Leopard Tricks Tips and Tools

I found this handy little trick on macosxhints.com. Most people use Exposé quite frequently, I know I do. I have one of my hot corners set to “show desktop” which I like to do if I want to make sure something has downloaded correctly. However, all of my windows get shoved off the screen and there’s that annoying black border. So when I found this terminal command, I was delighted.

Open terminal and type in:
defaults write com.apple.dock wvous-olddesktop -bool false

Then, restart the dock by typingkillall DockThis way, when you “show desktop” (default F11) all of your windows combine into a little window on your desktop.

written by conorjs1224 \\ tags: dock, expose, Leopard

Apple has released their largest software update to date: the highly anticipated version 10.5.2 of Leopard. The update addresses a sprawling variety of issues, including general operating system fixes, stability issues, compatibility adjustments and security enhancements. In other words, it is–as MacDailyNews puts it–the “mother of all Mac OS X updates.”
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written by rockmsockm \\ tags: 10.5.2, Leopard, Mac OS X, Software Update, Update

Check out http://www.blocksoft.net/docker.html and download “Docker.” It’s a great little app to change your leopard dock from 2D to 3D. The new version lets you add spaces between your docks, so you can have application groups. You can even change the color of the dock. Check it out.

written by conorjs1224 \\ tags: dock, Leopard

Moving around icons in the Dock is a breeze, because you can just drag them around and in and out of the Dock if necessary. The same can be done with the Menu Bar. You can remove and rearrange icons in the Menu Bar by holding down the Command key and clicking the icon you wish to remove or rearrange. Then, if you want to remove it, simply drag the icon off the Menu Bar. If you want to put it somewhere else on the Menu Bar, drag it around until its in your desired location, just like in the Dock.

(Note: I have Leopard 10.5.1, I have not tried this with any other build of Leopard or past OS’s)

* note from James - this also worked in Tiger, possibly Panther

written by PDA131 \\ tags: icons, Leopard, Menu Bar

Heres a cool little hidden Easter egg that works in Tiger and Leopard called “The Blob”.Go to your Applications folder>Utilities folder> open Terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.dock wvous-floater -bool YES
killall Dock
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written by ForEverAndEverAmen \\ tags: easter egg, Leopard, Tiger

With Spaces, Mac users can finally enjoy what Linux users have had for years: virtual desktops. However, Leopards implementation has a neat trick that I’ve yet to see in any Linux distro. You can now perform “window dragging” between the desktops without having to use the multi-pane view (ie. 4 screen view).
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written by mr_giggles \\ tags: Leopard, Spaces

By default, pressing the F4 and F5 keys will make a click sound for each keypress that moves volume down or up, respectively. But holding down the shift key while pressing F4 or F5 suppresses the click. (You can also turn it off permanently in System Preferences, Sound, Sound Effects. By the way, you can also open Sound Preferences panel directly with Option-F5.)

written by insane-dreamer \\ tags: Leopard, volume

Hold the option key while selection an application in the dock, and all other windows will be hidden automatically (though I found that it doesn’t hide Finder windows all the time).

written by insane-dreamer \\ tags: dock, Leopard