Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#161

Post by kreeble » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 3:58 PM UTC

ractive wrote: post #141

I recently discovered some nice helpers to resize windows: - Hold down the option key while resizing a windows (with the mouse) to also resize the opposite side. This also works when resizing the window on a corner to resize all edges at once. - Double click a window border to enlarge this side of the window up to the edge of the scereen. Hold down the option key to enlarge also the opposite site. - Double-click the…

I have saved days and much effort by using `SHIFT + ALT + CMD + X` to resize my windows. https://github.com/kreeble/SimpleWindowResizer

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#162

Post by WiseWeasel » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 3:59 PM UTC

Re-enable the boot chime on the latest Macs with the following command in terminal:

  sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

To turn it back off:

  sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#163

Post by elliekelly » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 3:59 PM UTC

JadeNB wrote: post #101

GavinAnderegg wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oops! Sorry! I meant Cmd-Opt-Space here. Also, yeah, the search is pretty janky in my usage as well.

> Oops! Sorry! I meant Cmd-Opt-Space here. Also, yeah, the search is pretty janky in my usage as well. Indeed, I thought that might be what you meant … but that opens the Finder search window for me, so I think that that shortcut also is not universal. Probably some of these differ depending on whether you've got a fresh install or an updated system that may carry along shortcuts from an older release. EDIT: adsche (…

If you go to the Edit menu in finder (or any application) all the way at the bottom of the dropdown menu you’ll see “Emoji & Symbols” and to the right it should tell you the shortcut keys.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#164

Post by iscrewyou » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

hjnilsson wrote: post #103

frankjr wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh and I almost forgot - there's also a similar concept of Smart Playlists within iTunes (Command+Option+N) [0]. [0] https://i.imgur.com/eXmwb42.png

And in Photos. I use it to create albums for different cameras and lenses I’ve had / have, very useful!

This is how I organize albums.

You can create a smart album that “is not” in “Any”. Now this smart album has all the photos that are not in any album.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#165

Post by rmetzler » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

My favorite feature is the help menu, where you can search the menu for a command. I'm not aware of any other OS doing this so consistently.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#166

Post by awinder » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

I’ve been using windows more recently since my personal Mac bit the dust and I’m trying to decide if there’s really that much reason to own a personal Mac.

So now I realize for years I’ve been using this silent feature of macs for years called “not totally jacked up font rendering”. I would never have imagined this was a feature, but apparently there is a collective insanity in windowsland where the quality of font rendering is not just a total and utter failure. So this is my new top Mac feature.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#167

Post by mproud » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:02 PM UTC

When typing or editing text, Option-arrow to move the cursor one word to the left or right

Command-arrow to move to the beginning or end of the line

Combine either of these with the shift key to quickly select text.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#168

Post by 1penny42cents » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:02 PM UTC

wildrhythms wrote: post #89

pcr910303 wrote: post #66

While this isn't a generic feature, I want to say that everyone should try embracing the non-keyboard nature of macOS (as it always has been done), not just complaining that some of the elements are not reachable in the keyboard.[0] Try using the mouse, trackpad (which is top-quality), and the Touch Bar (which I guess will be the most controversial?). Especially drag-n-drop. I'm not sure if it's already mentioned, bu…

Isn't the touchbar explicitly a "keyboard nature" type of interaction? You mentioned Mac OS having a non-keyboard nature, and then tout the touchbar?

I know what they meant here. The touch bar seems like a keyboard but it's not, because of the sliders and customization.

My original touch bar layout mirrored the pre-touch bar layout out of familiarity. Recently I've learned how to use it as intended (sliders instead of up and down buttons, using application-custom buttons). I realized that I was just being an old man about the touch bar before.

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#169

Post by kreeble » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

ftk wrote: post #152

When Cmd+Tab'ing press and hold the Option key before letting go of Cmd to unminimize/create a window for the selected application (assuming it doesn't already have unminimized windows open).

Not doin anythin for me

Re: Ask HN: What feature did you find after years of using macOS?

#170

Post by tgv » Sat, Aug 08, 2020, 4:04 PM UTC

cmehdy wrote: post #126

Three-finger drag is the one thing I just can't live without.[0] Finder: Cmd+Shift+G to navigate wherever I want (with autocomplete) Text input: Control+Command+Space for the emoji list and search Text input (switching keyboards for Japanese input): Control+Space for quick toggles Text input (accents in my native language): all the accents and letters of various European languages are usually made by using Option+[ke…

> all the accents and letters

Nowadays, holding down a key will show a pop-up with all the accent options, which you can then select by mouse or by typing the number under it, much like on iOS. The option route is my preferred one, as it's faster, but the new one is much more accessible to people without keyboard prowess.