Mac Kung Fu, 2nd edition: Over 400 Tips, Tricks, Hints, and Hacks for Apple OS X

461 Pages·2012·8.71 MB·English

by  Keir Thomas

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Early Praise for
Mac Kung Fu, Second Edition
Keir Thomas has compiled one of the most useful and interesting assembly of
Mac tips and tricks available today. Packed with how-to insights and easy-to-follow
steps, Mac Kung Fu, Second Edition is a knowledgeable guide to have by your side
every step of the way.
➤ Mike Riley
Advanced technologist and author of Programming Your Home
Mac Kung Fu, Second Edition contains a plethora of excellent Mac advice. It is
accessible to new users, and even experienced Mac enthusiasts will find ways to
make their lives simpler and more efficient.
➤ Loren Sands-Ramshaw
Orglist
All levels of Mac users will enjoy this book. I particularly like the types of tips that
the book offers that boost productivity, customize the working environment, and
just make using a Mac more fun!
➤ Fred Daoud
Author of Stripes...and Java Web Development Is Fun Again
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Mac Kung Fu
Over 400 Tips, Tricks,
Hints, and Hacks
for Apple OS X
Keir Thomas
The Pragmatic Bookshelf
Dallas, Texas • Raleigh, North Carolina
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Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products
are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and The Pragmatic
Programmers, LLC was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in
initial capital letters or in all capitals. The Pragmatic Starter Kit, The Pragmatic Programmer,
Pragmatic Programming, Pragmatic Bookshelf, PragProg and the linking g device are trade-
marks of The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC.
Every precaution was taken in the preparation of this book. However, the publisher assumes
no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages that may result from the use of
information (including program listings) contained herein.
Our Pragmatic courses, workshops, and other products can help you and your team create
better software and have more fun. For more information, as well as the latest Pragmatic
titles, please visit us at http://pragprog.com.
The team that produced this book includes:
Jackie Carter (editor)
Potomac Indexing, LLC (indexer)
Kim Wimpsett (copyeditor)
David J Kelly (typesetter)
Janet Furlow (producer)
Juliet Benda (rights)
Ellie Callahan (support)
Copyright © 2012 The Pragmatic Programmers, LLC.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior consent of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN-13: 978-1-937785-07-9
Encoded using the finest acid-free high-entropy binary digits.
Book version: P1.0—November 2012
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Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
1. Getting the Most from the Tips . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Activating Secret Settings via Typed Commands 1
1.2 Using the Apple and Application Menus 2
1.3 Making a Time Machine Backup 2
1.4 Using the Mouse or Trackpad 2
1.5 Having an Admin Account 3
1.6 Logging Out and Back In 3
1.7 Using Program Windows 3
1.8 Using the Mac Keyboard and Shortcuts 5
2. The Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tip 1. Make Launchpad Bigger (or Smaller) 9
Tip 2. Turn Off Irritating “Rubber-Band” Scrolling 11
Tip 3. Stop Scrollbars from Disappearing 12
Tip 4. Make Your Mac Speak with Siri’s Voice 13
Tip 5. Supertip: Dictate Like a Pro 14
Tip 6. Get Rid of Files—Securely 16
Tip 7. Auto-answer FaceTime Calls 20
Tip 8. Instantly Add Movies and Music to iTunes 21
Tip 9. Be a Messages App Keyboard Wizard 22
