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20 tips to help you work smarter with OS X

techradar.com — MacFormat magazine has reached its 200th issue and to celebrate, they've published 200 unmissable Mac tips. Here are 20 that caught our eye. For the full 200, pick up a copy of MacFormat in your local newsagent's - on sale now.

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  • neoneddy, on 09/27/2008, -49/+4Nice list .... FIRST!
    • wontstoptalking, on 09/27/2008, -1/+25Oh, hello. I see you are new here. Judging by your comment, the only other comments you've left have been on Youtube. Things are very different here.


      Let me help you around. First off, as you'll soon notice, you are being buried! Oh dear! When that happens, it helps to evaluate the obvious:

      WHY are you being buried?
      -What is the main reason?
      WHO is burying your?
      -If you say an anti-Obama comment, then Obama supporters are probably burying you.


      And that's about it.

      You'll learn the ropes eventually. Or, natural selection will take place and you'll die.

      Let me quote The Guild:
      "What'll it be? Take the video down......OR RAPE???"
      • saikyan, on 09/28/2008, -0/+4I wasn't going to digg you because I thought this post was excessive- but then I noticed your username.
      • mrBitch, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1RE: " You'll learn the ropes eventually. Or, natural selection will take place and you'll die. "

        I think neoneddy will fall victim to natural selection, and just die.
    • robzthird, on 09/28/2008, -0/+4I doubt you read the thing at all.
    • gelatina1996, on 09/28/2008, -1/+1Those "first" stuff are too much fan-siteness to me. Buried.
  • AlexHarazim, on 09/27/2008, -2/+143Those tips were kind of lame.
    • juke1, on 09/27/2008, -1/+34Agreed. I found most of these after 10 minutes with my mac.
    • Falstaph, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2Exactly what I was thinking.
    • northernmonkee, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2I dugg you up, because you are right they are a bit lame. But for someone who is new to OSX I guess they might be quite handy and informative.
    • PabloMac, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2No they aren't. I use all of them.

      Oh, wait…
    • saikyan, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2That's like an adult trashing a kids movie for being juvenile. The article is pretty clearly aimed at the intermediate user, or perhaps a Windows user looking to bolster their familiarity on the Mac OS.
    • xtraa, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1^^ Lol, exactly what I thought. Nevertheless, useful for newbies maybe.
  • mssantos, on 09/27/2008, -0/+29I'm glad I'm not planning to buy MacFormat to see what the other 180 tips are.
  • kamikaze134, on 09/27/2008, -0/+9They made a mistake in #3: Get Info Window. Holding down the Opt key while selecting a list of items makes no difference (at least, in Leopard 10.5.5).

    Instead, select your list of items, then press Cmd+Opt+I to bring up the Multiple Item Info window.
    • AndrewWiggin, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2I've seriously wanted to know about this for a long time and they screwed it up! Thanks for clearing it up!
    • Protoss, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2Oh thank you so much! That's one feature that really bugged me about OSX. If I select multiple folders, I want to find out the info for those folders combined, not each individual one.
    • phlp, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1Too bad you can't change the spotlight comment for all items that way.
    • DelMonte, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2If you do Get Info on more than 10 items, they'll open in a single combined window, even if you don't hold the option key.
  • albyliontk, on 09/27/2008, -22/+1This article is a must for all Mac OS X fans. It gives a list of tips and what they are useful for. Great choice for an article!!
  • PHLAK, on 09/27/2008, -1/+28I love LifeHacker... they always put things on ONE PAGE!!!
    • kris33, on 09/28/2008, -8/+2Why can't people who are bothered by this stop complaining and fix it for themself with one of the many solutions out there? I'm so tired of hearing this complaint over and over again when it takes 30sec to fix it.
  • jonlarge, on 09/28/2008, -0/+33"18. Stacks

    In Mac OS X 10.5, folders can be dragged to the Dock and opened as Stacks. Their contents will be displayed as a list or in a grid so you can see what's inside without opening it."

    That's a feature, not a tip
    • CalcProgrammer1, on 09/28/2008, -5/+3Didn't know about it, though, just tried and it's pretty cool. I might do this with a music folder or something for easy access.
    • robzthird, on 09/28/2008, -0/+8Yeah, and its something thats made obvious when you first run a new Mac. lame list.
    • santaliqueur, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3At least they're not calling it a hack.
  • s0m31john, on 09/28/2008, -37/+1221. Use Windows
  • limezor2, on 09/28/2008, -30/+1221. Linux
  • vinceislegend, on 09/28/2008, -21/+3522. Sit in a coffee shop during use so people can see how trendy you are.
    • kris33, on 09/28/2008, -7/+5I actually believe that is just a myth. Mac users don't go to coffee shops just to show of their macs, but they actually do it because they like the calm productivity a coffee shop visit can result in. Many mac users are actually typical Starbucks people, "trendy" people who actually like a good milky and expensive coffee.

