Using Command-Tab to Switch Between Applications

A quick, keyboard-only way to switch between applications when you have multiple programs running is to press and hold the Command (CMD) key while tapping the Tab key. This brings up an application bar with icons for all running programs. Hit Tab repeatedly (while holding Command) to move the selection box among apps. Let go of both keys when you reach the program you want to switch to and that program's windows will pop to the front. (The Command key is sometimes known as the Apple key on older keyboards.)

This technique can be combined with other Command Keys for even more efficiency. Copy some text in one program (say email) using CMD-C, hit CMD-TAB a few times to switch to your word processor, then hit CMD-V to Paste the copied text into the new program. You can also bring up the application menu using CMD-TAB, then with the Command key held down hit the Q key repeatedly to Quit running programs in succession.

Spring 2008
 

Window Management Using Exposé

When you have multiple programs running and many windows open at once, things can get a bit cluttered. Since MacOSX 10.3 Apple has provided some handy window management shortcuts, collectively called Exposé:

F9		Show All Windows, click on a window to bring it to the front
F10		Highlight Windows of the current (frontmost) application
F11		Move All Windows off screen to access items on the desktop

Hit each key a second time to turn off that view. On new Apple laptops and keyboards you may need to simultaneously hit Fn and F9 (or F10, F11) to access these features.

You can assign Exposé features to a mouse button or screen corner in System Preferences --> Expose & Dashboard (Expose & Spaces in Leopard) . I find it handy to set the mouse scroll wheel (button 3) to the Show All Windows function, instead of the default to launch Dashboard. You also use the Exposé Preference Pane to turn off unwanted behaviors, particularly involving mouse event triggers in screen corners.
 

January 2008
 

Weather Widget Problems

Winter 2008
 

Screen Snapshots

Sometimes it's helpful to save a picture of your Mac's screen, or a portion of the screen, for a project, as a receipt or for other reference. The Mac provides several ways to do this right from your keyboard. Type the following keys together to capture screen images (the Command - CMD - key is also known as the Apple key):

CMD-SHIFT-3		Saves a copy of the whole screen to the desktop named as Picture 1, Picture 2, etc.
CMD-SHIFT-4		Cursor changes to cross hairs, allows you to outline a square region to capture

Both these capabilities have long been part of the Mac OS. New to OS X is the ability to cleanly capture a picture of a single window without the screen background or other annoyances:

CMD-SHIFT-4 SPACEBAR

Cursor changes to cross hairs, then hit the SPACEBAR Cursor changes to a camera, move over the desired window and click the mouse to save picture

Try it and see what happens! I find this very handy to send pictures of error message windows to tech support folks when I have problems with my own Macs.
 

Target Disk Mode

Target Disk Mode is a wonderful feature in FireWire equipped Macs that lets you access the hard drive in your desktop or laptop from another Macintosh without using a network or file sharing. The computer in 'target' mode behaves as an external FireWire disk and allows access to your files and data for copying, to perform disk repairs, or as temporary extra storage space when needed.
 
To use Target Disk Mode, restart your Macintosh and hold down the T key after the chime. After a few moments you should see a blue or grey screen with a floating FireWire logo. When the logo appears connect the target computer to another running Mac via a FireWire cable. The target computer will mount on the desktop as an external FireWire drive and you will be able to access all your files. This is a convenient and fast way to copy large amounts of data between two computers, as well as accessing and repairing a system that might otherwise not be bootable.
 
Target Disk Mode also allows the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive of the target computer to be used as an external optical drive. If you have an older Mac with a malfunctioning CD/DVD drive, or perhaps only a CD-ROM drive but need to install software from a DVD-ROM, you can use a second Mac in target disk mode to help. Boot the second Mac in target mode, connect via FireWire, then insert the CD or DVD into the target machine. The disk will show up on the desktop and be usable just like an internal drive.
 

Summer 2007

Print to PDF in MacOSX

PDF files have become an indispensable part of modern computing. This handy file format works cross-platform on Macs, Windows, and Linux systems and preserves all fonts and formatting details. Adobe's goal for their Portable Document Format has been attained, and PDF is now an open source (free) standard that will be around for a long time.

Since MacOSX v10.2 Apple has provided Print to PDF services in the Operating System - no need to purchase a full retail copy of Adobe Acrobat as previously required. This is a great way to save web pages for later viewing, no internet access required. It's also a handy way to send formatted information from any application to other users or keep for future reference. To make a PDF, select Print... from the File menu and click the button that says "PDF" or "Save as PDF" Name the file whatever you like, and keep for later use.
 

Spring 2007

Running Windows on your Mac

Apple's new Intel Chip-Based Macs (ICBMs, in industry parlance) are sleek and powerful systems that bridge the gap between Operating Systems by allowing you to run Windows applications directly on your Macintosh at full (native) speeds. Apple's BootCamp utility allows you to install Windows XP or Vista on a partition of your hard disk, then boot your Macintosh directly into Windows. Users report that new Macs make great Windows machines (ironic, ehh?) and run most software - including high end games - very well.

Better yet, virtualization software such as Parallels Desktop and VMware allows you to run Mac and Windows applications simultaneously, side by side. While VirtualPC and other emulators have offered this capability for years on PowerPC Macs, the switch to Intel processors lets these solutions really fly with little to no performance impact. Now you can run business critical or Windows-only apps right on your Mac, in any version of Windows, and enjoy the benefits of MacOSX for your other computing needs.
 

Winter 2007

Backup Tip for Pod People

Everyone knows they need to backup their files, but most people don't do so regularly. Keeping a spare drive around or burning CDs/DVDs is a pain. Yet these days an easy and practical solution exists with extra benefits to boot: backup to your iPod.

iPods are portable hard disks or flash drives, with a nice interface for playing music built in. Many iPods, especially full size hard disk models, have lots of unused storage space. To use this space for your own files, connect your iPod to your computer, go to the iPod Preferences in iTunes, and select Enable Disk Use. Your iPod will now show up on the Desktop (Macs) or within My Computer (PCs) and the free space will behave like a removable disk drive.

You can use this capacity to copy files & folders (like My Documents or your email folder) to a backup medium that regularly goes where you go, and allows an easy way to transfer files between two computers. You can even automate the process using a File Synchronization utility. Just think, an iPod used as a backup device may even be a deductible business expense! <grin> Just make sure that any sensitive documents use password-protected files, in case your iPod is lost or stolen.