correct keyboard shortcut.

I am not sure what the maximum number I would want is, but it is pretty definitely not more than five keyboard shortcuts, and maybe even not more than three. After all, I have to know these instantly, or they are not worth knowing.

So I googled, and found a video from Gary at MacMost.com who posts the clearest videos you could want on topics like this. The particular one you need is Using Mac Text Replacements and you can find it on the website and on YouTube from MacMostVideos.

That said, this particular shortcut is very simple, so I don’t know whether you will actually need to see the video at all. I am glad I watched it because I learn best with speech plus visuals.

So – for anyone who just wants the most direct instructions, here they are.

If you are on Mac OS Ventura, go to System Settings / Keyboard / Text replacement and you will see one text shortcut has already been set up. It is three characters that expand to ‘On my way!’

You will also see a plus button where you can add new item. Click that and then it’s just a case of choosing an easy to remember shortcut and the text you want to appear when you type that shortcut.

I did it for my email address and phone number.