Refresh the current page in the App Store
01/23/2012
When browsing in the App Store app, press Command-R to refresh the current page.
Preview thumbnails in Mission Control
01/12/2012
In Mission Control, Option-click a thumbnail at the top of the screen to preview it first, without making it active.
Open your Desktop folder or home folder in the Finder
01/05/2012
In the Finder, press Command-Shift-D or Command-Shift-H to quickly open your Desktop folder or home folder, respectively.
Resize a window by its center in OS X Lion
12/26/2011
In OS X Lion, when resizing a window by dragging an edge, press the Option key as you drag to resize from the window's center.
Quickly make a new note in Stickies
12/25/2011
From within any application, select some text and press Command-Shift-Y, to make a new note in Stickies with the selected text.
Move from one space to another space in Mission Control
12/22/2011
In Mission Control, to move from one space to another space using just your keyboard, press Control-Right Arrow or Control-Left Arrow.
Go to the location of an item in an Open or Save dialog box
12/10/2011
In an application's Open or Save dialog box, select a file or folder and press Command-R to switch to the Finder and go to its location.
Reveal more color swatches in the Color Picker
12/04/2011
In the system-wide Color Picker, drag the bottom of the Colors window down to reveal more rows to save your favorite color swatches.
Organize apps into folders in LaunchPad
12/02/2011
In LaunchPad, to organize apps into folders, drag one app’s icon over another to create a folder, then drag other apps you would like to add into the folder.
Always empty Trash securely in the Finder
11/27/2011
In the Finder, to always prevent deleted files from being read, choose Finder> Preferences, then click Advanced and enable "Empty Trash securely".
Save a PDF to iTunes
11/21/2011
When printing a document, click PDF and choose "Save PDF to iTunes" from the pop-up menu, to save it as a PDF book in Books in your iTunes library.
Open an item from its "Get Info" window in the Finder
11/16/2011
In the Finder, when viewing the "Get Info" window for an item, to quickly open the item, double-click its thumbnail in the Preview section.
Make text bigger or smaller in Stickies
11/09/2011
In Stickies, after selecting text in a note, press Command-Plus (+) to make the text bigger, or press Command-Minus (-) to make it smaller.
Open a sidebar folder in its own window in the Finder
11/04/2011
In the Finder, Command-click a folder in the sidebar to open that folder in its own separate Finder window.
Quickly close all open windows in the Finder
10/30/2011
In the Finder, and in many other applications, to quickly close all open windows, Option-click any window's close button.
Change the size of the icons in the sidebar of Finder and Mail
10/26/2011
In OS X Lion, to change the size of the icons in the sidebar of Finder and Mail, open System Preferences> General, then choose Small, Medium or Large for "Sidebar icon size".
Preview an item using Quick Look in the Finder
10/23/2011
In the Finder, to preview an item using Quick Look, select the item and press the Space bar.
Rename a printer in OS X Lion
10/19/2011
To rename a printer, open System Preferences> Print & Scan, then Control-click the printer's name and choose "Rename printer" from the pop-up menu.
Open multiple items in a Stack
10/15/2011
When viewing a Stack as a grid or fan, to open multiple items in the Stack without closing it first, Option-click each item.
Change the background in Launchpad
10/10/2011
In Launchpad, press Command-B to cycle through color and grayscale, and blurred and non-blurred, versions of the Launchpad background.
Open a Stack as a folder in the Finder
09/24/2011
To open a Stack as a folder in the Finder, instead of as a Stack, Option-Command-click its icon in your Dock.
Use Quick Look to preview a document in an Open dialog box
09/18/2011
In any application's Open dialog box, to use Quick Look to preview a document without opening it first, select the document and press the Space bar.
Quickly determine the length of a song or movie file
09/17/2011
In the Finder, to quickly determine how long a selected song or movie file is, do File> Get Info, and see its duration info under the "More Info" section.
Reorder reference sources in Dictionary
09/11/2011
In Dictionary, to set the order in which reference sources are displayed, do Dictionary> Preferences and drag the sources into the order you prefer.
