American flags adorn flagpoles and lawns alike for the Fourth of July holiday here in the United States, but Mac users won’t see the Stars and Stripes as the icon for the US keyboard input menu anymore. Starting in macOS 12.4 Monterey, Apple has replaced the menu’s flags with monochromatic language icons, so we highlight a utility that brings the flags back. Also this week, Glenn Fleishman explains how to use the new mail merge feature in Pages, and Josh Centers shows you how you can use HomeKit improvements to streamline your home automation setup. Notable Mac app releases this week include 1Password 8.7.3, Timing 2022.3, Firefox 102, Piezo 1.7.9, Lightroom Classic 11.4.1, Transmit 5.8.7, Pixelmator Pro 2.4.5, PowerPhotos 2.0, Lunar 5.7, and CleanMyMac X 4.11.
macOS 12.4 Monterey removed colorful flag icons that made it easy to see the keyboard input menu. If that’s a problem for you, here’s how you can get them back.
Over the years, Apple has quietly enhanced Home automations to take advantage of more sensors and let you automatically turn off automations. “Take Control of Apple Home Automation” author Josh Centers examines the new features.
Years after removing the feature in a major rewrite, Apple has returned mail merge to Pages so you can use data from Contacts or a spreadsheet to customize letters, envelopes, or cards.
Watchlist
Maintenance release enables you to now sort items by frequently and recently used. ($35.88 annual subscription, free update, 2.9 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Time and productivity tracking app adds a new Easy mode for reports. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 28 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Improves Enhanced Tracking Protection to stop certain sites from tracking the links you follow in Firefox. (Free, 121 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Updates the Audio Capture Engine to improve audio capture reliability. ($19 new, free update, 22.4 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Brings a few new features and enhancements to the desktop-focused photo cataloging and editing app. ($9.99/$19.99/$52.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update for subscribers, macOS 10.15+)
Brings additions, improvements, and bug fixes for the file transfer app. ($45 new, free update, 33.9 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Introduces an all-new shapes browser and brings photo browser improvements. ($39.99 new, free update, 449 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Major update for the Photos library manager that improves performance and handling of iCloud Photos compatibility. ($29.95 new, free update, 29.5 MB, macOS 11+)
Brings some handy additions and improvements to the display brightness control utility. ($23 new, free update, 18 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Introduces an updated menu that provides improved at-a-glance information about your Mac. ($89.95 new, free update, 97.4 MB, macOS 10.10+)
