Hey guys,
I bought a Mac Pro the other day and so far I am not all that impressed. I was looking to just stimulate my brain by learning some new things but, so far I am not all that impressed with OS X as compared to Vista or Windows 7. I am having a hard time getting used to the way it handles window focus under the mouse compared to windows.
Can anyone suggest a good text editor that supports regular expressions?
Also, I would love to hear about any software you use that you find valuable for OS X(games, editors, etc.)
Thanks!
For a great text editor html editor check out BBedit. It's a great program, built in ftp, code colring, etc.
Some other apps you might be able to use
DVD ripping - mac the ripper, ffmpegX, HandBrake
Playing saved flv and swf, SWF & FLV Player
Bonjour Browser if your on a network
Stuffit, compresson, can create droplets to things
RAR Expander
Chicken of the vnc If you use vnc
All adobe stuff
Toast for burning
IBidwatcher for sniping ebay
AppleMacSoft DRM Convertor if you use iTunes
CoRD if you remote to win boxes
PeerGuardian for transmission
GetLeft if you rip sites
I think once you get used to the Mac you'll find it's just easy and it works.
Some things that will help get you started.
The Apple key is called the command key.
When you click on a background window it comes to the front without bringing all windows of that app to the front, very handy.
Hold control while using the mouse wheel to zoom entire screen.
In Firefox hold control and option then use scroll wheel to zoom Firefox window. Or command with plus or minus key.
Command click the title are of a background window and move it around without bringing it to the front.
Command-shift-n to create a new folder.
If you command click the name of a finder window it will show you the directory path to where the folder you are in is located. If you release the mouse on one of those folders it will open in the current window.
When you are in a finder window command up arrow takes you up one level and command down arrow opens the file or folder highlighted.
When you are in a file open window you can usually select multiple files to open with shift or command keys.
In the finder drag a file or folder onto a folder and hold it there a second and the folder will open and you can drag the file to a folder in that window.
You can create a folder with shortcuts to files, folders, links etc and drag the folder to the right side of the dock. Now right click on that folder and you can get to all the links in it easily. You can also drag a disk icon there and easily navigate through the drive.
In the finder double clicking a folder opens it in the current window, command double clicking it opens it in a new window.
Option double clicking a file, folder, app opens it and closes the window it was in.
Command-delete to send selected items to the trash.
Command-shift-delete empty trash, add option to bypass asking if you are sure.
Option drag to copy an item.
To cancel dragging an item either hit escape or drag it to an empty spot on the finder bar at the top of the screen.
Command-h to hide an application (most apps, not photoshop).
Command-option-click and app in the dock to select or open it hiding all other apps.
Command click a dock icon to reveal it's location in the finder.
Drag a file to a apps dock icon to open it with that app.
To kill an app right click it's dock icon and select force quit.
Screen shots, command-shift-3, grab whole screen, command-shift-4 select area to grab or command-shift-4, then press space and click a window to grab just that window. Screen captures are PNG by default, but you can change them to PDF within terminal with this command. You have to log out and back in for it to take effect. I believe you can also make jpg or psd files.
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type pdf
In windows that are long enough to scroll, finder, firefox, etc. If you command-click a position in the scroll bar it will scroll instantly to that position.
When in a finder window command-j will let you change the appearance of the window, icon size, picture or color of background of window, etc. WATCH the option at the top that says this window only or all windows. If you pick all windows it will change every window on your computer.
Organize you files with labels, right click files/folders and select a color. You can change the colors in the finder preferences, under the finder menu.
When you are in open save dialog windows and other places cmooand-d takes you to the desktop.
When you are in a finder window command-shift-a takes you to your apps folder, command-shift-u takes you to your utilities folder.
Play with the terminal, there is a ton of stuff you can do with it. Type cal to get a calendar of the current month or cal 2009 for a calendar of 2009.
Hope this helps, pm with questions.
