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Top 10 Things You Forgot Your Mac Can Do
Posted by Gina Trapani at 8:05 AM on May 15, 2008
Macs may be more expensive, and Mac users more elitist (ahem), but blind Apple loyalty aside, there are a number of neat features bundled into your Mac that make it super useful and fun. We've covered dozens of Mac tips over the years in these pages, but today we're highlighting 10 lesser-known Mac tricks that come baked into Leopard. From pure eye candy to outright productivity-boosters, read on to get reminded of some of the more obscure things you can do with your Mac, fresh out of the box.
10. Say anything.
Turn on your speakers, launch Terminal and type:say hello world
Yes, your Mac speaks. If you've got a text file you want your Mac to read to you, try: say -f mytextfile.txt
9. Show off Stacks and Expose in slow motion.
Pretend you're Steve Jobs showing off Leopard's incredible graphics capability on the big stage with a press of the Shift key. Hold down Shift and click on one of your Dock's Stacks, or hit F12 to invoke Dashboard—and watch the action happen in slow motion.8. Activate screen corners.
Assign actions to each corner of your desktop by activating screen corners. In System Preferences, Expose & Spaces, set actions for each corner of your desktop. Then, perform those actions with a swipe of the mouse. (original post)
7. Display custom hard drive icons.
ID your digital camera card, USB drive, and external FireWire drive at a glance in Finder. Assign custom icons to each one of your drives to pretty up your desktop and make them easy to see.
6. Look up words in the dictionary with a keystroke.
Highlight any word in a native Cocoa app and press Apple+Ctrl+D to look it up in the built-in OS X dictionary and thesaurus.
5. Launch applications from Spotlight.
If Quicksilver ain't your cup of tea—or you just use it to start applications—Spotlight can do that for you without running another application. Simply set Spotlight to include Applications in its search results, invoke it with the (default) keyboard shortcut, Cmd+Space, type your app name and hit Enter to launch it.4. Tab between all controls.
By default your Mac's Tab key doesn't move between controls on a page or form other than text boxes and lists. Click the "All Controls" radio button at the bottom of the Keyboard & Mouse pane in System Preferences to right this wrong.3. Zoom WAY in on a page.
Examine small text up close or just zoom in on a huge image by using the two-finger trackpad trick. Hold down the Control key, then drag TWO fingers up your Mac's trackpad to give it a try. Here's how to set up two-finger zoom. For more "holy crap look at that" tomfoolery, press Ctrl+Cmd+Opt+8. 2. Show the date on the menubar.
If you need more than just the current time in your Mac's menubar, you can add the date as well. Here's how to edit your date and time format to keep yourself from having to click the time whenever you want to see what day of the month it is. 1. Double as an external drive.
Want to move huge files onto one Mac from another? Using the Mac's "Target Disk Mode," a press of the T key during startup transforms your Mac into an external FireWire drive. Plug it into another Mac with a FireWire cable and copy files to and fro, no networking required.
For more Mac fun, don't miss our twenty useful Leopard downloads, and Leopard power tweaks.
What are your favourite Mac tricks? Shout 'em out in the comments.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Git Em SteveDave
Posted 3:01 AM 15/5/08
I hate to be a kill joy, but as a person stuck at 10.2.8 on a 350 G3, my hopes were raised, and then summarily destroyed when I realized that not all macs can do these special things. Perhaps Your "Leopard" Mac? I still love my baby though.
Git Em SteveDave
PenguinPhjil
Posted 2:58 AM 15/5/08
Apple Macs Rule OK
PenguinPhjil
ext212
Posted 2:51 AM 15/5/08
Such a useful feature! Thanks!
ext212
Donathius
Posted 3:28 AM 15/5/08
I get a ridiculous amount of use out of Target mode. I transfer large files between my MacBook Pro and my workhorse dual 1.8 Ghz G5 (500 GB hard drive in that thing) and target mode has been great. Not to mention doing user migration from an older machine to a newer one.
Donathius
MonkeyT
Posted 3:18 AM 15/5/08
My favorite? Turn on "Speakable Items" in the speech preferences and say "Tell me a joke!"
MonkeyT
quasimoto
Posted 3:14 AM 15/5/08
oOoh i like number 9 :p
quasimoto
Nishi
Posted 3:14 AM 15/5/08
Awesome post, I have had my Mac for about a little over two weeks and love it.