Tip 10. Store Absolutely Any File in iCloud 23
Tip 11. Use a Secret, Alternative Cut and Paste 24
Tip 12. Correct Misspellings or Typos Without the Mouse 25
Tip 13. Create iCloud Folders 25
Tip 14. See What Folders You’ve Accessed Recently 26
Tip 15. See Bluetooth Signal Strength 26
Tip 16. Switch to Black Menus in Full-Screen Mode 28
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Contents vi
Tip 17. Create Reminders Ultra-Quickly 29
Tip 18. Right-Click to Share Anything 32
Tip 19. View Safari’s Google History 32
Tip 20. Open a Link Displayed in Terminal 33
Tip 21. Get Back “Save As” 33
Tip 22. Quickly Navigate Launchpad 35
Tip 23. Turn Off Notifications with a Single Click 36
Tip 24. Increase Settings in Micro-Increments 36
Tip 25. Access (and Back Up) All iCloud Documents 36
Tip 26. Sleep Your Mac with a Remote 38
Tip 27. Restart a Jammed Finder 39
Tip 28. Quickly Get Documents into (and out of) iCloud 39
Tip 29. Master Quick Look’s Full-Screen Feature 40
Tip 30. Put Notes and Sticky Notes on Top 41
Tip 31. Don’t Delete Files When Copying 42
Tip 32. Add Your Choice of Search Engine 42
Tip 33. Forward Only a Mail’s Attachment 44
Tip 34. Quickly Add to Safari’s Reading List 45
Tip 35. Get Complex Multiple-Display Setups 45
Tip 36. Turn a Movie Into a TV Show 46
Tip 37. See Where You’re Browsing in Terminal 46
Tip 38. Ultra-Quickly See an App’s Open Files 47
Tip 39. Use Half-Star Ratings in iTunes 47
Tip 40. Switch Locations in Terminal via Drag and Drop 49
Tip 41. Timestamp Zip Filenames 49
Tip 42. Copy Better in Mail 50
Tip 43. Instantly Rename Safari Bookmarks 50
Tip 44. Spruce Up Terminal 51
Tip 45. Turn Off Trash Sound Effects 51
Tip 46. Get Handy When Formatting Text 52
Tip 47. Get Photo Stream Pictures via Finder 53
Tip 48. Avoid Notifications 54
Tip 49. Use Fancy Text in Mail Signatures 55
Tip 50. Install Any App Without Being Blocked 55
Tip 51. Browse Back via the Keyboard in Safari 56
Tip 52. Quickly Switch Audio Output (Including AirPlay) 57
Tip 53. Stop Apps from Auto-Quitting 58
Tip 54. Turn Off “Smooth Scrolling” 58
Tip 55. Save Safari Tabs When Quitting 59
Tip 56. Jump to the Top of Your Emails 60
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Contents vii
Tip 57. Type Weird Characters Ultra-Quickly 60
Tip 58. Turn Your Mac Into a Surveillance Camera 63
Tip 59. Modify Messages’ Look and Feel 65
Tip 60. Use Your Own Choice of Notes Font 65
Tip 61. Duplicate a File with One Click 68
Tip 62. Share Google Links 68
Tip 63. Master Notification Center 69
Tip 64. Switch Time Machine Disks 70
Tip 65. Share Reminders and Calendars 71
Tip 66. Update Your Profile Pic 74
Tip 67. See Your Mac’s Serial Number 74
Tip 68. Use a VIP Mailbox 75
Tip 69. Supertip: Get the Most from Reminders 76
Tip 70. Turn Off Java 80
Tip 71. Notify from the Command Line 80
Tip 72. Stop the Dock from Getting Broken 81
Tip 73. Control QuickTime Player Using Keys 81
Tip 74. Let OS X Create Passwords 82
Tip 75. Prefer Plain-Text Emails 83
Tip 76. See a Big Long List of Your Contacts 84
Tip 77. Type into PDFs 85
Tip 78. Play Ripped DVD Backups 85
Tip 79. Link to Emails in Notes/Stickies/Docs 86
Tip 80. When Did I Make That Sticky? 86
Tip 81. Use Facebook Chat 87
Tip 82. Preview Widgets 88
Tip 83. Create a “Drives” Stack 89
Tip 84. Calculate All File Sizes 90
Tip 85. Quickly Switch Calculator Modes 90
Tip 86. Add Your Contacts’ Websites to Safari 91
Tip 87. Import Twitter or Facebook Contacts 91
Tip 88. Email Web Pages in a Simple Layout 92
Tip 89. Quickly Send Files to an iPhone or iPad 93
Tip 90. Use Time Machine with iCloud 94
Tip 91. Find Docs by Zooming 95
Tip 92. Share via Twitter or Facebook with a Keystroke 96
Tip 93. Stop iCloud from Being the Default 97
