In Depth: 69 really useful OS X timesavers: "
Apple has always put the user first when it comes to designing operating systems, building environments that help you in your everyday computing life rather than making you work around their limitations.
One result of this has been that Mac OS X has grown to become a highly capable and multi-layered entity, with many tools and features hidden just below the surface, which can make your everyday Mac use quicker and easier.
There are also a number of third-party applications that can help you to save time when performing any number of tasks. These range from simple solutions, like speeding up searching for files or connecting to other Macs, to more advanced features like remote controlling Macs without leaving your seat and understanding iMovie's export options to minimise render times.
The whole ethos of Apple products is to get things done more quickly and elegantly, and with our guide to 101 essential Mac timesavers you'll get the best out of your Mac, iPod or iPhone and learn some great timesaving tricks as well.
Timesavers for everyday Mac use
1. Save time sending files
If you have a group of files or folders that you need to transfer by email, FTP or over iChat, rather than adding them individually multiple-select them and choose File > Create Archive in 10.4 or Compress in 10.5. The resulting zip file will contain all the items and can be added with a single drag and drop.
2. Find files faster
Select File > New Smart Folder and enter criteria for the kinds of files the folder should keep track of. For example, 'all images opened this month', making it quicker to find what you want.
3. Save time turning your Mac on and off
In System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule, set a regular time for your Mac to boot up and shut down. For example, you can tell the schedule to start up your Mac just before you start work.
4. Save time fixing other people's Mac problems
Use the Screen Sharing feature built into OS X 10.5 to remotely control any Mac on a local network. Use Remote Desktop to do the same for any remote Mac for which you have available the IP address and password.
5. Save time when entering your passwords
Whenever you have the option, always tick remember this password when authenticating, so that it is automatically entered for you next time. It's best to avoid this if you're on a public Mac or are concerned about security, though.
6. Quickly share iCal events online
Emailing a group of people when you have news of an event can be quite tiresome – but iCal has the solution. Create a new calendar in the application then choose the Publish option, which will enable you to publish it to either your MobileMe account or a private FTP server. Send the URL of the calendar to friends or colleagues and they can opt to subscribe to it. Choose the publish changes automatically option when you first publish the calendar and new events and any changes you add will be automatically pushed to their calendars, meaning no need to send emails for future events.
7. Speed up repetitive tasks
You can use Automator, found in the Applications folder, to automate multistep tasks by building applications, scripts or plug-ins. For example, importing, resizing and exporting images from a camera then mailing them to a predetermined group of people.
8. Send regular email notifications automatically
In iCal, select an event and then from the sidebar's repeat menu, choose a frequency such as every week from the repeat menu. Then select Alarm > send email 1 day before to your email address. You could use this, for example, to remind yourself to pay a bill the day before it becomes due every month.
9. Open your applications faster and easier
Rather than navigating to the Applications folder, use the Spotlight search bar at the top-right of Finder and type in the first few letters of the program's name. It will then appear almost at once and you can click on its name to launch it.
10. Connect to other computers faster
In the System Preferences > Sharing tab on your Mac, turn on Personal File Sharing. Now, that Mac will automatically appear in the Network tab of Macs running 10.4 and the Shared tab in the sidebar in 10.5. If you enable the Apple Remote Desktop option in the Sharing preferences, you will be able to use the screen-sharing feature, even controlling a 10.4 Mac from a 10.5 machine.
11. Quickly open multiple pages in Safari
With multiple pages stored in a folder within the Bookmarks Bar, if you hold the Cmd key and click on the folder's name, Safari will open all those pages in separate tabs for you.
12. Reveal the Desktop with one click
Hold down Cmd + Alt and click anywhere on your Desktop. All active applications will be hidden letting you access items on the Desktop without having to hide each application separately.
13. Quickly open programs you always use
In System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items, drag into the list any items you want to open automatically on login, such as iChat or Mail, saving you time manually loading them.
14. Save time deleting files and folders
Instead of dragging items to the Trash manually, simply select them and hit Cmd + [Backspace] to send them to the Trash with one click.
15. Save time when downloading images
Simply right-click on an image in Safari or any other browser and you can then choose to quickly save it onto the Desktop, into iPhoto or set it as your Desktop background.
16. Quickly sync the contents of folders for backup
Use Automator to back up the contents of one folder into another with the click of a mouse. Specify the input and output folders and backup options and save the workflow. Now the backup can be performed any time with a single click.
17. Quickly cycle between open applications
Rather than clicking an application's icon in the Dock, hold Cmd and press the tab key to instantly bring up the application switcher, so that you can move between active programs.
18. Save time when filling in web forms
In Safari's preferences go to the Autofill tab. Here you can set it to use information from your Address Book card and save usernames and passwords to make the process of filling in forms much quicker and less tedious.
19. Quickly preview music, movies, pictures and text
In OS X 10.5, select any item and press the space bar to invoke Quick Look. You will be able to play movies and music and scroll through and read text and PDF documents without having to open any applications first.
20. Save time logging out
To log out as quickly as possible, press Cmd + Shift + [Q] then [Enter].