Nishi
post_break
Posted 3:13 AM 15/5/08
Don't forget that if you have an intel mac (not sure about the mac pro) the audio port does optical! This is how you get surround sound on any mac. Easily overlooked feature that pays off big time in the end if you want that mac mini media center. Even my early 2006 piece of garbage core duo macbook can fill my house with surround sound goodness without a hiccup.
post_break
chasema
Posted 3:11 AM 15/5/08
I use number 8 way too much. Actually, whenever I use a friend's computer now, whenever I move to the bottom left corner I expect Expose to work it's magic and show all the windows. I've been ruined by the convenience of Mac. :P
chasema
Klopfer123
Posted 3:04 AM 15/5/08
I've been using a mac for nearly two years now, the shortcut to dictionary thing was something I only found out about last month, I felt like a little kid again, all boggle eyed and amazed.
Klopfer123
Gina Trapani
Posted 3:03 AM 15/5/08
@Git Em SteveDave: agh, sorry! I did say Leopard in the first paragraph, sorry I didn't make it more inclusive.
Gina Trapani
scumm_boy
Posted 3:50 AM 15/5/08
9. Show off Stacks and Expose in slow motion
My PowerMac G4 does this without special keystrokes!
scumm_boy
presterjohn
Posted 3:35 AM 15/5/08
My favorite Leopard feature today is Quick Look. Especially helpful when looking for a single image in a bunch of files. Instead of flipping through the images in Cover Flow mode or in Preview, you can create an impromptu contact sheet by just selecting a bunch of files, right-clicking on them, and then selecting Quick Look in the contextual menu.
Nice post!
presterjohn
xla76
Posted 4:34 AM 15/5/08
Windows users - If you want speech (No 10), save below as a .vbs file...
Set objVoice = CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice")
objVoice.Speak Inputbox("Enter text")
xla76
fadecomic
Posted 4:33 AM 15/5/08
If you're linking the "Top 10 Leopard Tweaks" article, should you add an update somewhere (in that article) to the effect that 10.5.2 cured about half of those natively?
fadecomic
amolkolhe
Posted 4:22 AM 15/5/08
Thanks for the Great tips.
I loved number 10. All others I already knew.
Its really cool to be able to make your make speak from the terminal. Besides I love terminal so this will come in handy. Also a great way to irritate your friends by speaking annoyying stuff.
amolkolhe
Git Em SteveDave
Posted 4:05 AM 15/5/08
@Gina Trapani: You did, but I'm a child of the 80's w/ADHD! I don't have time to read everything. I'm lucky I have the attention span to read the whole title. ;)
Git Em SteveDave
PenguinPhjil
Posted 4:57 AM 15/5/08
@scumm_boy: that's funny!
PenguinPhjil
skotmxpx
Posted 4:51 AM 15/5/08
LOL! The 'tell me a joke' thing is hilarious! Random fun around the office.
skotmxpx
Durbrow
Posted 4:38 AM 15/5/08
Just a possible warning on the show date option. At least in Tiger changing the format this way also changes the format in other Cocoa applications such as iCal. Perhaps this has changed in Leopard. I think people are better using a freeware or donationware menu apps that shows the date.
Durbrow
jollyllama
Posted 5:38 AM 15/5/08
Target disk mode is also useful in a pinch: Many macs that are sick and won't boot will enter into target mode, letting you recover files before you have to do a reformat. Between Target disk mode and Disk Warrior, I've never lost a file on a crashed Mac system in 12 years.
jollyllama
discounteggroll
Posted 5:24 AM 15/5/08
to all the students in middle/high school that don't want their teacher to see whats on their screen and/or make them think the computer is off:
set an active screen corner to sleep the display. I see it on a lot of the computers I service
discounteggroll
prth8machine
Posted 5:21 AM 15/5/08
For #6, you don't even have to highlight the word. Just place the cursor over and hit Cmd+Ctrl+D. Slightly quicker then having to highlight it.
prth8machine
rand0mCreep
Posted 6:20 AM 15/5/08
i was looking at the imacs, then i started doing research and some comparisons. the imac with everything i wanted was going to run me around $2800. not really a big deal until i checked what i could get on a pc. screw that over priced/over hyped mac. i went for the xps for $1500 (on sale last saturday) with twice the features. i don't really have a point, just that no one at work is interested in computers. i needed an outlet, thanks for letting me bore you like all the linux people usually do :P
rand0mCreep
Guard
Posted 5:48 AM 15/5/08
I was just shown the Ctrl + Alt + Apple + 8 trick to switch the screen to a negative view. I actually think it is a lot easier on my eyes to read google reader that way, (basically a dark theme) rather than the normal way, so I love it.
