Ode to Apple » Tips-Tricks

Set Finder defaults and Apply

Brajeshwar — Mon, 24 May 2010 07:53:43 +0000

Mac OS X Finder is great but at times, its hard to get it to your liking. For instance, set a Default setting and you want everywhere else that way. You thought the “Set as Default” is the one that will do the magic. However, it’s not.

So, how would you set a desired preference setting and apply it wherever you wish?

The best solution so far (without using any third party Add-on or Plugin) is to follow the following steps.

1. In Finder, bring up “View > Show View Options” or just press “Command + j”.
2. Set all the parameters that you would want your “Default” setting to be and click “Use as Defaults”.
3. Go anywhere in the Finder, press “Command + j” and before applying anything, keep your “Option” key pressed. You should now get “Restore to Defaults” instead of your “Use as Default”. Click it to get your desired “Default” settings to your current Finder view.

Skip Leopard’s Security Lockdown on Downloaded Files

Brajeshwar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 19:09:01 +0000

Well, ever since we upgrade to Leopard, we’ve been seeing that “security” warning that your File “is an application which was downloaded form the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?” This happens every time after downloading a file and attempting to execute or un-archive it.

I’m sure that for most of us, we’re cautious enough to know what we downloaded and that we wanted to execute it without Leopard coming in between us and our prey. If you’re one of those, Hendrik have a solution on how you can Lift the Leopard download quarantine.

Here is how he does it;

Download Unquarantine.scpt and drop it in ~/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts.
Go to ~/Downloads or wherever your downloads go
Right-click, More > Configure Folder Actions… Check “Enable Folder Actions”
Attach the “Unquarantine” action to the folder

Note: As the folder action only applies to that folder (Downloads in our case). If you download a file to a directory without this folder action attached, Leopard is free to nag again. Head over to Hendrik’s site to download the script and learn what the script does.

Getting things done with your Mac’s OS X Date and Time

Brajeshwar — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:55:49 +0000

Here is one simple way to use the Mac OS X to keep you company with Date & Time while you work. In fact, this can also be one of your Getting Things Done tit-bits.

Set you clock to announce the time. This way, you will know the time passing by. This helps a lot when you’re so engrossed in work that you forgot to got up from your chair and cannot keep tract of time.

How to set the Clock to announce the time?

Go to: System Preferences > Date & Time
Select: Announce the Time

You may choose your options of announcing it Hourly, Half Hourly or On the Quarter of Hour. This technique definitely help me reminded of the time I spend doing my task and thus helps me manage my time more effectively. Try it out and see how it treats you.

Run multiple versions of Internet Explorer on Mac OS X without the need for Windows

Brajeshwar — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 08:57:13 +0000

For all those Web designers and developer wishing to test their web apps in Internet Explorer but always had to boot into a whole Operating system, can now relax. IEs4OSX is a standalone application for the mac that can run multiple version of Internet Explorer (without windows) – from IE 5.0, 5.5, 6.0 to 7.0. All of the necessary files and requirements are automatically downloaded – including default Windows IE fonts and browser plug-ins like Macromedia Flash player. All of that, and the download is completely free.

However, Darwine is a required dependancy. Testing your websites on Internet Explorer has never been so easy. IEs4OSX makes use of wine to install and run IE. So, this will work only for Intel Macs as wine needs an Intel Processor.

The application is reported to be completely stable. IEs4OSX rely on X11, thus browser window looks like something straight out of a monochrome version of Windows 98. Nonetheless, pages render as they should – complete with IE 6 / 7 quirks included CSS rendering issues and window pop-ups. Ain’t that cool?

Here are the goodness of IEs4OSX:

VMware and Parallels are great, but having to wait for an entire OS to boot sucks! Thankfully Internet Explorer 6 / 7 load in mere seconds on a MacBook Pro.
Typing http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1 from within ies4osx Internet Explorer windows will load your local development directory. No modifications of hosts files necessary.
Crossover users will enjoy the eye pleasing anti-aliased font rendering offered by ies4osx installs.
Thanks to the automatic installation of standard plugins like Flash, web pages load in their entirety.
Saving web pages or files off the internet – by default – are stored in your Home directory.
Less memory consumption. VMware Fusion with Internet Explorer running uses 87 MB. Standalone Internet Explorer via X11 24.84 MB.

Via: 5ThirtyOne’s article ies4osx, Internet Explorer, Intel Macs need only apply

Quick tip of the week videos

Brajeshwar — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:07:58 +0000

Apple has a Quick tip of the week videos as part of its business section. This should be a pretty good place to start with if you’re new to a Mac. Apple’s business section helps you get your business get things done quickly and in a smart manner.

A Mac empowers you with advanced capabilities and a new level of confidence. You can unleash your creativity. Differentiate your business and build your brand. And work from almost anywhere. Without worrying about your technology.

Keyboard shortcut to “Make Alias Here”

Brajeshwar — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:26:17 +0000

Arul Prasad help me through a Twitter message on How to make a shortcut or an Alias in Mac OS X;

either

Right click or “Ctrl + Left Click” on the App and do a “Make Alias” or
Select the App > File > Make Alias (Apple Key + L)

However, I wanted something like Windows – Right Click > Drag > Create Shortcut here. So, here are the steps on How to make an Alias by dragging and dropping.

Press the “Apple Key + Option”
Select, drag and drop the file/application you wish to make Alias to your desired folder.

Open New Finder from a Folder

Brajeshwar — Wed, 16 May 2007 07:48:50 +0000

I’m pretty sure most of you know about this but not me. I came to know of it by accident. You can open a totally new Finder by “Command + Double Click” on a Folder. Of course, if you select 2 or more folders and do a “Command + Double Click”, all folders will opened up in a new Finder of their own.

How to remove DRM from your iTunes Songs (perhaps legally)

Brajeshwar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 12:00:12 +0000

DRM is a headache which limits where you can play your songs and how many often can you play them. Here is one way to hack through the encryption and perhaps legally with iTunes.

Create a separate new playlist with all the songs you’d like to rip.
Use your software’s Burn Disc option to copy the music to audio-CD format.
Now, rename the original playlist to save your original songs.
Insert the newly burned Audio-CD and import to copy the songs back to iTunes.

You should get your DRM free songs now.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this myself and have not come across a situation where I’ve to do it yet.

Recent Items (Documents, Applications, Servers) in Mac OS X

Brajeshwar — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 20:57:51 +0000

I was missing Recent Documents (Windows) in the Mac OS X but not anymore after I found the Recent Items in Mac OS X. You can find the Recent Items from a system-wide location – the Apple Menu.

It lists the 10 most recently used applications, document and servers complete with their respective icons. You can also set the number of items listed for each categories by setting the same in the Appearance pane of System Preferences. You can clear the menu at any time with the “Clear Menu” located at the bottom of the list.

Zoom in and out effect anywhere on your Mac’s screen

Brajeshwar — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 08:19:28 +0000

Well, to a Mac colleague of mine, I was boasting off a trick that I learnt recently from – Minimising windows in OS X. But I was defeated at my own trick when he did something – zoom in and out on his screen.

Here is the trick – Hold the Ctrl key while scrolling with two fingers. If you do not know how to scroll with two fingers, you better learn that (it is a real productivity booster). The TouchPad of a Macbook allows you to tip on with one finger and scroll with the another finger. It did took me some practice to get use to using two fingers on the touchpad/trackpad.

Do some practice and you should be able to zoom in and out. Enjoy!