Add custom keyboard shortcuts in Terminal
In Terminal, under the Keyboard tab of a theme, you can add custom keyboard shortcuts. However, if you try to add a custom shortcut that types a modifier key, you will have some difficulty. This is because the entry form seemingly makes it impossible to enter a modifier key or the escaped octal number for it. The way around this is to type a backslash \, which will enter \\. Then arrow key left and type a forward delete. This will delete one of the backslashes, allowing you use the remaining one as an escape. You can, for example, use \033 to emulate the Option key. Another option is to look up the octal value for the key you want in the table at this Wikipedia article, and type the corresponding control sequence. For example, option is ^[, or Control-[. It also turns out that this is the same as escape, so you can just press the esc key if you w ...
published on Monday, the 19. July 2010, macosxhints
How to cut and paste files, merge folders
There is finally a way to cut and paste files and merge folders in Snow Leopard. A new (shareware) Mac menu bar application, called moveAddict, provides this function, so you can use Cmd+X and Cmd+V in the Finder. First of all, install moveAddict from Kapeli just like any other application. Follow the on-screen instructions and it will place a menu in the upper right System Menus area of the menu bar. You can set the application's preferences from this menu. The application will function in a limited mode until registered. To move a file: Select the file you want to move (in a new Finder window or the desktop) Press Cmd+X Navigate to the folder where you want to move the file to Press Cmd+V If you do not want to use keyboard shortcuts, you can click the menu icon to cut and paste. To merge folders, repeat the steps above, moveAddic ...
published on Tuesday, the 29. June 2010, macosxhints
Use Google secure search with LaunchBar
It is a quick and easy process to change LaunchBar's Google search template to use secure search. Open LaunchBar's index, and select 'Search Templates (UTF-8)' on the right side. Edit the 'Google' item to include 'https' in place of 'http', save, and you're done. I suspect this is equally easy for QuickSilver and other keyboard-shortcut utilities. [crarko adds: I haven't tested this one. We had a similar hint that covered using Gmail securely by this simple change.]
published on Wednesday, the 23. June 2010, macosxhints
MobileMe Mail updated, Find My iPhone becomes an iOS app
As rumored yesterday evening, Apple used a two-hour scheduled maintenance shutdown of MobileMe to update the Mail web app. The beta iPad-inspired user interface revealed last month has replaced the previous version of MobileMe Mail. The new features include options for three-panel widescreen or a compact view, on-server processing rules, archiving, rich text formatting, and improved SSL security. New features added since the beta include support for replying from multiple e-mail addresses for mail forwarded to your MobileMe account and improved junk mail filtering. Apple also says the new Mail has faster performance—in the time we've been using the beta, we would have to agree that it's definitely snappier. Complementing the new version of Mail, all apps have a slightly re-designed toolbar that matches the style introduced with the Mail beta. Additionally, Apple has added a new Mac OS X-style switcher for the various MobileMe apps. Clicking the MobileMe cloud icon on the far left of the toolbar—or using the the keyboard shortcut Shift-Esc—brings up a panel of large icons for Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Gallery, iDisk, and Find My iPhone. Following the recent release of iTunes Connect Mobile and Apple Store apps, Apple has also made Find My iPhone. Find My iPhone is a bit of a misnomer, however, since the universal iOS app can find both iPhones and iPads registered to your MobileMe account. The app will run on any iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, and allow you to log in to your account to track a missing device, display a message on its screen, set the passcode lock, or wipe all its data. Read the comments on this post
published on Friday, the 18. June 2010, ars-technica
10.6: A System Preferences shortcut hint
This hint documents the discovery of some option-special feature keys to launch particular System Preference panes. I accidently discovered these immensely useful global shortcuts on a MacBook Pro running 10.6. It's somewhat related to this hint, and has been documented off-site here and here, as well, but I haven't been able to find it on MacOSXHints. As long as you haven't checked 'Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys' in the Keyboard preference pane, hitting option-special function key will get you a logically related System Preferences pane. (If you have checked it, you need to hold down fn as well). ...
published on Monday, the 7. June 2010, macosxhints
Briefly: Apple posts MobileMe Beta FAQs, Remote app debug
Apple has posted a new FAQ page that can help anyone participating in the MobileMe Mail Beta program. The beta, which kicked off on May 12th, introduces an all new interface, enhanced performance, and several new usability features. The FAQs page covers topics such as support languages, supported browsers, how to report issues, and more. A list of keyboard shortcuts that can be used in the beta from either a Mac or Windows based computer has also been placed on the new FAQs page....
published on Wednesday, the 19. May 2010, macintosh-news-network
10.6: Create a new file anywhere via an Automator Service
This a simple Service for creating new files the currently-open folder in Finder, using AppleScript and Automator. Start by launching Automator, and in the chooser that appears, select Service. This will open a new Automator window, set up to create a Service. In that window, do the following: Set the Service to receive selected folders in Finder (the two drop-down menus at the top of the work area on the right). This makes it easier to assign a keyboard shortcut to our service, which we'll do at the end. Drag and drop the 'Run AppleScript' action (in the Utilities Library) into the work area on the right. Paste in the following AppleScript, then click the Hammer icon (to compile the code): on run {input, parameters} tell application "Finder" set currentPath to insertion loc...
published on Wednesday, the 12. May 2010, macosxhints
MacNN reviews NeatWorks for Mac 3.0 with tax categories
MacNN has reviewed the latest update to Neat's scanning software, NeatWorks for Mac 3.0. The suite scans receipts, business cards and full-sized documents, using intelligent optical character recognition (OCR) to append metadata to the scanned files. The software has a database for tracking trends and printing reports -- Version 3.0 adds tax categories for the U.S. and Canada, with support for individual tax forms. The company has also added Quick Look integration and workflow improvements, such as keyboard shortcuts, blank page removal, better speed, and an improved...
published on Thursday, the 29. April 2010, macintosh-news-network
10.6: One way to create a mouse-free launcher assistant
I have a lot of apps, documents, and folders. A vast quantity. Many of these items are needed only occasionally, so I don't like to clutter up my premiere automation environment, QuicKeys, with launchers that I won't use every day, week, or even every month. That doesn't mean this tip can't be useful for everyday things, it's just that it is particularly suited for meeting my needs. This solution is based on an organized hierarchy of aliases kept in the Snow Leopard Dock. You can do this with earlier versions of Mac OS X to some extent, but to be able to have complete mouse-free navigation and launch control for a hierarchy of items, you need Snow Leopard. To be able to get to the Dock without grabbing the mouse, you have to be sure that Move focus to the Dock is checked in the Keyboard and Text Input section of the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of...
published on Wednesday, the 28. April 2010, macosxhints
Briefly: The Tube 2.9.6; iPad "lifetime purchase limit"
A new version of The Tube, an app for watching TV on a Mac, has been released by equinux. The v2.9.6 update adds support for multiple new TV receivers, including Hauppauge's Nova-S, Mini Stick and areo TV. Also new is a guide for US channels from Tribune Media Services, and a plug-in that allows managing channel lists through a web interface. Other new features include keyboard shortcuts for flipping through channels, integrated channel search and small bugfixes. The update is free for all registered users, while new users can buy a license for $40....
published on Monday, the 26. April 2010, macintosh-news-network