Tag Archives: tips
Quickly switch between users in OS X
In OS X (Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard) it is really easy to switch between users without logging out of the system. However, you need to activate a system preference setting in order to activate the switch mode. Go to System Preferences and select “Accounts”. If you are not an admin user click on the [...]
Create your own commands using alias
In Unix based operating systems it is quit easily create your own convenient commands using alias. This is particularly helpful when you use certain shell commands in a regular basis. To create alias list you should create or edit ~/.bashrc. Here is how you do it. Open the Terminal.app cd vim .bashrc If the file [...]
Alternative to multiple tabs in OS X Terminal.app – screen
Unfortunately, the Terminal.app comes with OS 10.4 doesn’t have the tab functionality. Most of the Mac users who like to work on several instances of shell without cluttering the desktop use iTerm. However, there is a nother alternative to this called screen. screen is a powerful shell command which lets you open multiple instances of [...]
Shutdown your Mac using a terminal command
The shutdown command comes in handy if you want to shutdown or reboot your Mac at a specific time. Here are some of the examples. You should be a super user to use these commands. sudo shutdown [options] when [message] Some examples. Shutdown immediately: sudo shutdown -h now Reboot immediately: sudo shutdown -r now Shutdown [...]
How to use the OS X built-in screen capture utility
If you haven’t discovered yet, there is nice OS X hidden gem called screen capture, which could be quit useful taking snapshots of your screen. If you want to take a screen shot of the full screen press Command + Shift + 3. For a selected area, press Command + Shift + 4 and highlight [...]
Creating Aliases for the Terminal.app
If you are using certain commands on the Terminal.app in a regular basis, it is a good ideal to create aliases to increase your productivity. Here is how you do it. Open the Terminal.app from Applications > Utilities > Terminal.app To create/Open .bashrc, type vim .bashrc Press i to change vim to edit mode and [...]
Use find command to delete multiple files
If you are comfortable using the Terminal.app here are some examples of how you could use the find command to delete multiple files. Delete a folder(s) in the current location including sub directories with a specific name. find . -name "Folder Name" -exec rm -rf {} \; Delete file(s) in the current folder with specific [...]
A good Leopard Terminal.app theme
I got fedup with the Apple’s default terminal and the color sheme for that matter. If you are spending lot of time on the Terminal perhaps it is a good idea to look for a good theme. Check out the theme from this website.
Be aware – selecting Mac OS Extended (case-sensitive) may cause you some trouble
Recently, I have decided to install Leopard (10.5) on my iMac. Instead of upgrading I have formatted the HDD with Mac OS Extended (case-sensitive) option only to find out that this would prevent me from installing Adobe CS4. I had to do a complete reinstall since it was not possible to change the file system [...]
How to: View hidden files on OS X
In OS 10.4+, certain files are hidden to minimize the interaction with the normal users. However, there are times you may required to work with them. The following Terminal commands will let you view the hidden files in matter of seconds. $ defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE $ killall Finder If you want to change [...]