Mac OS X – Simple Tips and Tricks

apple_mac_osToday, I am going to share with you some simple yet very productive tips and tricks for Apple Mac OS X. I hope you will find them useful as I have and if you know some more tips or tricks then don’t hesitate to share it with us! :)

Simple Tips for taking screenshots in Mac OS X
Unlike Windows, where we can take screenshot using the Print Screen button on the keyboard, there is no Print Screen button on the Apple keyboard. Depending on what you want to capture, you can choose one of the following methods to capture a screen.

  • Capture the entire screen
    • First press the key combination, [Command] + [Shift] + [3] and then release.
    • Then, click on any part of the screen with your mouse, that you want to capture.
    • The screenshot is stored on your desktop in .PNG format.
  • Capture an application
    • To capture an application, first open the application.
    • Now, press the key combination, [Command] + [Shift] + [4] and then release.
    • You will notice that the cursor will change to +
    • Now, press the [Spacebar], the cursor will change to a camera.
    • Use the mouse “camera” to select the application.
    • The picture will be stored on your desktop.
  • Capture a portion of the screen
    • To manually capture a portion of the screen, press [Command] + [Shift] + [4] and release.
    • The cursor will change to +, now, drag the + to select the area that you want to capture.
    • The picture will be stored in your desktop.
  • Simple tip: To copy the image to your clipboard instead of automatically saving it, you have to press the key along with + + [4].

Simple Tips to show Hidden Files in Mac OS X

  • Open the Terminal.
  • Type defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes.
  • Now, Launch the Finder to see the hidden files. They are prefixed with a dot(.).
  • Note: Please be careful while you change anything in these hidden files as they are generally managed and used by the Mac operating system.

Simple Dock Tips

  • To add an already open application to the dock just press [Ctrl] and click on the mouse.
  • From the context menu that appears, select “Keep in Dock“.
  • To add a closed application to the dock, first drag it from the Finder to the Dock.
  • Now, from the context menu, select “Keep in Dock“.

Some handy keyboard shortcuts

Use [Command] + [Q] to quit an application.
Use [Command] + [Space] to open the Spotlight search bar.
Use [Command] + [Option] + [Ctrl] + [8] to invert the colors on your Mac.
Use [Command] + [Option] + [Del] to empty trash.

You may also like...