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Bit of a mac noob: keyboard shortcuts

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radioheadrule83

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I'm in Uni in one of the Mac labs, and I'm gonna be in here quite a lot. I really can't see myself finding out this information myself any time soon. I've had a little go and figured a few things out. I've come the conclusion that a lot of programs use the Apple/Action button a lot like the Alt key. Like Apple + A = Select All, or Apple + Z = Undo, etc. I really like these things but I wish I was as quick as I am on a PC... so if anyone could expediate the learning process for me, that'd be awesome. What are the equivilents of the following actions, if any, on a Mac / Mac programs?


Alt + F4 for Quit on a PC, ???
Alt + Tab for switching programs/tasks on a PC, ???
Windows key + R for Run dialog, ???
Windows key + M for Minimize All, ???
Windows key + E for Explorer, ???
Ctrl + Enter when in IE address bar for prefixing "http://" and suffixing ".com", ???


Any others would be cool. If there are any really useful ones in Flash or Photoshop that would be sweet too, but I'd be glad enough just for the basics. Thanks if you can help.

Tom
 
Presuming you're using OSX 10.4 (Tiger);

Alt + F4 is pretty much directly replaced by AppleKey + Q, although it closes the program itself, not just the window.

Instead of Alt + Tab, just press F9 to use Exposé, which will neatly organise all the windows onto one screen, and you can just click on what you want.

Similarily, F10 will move all active windows off the desktop (temporarily, so press F10 again to get them back)

There isn't really a "Run dialog" in OSX, I suppose you could just map the terminal to your dock, though?

Also, very useful (although rather obscure) is Ctrl + AppleKey + D while hovering the mouse over any word, which will bring up a little dictionary definition of that word.
 
Apple + ` also switches between windows of the current app.
Apple + W closes the current window.
Also you can Apple + Tab to switch and while highlighting an app, hit q to close it.
 
Apple (actually called the command key) + W closes the active window. Option+Apple+W closes all open windows in the active application.
 
Just as another note, in addition to using the Expose keys, let me just say hiding windows (Command+H) is your friend. It doesn't close the application or minimize it, but makes it simply disappear. You can Command+Tab (the exact equivalent of Alt+Tab) back to the program to make it reappear; when you're using Command+Tab, if you hold down the Command key, you can then press Command+` to go backwards through the open applications list. Additionally, you can also use Command+Option+H to hide all other windows.

Don't use IE on a Mac; just use Safari or Opera. If you just hit Enter after typing the URL, I believe it should take care of the http:// & .com stuff automatically.
 
Since someone started this, can anyone tell me if a symbol that looks like the equals sign (=) with an arrow pointing up, or down, is a shortcut for something? It would make using Images for slideshows that much easier.

Thanks.
 
The Take Out Bandit said:
Since someone started this, can anyone tell me if a symbol that looks like the equals sign (=) with an arrow pointing up, or down, is a shortcut for something? It would make using Images for slideshows that much easier.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm completely lost as to what you're referring to. Can you clarify that further?
 
This:

whatisit0ac.gif


I'm totally stumped. :/
 
Ah, those. I *think* those refer to the Page Up/Page Down or Home/End keys, but I can't recall exactly as it's been a long while since I've seen those keys. What program are you using? I can probably dig that up really quick with that info.
 
Vormund said:
:lol

Should've had a different picture/link in the background
Click to expand...

Says you! :P

The program is simply called Images.

Dude! You rock! It is Page Up and Page Down.

Well I gotta go - uhhhhh file some errm paperwork. Yeah, that's the ticket!
 
Vormund said:
:lol

Should've had a different picture/link in the background
Click to expand...

What's wrong with a girl who's sweating?
*cough*
 
Thraktor said:
Also, very useful (although rather obscure) is Ctrl + AppleKey + D while hovering the mouse over any word, which will bring up a little dictionary definition of that word.
Click to expand...

:lol :lol :lol

Holy shit! This is great! Although I don't know if it'll replace my dictionary on the dashboard. What I like and think is cool? Control+Option+Apple Key+Asterisk.
 
