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TUAW Tip: Moving your home folder to another disk (or moving it back)
In ye olde times, with "Mack OSe 9," many users chose to keep their personal files, work, and documents on a different physical disk from their startup disk. It was a safety measure: If one disk goes down, at least the other won't. There was no structural reason to keep files in a particular disk location, other than keeping them out of the System Folder. I visited a client yesterday whose drive scheme was set up exactly like this, and he wanted to be (finally) upgraded to Leopard. I wasn't sure how Leopard would handle the fact that his Users folder had been moved to a different drive, so (knowing I had backups of his entire system) I cautiously proceeded with the installation. After the installer finished, Leopard had created a fresh, blank Users folder on the startup disk with a home folder bearing the same username. This wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for. I had to link, somehow, the new Users/hisname folder with his existing user folder on the other volume. Turns out, Leopard handles this much better than previous versions of Mac OS X. Read on to find out how.
Ask TUAW: tracking your iTunes purchases, quitting processes, doing a clean OSX install and more
Once again, it's time for another edition of Ask TUAW: the place where we try to answer all of your Mac and Apple-related questions. This week we're taking questions about tracking your total iTunes purchases, forcing processes to quit, doing a clean install of OSX and more.As always, we welcome your suggestions for this week and questions for next time. Please leave your contributions in the comments for this post. When asking questions, please include which Mac and which version of OS X you're running. If you don't specify, we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac.Dima asks:I would like a way to require a password when the computer wakes from sleep, but not to require a password for just the screensaver. Is there a way for me to accomplish this?The only way I know of to accomplish this would be to modify the plist file for the screensaver via the Terminal. However, unless this is really important to you, I would not advise doing it. If you want to do it, proceed at your own risk. Either way, here's the command to enter in the Terminal if you want to try it.defaults -currentHost write com.apple.screensaver askForPassword -int 0This will set it so the computer only asks for a password after waking from sleep and not after the screensaver.Frank asks:In my finder window, next to my drive's name, there's a number in parentheses. it used to be a (2), but recently it changed to a (3). What does this number mean?
"More DoTs" cameo in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
ihatemostthings' friend found something fun in the new(ish) game F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin. Apparently, wandering around in the game, you can come across a little terminal that has some familiar code to anyone who's ever raided with a more-than-enthusiastic raid leader (NSFW). You can click the picture above to see a closeup view of what the screen says.Pretty cute. Blizzard has seen fit to make nods to other games in Azeroth, so it's fun to see other game companies return the favor.
TUAW Tip: Stop Backup.app from bouncing
TJ Luoma recently shared the solution to an annoying problem. Specifically, he wanted to keep Backup's icon from frantically jumping in the Dock like so many hepped-up toddlers in a bouncy castle. The Backup icon typically bounces in the Dock for a minute two before it even begins backing up any data. We know what you're thinking, "Just go to the application's preferences and disable the Dock animation." The problem is that Backup has no preference pane! Fortunately, TJ found a fix. While browsing "defaults read com.apple.backup" in Terminal (as suggested by a Twitter helper), he found "Backup Timer" = 120Realizing that's how long the app is supposed to wait (and toss its icon up and down) before executing a backup, he entered defaults write com.apple.backup "Backup Timer" 1which forced it to bounce only once. Alternatively, you could install Dockless, which prevents running apps from showing up in the Dock (or vice versa). Check out TJ's post and enjoy!
Terminal Tip: Enable half-star ratings in iTunes
Do you like giving ratings to songs in iTunes? If so, then you've probably noticed that you are only able to rate songs on a full-star basis, not enough granularity for some music fans... there's a longstanding AppleScript hack to enable half-stars, but now there's an easier way around this issue. Macworld's Rob Griffiths found a work around, involving a simple Terminal tip to enable half-star ratings. To enable half-star ratings, close iTunes, and open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities). Once you have Terminal opened, type the following command and press enter: defaults write com.apple.iTunes allow-half-stars -bool TRUE When you reopen iTunes and rate a song, you will be able to give half-stars. That simple. If you wish to make things normal again, open Terminal and type the same command, replacing "TRUE" with "FALSE."
Terminal Tip: Enable Safari web inspector
Perhaps you are a web developer, or maybe you're just nosy. Either way, looking at certain websites' CSS, HTML, and Script documents can be fun. If you are a Safari user, you can easily look at the loading documents in the Activity View (Window > Activity), but what if you want to take this a step further? You can with the Safari Web Inspector, and you can do it by enabling the Safari "Develop" menu. To enable the Safari Develop menu, just close Safari and type (or copy/paste) the following command into Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities): defaults write com.apple.Safari WebKitDeveloperExtras -bool true Once you enter the command, you will be able to launch Safari, load a webpage, and click Develop > "Show Web Inspector" to see the page attributes. You will be able to see the documents, stylesheets, images, and scripts. Update: As of new versions of Safari, you can enable the Develop menu by going to Safari > Preferences > Advanced, and click on the "Show Develop menu in menu bar." Thanks to everyone in the comments for pointing this out! Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Terminal Tips section today!