Quickly open or close all sections of a Get Info window
09/10/2011
In the Finder, when viewing the Get Info window for files or folders, Option-click any of the section triangles to quickly open or close all of them at once.
See recently-opened files for an application in your Dock
09/08/2011
In OS X Lion, press Control when clicking an application's icon in your Dock to see a pop-up list of that application's recently-opened files.
Restore a folder's view options in the Finder
09/04/2011
In the Finder, to restore a folder's view options back to their default setting, do View> Show View Options, then press Option and click "Restore to Defaults".
Quickly open your Library folder in OS X Lion
08/30/2011
In the Finder in OS X Lion, to quickly open your Library folder (a folder that usually is hidden), press Option and choose Go> Library.
Resize the width of all columns simultaneously in the Finder
08/27/2011
In the Finder, when viewing as Columns, hold Option while dragging any column's width adjustment handle to resize the width of all columns simultaneously.
Select the next or previous reference source in Dictionary
08/25/2011
In Dictionary, press Command-Shift-Right Bracket or Command-Shift-Left Bracket to select the next or previous dictionary reference source.
Use the Dock to quickly hide open applications
08/21/2011
To quickly hide all open applications, except the one you are currently using, press Control-Option, then click its icon in the Dock and choose "Hide Others".
Rearrange or move apps in Launchpad
08/19/2011
In OS X Lion, to rearrange or move apps in Launchpad, simply drag their icons to a new location.
Quickly look up definitions for words in OS X Lion
08/08/2011
In OS X Lion on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, to look up definitions for words in applications such as Pages or Mail, double-tap the word using three fingers.
Zoom into thumbnails when setting the desktop picture
08/07/2011
On a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, pinch open over the thumbnail pictures in System Preferences> Desktop & Screen Saver> Desktop to zoom into them.
Show a message when the screen is locked in OS X Lion
08/04/2011
In OS X Lion, to have a message display at login, and when your screen is locked, do System Preferences> Security & Privacy> General and select "Show a message when the screen is locked".
Preview items in Stacks using Quick Look
08/01/2011
In OS X Lion, in Stacks grid or fan view, to preview items using Quick Look, hold your pointer over the item and press Space.
Quickly create a folder of items in the Finder
07/27/2011
In the Finder, to quickly create a folder of items, select the items you want to group together, then Control-click one of them and choose "New Folder with Selection".
Quickly see how many pages are in a PDF document in the Finder
07/10/2011
In the Finder, to see how many pages are in a PDF document without opening it first, select it, do File> Get Info and look in the "More Info" section.
Use simple math to adjust font size in the Mac OS X Font Panel
07/09/2011
In the Mac OS X Font Panel, enter simple math such as "*3", "/2", or "+40" to adjust the size of selected text by that mathematical value.
Create a bulleted list in Stickies
06/23/2011
In Stickies, to create a list, press Option-Tab to make the first bulleted item, press Return to add new lines, then press Return twice to finish the list.
Open an item from within Quick Look in the Finder
06/10/2011
When previewing an item in the Finder with Quick Look, press Command-Down Arrow to open the item.
Quickly switch applications or access Exposé using the trackpad
06/04/2011
On a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, do a 4-finger swipe up or down for Exposé, or left or right to switch applications.
Change the default note template in Stickies
05/30/2011
In Stickies, to change the default note template, set a note's color, note size and font styles, then do Note> Use as Default.
Flash your screen when an alert sound occurs
05/25/2011
To have the screen of your Mac flash when an alert sound occurs, do System Preferences> Universal Access> Hearing, then select "Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs".
Access Time Machine backups stored on other volumes
05/20/2011
To access Time Machine backups stored on other volumes, Option-click the Time Machine menubar icon and choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks".
Navigate through Exposé using the keyboard
05/08/2011
In Exposé, press the arrow keys to select a window thumbnail, then press the spacebar to enlarge the thumbnail or press Return to switch to it.
Open definitions for words in separate windows in Dictionary
05/06/2011
In Dictionary, Command-click on any word in a definition to open the definition for that word in its own separate window.
