As the executive editor in chief of Macworld , I ’d like to think I ’m pretty up - to - date with iPhone and Mac tips , caper , and features . But when using my Mac last hebdomad , I learned something new that I should ’ve have it off years ago . In fact , I was so embarrassed that I did n’t make out it , I decided to turn it into a recurring editorial . Welcome to the first installment of Today I Learned ( TIL ) .
Okay onto the tip . It ’s really a feature from iOS 8.1 , which arrivedmore than seven age ago . That ’s older than the iPhone X , AirPods , Apple Music and – well , you get the idea . So what is this revelatory new feature that I should have been using since 2014 ? Text Message Forwarding .
Of course , I ’ve long bed about sending iMessages on my Mac , but I unwrap the green - house of cards feature accidentally . rather of picking up my iPhone like I unremarkably do to send an SMS message to one of my non - iPhone - using friends , I absent - mindedly tried to send the text using the Messages app on my Mac and receive a pop - up message suggesting that I release on Text Message Forwarding on my iPhone .
Foundry
Wait , what ? This is n’t the first fourth dimension I accidentally tried to text on my Mac but it is the first time I induce a message telling me that there was another way . I do n’t know why I set about a message this time rather than the usual “ Not Delivered ” stamp , but needless to say , I ’m glad it did . The subject matter told me to go to the Messages stage setting on my iPhone and turn onText Message Forwardingfor my MacBook , which I did .
The magic is that your iPhone call for to be nearby for it to figure out since you ’re technically send on messages outright from your iPhone to your Mac . But since most multitude generally have their iPhone right next to their Mac anyway , it all just works .
And now not only can send and receive unripe - house of cards message on my Mac , but I can also get one - metre passwords for logins without reach for my iPhone , copy it , and rely on Universal Clipboard .
Today I Learned is a Macworld column that spotlight lesser - known but useful gratuity and antic for Apple user . If you have any ideas for future columns , post an email to michael_simon@idg.com .
For more Messages tips see :
How to fix iMessage job
How to receive texts to a phone number across all your Apple gadget
How to use new Messages features
How to disable or enable read receipt for Messages
How to block unwanted subject matter senders and callers in Messages
