See below for a list of advanced tips and tricks for the desktop. For a list of standard desktop keyboard accelerators, see “Standard Desktop Keyboard Accelerators.”
Type the first few letters into the pathname field in an Icon View window, then press the space bar. If the desktop finds one icon that begins with those letters, it automatically completes the file name.
Choose “Filters” from the View menu on an Icon View window, then specify which files you want to view. For instance, you could type b in the first text field to list all the files that begin with the letter “b.”
Create a new page in the Icon Catalog, then drag in your own collection of icons to store on that page. For instance, store icons for all the remote hosts you frequently transfer files to.
Drag icons out of the System Manager onto the desktop for frequently used System Manager tasks.
Place the cursor in an Icon View window, the Icon Catalog, or the Search tool, then press the right mouse button to reveal a pop-up menu. Choose commands to perform actions on the selected icons.
Place the cursor on the desktop, then press the right mouse button to access a pop-up menu that contains commands from the Selected toolchest.
Type a URL into the pathname field or drop a WebJumper icon into a drop pocket in an Icon View window to see all the URL links on a Web page. Drag an icon to the desktop to create a WebJumper. Drag it into another Icon View or <Ctrl> drag it onto the desktop background to create a copy of the file.
Type an ftp site into an Icon View window to display the contents of the ftp site directory. Drag an icon into another Icon View window or <Ctrl> drag it onto the desktop background to create a copy of the file.
Select text in an application window, then click the middle mouse on the desktop background or in an Icon View window. A file is created containing the selected text.
Select a URL, then click the middle mouse button on the desktop background to create a WebJumper icon.
Use the Default Viewer and Editor Utilities panel to change your default text editor, Web browser, image viewer, mail handler, book viewer, or PostScript viewer. To open the panel, select “Utilities” from the Customize menu in the Desktop toolchest.
Move your cursor into an Icon View or onto the desktop and type a filename to select it.
Press the <Alt> key, then double-click the left mouse button in the green area of an Icon View window to view the preceding (parent) directory.
Select “Click to type” in the Window Settings control panel to switch keyboard focus from “point to type” to “click to type.” To open the panel, select “Windows” from the Customize menu in the Desktop toolchest.
Press the <Shift> key, then click the left mouse button on icons you want to select.
Press the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to create a selection box. Release the mouse button and you select all icons touched by the selection box.
Press the left mouse button, then drag the cursor to create a selection box. Release the mouse button and you select all icons touched by the selection box. Then press the <Shift> key and sweep another area to add to the already selected set of icons.
Press the <Ctrl> key, then use the left mouse button to drag the icon within that window or into another Icon View window. You create a copy.
Drag Macintosh™ or DOS PC files directly into an Icon View window.
In the pathname field at the top of an Icon View window, type /hosts/hostname/directoryname. You must have enabled a system resource called automount before doing this.
Drop a remote file or folder icon onto the desktop to access (mount) the remote icon. Drop it into an Icon View window to make a copy.
If you often create the same type of files (Showcase or jot files, for example), in a particular directory, choose “Shelf” from the View menu on that Icon View window. Place application icons on the shelf that appears. Open the application from that shelf, and any new files you create are automatically stored in that directory.
Open an Icon View window, then choose “as Gallery” from the View menu to replace each image file icon with a small snapshot of the image. Use the thumbwheel to enlarge the snapshots if they're not clearly visible at the default size.
Open an Icon View window, then choose “Content Viewer” from the View menu. A viewer opens at the bottom of the Icon View. Click on a file to view a read-only version of the file in the content viewer.
Table 8-2 lists standard keyboard accelerators for the desktop.
Table C-1. Standard Desktop Keyboard Accelerators
Command | Keyboard Accelerator |
|---|---|
“New” | <Ctrl>-n |
“Open“ | <Ctrl>-o |
“Close“ | <Ctrl>-w |
“Save” | <Ctrl>-s |
“Print” | <Ctrl>-p |
“Quit/Exit” | <Ctrl>-q |
“Cut” | <Ctrl>-x |
“Copy” | <Ctrl>-c |
“Paste” | <Ctrl>-v |
“Undo” | <Ctrl>-z |
“Redo” | <Shift><Ctrl>-z |
“Select All” | <Ctrl>-a |
“Deselect All” | <Shift><Ctrl>-a |