Grapii » Quick Tips

Home and End Keys on the Macbook Pro

grapii — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:43:09 +0000

There is no Home key or End key on the Macbook Pro keyboard. However, you can still execute the equivalent commands.

For the Home command, press down the Fn + Left Arrow keystroke combination.

For the End command, press the Fn + Right Arrow keyboard combination.

Show the Size of Selected Files on Mac OS X

grapii — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:08:43 +0000

Here’s a quick tip to show the file size of selected files/folders. Generally the status bar of the Finder windows shows the count of selected files and the available hard drive space, but doesn’t show the file size. On a single file you can right-click the file and select ‘Get Info’ (Apple/Command+i) which will pop-up the ‘Get Info’ floating window, but this is no good for multiple file selection.

To get the file size of selected files/folders instead of ‘Get Info’, use ‘Show Inspector’. This is done the same way you would go to ‘Get Info’, except hold down Alt/Option key before you click. ‘Get Info’ will turn into ‘Show Inspector’ in the context menu. Once clicked a floating window appears, so you can continue clicking your Finder windows and icons and it will stay on top. It will also update as you select new files.

Open up a Finder window (Applications folder will provide the best example.)
Right-click a file/program
Hold Alt/Option
Choose ‘Show Inspector’
Now hold Apple/Command and click other files. They will be added to the selection and therefore the Inspector window.

Keyboard shortcut:

Apple/Command+i = Get Info

Alt/Option+Apple/Command+i = Show Inspector

Windows 7 – Additional Hotkeys

grapii — Sun, 09 May 2010 15:24:50 +0000

The new hotkey goodness didn’t stop with moving windows around—one of the best new hotkeys in Windows 7 is the fact that you can create a new folder with a hotkey.

Just open up any Windows Explorer window, hit the Ctrl+Shift+N shortcut key sequence, and you’ll be rewarded with a shiny “New Folder” ready for you to rename.
Here’s a few more interesting hotkeys for you:

Ctrl+Shift+N: Creates a new folder in Windows Explorer.
Alt+Up: Goes up a folder level in Windows Explorer.
Alt+P: Toggles the preview pane in Windows Explorer.
Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds Copy as Path, which copies the path of a file to the clipboard.
Shift+Right-Click on a file: Adds extra hidden items to the Send To menu.
Shift+Right-Click on a folder: Adds Command Prompt Here, which lets you easily open a command prompt in that folder.
Windows+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display.
Windows+(+/-): Zoom in/out.
Windows+G: Cycle between the Windows Gadgets on your screen

“hash” # key missing on Apple MacBookPro?

grapii — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:09:21 +0000

My first day on the Apple MacBook Pro and was playing around with ‘Numbers’ and wanted to insert the hash (#) symbol in the text. For the life of me I couldn’t see the symbol anywhere on the keys of the keyboard.

After playing around for a while, I finally found it. Alt + 3. Simple when your find it, but frustrating trying to look for it. I wonder how many other querks I’ll find in the next few weeks as I slowly transition from Windows to Mac.

Just to recap, Alt + 3 to enter the # symbol.

Apple – Mac OS X Exposé

grapii — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:19:00 +0000

After you activate Exposé (with F9 or F3) you can use –>| key to step through different applications.

Exposé will shuffle the windows around to highlight just the open windows that belong to one application at a time.

Windows 7 – Window Management Hotkeys

grapii — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:20:22 +0000

One of the best changes in Windows 7 is the ability to “snap” windows to the side of the screen, maximize them by dragging to the top of the screen, or even move them to another monitor with a shortcut key.

The full list of keyboard shortcuts includes:

Windows+Home: Clear all but the active window.
Windows+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop.
Windows+Up arrow: Maximize the active window.
Shift+Windows+Up arrow: Maximize the active window vertically.
Windows+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it’s maximized.
Windows+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor.
Shift+Windows+Left/Right arrows: Move the window to the monitor on the left or right.

You can also interact with windows by dragging them with the mouse:

Drag window to the top: Maximize
Drag window left/right: Dock the window to fill half of the screen.
Shake window back/forth: Minimize everything but the current window.
Double-Click Top Window Border (edge): Maximize window vertically.

Apple – iPhoto Events

grapii — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:14:00 +0000

iPhoto arranges photos into Events for the photos taken on the same day.

Change this in Preferences to weekly so that your holiday pics are grouped together.