Guard
njudah
Posted 6:47 AM 15/5/08
This is a great start...when I got my new Macbook a month or so ago, I was kinda overwhelmed with all the new gizmos, gadgets and features...I don't think I ever even learned all that TIGER or PANTHER could do...there's all sorts of secret goodness here!
njudah
murph
Posted 6:45 AM 15/5/08
OMG!! I had no idea about the TAB thing...that was pissing me off to no end. Thanks once again LH!!
murph
Gina Trapani
Posted 6:45 AM 15/5/08
@DasLife: Click the reply button at the far right of the bar at the top of a comment to link to a person's past comment.
"Am I the only one that gets zero response in contacting Lifehacker? "
Heh, no. Sadly we don't have the humanpower to respond to every email we get--if you have a question about a post, best place is to put it in the comments. :)
Gina Trapani
DasLife
Posted 6:36 AM 15/5/08
1. How do you guys do that @with the person's name Highlighted. I do it and it comes up like this: @Guard.
2. And my other question is: Am I the only one that gets zero response in contacting Lifehacker?
DasLife
Gina Trapani
Posted 7:15 AM 15/5/08
@ww2db.com: Thanks! Ya know, when a site updates 20 times a day, aggregating items along a certain theme into a single convenience post is good for everyone.
Gina Trapani
ww2db.com
Posted 7:12 AM 15/5/08
This post is a classic example of the blogging strategy "regurgitate existing content into a new blog post". Good job!
ww2db.com
infmom
Posted 6:56 AM 15/5/08
Sigh. My much loved but geriatric Powerbook doesn't have enough oomph to run Leopard and I can't afford to replace it.
Any past similar posts re: Tiger?
infmom
Alicemagic
Posted 7:19 AM 15/5/08
@rand0mCreep: Hope you enjoy your 1500$ Dell. Since it seems pretty obvious that you want to jump on the bandwagon, may I suggest Kalyway?
Alicemagic
lakiolen
Posted 7:18 AM 15/5/08
I'd just like to point out that there is no more key, at least on the newer Macs. It's now just the ⌘ (command) key
lakiolen
egordin
Posted 8:09 AM 15/5/08
Didn't know about #6 in terms of the shortcut. Thanks!
egordin
cubensis
Posted 8:38 AM 15/5/08
Well....us PC users have these cool things called VIRUSES....take THAT Mac users.
On a serious note I will be getting my macbook Pro in 3 months, I am so excited I can't wait. Does anyone mod Macs so they have 2 buttons?
cubensis
chaos421
Posted 8:30 AM 15/5/08
pretty good list here. The thing I miss on other computers is the two-finger scroll on the track pad. Such a time saver, and is so second nature at this point.
chaos421
rand0mCreep
Posted 8:21 AM 15/5/08
>googles kalyway<
rand0mCreep
Twinnie
Posted 9:00 AM 15/5/08
I like the custom hard drive icons thing. Is there any way of doing that in Vista? Custom iPod and network hard drive icons would be useful.
Twinnie
wintersweet
Posted 8:57 AM 15/5/08
The tab thing MADE MY DAY. Much love! (I've been griping about that for years.)
wintersweet
kidian
Posted 9:27 AM 15/5/08
@Guard: if I remember correctly this is a powersaving feature when you are away from a powersource (ctrl+alt+cmd+8).
Here are some things I often do with my osx:
-change application icons: go to the application file xxxx.app, right click and show inside the package, the icon is inside Contents/Resources and has a *.icns extension
-hold CMD to move around icons in the menubar (though I can't remember if this due to some app I installed after OSX)
-play with the sudden motion sensor of my macbook pro (for instance with this [futurefeeder.com] )
By the way does anybody know how to make two app windows perfectly sit side by side either horizontally or vertically on the screen without having to do this manually ?
kidian
DasLife
Posted 9:22 AM 15/5/08
@Gina Trapani: Thank you for the tip... the light bulb just never went off here, due to my permanent recto-cranial inversion.
