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How to Enable Dark Mode in MacOS Automatically on Schedule

written by applenws

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could schedule the Dark Mode theme to enable itself automatically on your Mac, perhaps in the evening hours, and on a recurring schedule? That’s exactly what this tutorial is going to show you how to do, without needing to download or use any third party apps.


We’ll be using Automator and the Calendar app to set Dark Mode to enable itself automatically in the evening hours, then disable itself automatically in the morning hours to return to light mode. Using Dark Mode on the Mac is fantastic for working in low light situations and at night time, and so much like you can (and should) schedule Night Shift mode on the Mac, we’ll be setting Dark Mode to run on a schedule as well. This is a feature that hopefully will be baked into future versions of MacOS by default, but for the time being you can follow our guide to set the theme scheduling up yourself.

How to Enable Dark Mode Automatically on a Schedule

Before getting started, put your Mac into the regular Light mode setting.

  1. Open “Automator” on the Mac
  2. How to create a Dark Mode theme schedule on Mac

  3. Choose to create a new “Application”
  4. Create a new application in Automator

  5. In the Library actions, search for ‘Change System Appearance’ and drag that into the Automator workflow, then set that as “Toggle Light / Dark”
  6. Create an application for changing System Appearance and toggling dark and light mode

  7. Save the Automator application with an obvious name, like “Toggle Light or Dark Mode.app”, into an easily accessed location, like the Documents folder
  8. Save the dark light mode toggle app

  9. Now open the “Calendar” app in Mac OS
  10. Calendar on Mac

  11. Go to the “File” menu and then choose “New Calendar”, give the new Calendar an obvious name like “Dark Light Mode Toggle” (this is optional but recommended because the recurring event will show up every day on a calendar)
  12. Create a new Calendar event by clicking on the “+” plus button and label it something like “Toggle Dark and Light Mode”
  13. Make a new Calendar event

  14. Double-click on the event to edit it, using the following parameters:
  • starts: (todays date) at 10:00 PM (adjust if desired)
  • ends: (tomorrows date) at 6:00 AM (adjust as desired)
  • repeat: Every Day
  • alert: Custom

Adjust the Calendar event as follows

  • Now in the Custom alert section, choose “Open File” and select the “Toggle Light or Dark Mode.app” Automator app you created earlier, and set this to open “At time of event” then click OK
  • Set a custom alert

  • Next create a second ‘alert’ and again choose “Custom” and to “Open File” selecting ‘Toggle Light or Dark Mode.app’ again, and set this one to open ’10 hours after start of event’ then click “OK”
  • Set another second alert with opening a file

  • When finished, exit out of Calendar and Automator, whatever your starting event time is will be when Dark mode enables itself automatically, and the second alert after the start of the event will be when Light mode re-enables itself
  • While making these changes in Calendar, if you get a message about changing a recurring event, choose “All Future Events”.

    That’s it, now your recurring Calendar event will trigger the Automator theme toggle app you created, adjusting between Dark mode and Light mode as the time changes.

    In the example here, Dark mode is enabled for 10 hours from 10pm onward, but you can adjust that as needed. If you like using Dark Mode from 7pm until 7am, set those as the calendar events and the ‘after’ event for 12 hours later.

    How to enable Dark Mode theme on a schedule in MacOS

    This trick is pretty straight forward, using the ability to launch apps and files on a schedule on the Mac with Calendar events to open the Dark/Light theme toggle app which you built yourself in Automator. Isn’t the Mac great?

    By the way, you can also open the ‘Toggle Light or Dark Mode.app’ app you created in Automator at any time to quickly switch between dark and light mode, without having to enable Dark Mode through the Mac System Preferences as usual.

    There are also a variety of third party tools that will match this general functionality, including NightOwl and F.lux, but if you don’t want to download anything else then the above method works just fine with what MacOS Mojave ships with by default. Hopefully scheduling Dark Mode becomes an option with Night Shift in a future macOS release, but until (or if) that happens, go ahead and use this Calendar and Automator combination approach, or another utility to gain the same effect.

    Do you know of any other methods to automate dark mode and light mode on the Mac? Share with us in the comments below!

    Related

    Source: OSX Daily

    How to Enable Dark Mode in MacOS Automatically on Schedule was last modified: November 15th, 2018 by applenws
    November 15, 2018 0 comment
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    CalendarMacMac OS XmacOSOSX DailytipsTips & Trickstricks

    How to Show a List of All Calendar Events on Mac

    written by applenws

    If you use the Calendar app on Mac and iOS, your calendar events will seamlessly sync between all Apple devices using the same Apple ID. While the iPhone and iPad have easy ways to display a Calendar in List View from iOS, the Mac doesn’t have the same simple toggle functionality to see a list of all events in the Calendar app. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible…

    You can show a list of all scheduled Calendar events on the Mac with a little-known trick. While it’s certainly not obvious, it gets the job done and allows you to display a list of calendar events in Mac OS quickly.

