Leopard Tricks Tips and Tools

as taken from Mactalk

I admit it, for the last fifteen years or so I’ve been almost exclusively Windows-centric. I’m sure there’s a Mac-specific term for this but I haven’t found it yet. So, I’ll use sysprep for now.

What do I mean? In Windows there’s a set of tools available that lets you build a reference computer with all the latest updates, pre-installed drivers and software and your own configurations. Then you strip out all the bits that make it a unique computer such as user profiles and their associated passwords, unique computer identifiers and so on. At the end of this you have a reference install of Windows that you can take an image of and deploy to other computers. The first time you boot on a new computer it goes through some basic setup stuff and away you go.

Because I run a computer business that sells (and services) Apple computers I’ve been looking for a way to achieve the same sort of thing. What follows in this article is the results of a some in-depth research and putting together bits and pieces from various sources.

My result is a disk image (.dmg) file that I can use to restore on any current version of Mac hardware (laptop and desktop – although untested on a Mac Pro) that will have a user environment I’ve already configured and with additional software that I’d like available. It hasn’t got any pre-existing users created but runs the standard Apple welcome/setup process when first booted up instead – that way you get to create a new user profile for the new owner of the computer.

So, the process…

written by James \\ tags: image mac, sysprep

I received an attachment via E-mail and wanted to print it straight away.

1. So, I saved the document.

2. Selected it in Finder (not opened it) in Space 2

3. Then used the “File > Print” in Finder

4. The document was opened and printed

5. My word processor closed automatically again

In the meanwhile I was working on a document in a different Space.

written by Hans@Tricks \\ tags: Finder, printing, word processor

from Klara:

Alt+Cmd+D hides the dock and pressing the same brings it back.

written by James \\ tags: dock, Finder, OS X

While clicking around in Exposé I noticed a couple useful features that might not be so obvious right away.  Once in Exposé you can navigate through your applications and windows in a variety of ways.

Lets explore!

Firstly, get into Exposé (for all windows).

Pressing the “tab” key will switch between Exposé windows for only the selected applications.  If you have the Dock showing notice the selected application highlighted as you switch between different ones.

You can also navigate between application windows within Exposé by clicking on the application icon in the Dock.  Clicking unopened application icons will close Exposé.

With Exposé open you can also switch between windows by using the arrow keys as well as mousing over each item.  If you press the “spacebar” the selected item will come into focus while remaining in Exposé.  This option will give you a clearer preview of the selected window.  If by chance you selected the wrong window preview fret not.  You can still switch between selected application windows by with the arrow keys as well as mousing over the original orientation of the other windows.  This navigation method applies to Exposé for all windows as well.

Stay tuned for more great tips.

written by Justin Wah Kan \\ tags: expose, navigation, tips

I tested this in Leopard (10.5.8) but it should work with Snow Leopard (10.6.x). Please comment telling me if it does work in 10.6.x.

In Terminal, type the following

defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean YES;killall Dock;killall Terminal

Terminal will close, and your Dock will flash. Open a stack, and you now have a gradient when you mouse over an icon.

I know it’s old. Just thought I would post it here. Also, to reverse it, copy and paste the same code, but replace YES with NO.

written by colbyludwig

Ever get sick of the boring glass “3D” dock?

Try this simple trick to change it to 2D:

open “terminal” and type:

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES; killall Dock

written by James \\ tags: dock, Leopard, OS X, Snow Leopard, visual

The 10.6.2 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes for:

- an issue that might cause your system to logout unexpectedly
- a graphics distortion in Safari Top Sites
- Spotlight search results not showing Exchange contacts
- a problem that prevented authenticating as an administrative user
- issues when using NTFS and WebDAV file servers
- the reliability of menu extras
- an issue with the 4-finger swipe gesture
- an issue that causes Mail to quit unexpectedly when setting up an Exchange server
- Address Book becoming unresponsive when editing
- a problem adding images to contacts in Address Book
- an issue that prevented opening files downloaded from the Internet
- Safari plug-in reliability
- general reliability improvements for iWork, iLife, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, MobileMe, and iDisk
- an issue that caused data to be deleted when using a guest account

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: About the Mac OS X v10.6.2 Update.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: Apple security updates.

Combo Update: http://support.apple.com/downloads/D…ombo10.6.2.dmg

Update: http://support.apple.com/downloads/D…XUpd10.6.2.dmg

written by James \\ tags: 10.6.2, OS X, Snow Leopard, Update

…it’ll show you some more information. Here’s what happens if you option-click on the Sync item. Try it for Airport, Sound and others.

Option click Sync

written by WhizzKid