When navigating in the finder and when I come into a folder with a lot of items press the 1st letter of the name of the file/folder I need, now I found out when using stacks when you click the stack icon and then pressing the 1st letter of the item I need, it goes to that item (or another one if that one is before it in alphabetic order)
There is an Oxford English Dictionary in Mac OS. To use the dictionary we had to go to dashboard or launch the Dictionary application from the applications. (Or there is a shortcut in previous macs control+Command+d). But now in Leopard you can simply type the word you want to know in spotlight and there it is with the meaning! Just hover over the item and you will see the meaning or just click on it and it will launch the dictionary.
On most laptops with leopard, you can have the right click option with just 2 fingers instead of having to press ctrl – clickfirst you go to : system preferences, in keyboard and mouse, under trackpad there is a checkbox that says:
and PRESTO!!, you have faster right-clicks on most laptops. There is also a lot of other options on that page that you can mess around with
*note from James, this has been possible in previous versions of OS X but is still a nice trick
Remember the good old days–basically 4 months ago–when you could search for a specific preference file in spotlight? Since Leopard’s release, some users have been noticing that this rather simple functionality has strangely disappeared in Leopard. But has it really?
Try a little experiment: Open the “preferences” folder in your “user/library/” directory. Pick out a preference file–let’s try “com.apple.iChatAgent.plist.” Now, close the preferences window, and go up to the spotlight icon in the upper right hand corner of your desktop. Try searching for “ichatagent.” Oddly, the preference file in question will not show up.
So how can you find a specific preference file if this is true? Well, the good news is that it can be accomplished in a couple of different ways (one of which involves tailoring search criteria using the optional pull-downs), but here’s a quick and dirty solution:
Let’s stay with the “ichatagent” example: First, you’ll need to drill down to the “library” folder in your user directory. Now enter “ichatagent” in the search field in the upper right hand area of the window. You’ll notice that the window goes blank with no results. Fear not: simply select “Search: Library” instead of “this Mac” in the thin gray bar above the search results field.
Voila! There’s “com.apple.iChatAgent.plist,” right where it should be.
So, the next time you need to find a specific preference file, remember you’ll have to actually be in your “library” folder (or the “Preferences” folder itself) to find it. A little odd, but at least you know you can still find those files!
Note: As mentioned above, there is another viable method that can be used to find your pref files which involves using the search criteria pull-downs and then (optionally) saving the search for later use. Although I prefer the method here, it’s always matter of personal taste!
Here’s some thoughts that Ken E-Mailed in today, thanks Ken
1. New in Leopard, I sometimes will insert a CD under iTunes, get the invitation to import its contents, respond yes, and then both iTunes and the Finder pretend the CD isn’t mounted.
Solution: go into Disk Utility, find the CD and hit the eject button. Usually on the second try it works.
2. Under System Prefs, we’ve lost the ability to drag frequently-used pref windows to the top of the prefs header area. No work-around here. Ideas?
Merry Xmas,Ken
Xspinner is a utility for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that allows users to access hidden features and preferences in the system and applications and provides easy launch of system maintenance scripts.
With Xspinner it is possible to:
- change appearance and behavior of the Dock
- modify the display of the menu bar
- tweak the appearance of Finder
- enable access to hidden features in Dashboard and Safari
- customize the default Save and Print dialogs in all applications
- run system maintenance scripts and more.
When you need to save a file with a name that is close to a name you already have in that folder, just click on one of the grayed-out file names in the folder and that name will appear in the Save as… box. So now you need only a minor adjustment to complete the new name. Works in any program AFAIK.
This isn’t really a “tip” or “trick,” but since it applies to numerous entries posted here, it is of valuable note: Macenstein and Macdailynews.com are reporting a rumor that will hopefully put to rest all of the complaints about Stacks since Leopard’s release.
According to those sources, the soon to be released major update of Leopard (10.5.2) will bring back hierarchical browsing to the Dock. The hierarchical view (referred to as “list” view) will be added to the view options of “fan,” “grid” and “automatic.”
In addition, there will apparently be a preference added to Stacks that will allow users to display them as simple folders instead of the rather unappealing “stack of icons” default view currently available.
Please note that these may only be rumors at the moment, so you would do well to hold off on celebrations. For more information–and screenshots–visit MacDailyNews.com.