If you're a Safari user, the first nine bookmarks in the bookmarks bar can be quickly triggered with command + [1–9]. ProTip: These shortcut are still active even with the bookmarks bar hidden (command + shift + B).
 
Is there anyway to take a picture of the screen while a movie or dvd is playing? It's not allowed, but I was wondering if there's a way around it like there is for Windows.
 
Thraktor said:
Also, very useful (although rather obscure) is Ctrl + AppleKey + D while hovering the mouse over any word, which will bring up a little dictionary definition of that word.
Click to expand...


is this supposed to work in safari? cause its not working.. in fact, its not working anywhere.
 
Is there anyway to take a picture of the screen while a movie or dvd is playing? It's not allowed, but I was wondering if there's a way around it like there is for Windows.
Click to expand...

Capture Me works in Panther and below. It doesn't work in Tiger for some reason.

I haven't tried SnapzProX with Tiger yet, but that could be another option; but it costs munnies.

Is there a key command to switch between tabs in Safari?
 
You can switch between tabs in Safari by holding down Command+Shift+Left/Right arrow. Just be careful as it's a bit selective at times, such as if you're making a post on GAF and have the text input field highlighted (as I do now), it may not respond since it applies those keyboard commands to the text input field and not the browser window itself; you'd end up simply highlighting the last word you typed under that scenario.

The Dictionary command (Command+Ctrl+D) works in any Apple app, but you have to actually highlight the word, not have your mouse hover over it. So if you double click over a word, it'll automatically be highlighted, and then you can use the keyboard shortcut to bring up a little Dictionary floater window with the definition. Alternatively, you can right-click and select Look Up In Dictionary, which will open up the Dictionary program with the definition of the word in question displayed. This works system wide for the most part, but not in some 3rd party applications, such as Opera.

As for image capture, I played with it briefly and it works just fine in everywhere except when you have DVD Player open, which I presume is what the person that asked was getting at, in which case, I'd have to look into it. I've been curious myself about it, but it was never high on my priority list. You can still use the screen capture commands while playing movies in Quicktime however, and IIRC I believe QT Pro has an option for that specifically.
 
quadriplegicjon said:
is this supposed to work in safari? cause its not working.. in fact, its not working anywhere.
Click to expand...

Using Tiger? It's working for me and I'm highlighting nothing.

And Control + Option + Apple + 8 is the best thing ever.
 
RevenantKioku said:
And Control + Option + Apple + 8 is the best thing ever.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, awesome.

Everyone should turn on zoom in universal access as well. It's by far one of the most useful features of OSX. cmd+option++ for in and cmd+option+- for out.
 
RevenantKioku said:
Using Tiger? It's working for me and I'm highlighting nothing.

And Control + Option + Apple + 8 is the best thing ever.
Click to expand...


doh. nope. i have the disk, but i dont want to upgrade until my current project is done with. dont want to risk any data loss issues.
 
Macam said:
The Dictionary command (Command+Ctrl+D) works in any Apple app, but you have to actually highlight the word, not have your mouse hover over it.
Click to expand...

Hovering should work, actually.

Also, as with many OS X triggers, you can tap command + control + D to make the dictionary bubble appear and stick until you click elsewhere. Conversely, you can hold down the key combination to keep the dictionary bubble active and define words on-the-fly as your cursor moves over them. The bubble will disappear when you release the key combination. Try this hold versus tap technique with Exposé and Dashboard keyboard shortcuts as well.
 
As for image capture, I played with it briefly and it works just fine in everywhere except when you have DVD Player open, which I presume is what the person that asked was getting at, in which case, I'd have to look into it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I was getting at since the original poster was looking for something with which to grab from DVD. If you're not using Tiger it works like a charm.
 
The Take Out Bandit said:
Yeah, that's what I was getting at since the original poster was looking for something with which to grab from DVD. If you're not using Tiger it works like a charm.
Click to expand...

10.3 was the same, actually.
 
Haha - y'know, I totally lost track of the numbers and kitties correlation. :P

All I know is last time I used it on my Powerbook it worked, which is the cat before Tigger, but it gives me a case of ass on my Tigger machine.
 
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