      There's even a OS X-app in development named Espresso coming out soon. "Mac web development, now more productive than caffeine. ... Soon, Espresso will deliver something better than a caffeine boost."
      • AntzNZ, on 09/28/2008, -3/+6"22. Sit in a coffee shop during use so people can see how trendy you are."
        "Many mac users are actually typical Starbucks people, "trendy" people who actually like a good milky and expensive coffee."

        you're saying the same thing as him...
      • kris33, on 09/28/2008, -7/+4No, he is implying that we do it just to show of our macs. I'm saying that we do it because we like the experience of it.
      • andrewa, on 09/28/2008, -1/+0Espresso is the name of one of the internal IT helpdesk trouble-ticket applications at Apple.....
      • sinembarg0, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1Hey numbnuts, its show off, not show of.
    • infernal6, on 09/28/2008, -1/+9I always hate taking my Mac to a coffee shop because I don't want to be "that guy." Kinda makes me sad.
      • fakeid781, on 09/28/2008, -3/+4I just embrace being that guy, if anyone asks they would find out I got it for less than I would have spent on a dell.
    • santaliqueur, on 09/28/2008, -3/+4If Windows zealots didn't get so ***** pissed for NO REASON, we wouldn't bring our Macs out in public. We do it to annoy you.
      • Panopticism, on 09/28/2008, -5/+3Windows zealots? You mean, what, 98% of the population that don't use Macs? YOU are in the minority, buddy.
      • santaliqueur, on 09/28/2008, -1/+3Windows users are different from zealots. Users don't get furious for no reason when the see a Mac. The head of the zealots is Ballmer. The rest are just users. Also, you were the first to bring up minority, so don't try to defend your point when you were the one who brought it up.
      • redwallhp, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1It's the digg-using linux zealots (who tend to act *exactly* like they claim Mac users do...).
  • djagia, on 09/28/2008, -34/+13PRO TIP: DONT USE MAC.
  • Viniator3, on 09/28/2008, -1/+12Basic.
  • TremorX, on 09/28/2008, -1/+3721. Try using the mouse with your hand!
    • santaliqueur, on 09/28/2008, -0/+7Hang on let me write this down
      • Protoss, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2Try using the pencil with your foot...I mean hand.
    • ry4nsm1th, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Oh wow it is so much easier now, thanks!!
    • redwallhp, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1Press the caps lock key.
      • mrBitch, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1I disabled my caps lock key, since all it ever did was annoy me when I accidentally hit it while typing.

        To disable caps lock key in OS X :
        1. hit COMMAND-space, and type "mouse" in the Spotlight Search bar
        2. down arrow to "Keyboard & Mouse", and tap the ENTER key.
        3. click "KEYBOARD" tab
        4. click "Modifier Keys" button
        5. choose "No Action" for the CAPS LOCK KEY.
  • solarisom, on 09/28/2008, -2/+11Wish I could sound more sophisticated, but tips blow. If you want to work smarter with OS X, install Quicksilver. Took me a while to get comfortable with, but well worth it.
    • robzthird, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2Quicksliver is awesome. And I'm not even using its advanced features.
  • knoxindy, on 09/28/2008, -0/+30...those aren't tips. Those are everyday used features. Might as well have been "To open a file, Double Click!"
  • RgyaGramShad, on 09/28/2008, -0/+12It should have been called 20 things that are in the instruction manual/mac help or just common knowledge for mac users.

    Buried as lame.
  • CalcProgrammer1, on 09/28/2008, -4/+823: Print out sticky labels of the Apple logo and stick them on the Windows keys on your OSX-running PC. I installed OSX and I am starting to like it, but the unusual keyboard layout gets me confused (alt-c/alt-v/alt-a instead of ctrl-c/ctrl-v/ctrl-a type of things especially). Not sure if it's cool enough to buy an overpriced computer for though, as I can do everything that I'm using OSX for in Windows and Linux.
    • fugazied, on 09/28/2008, -0/+6Don't worry, after 6 months the location of the cntrl button on a windows keyboard will be a pain in the ass and the apple symbol will feel like where it should be. Use your thumb on it, most shortcuts are very close.
    • jhandfield, on 09/28/2008, -0/+4As fugazied says and I'd probably second, you can just tough it out for a while and it'll start to become natural.

