Public Service Announcement
One of the neat features of Sierra is the addition of Siri. Using Siri on MacOS is just like using it on iOS with the addition for it to help you with everyday tasks on your Mac.
First, you should make sure that Siri is enabled. To do that, go to System Preferences > Siri. The below window will open:
Make sure that the Enable Siri (left) has a checkmark in it. You should then close the window (⌘Q). Then, you should see the Siri icon in the upper-right of the screen (next to Spotlight search).
Before I go over some Siri commands, lets go back to where you enabled Siri so we can take a look at what’s there.
- Language – This is the language that Siri will listen to and respond to the user’s requests.
- Siri Voice – The type of voice that you’ll hear when Siri responds (Male or Female).
- Voice Feedback – Siri will show you what you said to it before Siri does a voice command.
- Mic Input – The type of input device Siri will use to ‘listen’ for you.
- Keyboard Shortcut – You can assign a keyboard shortcut to enable Siri.
- Show Siri in Menu Bar – Shows the Siri icon next to Command Center (upper-right corner).
- About Siri and Privacy – General information on how Siri is used and how your privacy is protected.
Now that you know a little about the Siri control center, close it. Now you can start using Siri just like you’ve been in iOS. Here are some commands to try (always click on the Siri icon before speaking).
- Siri, what time is it?
- When do the [your favorite team] play?
- What files did I edit today?
- Show me all image files.
- Where is the John Doe Pages file?
- Open Maps.
- Open Pages.
- Open Safari.
- Open Safari to compuscoop dot com.
- Read New Email.
- Play music.
The above is just some of what Siri will do. I’m sure we’ll be doing another how to on Siri for Mac when we find something not covered. 🙂
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