Even if you have just opened a new Mac, the system provides many default applications for your regular tasks, and you can start working on it immediately. However, there are many great third-party applications that can be incredibly useful for you. In this article, we will share the list of the tools that every Mac user should have.
Unarchiever
Today, when there are large storage volumes, cloud-based storages, and wireless data transfer, you might think that no one use archives. However, archived data is still widely used, for example, when you download applications from the developer’s site in the archive format.
With the Unarchiver application, unpacking will be easy without any problem. This application does not provide many additional features, however, its basic features are enough for unpacking dozens of archive formats. The great thing is that the program is absolutely free.
1Password
The default Apple application Keychain stores information about your logins, passwords, credit card data, and Wi-Fi connections in encrypted form in iCloud. The more convenient and safe way to save and manage your passwords, licenses, and other data is to use third-party apps like 1Password. 1Password remembers all your passwords for you, and keeps them safe and secure. You can create a single master account to manage passwords and other sensitive data – that is, in essence, you only have to remember one password.
The application has plugins for most browsers, allowing you to create passwords on sites, store them in the application, and auto-complete the next time you use them. In addition, it can keep card data and receipts. The basic features are free to use. The additional features are available for paid subscription.
Funter
The default Apple searching system called Spotlight is great at finding files on Mac and executing quick commands. However, Spotlight doesn’t find hidden files on your Mac and it can’t help you when you are searching for system files. In this case, you can use a free application Funter designed to find hidden files, hide and unhide hidden files and operate hidden files.
Unlike Spotlight, Funter finds absolutely all types of files on your Mac and even files in packages. Additionally, Funter provides a system usage informational, telling you how much memory is used, how many unneeded files you have, such as junk, duplicates, unused files, and unused applications.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller
Most Mac users remove applications by just dragging and dropping them into the Trash bin. In fact, this is wrong. To completely uninstall applications from Mac, you also need to remove their support files. You can do this manually, by searching caches, preferences, logs, cookies and other app support files in the ~/Library folder. However, you should be careful, as accidental deleting of system files can damage your system. Another easy and safe way to remove applications entirely is to use special uninstallers like App Cleaner & Uninstaller from Nektony. This tool automatically finds all of the support files of each app installed on your Mac and allows completely uninstalling them with a few clicks.
VLC Media Player
A common problem that every Mac user might face is watching videos of file formats different from MPEG. The default application QuickTime does not support all formats and does not provide any settings. To forget about codecs, video formats, audio track support, and subtitles once and for all, just install another universal video player, for example, VLC Media Player. The application supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, MP3, Ogg, and many other formats, and plays videos from DVD, VCD.
Final Cut Pro
Considering the popularity of shooting videos on iPhone, action cameras, like GoPro, and creating other video content, it is worth having a convenient video editor on your Mac. You can use a free tool from Apple called iMovie. However, another application from Apple, called Final Cut Pro, will provide more options for you helping to create great videos both for yourself and for your job. The price for Final Cut Pro is costly but if you regularly work with videos, then the functionality and usability would be worth it.
Pocket
The Mac Notes app gets regular updates and becomes more and more convenient. You can also try a free Pocket application which has a more user-friendly interface and allows you to save photos, videos, and articles from the Internet in one feed. The content is available for offline viewing, and when you download the application to your smartphone or tablet, it allows you to sync the saved items.
MacCleaner Pro
Over time, every Mac accumulates gigabytes of junk files, such as cache, localization files, broken service files, unused apps, duplicate files, and so on. With MacCleaner Pro you can easily remove all this digital junk. You can analyze your disk usage and see what is taking the most space on your disk.
Generally, you should regularly clean up your Mac and keep enough free space on your hard drive. This will help you keep your Mac always working smooth and prevent possible system issues, connected with the leftovers of previously removed applications.
Paragon NTFS
Even if you use only Apple devices, you can face a situation when your Mac can’t write data on an external hard drive due to not supporting the macOS file system. Usually, you should format your drive to write on it. Also, you can use special utilities, like Paragon NTFS, which allows you to read and write on disks not supported by macOS.
Bartender
If you like minimalism, you definitely would like the Bartender app. The application hides unnecessary icons from the Mac menu bar. It helps you reduce the visual noise of the top menu without having to close the running apps.
Bartender allows you to manually set up the display rules for appropriate programs. You can hide some apps in a submenu, leave some apps in the main panel, and some apps can be shown only when a trigger has been triggered in the application.
Spark
Spark is an alternative for the default Apple Mail client. It will make working with mail more convenient and pleasurable. With this app, its minimalistic design, advanced sorting and powerful search, organizing your inbox has never been easier. Also, Spark has quick replies, delayed message sending, and tons of customization options.
We hope the mentioned applications will be helpful for you. Some of them have alternatives, and it’s up to you to choose the one that suits you more.