      As an alternative though, you can go to Keyboard & Mouse in System Preferences and click the Modifier Keys button to remap what key is what modifier.
    • nielkie, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3System Preferences> Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard > Modifier keys > Reverse Control and Command.
    • Protoss, on 09/28/2008, -1/+3I first agreed with you, but as said above, the CMD key feels so much more natural. and CMD+, to get to any apps preferences is awesome.
  • goldwold, on 09/28/2008, -9/+1LAME! - Mac 101 and Time Machine sucks! SUPER DUPER SON!
  • nmanguy, on 09/28/2008, -1/+5I sure am glad that after so many issues, they finally had the guts to talk about that "Get info" feature. You don't see properties like that in Windows and Linux... Oh wait.
    • mrBitch, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1RE: " that "Get info" feature. You don't see properties like that in Windows and Linux... Oh wait. "

      Wow, you say that as if Windows and GUI Linux came BEFORE any Apple computer.

      Windows 3.1 (the first Windows version that WORKED and moved users away from DOS) was released in 1992.

      Apple's "Get info" has been around since 1983 (Apple Lisa).
  • landshrk, on 09/28/2008, -1/+3I am with everyone else on here. That ***** was WEAK! These "Top 20" ***** lists which serve no other purpose than to get these companies an opportunity to hawk their wears to an unsuspecting audience are way out of line. if you're going to give me 20 "hints" in ANY OS, please, make sure they don't suck this bad. This is all ***** you can learn in about an hour of messing around with OSX... *****.
  • greatcaffeine, on 09/28/2008, -0/+9I'm a big fan of Apple and OS X, but even I thought this list was lame. I want my two minutes back.
  • Topheroo, on 09/28/2008, -0/+11Likewise. Buried! Did anyone realize that throughout the list, they referred to the Option key as the "O" key?
    • robzthird, on 09/28/2008, -0/+7I actually tried using the O key. I feel retarded.
      • AndrewWiggin, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2I feel better now.
        .....Unfortunately, I also tried 0.
      • CCmachined, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1macs have a Option key? yeah, silly. like the "help" key. F1 is the standard.
      • mrBitch, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1@CCmachined RE: " macs have a Option key? yeah, silly. like the "help" key. F1 is the standard. "

        WTF? What does the alt/Option key have to do with the F1 key?

        Did you even know that the Mac keyboard also has Fn keys ?

        Looking at your comment history, and your many opinions regarding OS X, it looks like you just make ***** up and pass it off as something you have personally experienced.

        Are you an idiot?
    • ry4nsm1th, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1The O-face guy from Office Space wrote this article.
  • raptordrew, on 09/28/2008, -0/+7Oh my God.... I want to shoot anyone that suggests FileVault as a viable option - it stores all your files in one giant disk image, so if that image corrupts? Bye bye data. Apple, PLEASE FIX THIS! File-by-file encryption is the only way to go.

    By the way, I fail to see how most, if not all, of these are ways to help you work smarter - aren't they normal things you figure out within a week or two anyways?
  • Coolmatt49, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1521. Press the power button to turn your computer on and off!
  • gdonald, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Lame.. buried.
  • T8erT0T, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2I don't know who to blame: MacFormat for putting such basic knowledge on a tips list or TechRadar for selecting this list of 20 piss poor items out of the 200 tips from MacFormat.
  • t3rmv3locity, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2Just get Quicksilver and learn how to use it, that's all you need.
  • xsquirrel378x, on 09/28/2008, -19/+4To macfags: EVERYONE HATES YOU

    Love
    winfags, linfags, bsdfags
    • xsquirrel378x, on 09/28/2008, -3/+3Im just kidding. I dont hate you. Im just trolling for attention in a mac thread so people talk to me :(
      • Sfenton, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2If you really want to troll on Digg, just go on any Huffingtonpost article and just say McLame.

        Works like a charm and people will actually digg you up.
      • xsquirrel378x, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1MacLame

        loooool see what i did there? XD
  • usingpond, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2CLICK MOUSE
  • hungryduck, on 09/28/2008, -0/+9These are not tips. These are features that people already know about.
    • Ravatar, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3You telling me you knew about the ability to "Print" documents magically onto paper before you read this list? Hogwash!
  • kreatre2007, on 09/28/2008, -5/+1This is a great list. This is probably the only list like this that I have seen that doesn't suggest downloading a bunch of crapware utilities and apps. Mac OS X has a lot of great functionality. You won't know it until you take some time to search around and get to know the OS. I'm an Apple consultant. I teach people how to use the Mac every day. There really isn't that much that you would ever need to add except productivity apps like MS Office, Adobe CS, etc.
    • nielkie, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1Office over iWork? Blasphemy!
      • kreatre2007, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1ha ha... I was just making an example.
    • mehan, on 09/28/2008, -3/+1"Apple consultant"? I thought that ***** "just works", what's there to consult about?

