CREATING YOUR OWN DEFAULTS FOR FINDER WINDOWS

CREATING YOUR OWN DEFAULTS FOR FINDER WINDOWS

Want to create your own custom default settings for new Finder windows? It’s easy: Start by closing every Finder window, then press Command-N (the OS X shortcut for New Finder Window). Set up this window the way you want it (you can choose to show or hide the Sidebar and the toolbar, view by list, the size of the window, even position it on screen where you want all new Finder windows to open). Then, close that window. That’s it – you set your prefs. Now, when you open a new Finder window (not a new folder, a new Finder window), it opens using the scheme you just put in place. It’s all about you, isn’t it? (Note: If you set it to open List of Icon view, make sure that the Open New Windows in Column View checkbox in the General Finder Preferences is turned off.)

CUTTING THROUGH THE WINDOW CLUTTER USING EXPOSE

It’s not only arguably the coolest feature in Panther, it’s probably the best thing that happened to any OS since icons. It’s called Expose and when you invoke it, it instantly shows you miniature versions of every open window in the Finder and all open applications. That way, you can instantly click and go right to the windows you want. Here’s how: Open a few Finder windows, then open a couple documents in an application. Then, press the F9, and every window temporarily miniaturizes. Click on the window you want-it comes to the front, and everything else returns to normal.

UNCLUTTERING JUST YOUR CURRENT APPLICATION

If you’re working within an application (like Photoshop), Exposé works there as well, it’s just a different shortcut. For example, if you’re working in Photoshop and have eight or nine photos open, their windows are stacked with one overlapping another. Just press F10 and Exposé miniaturizes each of those nine windows within Photoshop so you clearly can see each photo to get right to the photo you want. Using F10 only affects the current application , whereas F9 miniaturizes every window in every application, including the Finder.

EXPOSÉ SHOW-OFF TRICK #1

Showing off Exposé to a friend or co-worker who uses a PC is more than a blast, it’s your duty, because even Windows XP still has nothing like it. But if you really want to be a major hambone, before you press F9 to invoke Exposé, start a QuickTime movie clip, have a DVD playing, or have iTunes playing a song and click on the visualize. When you press F9, the QuickTime clip (DVD, iTunes, etc.) keeps playing even when miniaturized.