I understand regarding the manpower.
DasLife
Aceboogie
Posted 10:49 AM 15/5/08
Hey guys help! I have had some problems with Macs being able to view my website properly. I am an html guy and I think i fixed the problem.
Can you click on the link below and let me know if it displays well?
[www.clubpath.com]
Its an entertainment site that lists events, clubs, bars, pictures and videos from around the Toronto area. Some have mentioned that many of the words overlap, are you getting that now?
Aceboogie
humperdinck
Posted 11:22 AM 15/5/08
I just discovered that after you select a "found" item in the Spotlight menu, COMMAND-ENTER will open the containing folder, rather than opening/launching the item.
humperdinck
vonsplat
Posted 11:18 AM 15/5/08
Congrats to rand0mCreep on both the kewl computer purchase and the obligatory troll post! If anyone wants to see what an iMac *really* costs, ignore the troll post and check prices online.
iMacs are the best deal going; I would recommend one to just about any computer user, home or business.
vonsplat
Torley
Posted 12:25 PM 15/5/08
I've yet to do the zoom trick; my wife and I enjoy looking through funny pictures together and it'd help to increase visibility. Fun list!
What's also fun is the Apple Quick Tip of the Week:
» [www.apple.com]
Torley
crazylady
Posted 1:10 PM 15/5/08
@Git Em SteveDave, @Gina Trapani et al: It might be better for the article to be edited to make it obvious that most of these are not Leopard specific - only #9 for Spaces (Exposé is still in Tiger), etc. Most of these things should work on Tiger just fine. And the 10.2/3 users in the crowd can use all the non-Spotlight ones..and so on. It's inaccurate to say this is Leopard only. I use all of these features in Tiger, and I remember using a lot of them with previous OS X versions (like the date, changing hard drive icons).
@cubensis: The thing is you don't WANT to mod your Mac. There is almost little need for a secondary button. On a laptop it makes even less sense because you can tap instead. Maybe it's a bit of personal preference/bias, but honestly.
crazylady
Myles
Posted 1:52 PM 15/5/08
11. Looking pretty.
Myles
martinpolley
Posted 3:37 PM 15/5/08
You forgot the most important one:
Making non-Mac users hella jealous.
martinpolley
jordan314
Posted 4:18 PM 15/5/08
The Launch applications from Spotlight is a BIG win. I use quicksilver all the time but this is essentially the same functionality, and is great for using public computers. Thanks!
jordan314
madark
Posted 4:30 PM 15/5/08
@cubensis:
I've been on the Mac side for about 8 months now. Before I changed to Mac I was sort of an MS fanboy so I really criticized the "missing" button. Any way I searched the whole web to find a way to solve my problem until I found the Mighty Mouse, which can be configured to be a one or two button mouse. So I went to an Apple Store and bought a shinny new MacBook, the mouse was out of stock, but I was so happy with my MacBook I really didn't care. Time passed and I got used to use the ctrl+click, which you don't use it in OSX as much as in Windows. I've even found myself trying to ctrl+click using my friends' PC's. :P
The thing is, don't be son close minded (I was), and give the ctrl+click a try. You're changing the whole OS, so changing the way you "right-click" shouldn't be such a problem.
madark
Indiana Derek
Posted 10:09 PM 15/5/08
Actually, the zoom in trick (#3) also works without a trackpad. Just hold down CTRL and use the marble wheel on your Mighty Mouse to zoom in... Works great for someone reading an email over your shoulder :-P
Indiana Derek
gsvvmail
Posted 11:18 PM 15/5/08
Its interesting...
-----------------------
Forget not ...your belonging when you are traveling...
[divine-thought.blogspot.com]
gsvvmail
roolish
Posted 11:04 PM 15/5/08
@cubensis: In the trackpad settings you can activate right-click with mouse button when two fingers are on the trackpad. Much better than having a second button imho.
Why doesn't the tab through all controls work for me? E.g. in safari if it asks do you want to save this password, a context menu comes up. Pressing tab moves the blue 'halo' around the radio buttons, but still enter just does the default action, i.e., whichever button is solid blue...
roolish