Tip 94. Export in More Formats via Preview 98
Tip 95. Supertip: Get the Most from QuickTime Player 98
Tip 96. Subscribe to Useful Calendars 100
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Contents viii
Tip 97. Turn Off Annoying Special Effects 101
Tip 98. Start Apps Without the Mouse 104
Tip 99. Select Text In Quick Look 105
Tip 100. Resize Windows Easily 106
Tip 101. Get to the Dock in a Full-Screen App 107
Tip 102. Play Sounds When Certain Mail Arrives 108
Tip 103. Migrate from Outlook to Calendar 109
Tip 104. Stop iTunes from Adding Track Numbers 109
Tip 105. Switch Desktop Space Ultra-Quickly 110
Tip 106. Protect USB Memory Sticks 111
Tip 107. Find Out Where Your Wallpaper Lives 115
Tip 108. Summarize Any Document 115
Tip 109. Activate Stacks and Mission Control by a Gesture 116
Tip 110. Quickly Create a List of Files 117
Tip 111. Supertip: Take Control of Scrolling 117
Tip 112. Turn a Small Keyboard into a Big One 120
Tip 113. Fix Ugly Fonts 120
Tip 114. Type Symbols and Diacritical Characters 121
Tip 115. Rename Hundreds of Photos 124
Tip 116. Personalize Every Icon 127
Tip 117. Bring Widgets to the Desktop 128
Tip 118. Discover Software Version Numbers 130
Tip 119. Use a Screensaver as a Desktop Background 130
Tip 120. Add Folders of Wallpaper Images 131
Tip 121. Put Notebooks in Deep Sleep 132
Tip 122. Fix a Slow Boot 133
Tip 123. Know Exactly Where You Are 134
Tip 124. Tweak Launchpad Visual Effects 135
Tip 125. Create “Crazy” Emails 136
Tip 126. Secure All Your Files Against Hackers 137
Tip 127. See Every Wi-Fi Detail 140
Tip 128. Make Launchpad a Personalized App Launcher 142
Tip 129. Supertip: Get the Most from Spotlight 144
Tip 130. View a Quick Calendar 147
Tip 131. Add Magical Links for Email, Messages, Web, and
More 148
Tip 132. Stop Notes from Being Yellow 150
Tip 133. Simulate an iPhone or iPad 152
Tip 134. Control Start-up Apps 153
Tip 135. Watch CPU Load and Activity 154
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Contents ix
Tip 136. Create Doc Templates and Boilerplate Text 155
Tip 137. Create an Event from an Email or Web Page 156
Tip 138. Keep Your Mac Wide Awake 158
Tip 139. Stress Test Your Mac’s Memory 158
Tip 140. Create an Install and Recovery Stick 160
Tip 141. Recover Crashes and Lock-Ups 165
Tip 142. Share Your Contacts with Others 165
Tip 143. Set Your IM Status—Even If Messages Isn’t Running 166
Tip 144. Change Fonts Used in Finder 167
Tip 145. Stress Test Your Mac’s CPU 168
Tip 146. Find Files by Tagging Them 170
Tip 147. Bring Back the Library 171
Tip 148. Add Cool Visual Effects to Stacks 172
Tip 149. Always See File Info 174
Tip 150. Create One-Click Shortcuts 174
Tip 151. Quickly Move Toolbar Icons 175
Tip 152. Delete iCloud Files (Without Going Insane) 175
Tip 153. Shrink PDF Files 176
Tip 154. Turn On Key Repeat 176
Tip 155. Save Text Snippets 177
Tip 156. Hide Files 178
Tip 157. Supertip: Make Better Screenshots 180
Tip 158. Set Movie Thumbnails 182
Tip 159. Create a Clever Color Picker 182
Tip 160. Back Up Without a Time Machine Disk 185
Tip 161. Make the Dock Really, Really Small 186
Tip 162. Get a Better Stack List 187
Tip 163. Supertip: Make Finder Your Hub 189
Tip 164. Hide Every Single Window 190
Tip 165. Work Better with Column View 190
Tip 166. Maximize iTunes Windows 191
Tip 167. See All Your Mac Knows About Somebody 192
Tip 168. Print Wall Calendars 192
Tip 169. Keep a Folder Update Log 193
Tip 170. Start Terminal in an Instant 195
Tip 171. Enable Apache and PHP 195
Tip 172. Change Preview Markup Colors 197
Tip 173. Download Files Fuss-Free 197
Tip 174. Hide a File from Spotlight 198
Tip 175. Create Groups of Contacts 198
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