Just Another Mac Tip

Crazy Audacity

2009-05-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is only if you are using audacity. I found the following very annoying since I switched. When I save a file, I start typing a name to save as, and the track starts playing in the background, stops or disappears while I'm typing. Why?

This is because hotkeys are still active while saving files. For example, pressing 'R' starts recording, so if you're typing a name with a R inside, it'll start recording.

Go to Audacity>Preferences then the 'Keyboard' Tab, and clear or modify all hotkeys that are only one letter ('S', 'R', etc).

Restore from trash

2009-05-12T03:13:00.000-07:00

Problem: You sent files into the trash, and now you want to restore them to the place where they used to be.

Solution: It is impossible to restore files automatically to their original place (if there is, please tell me!). You can copy the file from the trash, and paste it in any place, but it won't find its original place automatically. Bummer.

Different sounds for each contact in Adium

2009-05-12T03:09:00.000-07:00

If you chat in Mac OS, you should try Adium. Now the question is, how to set a specific notification (e.g. a specific sound) for one of your contacts only?

Right-click (don't have a right button? not my problem :-p) on the contact, chose 'get info' then go the third tab. There you can set notifications for when this contact signs in, signs off, sends you messages, etc.

Great, isn't it?

Wheel zoom in applications

2009-05-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Problem: You would like to zoom-in or out in an application, for example Firefox or Word, using the mouse wheel. ctrl+mousewheel doesnt do that as it does in Windows

Solution: by default, ctrl+mousewheel zooms the whole OS desktop, which is a bit different. To zoom in an application, just use ctrl+cmd+mousewheel :-)

Softwares

2009-05-07T03:17:00.000-07:00

Problem: You had some applications you loved in Windows/Linux. How can I replace them?

Solution: Here are a few links to find applications:

-Alternative to: very interesting web 2.0 site. Based on users' contributions, it proposes alternative to any software you ask for, that you can filter by Platform. Have a go!

-Framasoft/Mac OS X: here is a list of Open Source softwares for Mac OS X, sorted by category. Ok it's in French.

-Mohawke's best of the best free and open-source software collection/Mac: very good selection, sorted by category

-Apple downloads: many third-party software that you can download there. It is possible to sort them by license.

'Enter' key too small

2009-05-06T08:42:00.001-07:00

Problem: The Enter key, and the arrow keys too, are too small on the Macbook (white at least).

Solution: Get smaller fingers.

Delete/Suppr key

2009-05-06T02:37:00.001-07:00

Problem:There should be a key called 'Delete' that, depending on the context, deletes the selection (file, text...), or the character located after the cursor (backspace would delete the character before). On a Macbook, there isn't.

Solution:
fn+backspace deletes the character after the cursor
cmd+backspace send the selected files to trash

The problem is, on a macbook fn and backspace are opposite keys, and it's impossible to do it with one had :-(

Full screen Firefox

2009-05-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Problem: This is a tough one. You want to display firefox in full screen like when pressing F11 in windows. That means, removing:
-the menu bar
-the address bar
-the tabs
-the bookmark toolbar and any other toolbar

The problem is, the option doesnt exist in firefox.

Solution 1: There is a free full-screen browser called Plainview. However, as the name suggests, it is very restricted in features. This is not an alternative to Firefox.

Solution 2:
It took me a while but I managed to have an almost-full-screen firefox as shown on this shot of my whole screen:

Thanks to different elements combined, which are:
-A Firefox extension called Full Screen
-A Firefox extension called full fullscreen, that removes the address bar and toolbars when applying the first add-on
-A hack that sets the behaviour of the menu bar to hide when Firefox is the active window. The bar just reappears when the cursor is held on the top of the screen.

For this hack:
-Open the application folder where firefox.app is.
-Right-click on firefox.app
-Select "show package contents"
-Open the the "contents" folder
-Edit the file info.plist with TextEdit for example
-Just below <dict> on line 6, insert the following two lines:

<key>LSUIPresentationMode</key>
<integer>4</integer>

Now, just right click on a page and click "toggle full screen". That's it :-)

Source (for the hack): http://www.macworld.com/article/55321/2007/02/hidemenubar.html

Copy, Paste, but no Cut

2009-05-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Problem: In the finder, you would like to cut files and paste them in another location, but there is no 'cut' entry in the context menu of files.

Solution: There is no possibility of cutting files to the clipboard in Finder. Instead, you should drag-and-drop, using the Command key if necessary.

To know more:
Why is it not possible to cut files? There might be several rerasons:
-It's destructive and dangerous (Indeed in windows if you cut then paste files, then cancel the pasting operation with ctrl-z, the file generally disappears for ever).
-The drag-and-drop support is so good that there is no need for cut-paste :-)
Fair enough.

é è à ú extended latin characters

2009-05-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

Problem: Let's say you're French (or Spanish) and using a British Mac keyboard. How to type accented characters such as é, è, à, ú ?

Solution:
The idea is to press a key combination (using alt-) for the accent, followed (after releasing the first key combo) by the key of the letter.

Acute accent: alt+e then the letter

Grave accent: alt+` then the letter

Circumflex accent: alt+i then the letter

Example: to type 'é', type alt+e,. then e. It's that easy :-)

More details here:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=5258595#post5258595

# Hash Key?

2009-05-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

Problem: If you buy a Macbook in UK, you'll look for the # key in vain. It's just not there. But it's essential when coding!

Solution: Alt+3 will print the Hash character.
If this doesnt work, it might be that Alt+3 is assigned to something else, for example switch to space number 3. Check the Space preferences.

To know more: You can vizualize the position of all special characters. Go to Preference/International/Input Menu
Check 'Keyboard Viewer' in the list, and 'Show input menu' at the bottom.

There should be a flag on the right of the menu bar (top of the screen). Click on it and select the keyboard viewer. Try pressing shift, option, etc, and see what you can get :-)

Theme / window style

2009-05-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Problem: You want to change the colour of the windows, from this lame grey, like you do in Linux or Windows. You don't find the settings in Mac OS X.

Solution: It is not natively possible in Mac OS. Hey, you don't get many colours of MacBook either. I guess that's Apple's strategy.
However, it is possible to change the style of the desktop under Mac OS Leopard with this free software called Magnifique:
http://magnifique.pcwizcomputer.com/

Once installed, you can browse through user-made styles and try them. Very nice!

Tip: If the theme doesn's seem to apply to the menu bar, you will need to disable the bar transparency for it to apply. Go to the:
-System Preferences
-'Desktop & Screensaver' section
-'Desktop' tab
-There is an option called 'Translucent Menu Bar'

Previous or Next Page, Home, End

2009-05-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Problem: On the Macbook there is no 'end' key to reach the end of a paragraph in one touch. Home, next page, and previous page are also missing.

Solution:

Home -> Cmd+Up Arrow

End -> Cmd+Down Arrow

Cmd+Right Arrow brings you at the end of the line

Cmd+Left Arrow brings you at the beginning of the line

Screenshot?

2009-05-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

Problem: You want to make a screenshot, but there is no "Print Screen" button on the keyboard.

Solution: Command-Control-Shift-3 has the same effect as the windows key 'Print screen'.

To know more: Ok that's four buttons, but now look all the other possibilities:

Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard

source: guides.macrumors.com