Quickly look up the definition for a word
04/21/2011
In most Mac programs, to quickly look up the definition for a word, hover over the word and press Control-Command-D to pop up its definition.
Quickly jump between items in Quick Look
04/16/2011
When viewing multiple items with Quick Look on a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad, do a 3-finger swipe to jump to the next item.
Verify that Time Machine backups can be used for restores
04/09/2011
To verify that your Time Machine backups can be used for restores, Option-click the Time Machine icon in your menu bar and choose "Verify Backups".
Copy an item from within the Get Info window in the Finder
04/01/2011
When viewing the Get Info window for an item in the Finder, drag and drop the Preview thumbnail image to copy the item to a new location.
Change the default font size in Dictionary
02/24/2011
In Dictionary, to change the default font size in which entries are displayed, do Dictionary> Preferences, then choose a size from the "Font size" pop-up menu.
Hear calculations spoken to you in Calculator
02/18/2011
In Calculator, to have your Mac speak calculations to you, do Speech> Speak Button Pressed, or Speech> Speak Result.
See a list of recently-viewed help topics in Help Viewer
02/11/2011
In the onscreen Mac OS X Help Viewer, press and hold the Back or Forward button to see a list of recently-viewed help topics.
See how much time is remaining on a Mac restricted with Parental Controls
01/31/2011
When using a Mac that has a time limit set on it with Parental Controls, click the clock in the menu bar to see how much time is remaining.
Adjust the font size slider range in the Mac OS X Font Panel
01/23/2011
In the Font Panel in Mac OS X, to change the slider's minimum and maximum font size, click the Action (gear) button and select "Edit Sizes".
Convert a document to PDF and attach it to a new Mail message
01/13/2011
When printing any document, click the PDF button and choose "Mail PDF", to convert the document to PDF and attach it to a new Mail message.
Quickly resize columns in the Finder
01/06/2011
When viewing by columns in the Finder, double-click a column's width adjustment handle to resize its width to fit the longest-named item in that column.
Burn files or folders to CD or DVD in the Finder
12/30/2010
In the Finder, to burn selected files or folders to a CD or DVD, Control-click them and choose "Burn X Items to Disc" from the pop-up menu.
Quickly access music, photos or movies from an Open dialog box
12/23/2010
From within an application's Open dialog box, to quickly access your music, photos or movies, browse the "Media" section at the bottom of the sidebar.
Drag and drop text onto Stickies to make a new note
12/15/2010
If Stickies is in your dock, drag and drop text from Mail, iChat, etc., onto its icon in the dock to instantly make a new sticky note containing that text.
Have your Mac announce the time of day
12/07/2010
Have your Mac speak the time of day to you by enabling the "Announce the time" option in System Preferences> Date & Time> Clock.
Zoom in or out of an image using Quick Look
11/20/2010
When using Quick Look to preview an image in the Finder, Option-click the image to zoom into it or Shift-Option-click the image to zoom out.
Show a list of recently-defined words in Dictionary
11/08/2010
In Dictionary, press and hold the left or right arrow buttons in the toolbar to show a pop-up list of recently-defined words.
Navigate through columns in the Finder using the keyboard
10/30/2010
When viewing the Finder in Column view, press the up, down, right or left arrow keys to navigate quickly through each column.
Quickly get details about a photo in the Finder
10/24/2010
In the Finder, to get details about a photo including its size, camera model, focal length, etc., select it, do File> Get Info, then look in the "More Info" section.
Have System Profiler speak your Mac's serial number
10/16/2010
To have the System Profiler utility (located in /Applications/Utilities) speak your Mac's serial number aloud, do File> Speak Serial Number.
View icons in System Preferences alphabetically
10/10/2010
In System Preferences, to view each icon alphabetically, instead of grouped by category, choose View> Organize Alphabetically.
Change icon sizes in the Finder using the trackpad
10/05/2010
On a Mac with a Multi-Touch trackpad running Snow Leopard, use a two-finger pinch gesture to increase or decrease icon sizes in the Finder.
