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New poll: Mac App Store and software purchases
In honor of the "sandboxalypse," or the day that Apple started imposing sandboxing rules on the Mac App Store, I thought it would be interesting to see how Mac OS X Hints readers use the Mac App Store. Head over to our new poll about the Mac App Store and software purchases.
Date Published: Jun 01, 2012 - 8:31 am
Easily toggle the menu bar in full screen mode
I got sick of running my cursor up to the top of the screen to see my battery life, the time, etc., and I realized that there is a simple way to display the menu bar when in full screen mode. Just invoke the Spotlight keyboard shortcut, which by default is Command-Space. Use that key combination once to show the menu bar, then again to hide it.
[kirkmc adds: Nice. I don't really get full screen mode, but the times I have used it, I've been confronted with that problem, especially wanting to see the time.]
Date Published: Jun 01, 2012 - 8:30 am
View console log in Terminal
Back in the day, prior to Leopard, there was a console.log file, which contains errors and messages for the current user's account. When Leopard came around, this file was removed, and the system-wide logging system (ASL) replaced it. Those messages are still recorded, but when you view logs in Console, you can't see them on their own.
I was doing some research today for an article, and wondered where that file went, and how one could view it, since the full system.log contains so many entries that it can be hard to wade through. I found a forum thread from 2008 which explains that you can see what used to be in console.log by running syslog -C in Terminal. You can also run this command to save these entries in a file, then view them in vim: syslog -C > /tmp/console.log; view /tmp/console.log. Or, if you simply want to save this information in a text file, you can do this: syslog - ...
Date Published: May 31, 2012 - 8:30 am
Sync OS X Lion Address Book with Nokia device
Until 10.6, all Nokia devices were directly supported by iSync. iSync still runs under 10.7, but has to be installed manually from a backup because it's no longer supported (you'll have to find a 10.6 installation to get a copy).
However, the introduction of iCloud finally broke iSync, too. You will not be able to sync a Nokia phone with iSync if you have iCloud activated.
The solution is:
- Create a new user (called for example NokiaSync)
- Select all Address Book entries. Drag the list of entries to your desktop. This creates a .vcf file.
- Copy this file to the Desktop of your new user NokiaSync (via the NokiaSync user's Public folder, or some other means).
- Drag the .vcf file into this user's Address Book.
- Launch iSync for user NokiaSync and sync NokiaSync's address book with your Nokia phone.
Date Published: May 30, 2012 - 8:30 am
Toggle audio when changing volume
Pressing the Shift key while changing volume with volume keys on your keyboard will toggle the "Play feedback when volume is changed" setting.
As I unchecked this preference, I find it very useful to get a quick idea of the volume when I plug my MacBook to an unknown audio system.
[kirkmc adds: This is a dupe, but the original hint is so old (it was back in 2002) that I felt it would be useful to run this.]
Date Published: May 29, 2012 - 8:30 am
No hints today
No hints today, in honor of Memorial Day.
Spend a moment to think about those who fought.
Date Published: May 28, 2012 - 8:30 am
Force YouTube links to open in mobile website on iOS
The default YouTube app in iOS was great back in 2007, but it hasn't seen a significant update in years and is lacking many features compared to the newer mobile YouTube website that Google launched two years ago.
To stop iOS from launching the native YouTube app, and force it to use the superior YouTube mobile website, simply disable YouTube under Settings > General > Restrictions.
This will make all YouTube links open the mobile website and will also hide the native YouTube app on the device. If you decide you want to revert these changes, simply go to the Restrictions settings and toggle YouTube back on.
Date Published: May 25, 2012 - 8:30 am
Adjust your startup chime volume
Controlling the volume of the startup chime is easy to set in the System Preferences Sound panel, but you need to make two different settings if you have external speakers connected to your Mac. There is no need to use scripts or any other coding to make this adjustment.
There are both internal and external speaker output settings in the sound preference pane. In order to adjust (or turn off) the volume of your Mac's internal speakers, nothing must be plugged into the headphone jack. Keep in mind that this setting completely controls the volume of your internal Mac speakers, so if you mute the sound, and have no external speakers, you will get no sound at all from your Mac.
To adjust the volume on your Mac's internal speakers:
- Unplug speakers or headphones from the headphone jack.
- Go to System Prefs > Sound, then click on the Output tab.
- You will then see Internal Speakers (Type built-in) highlighted in the window.
- Adjust ...
Date Published: May 24, 2012 - 8:30 am
Change hidden iTunes preferences
There are plenty of hints on this site that use the defaults command to change preferences or settings that are unavailable via the GUI. These are fine to use for isolated changes, but there are some applications where you might want to change a number of settings.
iTunes is one of these. Over the years, Apple has removed a number of options from iTunes; at least from its menus and preferences. Many of these options remain, but are hidden.
