Many of you might have got the Mac OS X Mavericks, the tenth major release of the OS X for Macintosh computers. For those of who are new to the platform and also already used to the platform, there may be tips and tricks that you still don’t know about. A list of tips and tricks has been listed below so that you get the best out of your OS.
1. Screen Recording
OS X has an inbuilt facility to record your screen. So you don’t have to spend money on other software. With this feature you can make instructional or how-to videos and edit it and later upload it on YouTube if you want to.
- Launch QuickTime
- Click File menu
- Select “New Screen Recording”
- You can select the area you want to record. Also select your audio settings
- Hit the record button.
2. Offline Dictation
Mountain Lion (previous version) had no offline Dictation and needed internet connection for it to work. But Mavericks does not need internet connection.
To enable Dictation, go to System Preferences, then choose “Dictation and Speech” and make sure the button for Dictation is “On”.
Enable ‘Enhanced Diction’ for Offline Dictation.
3. Use Emoji
You can use Emoji in any text field in any app because Mavericks has Emoji built-in. To use Emoji in any app use this shortcut : Command + Control + Space.
4. Align Dock On to Corners of Screen
You can usually move the dock to the left or right or bottom of the screen by default. Enter t he following commands in the Terminal app to get the docks to the corners.
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string start
Enter the above command and you will get the horizontal dock to the top corner and the vertical dock to the left of the screen.
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string end
Enter the above command and you will get the horizontal dock to the bottom corner and the vertical dock to the right of the screen.
defaults write com.apple.dock pinning -string middle
Enter the above command to go to default state.
Note: After entering any of the above commands, you have to reset docks with this command :
killall Dock
5. Kill the Dashboard
If you find the Dashboard a nuisance and don’t want the Dashboard, you can remove it with a simple trick. If you want it removed, open up Terminal up and type in this command :
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean true
For this to take effect, you should reset docks with this command : killall Dock
6. Disable Start-up Sound
If you don’t like Mac's start-up sound and want to disable it for good, you can enter the following command into Terminal app:
sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=%80
You can restore the start-up sound by entering the following command into Terminal:
sudo nvram -d SystemAudioVolume
7. Permanently Disable Notification Center
Are you tired of getting too many updates in your Notification Centre? Turning it off with Do not Disturb option will help. Moreover you can completely remove it.
Enter the following command in Terminal app:
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.notificationcenterui KeepAlive -bool false
After that, also enter this command:
killall NotificationCenter
Log out of your Mac and then log back in. The Notification icon on the Menu Bar will have disappeared now.
8. Some Useful Keyboard Shortcuts
Find more shortcuts in System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcut.
Command + H : Hides current window
Option + Command + H : Hide all windows except current window
Command + Tab : Cycles through apps
Command + ` : Switches between application windows
Command + , : Opens up application preferences
Option + Shift + Command + V : Pastes text with no formatting
Option + Shift + Command + Space : Open Spotlight to search files on the Mac
Command + Option + Esc : See running apps and quit by force
Shift + Command + 3 : Take and save screenshot of screen
Shift + Command + Control + 3 : Take screenshot and is copied to clipboard
Shift + Command + 4 : Screenshot a designated area with mouse
Option + Command + W : All windows except current window will close
No comments:
Post a Comment