Toggle through all toolbar display options in an application
09/27/2010
In applications with toolbar icons that can be resized, Command-click the top right button to toggle through all toolbar icon and text display options.
Switch between applications from within Exposé
09/25/2010
When using Exposé to view thumbnails of all windows, press the Tab key to quickly switch between each open application.
Show advanced AirPort network information
09/20/2010
In Snow Leopard, press Option while clicking the AirPort menu to show the selected base station's MAC address, channel, signal strength, etc.
Quickly switch between different views in the Finder
09/13/2010
In the Finder, press Command-1, Command-2, Command-3 or Command-4 to switch between Icon, List, Column or Cover Flow window views, respectively.
Add an item to the sidebar or the Dock in the Finder
09/06/2010
In the Finder, select an item and press Command-T to add it to your sidebar. To add it to the Dock instead, press Shift-Command-T.
Keep toolbar buttons visible when resizing a window
08/19/2010
Control-click a button in the toolbar of any application with customizable toolbars and do "Keep Item Visible", to show the button even if the window is resized.
Change icon size and label position in dialog boxes
08/14/2010
In any Open or Save dialog box, press and hold the view as icon button to show a pop-up menu for changing Icon Size and/or Label Position.
Mute audio feedback when adjusting Mac volume level
08/05/2010
Hold down the Shift key while pressing the volume buttons on your keyboard to mute the "quack" sounds you normally hear when the volume is adjusted.
Open one application while hiding all others
07/21/2010
Press Command and Option while clicking an application's icon in your Dock, to open the application and simultaneously hide all others.
Delete all backups of a file or folder in Time Machine
07/17/2010
When in Time Machine, to permanently delete ALL backups of a file or folder, Control-click the item then choose "Delete All Backups" from the pop-up menu.
Show the condition of the battery in a Mac notebook
07/14/2010
When running Mac OS X Snow Leopard on a Mac notebook computer, Option-click the menu bar's battery icon to show the condition of your battery.
Create a new folder from within the Save dialog box
07/07/2010
From within an expanded Save or Save As dialog box in any application, type Shift-Command-N to create a new folder into which the file can be saved.
Quickly change your sound input and output settings
06/30/2010
In Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Option-click the volume slider in the menu bar to change sound input and output settings without opening System Preferences.
Quickly sleep or restart your Mac
06/26/2010
To quickly sleep or restart your Mac using just your keyboard, press once on its power button then type "s" to sleep, or "r" to restart.
Use the Spotlight menu as a calculator
06/17/2010
Instead of launching Calculator when you need to solve a math problem, simply type your equation into the Spotlight menu to get the answer.
Put your Mac to sleep using just your keyboard
06/12/2010
To instantly put your Mac to sleep, without touching your mouse, simply press Command and Option and the Eject key on your keyboard.
Pair your Mac to a specific Apple Remote
06/05/2010
To configure your Mac to respond only to a signal from a specific Apple Remote (vs. any of them), go to System Preferences> Security> General> Pair.
Examine files in the Trash before emptying it
06/01/2010
To examine a file in the Trash before you empty it, click once on the file to select it then press the Spacebar to preview its contents using Quick Look.
Use Quick Look to preview print jobs
05/26/2010
In Snow Leopard, use Quick Look to preview a print job listed in your printer's queue by first selecting it and then pressing the space bar to preview it.
Quickly open the Sound system preference
05/22/2010
To quickly open the Sound system preference, hold down the Option key and hit any of the sound controls (volume up, volume down, mute) on your keyboard.
Access additional reference material in Dictionary
05/17/2010
In Dictionary, do Go> Front/Back Matter to access additional reference material such as language guides, history timelines, chemical element info, etc.
Quickly print a group of files in the Finder
05/14/2010
To quickly print a group of files without pausing to manually print each one individually, select the files in the Finder and do File> Print.
Display today's date next to the clock in the menu bar
05/06/2010
In Snow Leopard, to display today's date next to the clock in the menu bar, do System Preferences> Date & Time> Clock> Show date.