Doug Adams' free Change Hidden iTunes Preferences is an applet that lets you change a number of settings. I use it to make sure that when I rip CDs, track numbers are added to the file names; to hide Ping buttons; and to hide the arrow buttons that display next to tracks. Other options it offers are the ability to turn on half-stars for ratings (useful for smart playlists), showing the "Libary" playlist at the top level of the iTunes so ...
Date Published: May 23, 2012 - 8:30 am
View an application's graphical resources in Preview
You can view all of an application's graphical resources - icons, pictures, UI elements, etc. - quickly and easily by dragging the application icon onto the Preview icon. When you do this, Preview's sidebar will show all of these items, and you can click on any of them to view it in the main window.
If you do this with Keynote, you'll have access to all the graphical elements in the various themes the program contains; and with Pages, you'll be able to see all the elements from the program's templates.
[kirkmc adds: Interesting, and a good way to copy certain graphical elements, notably from Keynote themes or Pages templates. Note that there are thousands of graphic files in these programs, so it can take a while to wade through them.]
Date Published: May 22, 2012 - 8:30 am
Display colored icons in Safari Bookmark Bar
An old hint from 2003 explained how to use the Character Palette to display icons instead of text in the Safari Bookmarks Bar. The addition of Emoji in 10.7 means that colored icons can be added, the only way I've seen to add color to the Safari Bookmarks Bar. Just note that on an iPad, the icon in the Bookmarks Bar of mobile Safari will be black and white, though it will show as color in the iOS pop-up bookmarks menu.
[kirkmc adds: This works as described, but unfortunately, there aren't many Emoji symbols in Lion. For example, if you wanted to have different colored icons for different bookmarks, it would be practical if there were a set of circles or squares. There is a "large red circle," but only red. Most of the icons are not really useful as visual clues to what the bookmarks are for. But they do alleviate the gray a bit.]
Date Published: May 21, 2012 - 8:30 am
How to hide all .plist.lockfile files
Apple has introduced an additional type of preference file in Lion, those whose names end in ".plist.lockfile". Here is a good explanation of the function of those files: Lockfiles and other plist file subtypes in OS X Lion
Since plist.lockfiles do not contain any useful information for the user and almost double the content of and clutter the Preferences folders in /Library and ~/Library, I've been looking for a way to hide those files. With help from Yvan Koenig of MacScripter in this topic (I'm flex20 in that forum), I wrote an AppleScript "Hide Unhide plist.lockfile.scpt," which provides a quick and easy way of hiding or unhiding all those pesky files.
You will need an admin password to run the script because some of the ".plist.lockfile" files can only be changed by admi ...
Date Published: May 18, 2012 - 8:30 am
"Portable" TextWrangler with Dropbox
I love TextWrangler, and I have a Mac at work and one at home, but often do coding on both. I set up a system using Dropbox so both my preferences and my Application Support files sync so I always have my stationery files and the same settings, wherever I am.
Run the following as a shell script on each of the Macs. This will copy TextWrangler to your Dropbox folder, and create the support folder on Dropbox, then create a symlink to it in the correct location on your Macs. It will then copy the preference files to Dropbox, so when you launch the application on either Mac, you'll have the same setup.
#!/bin/bash
#+ Portable TextWrangler
#* Formatted date & time string.
FORMATTED_DATE=`/bin/date "+%Y-%m-%d%H%M%S"`
#+ ...
Date Published: May 17, 2012 - 8:30 am
Permanently Unhide Library
When Apple shipped Mac OS X Lion 10.7, the Library folder located within every users home folder, which had previously been visible to users in the Finder, was made invisible. This hint shows how to make the folder visible and keep it that way forever.
As you may know, and as mentioned in this hint, the Library folder can be made visible again by running the following command in Terminal:
/usr/bin/chflags nohidden ~/Library
Apple keeps making the folder invisible again with every System update, so it gets tedious re-running the above script. You can automate this by adding a Login Item with an AppleScript "script application" containing the following code:
do shell script "/usr/bin/chflags nohidden
~/Library"
Read detailed instructions for this hint, and download a ready-made script application file on the ...
Date Published: May 16, 2012 - 8:30 am
New poll: Does your main Mac have an SSD?
As SSDs become more common, and prices drop, more and more people are either buying Macs with SSDs, or installing them in their Macs. Personally, I started using an SSD with the first MacBook Air in 2008, and bought my current Mac - a Mac mini, purchased in 2011 - with an SSD. The gains in performance are huge, though the price still makes them a choice that is not for everyone.
So, what about you? Does your main Mac - the one you use most - have an SSD? Feel free to post in the comments to the poll which model, whether you bought it with the Mac or installed it yourself, or any other comments you may have about SSDs.
Vote in the poll
Date Published: May 15, 2012 - 8:31 am
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