Terminal Tip: Change Time Machine backup interval
Sometimes you want your Mac to be backed up more frequently than usual. If you want to instantly back up using Time Machine, you could click on the menu bar item and select "Back Up Now," but what if you want to change the backup interval indefinitely? With this Terminal Tip, you can do just that. Time Machine is set to automatically back up every hour, but if you would like to change it to every half hour, you can use the following Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) command: sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 1800 You will need to authenticate as an administrator, since this command is run under a "sudo." The time interval is measured in seconds, so you can enter any time you wish there; just make sure it is in seconds. By default, Time Machine backs up every 3600 seconds (every hour). If you wish to revert to the original, just replace "1800" with "3600."Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Terminal Tips section!
Terminal Tips: Enable "path view" in Finder
When you open a Finder window and start browsing to a folder, do you lose track of the path to that folder? If you do, the Terminal command below will enable path view in the Finder -- this means that you will see the directory path to the current folder you are browsing in the title bar, instead of only seeing the name of the current directory. To make directory paths visible atop Finder windows, open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type the following command: defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool YES Once you run the above command, you will also need to restart the Finder, so you can either type "killall Finder" and hit return, or use the Force Quit option under the Apple menu to relaunch it. The Finder will restart, and you will start seeing the paths to directories in the title bar. Update: As some have pointed out in the comments below, this Terminal command will only work with Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5). Ups Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Terminal Tips section!
Terminal Tips: Install software updates from the command line
Sure, you could update your Apple software by opening Software Update from the Apple menu. But what if you're inclined to use a command line interface, or maybe you need to update a remote machine via SSH? There's a way to complete a software update in Terminal.app. Here's how.If you want to do an automatic install of all the updates for your particular Mac, first log in as an administrative user. Then open Terminal.app (located in /Applications/Utilities), and type (or copy/paste) the following command: sudo softwareupdate -i -aand hit Return. Next, you'll be prompted to enter your password; do so, and then hit Return. The application will then look for available updates, download them, and then install them. You will see the progress in Terminal. If no updates are available, Terminal will let you know. This command replicates the functionality of the normal Software Update utility. However, you can use it on other machines in the background via SSH remote login, or you could apply a specific update rather than the full list of available patches. To see all the command options, type man softwareupdate at the Terminal prompt.Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Terminal Tips section!
Terminal Tips: Play Tetris in Terminal
Terminal boasts some cool, but hidden features that we like to call "Easter eggs." These "eggs" are hidden features that the developers build in (mostly for fun or laughs), that don't have anything to do with the functionality of the program.One of these "eggs" is the ability to play Tetris in Terminal. Here's how to do it. First, open a new Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities) window and type "emacs," then hit enter. After the screen loads, press "escape," then "x." Type "tetris" (lower-case) and hit enter. There you have it, a fully playable game of Tetris. Use the arrow keys to control the blocks.Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: 5 ways to navigate with ease
How many times have you been in Terminal and wished you could navigate around with a little more ease? In this Terminal tip, we will show you 5 must-know tips for working with Terminal.app. 1. Change your current directoryIf you want to change the current directory you're in, just type: cd /change/to/dir. For example, if I wanted to change the directory to my Desktop, I would type: cd ~/Desktop .2. List files and folders in the current directoryNow that you're in a directory, you might want to get a listing of what's there. To see this, just type ls. 3. See which directory you're inIf you've navigated your way into an unknown land, typing pwd will display a path listing to the directory you're in. 4. End a running script/program If you're running a program/script (for example: ping google.com) then you might think you have to close the Terminal window to exit. That's not true. To stop a running script or program, just press control + C. 5. Clean up your messIf you have several of commands on the screen and want to "freshen-up" your Terminal window, typing clear will remove all commands you have typed up to that point, leaving you with a clean slate. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Make the Dock spring loaded
Spring-loaded Dock items, just like spring-loaded Finder items, are supposed to save you time by allowing you to drag a file over the folder/icon, hover for a few seconds, and have the application/folder open. Some people like these spring loaded items, while others don't -- with this Terminal "hack," you can either enable or disable this Dock feature. To enable it, open Terminal.app (located in /Applications/Utilities/) and type the following command, pressing enter:defaults write com.apple.dock enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items -boolean YESTo disable spring loaded items, replace the "YES" in the command above with a "NO." Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Disable Spotlight in menu bar
