Computers excel at repetitious job . So why are you opening the same menu and submenus , looking for the same bidding again and again ?
OS X lets you assign keyboard shortcuts to menu command so you may trigger them more quickly . you could tailor software shortcuts to your work habits , but an especially productive way to use this capability is to typeset up shortcuts that workeverywhere .
Setting up a system - all-encompassing keyboard cutoff is a cinch : in System Preferences , go to the Keyboard Shortcuts lozenge of Keyboard predilection . Click program Shortcuts on the left and then cluck the Add ( + ) button beneath the list . In the sheet that slides out , take All Applications from menu and type the name of the menu instruction in the Menu Title field ; enter the shortcut you require to use for it and click Add .
Create a global keyboard shortcut in Keyboard Preferences by clicking the Add button (circled) and choosing All Applications from the pop-up menu.
A few backsheesh : Type the commandexactlyas it appears . Capitalization depend . If there ’s an ellipsis ( … ) after the command , press Option - semicolon to inclose it . typecast three period wo n’t wreak . You do n’t have to call back your shortcuts — they’ll appear in the menus the same room received shortcut do . If you change an exist crosscut , your novel one shows in the carte du jour . If you delete it , the original one reappears in the bill of fare .
produce a world-wide keyboard shortcut in Keyboard Preferences by clicking the Add button ( circled ) and choosing All Applications from the pop - up menu .
1. Put print options at your fingertips
Assign keyboard shortcuts to the impression option you use the most , even when they ’re buried in the Print dialog box . For representative , if you often save document and Webpages as PDFs , determine up a shortcut that trigger Save as PDF … ( copy and paste the statement from here to make certain you get it correct ) . Now you could you could activate that feature of speech with a keyboard shortcut ( say , Command - Option - P ) , after opening the Print dialogue box with the shortcut Command - P. Keyboard crosscut do n’t work for button , but the PDF button is actually a menu . For more details on creating cutoff for PDF options , seeLeopard keyboard whoremonger . I expend a crosscut to switch from the Print dialog box ’s default Copies & Pages covert to its Layout options . Then I apply another one to transfer the number of varlet per sheet to 2 . Assign shortcuts to whichever menus you use the most in the dialogue boxful — switch printers can be especially commodious .
With global crosscut , you could voyage a print dialog boxful quickly from the keyboard .
2. Zoom windows
When you want to toggle between a window ’s nonpayment ( commonly as - large - as - possible ) size and the size of it and position you ’ve specified manually , you do n’t have to cluck the windowpane ’s green Zoom button . Most applications have a Window menu with a Zoom or Zoom Window control , but no keyboard shortcut . Assign the same cutoff to both those command for full coverage . I find that Control - break - Z is the jazz group least probable to conflict with assigned Zoom- or Undo - related commands in the applications that I use .
3. Un-minimize app windows
Several Apple program have either a single window or a single main window ( such as iPhoto , Font Book , iTunes , iCal , Address Book , and Mail ) . If you understate the window before you leave the program , when you get along back there ’s no windowpane exhibit . you’re able to call back covering - specific keyboard commands to find the windowpane or select it from the Windows menu . Or , make a single shortcut that un - minimizes the main window in any of these apps . This setup ask some work because the bid in each programme ’s Window carte du jour is different . In the Keyboard Shortcuts pane , pick out the app ’s name ( rather of All Applications ) from the app menu . typewrite the windowpane ’s name ( in Mail , it ’s “ Message Viewer , ” in iTunes it ’s “ iTunes , ” in iCal it ’s “ iCal , ” and so on ) in the Menu Title field , and typeset the same key jazz band for each one . ( I use Control - W. )
4. Open and switch applications
You do n’t need a third - political party utility likeLaunchBarorQuicKeysto launch or switch to an software via the keyboard . Since crosscut work on submenus , you’re able to portion a keyboard shortcut to a program in the Apple menu ’s oft - overlooked Recent Items submenu . The shortcut works only if the app is list in the carte , so go to the System Preferences General Preference battery-acid and up the numeral Of Recent Items to at least 20 so the app wo n’t get knock out of the computer menu as you work in other platform . ( While other shortcuts are practically instantaneous , the change to the Recent Items list can take up to 20 or 30 seconds , so be patient . )
Bonus tipBecause the shortcut name must match the menu item precisely , you ’ll escape into a problem if you convert your Finder Preferences setting for Show All Filename Extensions ( in the in advance pane ) . If your shortcut is fix for “ Mail ” and it ’s by and by listed as “ Mail.app , ” the cutoff wo n’t put to work . The solution is to make two crosscut , one for Mail and one for Mail.app , and give them both the same keyboard trigger .
5. Access recent folders
place a crosscut for a leaflet name and it appears in the Finder ’s Recent Folders list as well as in some Open and Save dialog boxes . If you return to certain folders repeatedly in the Finder , the Go card ’s Recent Folders submenu can be a big helper . Assigning a Finder shortcut to an often - used leaflet that appears here is convenient , but hardly ball-shaped . However , depute a shortcut to a folder ’s name under All Applications instead of the Finder . That way , you may jump out to the folder in Open and Save dialog boxes when the booklet is listed in the menu ( as part of the current brochure path or under Recent Places ) . Because the Recent Folders list is so short ( you ca n’t up the turn in universal preferences ) , this works only for folders you get at frequently — but those are the I that need shortcuts . And , your mileage may deviate because some apps are persnickety about brook this lineament .
If you want more…
To find candidates for global shortcuts , find out the Apple menu and its hierarchical menu . Assign shortcuts to System Preferences , or to the App Store . Another great prospect for world keyboard shortcuts is the Services submenu , since so many services are share across applications programme .
Sharon Zardetto is a longtime Mac author and , yes , the screenshot shows her 1995 LaserWriter 12/640 , still go strong .
With global shortcuts, you can navigate a print dialog box quickly from the keyboard.
Set a shortcut for a folder name and it appears in the Finder’s Recent Folders list as well as in some Open and Save dialog boxes.
