09-17-2009, 08:12 PM

I've had my mac for a few years now, but I have never been able to figure out how to use some of the shortcuts.

For example in the pic below, on the line that says "as Grid" there is a funny symbol, then the apple key and then 5. How do you do that first symbol??

Also, in that pic the very last line. It says "Switch to mini player" and the shortcut is and Up arrow symbol, Apple, and M. How do you do this one? I have tried the up directional key, that doesn't seem to work.



Thanks!

09-17-2009, 08:22 PM

If u go into Sys Prefs/Keyboard & Mouse and click on Modifier Keys you get this;


Click for full size

that help?

09-17-2009, 08:44 PM

Dude... did you seriously take a picture of your screen with a digital camera? use command shift 4 and highlight the area you want to show us...

PS - that funky symbol is option

09-18-2009, 08:38 AM

Some keyboards have those hieroglyphs right on the keys, along with the words they correspond to. That would be a big help. There's no message box to tell you where to go look for the legend. Using a computer is a journey of discovery.

09-18-2009, 02:23 PM

Solidgold, those symbols refer to the Shift, Control, Option and Command keys. These are called modifier keys, and they are as follows.

⌘ is the Command key (formerly called the Apple key because there used to be a small Apple icon on it

^ is the Control key

⌥ is the Option (alt) key

⇧ is the Shift key

So in the menu above, to view as a grid, hold down the Option, Command and 5 keys all at once. In manuals, this would be written as Option-Command-5. The dashes are NOT to be pressed, they're just there to separate the words and numbers of the shortcut.

To switch to the mini player, you'd press Shift-Command-M. The arrow-looking symbol is the SHIFT key, not the UP arrow key.

Here's a list of many of the shortcut commands.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

And, as mentioned, next time you want to show us a picture of your screen, use the screen shot shortcuts:

Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard

09-18-2009, 05:24 PM

Thanks everyone for the replies. Nice little trick with the screen capture too

09-18-2009, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Solidgold, those symbols refer to the Shift, Control, Option and Command keys. These are called modifier keys, and they are as follows.

⌘ is the Command key (formerly called the Apple key because there used to be a small Apple icon on it

It was never called the Apple key. It was always command. Back in the day (I've had a mac in the house since before I was born, been using since I was 2) it was just the little schnickelgoober symbol to mean command, didn't even say command if I remember correctly. My dad and I used to always refer to commands as "schnickelgoober whatever." It was pretty fun. But yea, adding an apple to it was a recent thing... then they decided it was stupid, so they went back to old school. Which as a life long MacAddict, I appreciate.

Command-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it as a file on the desktop

Command-Control-Shift-3: Take a screenshot of the screen, and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then select an area: Take a screenshot of an area and save it to the clipboard

Command-Control-Shift-4, then space, then click a window: Take a screenshot of a window and save it to the clipboard

Those are cool, nice help. I didn't know anything past the first 2. To screenshot a window, I'd usually just command shift 4 it and select that area... thanks for the tips. I'll add some rep for ya.