Category Archives: mac os x tips

Keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes in Mac OS X

Since I switched to Mac OS X from Windows over a year ago there have been a few little things that have been bugging me with the UI and keyboard. For example, in Xcode keyword completion was done with the escape key, and I had been used to using CTRL+SPACE with Visual Studio. Apple have now resolved this in Xcode 4, and you can use either keyboard shortcut.

Similarly, in Windows, if you had a dialog box appear you could easily use the keyboard to select your preferred option. With Mac OS X I found I had to use the mouse. I hadn’t realised you can use the keyboard, and you just need to enable the feature.
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Do you miss Character Map from Windows?

I used to. Then I discovered there is an equivalent tool for Mac OS.
Very simple to use, but not the most obvious thing in the world.
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Silent Running – on your TrackPad!

I use a MacBook Pro at work. The TrackPad on the MBP is great when you are out and about, but on the desktop, my laptop is elevated and I use an external keyboard, so it doesn’t really work for me. I tried the Mighty Mouse and the Magic Mouse, but couldn’t quite get to grips with them (pardon the pun!). I think the issue I had with the mice was that I was used to two button mice, so if you want to right click you just click the right button, but with the touch sensitive Apple mice, you have to lift your other fingers so that it can tell which finger has clicked where.
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Having trouble adjusting to the Mac keyboard layout?

As a software developer used to Windows machines, one thing I’ve found very frustrating since I started using Macs, is that the UK keyboard layout is different from the standard Windows keyboard. In fact, it seems to me that it is exactly the same as the US keyboard layout with a pound sign added to the 3 key.
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