Change to a different calculator mode in Calculator
04/30/2010
In Calculator, click the green zoom button in the upper left corner to toggle between Basic, Scientific and Programmer calculator modes.
Increase the size of your cursor
04/28/2010
To make your mouse pointer larger, open System Preferences> Universal Access> Mouse (or Mouse & Trackpad) and adjust the Cursor Size slider.
Temporarily turn Dock magnification on or off
04/20/2010
To temporarily turn Dock magnification on (or off), press and hold the Shift and Control keys while hovering over the Dock with your mouse or trackpad.
Reveal the Finder location of an item in your Dock
03/31/2010
To reveal the location on your hard drive of an item in your Dock, Command-click on the icon to jump directly to its location in the Finder.
Minimize windows into their Dock application icon
03/27/2010
In Snow Leopard, to minimize windows into the Dock application icon that made them, do System Preferences> Dock> Minimize windows into application icon.
Arrange thumbnail windows in Exposé
03/19/2010
In Snow Leopard, when using Exposé to show thumbnails of all windows, press Command-1 to arrange them by name or Command-2, by application.
Create a PDF with text that cannot be copied
03/16/2010
To create a PDF with text that cannot be copied, do Print> PDF> Save as PDF> Security Options, then check on "Require Password to Copy Text".
Do "Get Info" on multiple items simultaneously
03/08/2010
In the Finder, to show a “Get Info” summary of all selected items, vs. each item individually, press Option and do File>Show Inspector.
Launch System Profiler from the Apple menu
03/01/2010
To quickly launch System Profiler, hold the Option key and click the Apple menu. The first item, “About This Mac”, turns into “System Profiler”. Select it to launch.
Change your default printer
02/24/2010
To change your default printer, open the Print & Fax system preference, Control-click the printer’s name and choose "Set Default Printer”.
Quickly open the Displays System Preference
02/21/2010
To quickly open the Displays System Preference, hold down the Option key and press either of the brightness controls (F1 or F2) on your keyboard.
Access Front Row using just the keyboard
02/13/2010
To launch Front Row without an Apple Remote, hit Command+Escape. Use the up/down arrows, and Return to browse and play media and Escape to exit.
Easily put files back that were accidentally moved to Trash
02/10/2010
In Snow Leopard, an item put in the Trash can be returned to its original location by Command-clicking it and choosing “Put Back” from the pop-up menu.
Quickly name files in any Save dialog box
02/09/2010
In any Save dialog box, click the grayed-out name of a file listed in the expanded view to use that name for the file you are currently saving.
Teach the Mac OS X dictionary new words
02/06/2010
To teach the built-in Mac OS X spell checker new words (such as proper names), Control-click the word and do "Learn Spelling".
Change the position of the icons in your Mac’s menu bar
01/30/2010
To move one of the icons (known as "menu extras") in your menu bar just click and drag it while holding down the Command key.
Use Exposé inside of Spaces
01/23/2010
When viewing all of your Spaces, you can use Exposé to show every window within each space by hitting Fn-F9 on your keyboard.
Use the Tab key and Spacebar to navigate through dialog boxes
01/19/2010
In a dialog box, hit the Tab key to jump through each button choice. When desired button is selected, hit Space to activate.
Quickly look up the spelling of words
01/13/2010
In most Mac apps, if you cannot remember how to spell a word type a few letters then hit Esc for a pop-up list of suggestions.
Quickly empty locked items in the Trash
01/11/2010
Hold down the Option key while emptying the trash to automatically empty everything in it, including items that may be locked.
Move all similar documents in Spaces
01/08/2010
When setting up your Spaces, hold the Shift key and drag a document window to move all similar documents into a space at once.
Use Quick Look to show a photo slideshow
01/06/2010
To show a full-screen slideshow of photos in the Finder, select them then type Command-Option-Y to do a Quick Look slideshow.
Quickly duplicate items in the Finder
01/01/2010
In the Finder, to duplicate a file (or folder), hold Option while dragging it from one location to another, on the same drive.
