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To rename, just select a file and press Return.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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Tips and tricks for Mac OS X, Part 3


Jan. 5, 2005


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard

   Finding little tricks and tips for Mac OS X computers is fun. Here are more discoveries in my occasional series on the secrets of OS X. You'll find previous articles in this series in the Macintosh OS X section of the Technofile Web site.
   Clip bored: Tired of the normal way your Mac works when you copy and paste text? Just select and drag instead. Select some text with your mouse, then click and hold on the selected area, without deselecting the text. (This might take practice.) Then, while you hold the button down, drag the text out of the window and onto your desktop (or onto any other window). Double click on the clipping file to view it.
   You can save the text clipping (it's just a file) anywhere you want. I store hundreds of them in a desktop folder I call "Stuff." To copy the contents of a text clipping file, open it and press Cmd-C.
   Mail call: If you're called away while writing an e-mail message in Apple's superb e-mail software, just exit the mail program. You don't need to take any special steps to save what you're writing, because Mail does that for you. (I like to exit programs by pressing Cmd-Q. It's fast and easy.)
   The next time you run Mail, you'll find that letter waiting. You can then finish it and send it off.
   Tab hunter: Don't bother looking for the right Safari Web browser window when you have a dozen of them strewn around your desktop. Use tabs instead. Open the Safari preferences and click the "Tabs" button, then make sure all three categories are checked.
   To open a Web page in a tab instead of a new browser window, use either Cmd-Click or Cmd-Shift-Click. Why two methods? Cmd-Click opens the page in a tab and makes that tabbed window the foreground page. That might be OK sometimes, but I use Cmd-Shift-Click most of the time. It opens the page in a tabbed window without removing the window I'm using from my field of view.
   Slumber time: Forget everything else you learned about putting your OS X Mac to sleep. Just press Cmd-Option-Eject. (You need an Eject key, of course, but most new Macs have one. It's at the upper right.) It's the fastest way to make your Mac drowsy.
   Picture this: Want to save a photo you see on a Web page or in an e-mail message? Click on it and hold your button down for a half second or so, then drag it off onto your desktop or into a folder on your desktop. That's MUCH faster than any other method.
   Squirm no more: If you have folder icons at the right end of the doc (just drag them there to create them), you've no doubt noticed that they try to squirm our of your way when you try to drag items into them. To stop that misbehavior, hold down Cmd while dragging the item.
   Instant alias: Create an alias to any object by holding down Option and Shift while dragging and dropping it. You can drop it in the same location or anyplace else. Aliases represent the object in almost every way, but can be deleted or renamed safely, without affecting the original.
   Rename that tune: Many OS X users are still struggling with the hold-your-mouse-button method of renaming. Just select a file and press Return. Type the new name and press Return again.
   I'll have more tips in a few weeks.