Mac OS X
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.
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.
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 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.
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.