A feature that isn’t there anymore in Leopard: ability to see every mapped network drives and physical drives within Finder.
You can drag the icon of the opened folder into Finder to make its access permanent.
When you’ve several applications open and you want drag a file to a window, for example putting a JPEG into a Pages layout, and the application’s windows are not in view, Leopard has a solution.
Dragging the file to application’s icon in the dock would try to make the application open the file, but if you hold the space bar down while you drag to the icon, it pops the application’s window to the front and now you can drop that file right into place.
There is another way of doing this, and one that can be used in Tiger, and that is to drag the file and then use a ’show all application windows’ exposé shortcut (drag corner or key press) and then drag onto the window and hold there.
But now it’s much easier. Of course.
Last week, I spoke about using Time Machine’s “Exclusion” functionality to make sure unwanted files were deleted/ignored during backups. But what do you do if you come across a file that’s already been backed up and you want it gone forever?
Luckily, Time Machine has anticipated this need–though it might not seem obvious right away. Let’s say you come across a file on your drive, and you want it gone completely, backups and all. Here’s how:
First of all, open the folder/directory where the file is located. Trash the current “version” of the file as you normally would. Next, while you’re still in the window, click on the Time Machine icon in your dock to enter Time Machine “mode.”
Click back once to the previous backup version of that window, and you’ll see the file you just deleted. Click once on the file to highlight it, then go up to the actions (”gear”) pull down menu, and select “delete all backups.” Voila! That annoying file wont bother you again.
Obviously, you’ll want to use this function with care, since there’s no turning back once you’ve deleted something in this manner. That being said, it’s a great little feature that might not be obvious when first using Time Machine.
I have the Dock magnification turned off mostly, unless I am trying to impress (!)
But you can have it on to order. Just hold down control-shift and drag the mouse over the dock to see it now magnified. And if magnification was on, it is now off. It toggles the behaviour. Cool.
This tip is for people new to Time Machine and curious about internet files on their computers. Time Machine is a great new addition to the Mac OS X experience. However, while it’s nice to have your entire hard backed up, there are files you might NOT want sticking around on your computer taking up space, much less backed up–like any temporary Safari files.
The files that we all probably get rid of regularly are cache files, history files, and, more than likely, downloads that you’ll undoubtedly erase or move right after download (like large disk image files that you’ve already used). But with Time Machine running, how can we REALLY erase these files securely/forever?
Cache files - The good news is that, according to Apple and the Apple support forums, temporary cache files are ignored by Time Machine altogether. You can see this by opening your “cache” folder, going into Time Machine, and seeing all the empty, black windows behind the current one.
History - In case you didn’t already know it, you can exclude certain items from being backed up by Time Machine. In other words, you’re telling it to “ignore” something when it backs up. While it’s usually a good idea to back up everything, you might want your browser’s history file ignored. It’s as simple as entering Time Machine preferences, clicking “options,” and dragging the file/folder you want ignored into the list. I chose to ignore the files in this path: “user>library>safari>” You may want to choose other files, but that’s up to you.
Downloads - Obviously, there are many files you download from the internet that you want instantly eliminated from your HD, but unless you delete them before Time Machine’s next backup, you won’t get rid of them. To rectify this, just add your “downloads” folder (or wherever you save things to) to Time Machine’s exclusion list as above, and those pesky files won’t outstay their welcome.
Obviously, every user is different, so make sure to make your “exclusion” choices carefully. (I, for example, use my downloads folder as a temporary folder, but you may not). As a side note, take care when excluding System level directories, as doing so makes it harder to restore your system if your disk becomes damaged, etc.
Both PDF’s and images can be looked at a little closer in Leopard- here’s how. You may need to click in the Quicklook preview window after pressing the space bar to ensure the following work:
Images: “Option click” the file to zoom in and “shift-option click” to zoom out
PDF’s: Click command (apple) and the equals (=) key (don’t press the shift key on this occasion) to look closer, and command (apple) and the minus (-) key to zoom out.
So Stacks are cool, and they show you what’s in the folder, but only the last added item (for Downloads) or based on your sort preference for others.
So what about a cool icon, and also a nice stack of the contents? You got it! Whatever you have at the front should be dated a long way into the future to ensure it stays at the front. To do this you can use a utility like FileBuddy, A Better Finder Attributes or some such.
Or if you know how, use the ‘touch’ command in the terminal. Or if not, type “man touch” to find out how. Want some cool icons to have at the front? Well, start here with some great transparent folder icons provided by a Japanese blogger. They even come pre-dated a long way into the future. Enjoy!
Go to the view menu in the Finder and select View Path Bar to show exactly where your current folder lives. And there’s more: control or right-click on any item in this location list to perform functions on it. Never lose your way on your badly-organised work network again!
