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Search Google
Did you know OS X has an integrated global Google search feature? Just select some text and hit ⌘+⇧+L to jump to the Google search results in Safari.
Summarize Text
Select a paragraph of text and click on “Summarize” under the services menu. You’re presented with the option to summarize sentences or paragraphs with a simple slider that reduces the length of the selected text by trimming unnecessary bits.
Download Videos
Downloading from YouTube This one is a gem. Ever wanted to download a YouTube video to watch later? No need to purchase third party applications or plugins, this feature comes built right into Safari. Start the video in Safari and hit ⌘+Opt-a to bring up the activity window. Then simply find the largest file (usually multiple MB) and double click it. It’s as easy as that! This trick usually results in an .flv video file. If you want an .mp4, try appending your YouTube url with &fmt=18 or &fmt=22 to get an HD mp4.
FTP with Finder
You don’t need a fancy shcmancy FTP application like Transmit or even a free app like Cyber Duck to access an FTP server. You just need to know one little Finder shortcut: ⌘+K (Menu: Go>Connect to Server) This will give you a window to type in the address of the server you want to access. Just precede the address with ftp:// and you’re good to go.
Second Clipboard
Kill Yank Ok, you might have known about the screenshot shortcuts and the dictionary shortcut and are currently patting yourself on the back for being such an OS X whiz-kid. But did you know that you have access to an alternate clipboard? As far as we can tell, these super secret shortcuts are a carry-over from Linux. Wherever they’re from, they are extremely handy!
Kill: Ctrl-K
Yank: Ctrl-Y
With text selected, Ctrl-K works as a secondary “cut” command by removing the highlighted text without replacing what is currently residing in your clipboard (cool!).
To bring the text back, hit Ctrl-Y. “Kill” has a special use beyond that of the “cut” command. If you place your cursor at a given point in a paragraph and hit Ctrl-K, all of the text from that point forward will be cut. This is a great way to quickly grab and move an entire paragraph of text. Ctrl-K only seems to work on editable text (like in TextEdit and Mail). For instance, you can’t “kill” text on a web page.
Widgets On Your Desktop
Once upon a time there was an application called Konfabulator. This little marvel introduced widgets to the OS X community.
It had a variety of features including the ability to view widgets right on your desktop without entering any sort of dashboard.
Fast forward a few years and we all have Dashboard pre-installed and therefore have no need for some obscure third party widget engine. Konfabulator is now Yahoo widgets and only resides on the most diehard of old school widget fan’s Macs.
However, with this change has come the loss of the ability to put widgets where you can actually see them: on your desktop. Enter “devmode.”
Try this: Type
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
into terminal (type NO to reverse the command).
Now either relaunch your dock (killall Dock in Terminal) or log out and back in.
You now have the amazing ability to drag widgets onto your desktop.
Just start to drag a widget around within Dashboard and hit F4 (or whatever your dedicated Dashboard shortcut is) and you can release the widget right onto your desktop! Amazing right? Not so fast. Another great feature that the Konfabulator guys thought of was the ability to keep widgets behind all other applications so they would indeed seem to be a part of your desktop. However, devmode keeps your widgets as the frontmost application. This means that they are permanently in the way and really more of an annoyance than a handy feature.
OCD Friendly Volume Controls
If you’ve ever turned up your volume by a single click and thought “Hmm that was just a bit too much…”, you’re probably a crazy control freak. Fortunately for you though, the OS X programmers are also a little fanatical about their volume. Here’s a quick rundown of the hidden volume shortcuts:
- Adjust Volume in Smaller Increments: Shift+Option+Volume Keys
- Volume Adjustment Without the Clicking Sound: Shift+Volume Keys
- Open Sound Preferences: Option+Volume Controls
Quick Math
Though few remember the feature exists, it was at least widely published by Apple when it was first implemented. However, there is similar functionality for basic mathematical calculations that will surprise even the most knowledgeable of self-proclaimed OS X gurus. First type the numbers you would like to perform the operation on, say 867*765. Now select the text and hit ⌘+Shift+8. Voila, the answer magically appears! C’mon admit it, you definitely didn’t know about that one.
Quick Define
Some writers possess such an august vocabulary that one can’t help but label their words as the esoteric drivel of a haughty sesquipedalian. In these circumstances, mourn not at your own lack of education and command of the English language. Instead, simply highlight the word in question and hit ⌘+Ctrl+D. This will give you instant and discreet access to discover what in the world someone is trying to say. You might want to try it out on the above.
Snippets
To move text, select it and drag it to a new line. Drag it to your desktop to get a snippet that can be saved and inserted anywhere later. Double click to open it or just drag it into the text field where you want it to go. Sure you could just copy and paste, but that’s sooo PC isn’t it?
Animation Slow-Mo
Slow that animation down! Hold shift while minimizing a window (works with most default OS X animations including those for spaces, dashboard and stacks). Nearly useless, but good for a solid 6 seconds of repeatable entertainment.