Are you tired of accidentally opening spotlight by pressing command + space? With this simple Terminal "hack," you can rid your precious menu bar of Spotlight for once and all. Just open Terminal.app (located in /Applications/Utilities/) and type the following command: sudo chmod 0 /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app You will be required to authenticate as an administrator, then the command will run. While you are still in the Terminal, type "killall Spotlight" to turn off the spotlight service right then. Spotlight will suddenly dissappear from your menu bar. To get Spotlight back, just type the following command back into Terminal: sudo chmod 775 /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app After a few seconds, Spotlight will reappear in your menu bar. Note that this does not remove Spotlight from Finder windows, only from the menu bar. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Personalize Terminal.app
Tired of the bland, black and white look of Terminal.app (/Application/Utilities)? By tweaking the preferences in Terminal, you can easily change the theme, and look of your Terminal windows. Open Terminal and click Terminal > Preferences (or press command + ,). Clicking on Settings will allow you to see the available themes. Terminal ships with several nice themes including basic, grass, homebrew, novel, ocean, pro, and red sands. In addition to using these, you can create your own by clicking the "+" button at the bottom. You can tweak a theme by clicking the theme and using the options in either the "Text" or "Window" tabs. You can change the font style/size, text color, type of cursor, color of cursor, etc. When you are ready to make the these your default, just click the default button at the bottom of the theme list. Now all of your Terminal windows will load with the settings you specified. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Gradient highlights for Stacks
If you use Stacks like we do, then you probably love any additional hacks you can do to them. While this Terminal Tip provides no really useful features, it does provide you with some awesome eye candy for your Stacks. This hack gives you a mouse-over gradient (seen above on Terminal) in your Stacks; just open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and type in the following command: defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean YESAfter you type in the command, type "killall Dock" to restart the Dock. You will then see the gradient in your Stacks. To get rid of the gradient, just replace "YES" with "NO" in the command above. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tip: Disabling Leopard's Dock spring windows
I seriously hate the way that Leopard's spring-loaded download pane works. So this morning, I asked our team if there were a way to get around it. "Of course," said Brett, and he pointed me to this Mac OS X Hints page, warning me that it was a kludge. Kludge it may be, but it was a kludge that worked just fine. I didn't quite follow the directions in that post, though, and I thought I'd share my approach because it worked a lot more easily for me. First, I opened Terminal and changed directories to ~/Library/Preferences. I made a backup copy of com.apple.dock.plist (probably completely unnecessary, in retrospect) and converted the original version to XML from binary: plutil -convert xml1 com.apple.dock.plist. Next, I opened the preferences property list in TextEdit and did a global search/replace on directory-tile, changing all instances to directory. I saved and then did a killall Dock. When my dock returned, it returned with the normal, happy, uncomplicated folders you see here. When clicked, they open normal, happy, uncomplicated file browsers. Yay. Thanks, Brett, and thanks Mac OS X Hints.Also thanks to TUAW readers Brandon, who points out that you can Command-click the folder and Rich who suggests adding folder aliases rather than the folder itself.
Terminal Tips: Add recent applications as a Stack on Dock
Do you find yourself constantly using the Apple menu to find your recently opened applications? This simple Terminal hack will create a custom Stack on the Dock that will show your recently opened applications. Just open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type in the following command: defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }' Once you type in the command, you will need to restart the Dock by typing "killall Dock" and pressing enter. If you decide you don't want the newly created Stack, just drag it off the Dock like any other Stack. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Make extended print dialog show by default
When you print something in Mac OS X, the standard print dialog window will pop up. However, if you always use the extended options (such as landscape/portrait orientation, number of copies, etc.) then you might have to click the blue arrow constantly. With this Terminal hack, the print dialog will open with the extended options already shown by default. Just open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type in the following command: defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool TRUEIf changing back to the original settings makes you happy, then replace "TRUE" with "FALSE" in the command above. Want more quick Mac tips like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Change your current screenshot format
Do you like using the built-in Mac OS X screenshot utility but dislike the format of the output file? With this simple Terminal hack, you can easily change the file format of the image. Open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities) and type the following command: defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpgYou can replace "jpg" with your desired file format (example: tiff, pdf, png, etc.). If you wish to change it back to defaults, Mac OS X originally grabs screens in png format. To activate the changes, just logout of your account and then log back in. Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
Terminal Tips: Disable iTunes 8 store arrows
Last week we talked about how to modify the iTunes track arrows to point to the library instead of the music store. With the introduction of iTunes 8 yesterday, this hack no longer works (it will still work if you stick with iTunes 7.x). However, you can easily remove the iTunes store links entirely, if you prefer. Just open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and enter the following command: defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-store-arrow-links -bool FALSE When you re-launch iTunes, the links will be gone. To get things back to normal, just replace "FALSE" with "TRUE."[via Mac OS X Hints]Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 and Terminal Tips sections.