      • kreatre2007, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Well not everyone knows how to use a computer numb nuts. It doesn't matter what OS it is. At least I can plug in a new mouse without a Mac giving me a stupid message that I've just plugged a mouse in and that I have to wait while it loads the driver. That's ***** primitive. Even Vista still does that. Very pathetic.
  • matt2m, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2If there was one thing I would want in windows by default is disk utility. One of my favorite things was the raid i would use 2 1 gig usb keys and make them raid 0. If I did not plug both of them in no data easy security, actually thats a better tip than whats in the article.
  • BrendanSheehan, on 09/28/2008, -1/+1Organize your Safari (or FF) bookmarks and use Quicksilver.
  • supernaut, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3most obvious list ever. i'm severely disappointed.
  • returnofthemac, on 09/28/2008, -1/+0this article written by captain obvious himself.

    seriously stop with the mac user generalizations though. There are plenty of PC user generalizations too. Over time, I realize that its pointless for both sides.

    see: http://andimapc.com/


  • eric22vhs, on 09/28/2008, -0/+4#21

    For greater efficiency, use the mouse to click on things; rather than the tab button on your keyboard.
  • riot8ap, on 09/28/2008, -14/+2#22

    Use a PC.
  • Poseur117, on 09/28/2008, -0/+54 pages?

    Really?
  • AndrewWiggin, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1All the comments are bashing this article (which generally sucked, took up 4 pages, and called the Option key "O" and the Command key "C"). But there was a gem in there, #3. I knew about Cmd + i for file info, but I never knew about Cmd + Opt + i for automatic updating of file info (so you can quickly compare multiple items). This also works with showing info on multiple files (I always found it annoying when I selected multiple files and hit Cmd + i only to find as many new windows pop up as files selected).
    • Protoss, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3That happened to me one time when I wanted to see how much space 10 various artists folders were taking up. It really annoyed me to see 10 different windows pop up.
  • w1n78, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1"14. Quick copy

    Hold the O key while dragging an item to duplicate it. Hit [esc] if you wish to cancel the copy before releasing the mouse."

    i guess they mean Option key not the letter O. i was hoping to find something new but oh well, good list for the noobs
  • surferjoemaui, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1Get pth pasteboard to copy as many things as you want, than paste them at will (ex. copy headline of news article AND the first paragraph then submit to Digg and paste both at once.)
  • jheftmann, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2I really hope if you're using Digg you figured all that out like... a long time ago?
  • TheFinaleofSeem, on 09/28/2008, -0/+4I have to disagree on one point:

    DO NOT ENCOURAGE END USERS TO USE FILEVAULT. If you need that kind of security, chances are you'll know where to find it. I've seen too many bozos who enabled it and then either forgot their passwords or had the disk image corrupted when their hard drive started failing (but everything else was recoverable). In both cases, anything in your home folder is gone forever. DO NOT use Filevault if you don't need that kind of security. Period.
    • neio, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1Agreed, unless you are employed by the CIA or NSA don't turn on file vault, it's slows down your mac like a sonvabitch.
      • Protoss, on 09/28/2008, -0/+1And that crap about "resizing" everytime you log out is a pain in the ass.
  • mehan, on 09/28/2008, -10/+1#1. Throw your shiny plastic toy away and get a real computer.
  • calenerd, on 09/28/2008, -1/+3Those tips suck. My 10-yr old could figure them out by himself.
  • Striff, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Nothing about Expose? Buried.
    • danielsamuels, on 09/28/2008, -0/+2Or Spaces, which is probably the biggest productivity boost I've ever had.
  • penguirl, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Tips for OS X illiterate noobs, experienced users already know these "tips."
  • Kelmon, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3For some odd reason I find myself compelled to share a tip that might actually be useful and doesn't involve "install Quicksilver":

    In the Finder, create a new Smart Folder (Option + Command + N) and set it to find all files with a Last Modified Date = Today. Save this folder and then drag it to the Finder sidebar. Now you have a shortcut to easily find files that you have been working on today and this appears in Open/Save dialogs. Conceptually this duplicates the functionality of the Today "Search For" option in the Finder but that is not available in normal Open/Save dialogs. I find this useful for attaching files that I have been working on to emails.
  • mpeters13, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3Not only was this list awful, I'd be ashamed to be the moron who posted this to digg. Seriously? What a waste of bandwidth. Shame on you and the diggers who brought this junk to the front page.
  • gaialive, on 09/28/2008, -0/+0It's already been said so I wouldn't normally need to add any more but these "Tips" have got to be the weakest I have ever seen... This is the kind of stuff you deal with on Day 1 of your Mac life... then you throw away that stupid booklet and commit more important things to memory... like whether youyr friends take sugar in their tea, or what time you have to get up for work, or what your own hair colour is... I mean... come on... pathetic... I thought us Mac users were supposed to be the intelligent ones not the dumb-asses ;-)
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