I thought it would be a good idea to have a list of handy references, tips and tricks for OS X users. So, here's my short list of handy things. For all sequences, note the following: The command key, referenced as [CMD] or Command, is the apple or "splat" key next to the space bar. All other keys are as labeled.

Boot Key Sequences:

Hold Option key and power on: Select from all available boot volumes.

Hold mouse button and power on: Force eject optical drive.

Hold T key and power on: Boot into FireWire target mode, which allows the machine to be plugged into another Mac and act as an external FireWire drive.

Hold C key and power on: Boot from optical drive.

Hold N key and power on: Attempt to start from network (netboot)

Hold CMD, OPT, SHIFT and DELETE: Bypass startup drive and boot from external source. Useful for borked hard drive recovery.

Hold SHIFT: Disable extensions. a.k.a "Safe Mode" Useful if you've installed a system-level hack that has left the machine unbootable.

Hold Command and V: Boot using Darwin UNIX status screen instead of the gray Apple placeholder. Useful for all sorts of debugging info.

Hold Command and S: Boot into single-user mode UNIX shell. You should really know what you're doing if you try this.

Hold Command, Option, P and R: Zap PRAM/NVRAM. Resets all system level options to defaults, such as speaker volume, screen brightness and color, virtual memory, etc, etc. If your Mac is acting "weird", try this.

Hold Command, Option, O and F: Boot into Open Firmware. Really know what you're doing here.

Post-Boot Key Sequences:

Hold Command, Option and Esc: Bring up force-quit menu. Useful if an application has hung.

Hold Control and press Eject: Display shutdown/sleep/restart dialog.

Hold Command, Control and Eject: Immediate reboot without disk preen. Make sure you're not writing any files if you do this, or you'll likely lose them.

Hold Command, Option and Eject: Put machine to sleep.

Hold Command, Shift and 3: Take a screen shot.

Hold Command, Option and D: Hide or Unhide the dock, based on current preferences.

 

this is one reason osx rules - no need to take your hands off the keyboard for simple/important tasks

 

Hold Command, Shift and 4: Draw an area on screen of which you want a screen capture (i.e. not the entire screen).

 

^^Hold Command, Shift and 4, then press space to be able to choose with the mouse which window you want to capture

 

little trick I use sometimes......control+option+apple+8(inverts color)

 

Apple Q - Quit

 

Here are a few basic ones you may know and a few that you may not.

Apple + D = bookmark a page
Apple + N = open new window
Apple + Q = quit current program
Apple + T = open new TAB
Apple + W = close that TAB
Apple + Z = select all
Control + C = copy (have to have something highlighted first)
Control + V = paste whatever you had copied
Control + Option + Apple + 8 = invert color scheme
Shift + Option + Volume Keys = volume increase or decrease by one quarter of a unit each time you press the volume key
Shift + Apple + Volume Keys = volume increase or decrease silently
Shift + Option + Apple + Volume Keys = volume increase or decreases silently by one quarter of a unit each time you press the volume key
Shift + Apple + Right/Left Key = switch between tabs

Try all of these out and you will see what they do. I hope these help some of you....

 

For the retards, where is the Apple key???

 

^^ Apple key = command