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Lifehacker
Mac users with multiple Finder windows littering your desktop: hold down the Option key when you click on the close button on one to close them all in one shot. This works for any multi-window Mac app (though normally you'd just hit Cmd+Q to quit entirely). Here are a few more things you didn't know you can do on your Mac.
As Windows user, one of the strangest things about Mac OS is a running, active application can be in focus without any actual windows open. If you use Command+Tab to switch between apps and don't want to get stuck in no-open-window limbo, use the following key sequence to open a new window on your way there: Hold down Command+Tab, then press Option, then release Command. It doesn't work for all applications, but it does for Safari and Terminal at least.
Reader Brett writes in with his favourite Safari tip, harnessing the power of Google and keyword search tool Keywurl into one nifty time-saver. He sets his default Keywurl search to a URL that pulls up Google's first "I'm feeling lucky" result, using this string:
Mac OS X Leopard only: Reader Ben points out that there's a lot more to Mac OS X's built-in Dictionary than definitions. He writes in:
I just noticed that in Dictionary.app (at least in Leopard), under to "Go" menu, there is an option labelled "Front/Back Matter." Clicking this brings up a whole slew of useful reference material, including a language guide (complete with a list of clichés to avoid), a list of the chemical elements, and the text of the Constitution. Next time I'm on a place, I think I'm going to brush up on the Bill of Rights.It's true: the Ready Reference area of Dictionary.app's Front/Back Matter is a treasure trove of good stuff for writers or anyone who wants to see if they can name the capital of all fifty states in the U.S. Thanks, Ben!
Mac guy Rob Griffiths points out a few brand new command line utilities in Leopard, like the handy dot_clean command, which sweeps away Mac system files that start with a dot and annoy the hell out of you when you use that thumb drive on your PC. Griffiths writes:
Prior to 10.5, you had to manually delete them on the other system, or use Terminal trickery to remove them on the Mac prior to copying. As of 10.5, though, you can just use the dot_clean command on the directory in question. TypeNow you don't have to disable .DS_Store file creation entirely; though you may still have to deal with Windows' annoying Thumbs.db system files on your Mac.dot_clean /path/folderto join the dot-underscore files with their parent files. Read OS X 10.5's manual pages (man dot_clean) for more information.
When you just can't seem to hunt down that file you know you've got stowed away somewhere on your Mac, it's time to break out the Spotlight big guns—advanced search operators, that is. Macworld runs down advanced Spotlight operators which will be familiar to power Google searchers. Here's a sampling:
"time machine"java NOT coffee or invoice OR bonusauthor:authorname, kind:pdf (for PDF files), and date:today
All-things-Mac web site Mac OS X Hints discusses how to automatically Quick Look certain files as soon as they're downloaded to your Downloads folder. The best approach from the thread involves setting your browser to automatically open certain file types (like your PDF or Word documents) with the Quick Look Droplet, a simple application that launches a Quick Look preview of whatever file it opens. Of course you could just set your browser to automatically open downloaded files with their default applications, but if you don't want to load up heavy software like Microsoft Word just to peek at the file's contents, this Quick Look Droplet might be a worthwhile solution.
The Mac Tipper blog sings the praises of Finder's column view, and schools the rest of us on how to navigate files and folders in a flash using the keyboard. Hit the play button to see it in action.
Tech blogger Dan Warne notes that MacBooks loaded with serious memory—like MacBook Pros with more than 2 GB—can take a long while to activate these days, since the entirety of that memory is being written to your hard disk... Read More »
Macworld's running a fantastic "Leopard Survival Guide" series, covering little-known Mac tips of all sorts, like how to customise the welcome text in a new Terminal window:
Open Terminal and enterDon't miss the rest of the series, which also covers the Dock and Stacks to Spaces, Expose and the Dashboard.cd /etc, press return, and then typesudo pico motd. That second command launches a text editor and loads a new file called motd (Message Of The Day). Type whatever you like for a message (for instance, "Welcome to the land where text is king"), press control-X (for Exit), press Y (for Yes, to save changes), and then press return (to accept the file name, which will be shown asmotd). From now on, new Terminal windows will display your new greeting, right below the date and time of the last login.