Screenshots
Screenshot
Everyone knows that OS X has built-in screenshot functionality, but few are aware of how deep the functionality actually runs. Here’s a rundown of all the shortcuts: ⌘+Shift+3 (Full Screen) ⌘+Shift+Ctrl+3 (Full Screen to Clipboard) ⌘+Shift+4 (Selection)
- Hold option to grow selection from center
- Hold shift to lock in the vertical or horizontal position
- Hold space to move the selection while locking the aspect ratio
- Hold shift + space to lock in horizontal or vertical while moving the locked selection
- Hit “esc” or ⌘+Period to cancel
- Hit space to grab a window
- Hit space to grab a window
- Hold option to grow selection from center
- Hold shift to lock in the vertical or horizontal position
- Hold space to move the selection while locking the aspect ratio
- Hold shift + space to lock in horizontal or vertical while moving the locked selection
- Hit “esc” or ⌘+Period to cancel
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type png killall SystemUIServer
The default is png, but you can replace this with jpg, pdf, tiff, etc. To change the default location of the screenshot file, type the following into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/OSX/Documents/Screenshots killall SystemUIServer
Just replace the path with your own desired destination.
Finder Tips
The Panel Itself
In its most simple form, the Get Info panel has 5 panes, each with its own theme of information. It can have more, however, depending on the type of file you are looking at. We’ll go over the basic set of panels, one-by-one.The Top Of The Panel
At the very top in the name of the file or folder that you are inspecting. If you are looking at a file, you’ll see its size. If it’s a folder, the size of all the enclosed items is shown. Notice the icon on the left? This presents the opportunity to change it to something different. To change an icon, copy the new icon onto the clipboard, go to get info, select the old icon, and hit paste. If done correctly, the icon should be in place.Spotlight Comments
If you use Spotlight, you can tag each file or folder to make it turn up in your searches faster and more frequently. If you’re into tho latest move to minimalism, this can make Spotlight a more viable option.
Spotlight Comments
General
This is where most of the “meat” lies. Contents can vary greatly, depending on the type of file it is, or whether or not it is a folder. Next I’ll brief you on what you can expect when observing your files.Files
General Properties
Kind: Shows the type of the file that you are looking at, if the type is proprietary, it shows the application that it belongs to.
Size: The amount of space that is occupied on your hard drive by the file or folder. If you are looking at a folder, you are seeing the total space taken up by all the enclosed items.
Where: This shows the path to the file or folder
Created: The birth date. The exact date and time that the item was created.
Modified: The last time something was changed about the file or folder.
Label: You can choose to have the name highlighted by a color of your choice in the Finder. It’s worth noting that these can be customized in the finder preferences.
Volumes Only
Format: This item appears when the item you are inspecting is a volume (a hard drive, flash drive, a mounted network drive, CD’s DVD’s etc.)Capacity: Again, for volumes only. The amount of space that the drive has. Used: The amount of space that has been taken up on the volume. Available: The amount of space that has not been taken up by data. Open in 32-bit mode: This appears when observing an application that, by default, opens in 32-bit. Open using Rosseta: If the application is Universal, checking this box opens it in PowerPC mode with Rosseta. Locked: By clicking on this checkbox, your document can no longer be changed until the box is unchecked. Stationary Pad: With this checked, a copy of the file is opened, rather than the original file.
More Info
More Info
This panel is interesting. Depending on the filetype, it can be full of little tidbits, or bone dry. For example, a plain text file only shows the date and time it was last opened. For other file types, the data shown can be more in depth – such as for OmniOutliner documents.
They display far more detail; item count, unchecked count, item depth, and much more:
More Info, More Useful
Name & Extension
A simple panel. This one doesn’t show very much information, and has two purposes. You can change the name of your file, and toggle whether or not a file extension is shown. Simple, but sometimes the simplest are the most helpful.
More Info
Open With
This pane appears if you are looking at a file. With it, you can change which application opens the file by default. This is the application that is used when you double click the file in the Finder.Preview
Preview
If you are looking at a text file, a video file, or a PDF, you will see a preview of what the file holds. This is exactly what you see in Finder by default, when in icon mode. If you drag the preview icon, you can create a duplicate of it.
Sharing & Permissions
This pane adds a graphical interface for dealing with UNIX file permissions. In a nutshell, you can set if a certain user, or group of users can read a file and write a file. You can also set the owner of the file, revert any changes to the permissions you have made, and, if it is a folder, apply your new permissions to all enclosed items.
Sharing & Permissions
Ideas
Still not convinced by the power of Get Info? Here are a few ways that we’ve found the panel to come in really handy:- You don’t always need a complex disc scanning tool. Have a hunch that a file or folder is taking up too much space? Get info.
- Need to send an image via email, but not sure if its too big? Get info.
- Want to use a document as a template and always open a copy of it? Get info.
- Want to boost the accuracy of Finder? You know it, Get info.
One Final Thing
With the column mode of finder, selecting a single file will reveal a new column with a brief sampling of what the info pane has to offer. On top of that, it can make you far more efficient by allowing you to navigate the file hierarchy with the arrow keys. Definitely give it a try!
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