21. Save time when juggling lots of applications
Instead of endlessly moving application windows around, use Spaces in 10.5 to assign programs to spaces, then switch smoothly between them. This means less minimising and moving of windows.
22. Quickly jump to important folders
Use the Go menu in Finder to jump to the major folders like Applications or Home with just a single click.
23. Remove unwanted preference panes
If you want rid of a preference pane, go to the System Preferences > Other section. You can then right-click on a pane and remove it in a single click.
Save time working with photos, music and movies
1. Find missing album artwork faster and easier
If iTunes' built-in tool fails to find artwork for your album, use the Amazon Album Art widget from www.widget-foundry.com. This can quickly and easily locate and copy artwork making your music collection perfect.
2. Quickly create new playlists
In iTunes, rather than manually dragging tracks to a playlist, multiple select them by holding Cmd + clicking on them. Then choose File > New Playlist from Selection.
3. Save time importing images
Go to Applications > Image Capture with an iPhone or digital camera connected. From the device window, click Options and then choose Connection Options > automatically download all items.
4. Back up your iPhoto library faster
Rather than exporting lots of photos, simply go to your Home folder > Pictures and locate the iPhoto Library file. Duplicate this onto an external drive for the fastest possible total backup of all your pictures.
5. Save time when tagging music in itunes
Adding information to lots of music tracks can be a tiresome chore. So, multiple-select the tracks you want in iTunes and press Cmd + [I]. In the resulting Info window, you can add tags and when you press OK they will be applied to every file in one go.
6. How to find photos quickly in iPhoto
By adding tags or keywords to photos you can then use the Search bar at the bottom of the window to search by keyword. This will soon filter a large image library down to just the images you actually want.
7. Copy music from itunes faster
You can drag as many music or video tracks as you like out of iTunes to a folder on the Desktop. You'll find this is much quicker than using the File menu to export a playlist.
8. How to speed up starting itunes or iPhoto
In iTunes and iPhoto you can hold down the Cmd key on startup to show the Library options. This will let you create and switch between multiple images or music libraries. By having several smaller libraries rather than one large one, each one will start up much faster and you can keep different projects or music collections separate.
9. Save time when exporting movies
In iMovie 08, when you select Share > Media Browser, you will get the option to export multiple movies at different sizes for different destinations. By checking off just the ones you really need you can reduce the overall render time.
10. Burn movies to DVD faster
In iDVD, just select File > OneStep DVD. If you connect your digital camera into your Mac over FireWire and put it into VCR mode, iDVD will handily rewind the tape, import the footage and burn it to DVD automatically.
11. Find music faster in your itunes library
In iTunes, go to the Music section of the Library on the left and then enter a search term in the box at the top right. Filtering by artist, album or song, this searches your entire library very quickly and leaves you with a much-reduced list to search for what you want to listen to.
12. Export your images faster using iPhoto
In iPhoto, multiple-select any number of images and then choose File > Export. The compression settings that are applied here will be made to all images and pressing Export will cause all images to be batch processed.
13. Quickly make a video blog
In iMovie 08, create a film project and then press Cmd + [I]. On any Mac with a built-in iSight the camera will be activated and you can record sound and video without connecting any other equipment. You'll then be free to show off your videos to the world.
14. Make your own music tracks in record time
In GarageBand, select File > New > Magic GarageBand. From the resulting window, choose a style and then press Audition. Tweak the instruments and then press Create Project. GarageBand will automatically create the relevant tracks, loops and instruments for you.
15. Copy your images faster from iPhoto
To quickly copy raw images from iPhoto, all you have to do is simply drag them from iPhoto onto the Desktop.
16. Build websites faster
In iWeb, choose View > Media Browser and you can access all the music, pictures and movies in your iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie libraries. These can be dragged and dropped into projects and iWeb will automatically create the right kinds of plug-ins to enable the content to display.
17. Save time when creating podcasts
With your project completed in GarageBand, choose Share > Send Podcast to iWeb, and GarageBand will mixdown and normalize the audio file, and then open iWeb and place the file directly into a page. From here you can simply add some text and choose File > Publish to MobileMe or Submit Podcast to iTunes.
18. Save time sending pictures in mail
In iPhoto, select one or more images and click the Email button at the bottom of the window. Choose a compression ratio – smaller sizes for quicker sending – and hit Compose. A new Mail message is created with the pictures attached and ready to send.
19. Reclaim disk space quickly with iMovie
In iMovie 08, rather than going through a library to try to identify unused clips, choose File > Space Saver. You can then choose to view and delete any clips that are not currently in use in any projects, saving you time. Click Move Rejected to Trash to have them moved from wherever they are over to the Trash.
20. Quickly find duplicate music files in iTunes
It's easy to accidentally add a track more than once to your iTunes library and end up with duplicate files. Choose File > Show Duplicates and then sort the resulting list by track name. However big your music library this will quickly show your doubles and give you the option to delete one whilst leaving the other.
21. Spend less time finding new music
If you activate the Genius feature in iTunes, it will recommend new music to you based on your existing listening habits. This is quicker than searching the iTunes Store by genre in the hope of finding something you might like.
