OSX Smart folders
Alright, so I’m moving along with my migration from Windows XP to Apple’s OSX. I’ve been using Windows for so long that some of what I thought was “intuitive” no longer was. Close boxes on open windows, for instance. XP has them at the top right, but OSX has them at the top left. Also, double clicking the header of a window in XP makes the window get bigger, in OSX it minimizes the window. That’s still tripping me up. One difference that gave me fits for a while, and still kinda does, is the alt tab window toggling in Windows. It’s not quite the same over here, but there’s another trick which is equally useful, but it requires all your windows to be open. You hit F9 tab. Each press of the tab key brings a new window into focus. A tap on esc pulls you into that window. It works, but it’d be nice if it would also show minimized windows. I like to keep my hands off the mouse as much as possible.
Anyway, that’s not what I really wanted to write about. I really wanted to write about this thing that’s apparently a new feature with the ‘Tiger’ edition of OSX called “Smart Folders.” You can make a folder that contains search results. So, for instance, maybe I wanted to know where all my .pdf files are. I make a smart folder that only contains .pdf files and it displays them, regardless of where they’re located on my system. It gets much better than that, though. It’ll do smart folders for pretty much any file characteristic you can imagine. Every file in OSX has custom fields that you can add text to–what essentially amounts to a shorthand metadata or, in more modern language, tags. So I can “tag” any kind of file with a word and then build a smart folder that displays any file containing that tag. You can specify where to look, or where not to look if you don’t want to display everything throughout the system. I am so geeked about smart folders!
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9 opinions for OSX Smart folders
racketboy
Jul 29, 2005 at 12:45 pm
Wow — that is cool. I’m a wannabe Mac user, but am still getting use out of my current PCs. But those smart folders sound awesome — kinda like smart playlists in iTunes.
Nathan
Jul 29, 2005 at 8:14 pm
You know about command-tab, right? (i.e. apple-key and tab switches between programs in exactly the same way alt-tab does in windows). The command key swaps for the ctrl/alt keys in a lot of situations, so try all your keyboard shortcuts with command (e.g. command-c/command-v for copy/paste).
And — get yourself a book on AppleScript. Then you can really make you Mac dance to _your_ tune :-) (e.g. copy data from one app to another and then make the graph of it in Excel, all as a script).
Bren
Jul 29, 2005 at 10:27 pm
Yep, thanks Nathan, I do know about the command-tab. It doesn’t actually work the same way as in windows, though. It does scroll through open applications, but if your window is minimized to the dock, then you can’t pull it up with command-tab. That’s why I’m leaving all my windows open and using F9 plus tab to view my options.
Thanks for the tip on AppleScript. I’ve been using some pre-built scripts that come with various other programs and I definitely see the utility in them. Gonna get me a book. Any recommendations?
jose
Jul 31, 2005 at 8:51 am
actually, bren, have a look at quicksilver (http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/), which will let you customize keys and actions more easily than applescript will. much nicer approach …
Andy Todd
Aug 2, 2005 at 5:50 am
If you want to switch between windows using only the keyboard then check out witch;
http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?thema=witch&sprache=deutsch&kopf=labor
It’s rather good. Although quicksilver is fantastic ;-)
Pramod
Aug 3, 2005 at 7:33 am
Have you checked out the Exposé?
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/expose/
Its quite useful and you can use keyboard shortcuts to manage it as well.
Ryan
Aug 3, 2005 at 11:39 am
Exposé is very nice. I still do most of my “work” work on a PC, and I find myself trying to use the Exposé commands throughout the day. Then I get sad when they don’t work. A quick rundown:
F9 - Show all open (un-minimized) windows
F10 - Show all windows for JUST the current application
F11 - Show/hide the desktop
F12 - Dashboard (not really part of Exposé, but it can be handy)
The thing is, with these commands available, I don’t find myself minimizing that much anymore, since I can get at any window with a single keystroke.
I heartily recommend QuickSilver as well.
Also, Nathan mentioned Command-Tab above, but you can also use Command-~ (the tilde key) to swap between windows within an application, sorta similar to what F10 does. And, of course, there’s Command-Space to bring up the Spotlight search box.
Final note: you can go to “System Preferences -> Keyboard and Mouse -> Keyboard Shortcuts” to view and customize shortcuts.
Online Idea Buzz
Aug 3, 2005 at 3:03 pm
Mac: OS X Smart Folders
If you’re using Tiger, and haven’t yet created any Smart Folders, this post on Slacker Manager may inspire you: … new feature with the ‘Tiger’ edition of OSX called “Smart Folders.” You can make a folder that contains search
tom
Dec 5, 2005 at 10:45 pm
Hmmmm…. alt-tab.
Just use the “apple-key” and tab. Means Command-Tab.