Desktop Shortcut

Command + Expose = Show Desktop

For me command + F3 does the same thing that a “Show Desktop” shortcut would do.

Customizing the Finder

I already blogged about how to change your background but today I am going to show you how to customize your Finder (the number of customizable options is limited) and use several important functions in Finder.

Path Options

1.) Option to turn on a path bar at the bottom of the Finder.

While you have the Finder selected (so that the menu is Finder), go to View > Show Path Bar.

More Fine Volume Control

        Now here is a straight-up useful Mac tip I use everyday: increasing the volume by smaller increments. Normally if you press the Volume Up or Volume Down buttons, the volume will increase by one whole bar. This had annoyed me forever until I learned how to. Leopard only.

Before

After

.

Keyboard Shortcut

+ + Volume Up / Volume Down

Alt/Option + SHIFT + Volume Up/Volume Down

.

Ed

CandyBar 3 : Customize your Leopard

CandyBar 3 is a must-have application (for Mac Leopard) if you are into customizing your Mac icons. You can even customize the dock and the dock indicator icon!

Cool New Mac OS X Leopard Screensaver

         As I have said before, Mac OS X Leopard has many small features that have been added to make the Mac more comfortable. I personally don’t think that there were enough new features, but that is probably because I expected so much from Apple.

Mac OS X Leopard Menu Bar

When Mac OS X Leopard first came out (I think it has been almost a year now), the menu bar was a pretty big controversy because there were conflicting opinions on its aesthetic beauty. Personally, I like it just fine either way. Mainly I prefer the transparent/translucent bar because it has more color to it.

Finder Tricks

        Where are all the keyboard shortcuts in Finder? On a Windows, I used to be able to hit backspace to go up a folder, enter to open a file or folder, and even the handy context menu button that served as a keyboard shortcut for the right button click.
        As soon as I got the new aluminum iMac, my first annoyance was the lack of (or so I thought) of a keyboard shortcut for opening a file or folder…Well I’ve finally found out, after about 8 months…

Adding a Picture Background to Finder

        The old finder background is awfully boring so make it more lively by adding pictures to the background! It is really easy to do and you can either just set the current folder background to a certain picture or set all folders’ backgrounds to the same picture.

        And here’s a preview:

       So open up a folder and right-click, then “Show View Options”. For you speed daemons, press “Command+J”.

        Now, just click on the button highlighted in the screenshot below:

Move/Copy/Alias

         One of the very first things I wanted to know how to do in Leopard was how to move files, copy files, and make aliases. By the way, for those who do not know, “aliases” are equivalent to “shortcuts” in Windows. In Windows, you can easily decide what you want to do by right-click dragging and dropping files, but in Mac you can’t right-click drag…

My First Mac

        You know, I never thought this would happen to me, but it has. I bought a Mac and I have finally migrated from Windows to Mac OS. I know everyone has heard this already from people who have switched over, but I got to say it: it feels so good making the switch.