22. Quickly find purchased music in your library
In a big iTunes library, it can take a while to locate tracks that you purchased from the iTunes Store. To quickly hunt them down go to the Store tab on the left, and select the green Purchased option. iTunes will then only display the tracks you have bought from the iTunes Store.
23. Minimise DVD render times
In iDVD, make sure Encode in Background is switched on from the Advanced menu. Also, go into the Project > Project Info menu and set the encoding quality. Professional quality does take a bit longer but choosing Best Performance will offer the fastest render time, making it worth it.
Save time doing common tasks on your Mac
1. Customise OS X easily with MacPilot
OS X contains many settings unavailable to the average user except via Terminal. MacPilot puts these at your fingertips with a friendly interface and lets you quickly and easily tweak and customise a huge number of applications and settings on your Mac.
2. Quickly find wireless networks on the move
When using a laptop on the move, you may need to find wireless hotspots. OS X requires you to click on the AirPort icon to display these, but CoconutWiFi sits in the menu bar and will show a green light as soon as an open network is in range, meaning less clicking for you.
3. Quickly create PDFs
From any Print dialog in OS X you have multiple options to save to PDF – much faster than using Acrobat.
4. Encode videos for your apple devices faster
The QuickTime Player is surprisingly slow at converting videos for iPhones, iPods and Apple TV. Use iSquint to convert movies to these formats and you will find it far quicker and much easier.
5. Convert files faster with Dragoman
File conversion can be a slow process that involves several applications. With Dragoman, you can batch convert image, photo, music, sound and archive files with just a couple of clicks. Best of all, it's absolutely free and takes the hassle out of converting file formats.
6. Burn multiple discs as quickly as possible
In Roxio Toast (£70), once you have created your disc, hit Burn. Then, in the Number of Copies box, enter the number of repeat discs you require. After burning it will spit out the finished disc and ask for a new blank one, repeating the process until it has burned the number of discs you require.
7. Launch documents and applications more quickly
Spotlight is great but does have its limitations. Use QuickSilver or DragThing as a way of organising and accessing documents, clippings and more. Plus you can launch applications with a simple keystroke or click.
8. Save time controlling remote Macs
Who needs to actually leave the house in order to operate someone else's Mac? Use a nifty VNC client like Chicken of the VNC or JollysFastVNC to control remote Macs as if you were sitting right there in front of them.
9. Save time when finding new music
Install the Last.fm software, create an account and get new music streamed to your computer for free, based on your listening habits.
10. Rename groups of files much faster
Renaming multiple files by hand is very slow. Use Renamer4Mac to replace multiple file names or parts of names in one go and save time.
11. Save time when deleting unwanted applications
Be sure that you delete an application plus all its support files cleanly, efficiently, and as quickly as possible with the very handy AppZapper.
12. Speed up reinstallations
Sometimes you need to reinstall software because of a problem, but the installer insists on replacing everything. Use Pacifist to extract only the elements you need from an installer, making for a much quicker process.
13. Save time identifying unknown file types
Sometimes it's not clear what a file actually is, say for example if it's been emailed. It may just appear as a blank white document. Use Palantir to determine its type then open it with the relevant application.
14. Make your own ringtones for your iPhone
Apple makes the ringtone creation process tiresome and in some cases unavailable depending on your location. Use MakeiPhoneRingtone – a free app designed to easily and quickly convert AAC files to ringtones.
15. Get the news delivered as fast as possible
Use NetNewsWire to aggregate all your RSS newsfeeds into a single application, saving you from having to visit and load multiple websites.
16. Quickly track all your online auctions
Instead of navigating eBay's slow and cumbersome website, use a dedicated tracking client such as GarageBuy or GarageSale to manage everything in one window – much faster than trying to juggle multiple heavy web pages.
17. Automatically get Gmail menu bar notifications
Download the Google Notifier software and you will be able to get notifications of new mail and calendar events in your menu bar, leaving no need to open a browser to check for mail.
18. Create disk images faster
Disk images are useful for distributing software or transferring data. A quick and easy way to create them is using FreeDMG. Images you create can be password-protected for greater security.
19. Convert difficult audio formats with Max
iTunes is great but it's limited in the audio file formats it can deal with. Max is a free audio converter that will convert to and from practically any audio format. Converting to AIFF, AAC or MP3 is much faster and more convenient than hunting around for something that can open some obscure format.
20. Batch download photos from Flickr
Flickr's website doesn't make it easy to view and download lots of images, you more or less have to do them one by one. To make this process easier, there's a free program called Photo Grabbr from Malarkey Software. Enter a username or group, choose a set and download the lot in one go, where the owner has permitted downloading.
21. Switch between windows more quickly
The tools built into OS X let you switch between applications with a keystroke. But Witch lets you switch between windows that don't belong to the same application, so rather than having to call an application to the front you can leap straight to the window you want.
22. Save time burning discs
Burn is a free and lightweight CD and DVD burner and it comes without the clutter of Toast. It lets you burn quickly and easily and without any fuss.
23. Quickly translate text
Download the Text Translation widget from Apple's website, paste in your text and choose a target language for an instant translation.
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First published in MacFormat, Issue 205
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(Via Clippings.)
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