    How to Display Calendar Events as a List on Mac

    1. Open the “Calendar” application on the Mac if you have not done so already
    2. Optionally, select the Calendar(s) you want to show a list for from the left side menu
    3. Click into the search box in the upper right corner of Calendar app then enter the following search parameter:
    4. .

    5. After typing the single period . hit the Return key to show a list of all Calendar events
    6. Show a Calendar List View on Mac

    By searching for a single period in Calendar on the Mac, you will show all Calendar events as a list view, appearing alongside the Calendar window in Mac OS.

    Remember, if you use iCloud and have an iPhone, Mac, iPad, and/or other Apple devices, your calendar data will sync between all of your Apple devices sharing the same Apple ID.

    You can also search for two concurrent parenthesis like “” if desired, but searching for a single period like . is probably easier for most Mac users.

    Why the default Calendar app on Mac does not have an obvious “List” calendar button like the List View Calendar button on iPhone and iPad is a bit of a mystery, but perhaps it’s a feature due in the future of Calendar app for Mac, or maybe not that many users want a list of calendar events that are schedule and thus the feature is deemed unnecessary. In any event, if you do want to see a list view of your calendar events in Mac OS, you will need to rely on this little known search trick.

    So, want to see a Calendar event list on the Mac? Search for a period. That’s it! Simple, if not quite obvious.

    Do you know of another way to see a list of all Calendar events on the Mac? Share your tips in the comments below!

    Related

    Source: OSX Daily

    How to Show a List of All Calendar Events on Mac was last modified: February 27th, 2018 by applenws
    February 27, 2018 0 comment
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    CalendariOSiPadiPhoneMacMac OS XmacOSOSX DailySiriTips & Tricks

    Have Siri Show Your Calendar & Appointments on iPhone, iPad, or Mac

    written by applenws

    Are you having a busy day, and wondering what is next on your Calendar agenda? Maybe you forgot when that appointment is tomorrow? Or perhaps you’re wondering if you’re free next Tuesday for a meeting at a specific time? You can ask Siri to tell you, utilizing the virtual assistant as a little personal assistant on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

    Interacting with Calendar using Siri is one my favorite set of Siri command tricks, and if you get into the habit of using it this way it may become one of yours too. The Calendar on iPhone, Mac, and iPad is one of the most useful features of iOS and Mac for anyone who is maintaining a busy lifestyle or a lot of appointments and meetings, whether work, personal, or both, and combined with Siri the Calendar is even better since you can request all sorts of information with the digital assistant.

    Siri Calendar Enquiries and Reporting Commands

    Siri has full access to your Calendar and any events, so if you want Siri to tell you what’s coming up on your calendar or if you have a meeting today, tomorrow, or several years from now, just ask. All of these Siri commands work on any device with Siri, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

    Summon Siri as usual by holding down the Home button, by using Hey Siri voice activation, or hitting the menu button on a Mac, and then use the following type of questions about the calendar:

    • What’s on my calendar today?
    • What’s on my calendar tomorrow?
    • What’s on my calendar for Friday?
    • What’s on my calendar this week?
    • What’s on my calendar next week?
    • What am I doing next week at 4pm?
    • Show me my calendar for next Tuesday
    • Show me my calendar for next month
    • What’s coming up on my calendar?
    • Do I have anything planned for September 4?
    • What’s on my calendar in December of 2021?
    • When is my meeting with Bob?

    Siri what is on my calendar today

    Siri will scan your calendars, including shared calendars, and report back any findings, if you use broader questions that have larger time spans Siri will even provide a little calendar embedded into the response.

    If nothing is found that pertains to the question asked then a response something like “you have no appointments on that day” or “I didn’t find any appointments for today” will arrive instead.

    Siri says no appointments today on Calendar

    And yes, if you show holidays on the Calendar then those will appear on the calendar requests from Siri too.

    Siri showing everything planned on a specific day calendar

    Of course you can also add and modify calendar events, meetings, and dates using Siri too, with commands like “set up a meeting for 10am with Bob”, “make a new appointment next Friday at 4pm”, “reschedule my meeting with Bob from 3pm to 4pm” or “cancel todays appointment” and many other variations. The Calendar and Siri work fantastic together, so give them a try.

    If you enjoyed this, you might also like to see a giant list of Siri commands or browse through our wide collection of Siri tips here.

    Source: OSX Daily

    Have Siri Show Your Calendar & Appointments on iPhone, iPad, or Mac was last modified: August 30th, 2017 by applenws
    August 30, 2017 0 comment
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