For a different version of a Dock folder or Stack’s List option, type: defaults write com.apple.dock use-new-list-stack -boolean YES; killall Dock
This gives you an interesting hybrid of the List and Grid viewing options. Your List view icons are bigger, and if there are more items than fit the window, you can scroll through them in the same way as you would in Grid view. Also like Grid view, clicking a folder now opens it within the Stack. If you find you don’t like these changes, type the command again, replacing YES with NO.
Safari’s Web Inspector offers a great deal of detail about web pages, and it’s invaluable for serious web developers. You can activate it using Safari’s Debug Menu outlined in No. 11, but if you only want the Web Inspector, type: defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true
After restarting Safari, you can now access the Web Inspector by right-clicking a web page and selecting it from the contextual menu. As you might guess, you can deactivate this feature by repeating the command, but replacing true with false and restarting Safari.
Like many OS X applications, iCal has a Debug mode that can be activated through Terminal. Type: defaults write com.apple.iCal IncludeDebugMenu YES
A new menu bar pull-down titled Debug appears. You can hide it again by repeating the code but replacing YES with NO. iCal must be restarted for changes to take effect.
Address Book also has a hidden Debug menu. To enable it, type: defaults write com.apple.addressbook ABShowDebugMenu -bool YES
The Debug pull-down appears in the menu bar. To disable it again, repeat the command and replace YES with NO at the end. The application must be closed and restarted for these commands to take effect.
To enable a debug menu in Safari 4, type: defaults write com.apple.safari IncludeInternalDebugMenu 1
Quit Safari and restart it for the hack to take effect, giving you an extra menu bar pull-down labeled Debug. To get rid of it again, repeat the command, replacing the 1 at the end with 0. A restart is again required.
If you highlight a file in the Finder and press the Space bar, you activate Quick Look, giving you information about the item in question and possibly a preview of the file. Folders look pretty dull in Quick Look, as you can see here.
Fortunately, you can spice up your folder-viewing experience, and Terminal is the way. To make Quick Look give you an X-ray image of a folder, simply type: defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableXRayFolders -boolean YES
Quick Look now offers an X-ray view of a folder with an icon that shows you what’s inside it. To disable this feature, type the command again, replacing YES with NO. Quick Look folders are returned to their customary state.
To turn the Dock icons translucent for applications that are open but hidden, type: defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool YES; killall Dock
Repeat the command, replacing YES with NO to disable this feature. Icons for applications that are already hidden when you activate this feature will not appear translucent unless you show and then hide them again.
matrix965
November 19, 2012 at 5:34pm
I tried the sudo command in terminal and i did it wrong! so now every time i start up terminal its just a blank box with no directorys or your name or last login its just blank anyone know how to fix this??? please help!!!
GoodLucky
January 08, 2011 at 4:05pm
I'm positive that I put in the command right, but widgets don't just stay on the desktop, they stay permanently on top. Am I doing this wrong or does that just happen?
I'm running Leopard.
zainahsan
August 03, 2010 at 12:38pm
I have eMacs version 22.1. Is that compatible with the code you guys provided?
jwilliams1973
July 16, 2010 at 3:42am
Nevermind. I notice it is a typed message, not voice. Whatever!
Joleen28
July 11, 2010 at 8:55am
I tried to do the Recently Used comman in terminal but when I executed it my Dock disappeared and my computer locked up. When I turn my computer off and back on the Dock is still not there and the computer continues to lock up. Can someone tell me how to undo this and fix my Dock?!
hughessg
August 03, 2010 at 7:20am
To fix the problem power off the computer. Restart in Safe mode (power on and hold SHIFT until the cog starts spinning). Select your profile. Open a new finder window and select your user name under places (ie the house icon). Open Library>Preferences and highlight com.apple.dock.db AND com.apple.dock.plist. Drag these files to your desktop. Restart your computer. Login like you usually do. Your dock should be back to normal and the computer shouldn't freeze up. Trash the 2 files copied to your desktop. If you open up the pathway again you will find they were automatically replaced. Many thanks to apple support for the advice.
mpniemi
July 08, 2010 at 3:25pm
I knew that the bookmarks were automatically transferred to my iPhone but my question is this. I recently got an iPhone for my wife. She noticed this and somehow deleted all of our bookmarks from our Mac. Short of typing each one back into the address bar is there a way to "reverse" the process?
Filmsinematik
July 06, 2010 at 2:18am
Enable Debug Mode in Safari, make sure a window is open, go to Debug -> Show Page Load Test Window, click where it says "Suite" and choose URL. Click Start and watch what happens. A rare, strange but funny OS X easter egg!
www.filmsinematik.tk
ClassicUser
July 03, 2010 at 12:38pm
What is meant by "Using a robotic voice reminiscent of a 1950s sci-fi flick"?? The default voice in Leopard & Snow Leopard is "Alex", which is, by all accounts, one of the - if not "THE" - best synthesis voices in the industry. See, for example:
http://watchingapple.com/2008/05/voices/
http://gwhiz.wordpress.com/2007/10/10/alex-speaks-out-on-leopard/...for more details, as well as other usage ideas.
You can obviously choose other voices (including some entertaining "Novelty" voices) via the Speech preference pane, but out-of-the-box, your Mac certainly does not sound "robotic".
ClassicUser
July 03, 2010 at 12:39pm
I go to the trouble of formatting the URLs with anchor tags, and the MacLife site STILL doesn't render them as clickable. Wonderful.
Macrunner
July 01, 2010 at 3:51pm
Some of them I never known before. Useful for sure!
--------------------------------------
iPod transfer for Mac users
http://www.ipodmactransfer.com
KyCous
June 26, 2010 at 2:05pm
Enable Debug Mode in Safari, make sure a window is open, go to Debug -> Show Page Load Test Window, click where it says "Suite" and choose URL. Click Start and watch what happens. A rare, strange but funny OS X easter egg!
James Pal
June 25, 2010 at 2:37pm
hey i tried "14. Recently Used" but it's not working im running the latest Snow Leopard (10.6.4) does it not work for it?
Edit: meh it's ok after i entire a different command a ton poped up in my dock!
ilikeimac
June 25, 2010 at 10:10pm
I did a quick count and 84% of these tips are just hidden preferences. Sure the terminal is one way of changing those settings, but so are slick freebies such as the Secrets pref pane.
Love the Star Wars tip though, that one's awesome.
Here's a non-preference-related terminal tip: use SSH from another machine to kill misbehaving apps or semi-gracefully shut down a locked up machine. This would look something like
$ ssh other-machine
other-machine$ sudo shutdown -r nowEdit: 3 Terminal tips and 22 Hidden Preferences. Guess I miscounted.
