macOS Sierra: The Missing Manual

The Touch Bar + Fingerprint Reader

In the fall of 2016, Apple introduced new MacBook Pro models with an eye-popping feature, a first on computers: Above the keyboard, where the function keys (F1, F2, F3…) once sat, there’s a colorful strip of touchscreen. Apple calls it the Touch Bar (Figure 7-2).

It’s a half-inch–tall, high-resolution (“Retina”), 2170×60 pixel, multitouch, OLED screen. It can display whatever programmers want: buttons for functions you might need right now, or a rainbow of color selections, or a timeline of the video you’re editing. The Touch Bar is designed to give you quick access to commands and features that are usually hidden in menus—but now you don’t have to memorize keystrokes to trigger them.

The controls here change according to what you’re doing at this moment—what program you’re using, and what function within that program.

When you’re typing, you might see QuickType (autocomplete buttons for the three words the Mac thinks you’re most likely to want to type next). When you’re in Safari, you see little buttons for your open page tabs. When you’ve selected text, you get formatting controls. When you’re editing video or reading an iBook, you see a horizontal “map” of your movie or book, for quick navigation with a finger touch.

Note

The Touch Bar fades to black if you haven’t used it in a while. Just tap to make the buttons light up again.

All the major programs that come with the Mac have been outfitted with Touch Bar controls: the Finder, Automator, Calculator, ...