Skip to main content

The hidden Quick Actions menu has changed how I use my Mac

The more you use Apple’s macOS operating system, the more you come across amazing little tools and features that you’ve somehow never heard of, yet which can totally blow your mind. I’ve been using Macs for over a decade, yet I just stumbled upon a killer feature I never knew existed — and I absolutely love it.

That feature is called Quick Actions, and you’ll need macOS Mojave or later to give it a try. The name is pretty self-explanatory — they’re a collection of lightweight tools and tweaks that can save you oodles of time. The reason I never knew about them, though, is they’re hidden away in the right-click menu. I use keyboard shortcuts all the time, so rarely open this menu. But Quick Actions are worth breaking your habits for.

Recommended Videos

What are Quick Actions?

A comparison of two images in macOS Ventura. The image on the left is the original, while the image on the right has had its background removed using a Quick Action.
Alex Blake / Digital Trends

The Quick Actions you see depend on the type of file you’re working with. Right-click a picture, for example, and you’ll see options to convert it to a different image type, remove its background, transform it to a PDF, and more. Right-click a video and you can rotate it or trim it down.

The beauty of Quick Actions is they are (as the name suggests), super quick and easy and don’t even require you to open an app to carry them out. Instead of using Adobe Photoshop’s AI tool to remove a background, just use a Quick Action to get it done in seconds.

Advanced controls

A user dragging a shortcut over to a Quick Actions menu in macOS Ventura.
Alex Blake / Digital Trends

On the face of it, Quick Actions are fast and simple. But they can also be much more advanced if you want them to be. In fact, they can let you perform incredibly complex operations with just a few clicks.

That’s thanks to their integration with Apple’s Shortcuts app. Sure, you could invoke a shortcut by barking out orders to Siri on your Mac, but what if you’re working in a crowded coffee shop or nestled in a silent library? Instead of causing a ruckus, you can add that handy shortcut to the Quick Actions menu.

All you need to do is open the Shortcuts app, then drag your chosen shortcut onto the Quick Actions item in the left-hand sidebar. Now right-click any file and go to Quick Actions > Customize, then enable your shortcut. From now on, that shortcut will appear in your right-click menu, ready to be used in a snap.

Similarly, Apple’s long-forgotten Automator app — the precursor to Shortcuts — lets you create and save Quick Actions, giving you another option if Shortcuts isn’t quite your style.

A brilliant timesaver

A right-click menu in macOS Ventura showing the Quick Actions menu, with the Remove Background option selected.
Alex Blake / Digital Trends

The Quick Actions menu is one of those little things that can go completely unnoticed in everyday use, yet once you know they’re there, you can’t get enough of them. So far, I’ve found the image conversion and background removal actions to be the handiest of the bunch — no need for expensive software or third-party websites anymore.

I only wish you could add a keyboard shortcut to a Quick Action, as I haven’t been able to find a way yet. And yeah, I know this is a petty complaint — getting to my Quick Actions in three clicks is a lot easier than opening an app and performing the task manually. But it would be nice to do it in just a keystroke.

Still, the Quick Actions menu is a brilliant built-in feature that more people really should know about, one of the best apps for Mac power users. Go ahead and give it a try. You won’t regret it.

Alex Blake
Alex Blake has been working with Digital Trends since 2019, where he spends most of his time writing about Mac computers…
The new macOS update includes a battery boost for Safari
Laptop showing the macos 15.5 update.

The macOS 15.5 update is here, and it's overall pretty light on features. However, the Safari 18.5 update bundled with it does include a new developer feature that will save battery life for users. "Declarative Web Push" is a more efficient approach to web notifications that will drain less battery every time you get a notification on Safari.

The feature already came to iOS and iPadOS in the last update, allowing developers to swap their notification implementations to the simpler JSON format. Just for fun, here's what it looks like:

Read more
WWDC 2025 could be the least exciting Apple event in years — and I think that’s a good thing
Craig Federighi introducing macOS Sonoma at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2023.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is just under one month away. Normally, this event is a time for Apple to showcase all the software updates it’s been working on over the last year, which usually means tons of exciting new features across macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and more.

This year, though, there are likely to be far fewer significant updates. Sure, we’ll see a few changes here and there with systems like macOS 16 and iOS 19 expected to get a smattering of new features.

Read more
I tried a $5 scratchpad app for the Mac. I’ll never go back to Apple Notes
Summoning a scratchpad in the Antinote app for macOS.

I have missed more transitory ideas than I can count while absorbed in work. Or missed deadlines. Or forgot minor chores. On a few occasions, I was just too lazy to reach out for my iPhone, open a to-do app, create a new page, and type in. You feel the flow here, right?

On other occasions, I just lost my train of thought mid-way through it all. Often, an app just doesn’t have the functions I need for that fleeting, low-stakes note-taking job. Then there’s the load of “yet another app” taking up precious screen space. 

Read more