How to: The 10 most underused Mac Command

With the complexity of OS X, it’s hard to know each and every command that its operating system has to offer.  Over the next few days (or weeks) I’ll be highlighting some less known Mac OS X commands that are there, but may be less known to a general or even an advanced user.

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Today, I will start off with the 10 most underused commands to help you get a job done faster.  As always, I will keep the descriptions short and to the point.  If you’d like more information about a command, leave a comment below so either myself or someone else can help out.

1.  KILL A FROZEN APPLICATION:

Their are a couple ways to ‘kill’ an unresponsive application”

– Click the Apple icon, press the SHIFT key.  An option will show up such as FORCE QUIT…  Doing so will show a recent executed application.  Clicking this choice will shut down that application.

– Open TERMINAL, then type: killall appname

– Make sure you’re in the frozen app, then press [CONTROL][OPTION][ESC].  Then select the name of the frozen app.

2.  FIND AN APPLICATION WITHOUT THE FINDER OR DOCK.

If you’re in a hurry and know the name of the app, just use SPOTLIGHT to find and execute the app.

3.  PRINT OUT YOUR ITUNES PLAYLISTS.

Go to the Playlist that you wish to print, then select FILE > PRINT.

4.  SHOW HOW LONG YOUR MAC HAS BEEN UP.

Go into TERMINAL, and then type in uptime.

5.  DRAG YOUR FAVORITE WEB SITE TO THE DESKTOP OR DOCK.

Sometimes, you don’t want to Bookmark a web site, just save it for later.

– Go to a web site that you wish to view later.
– Place the mouse to the left of the web site’s URL (the icon) and drag it to either the Desktop or Dock.

6.  SHOW WHAT’S RUNNING IN MEMORY.

Go into Terminal, and type in TOP.  Press [ESC] or [Control-C] to exit.

7.  USE  APPLESCRIPT.

Ever since the birth of Mac OS X, Apple has had its own scripting language called AppleScript.  This language can automate common tasks and you can also write small apps with it too.  This feature is sort of hidden away, so you can find it by:

– Activate Spotlight.
– Do a search for AppleScript.
– Click on the icon.

An editor will open up.  This is where you write and execute AppleScripts.

8. USE AUTOMATOR.

Like AppleScript, Automator lets you create small script visually.

9.  CLEAR  THE TERMINAL SCREEN.

Sometimes, when one works in Terminal, their are a whole bunch of commands on the screen.  This can get visually confusing.  But by typing in the word clear at an empty prompt, will clear the terminal screen of clutter.

10.  USE A LEFT-CLICK WITH AN APPLE MOUSE.

Many new Mac people do not know how to ‘right click’ something with an Apple Mouse.  It’s easy:

– Hold the [CONTROL] button and click the mouse.

That’s it for now.  More to come soon.

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