OS X is a system that has a lot of hidden functions (or we may call them not hidden but not evident). But the fact is that many of these functions can make our work with this operating system much easier and more comfortable. Here are 7 features that may be useful for you when working with OS X.
Forced quit application
If you press Shift button before and after opening Apple menu, you’ll change the Force Quit command into Force Quit Application command. That will help you quit your current app faster and save you some time. But you need to bear in mind that this feature doesn’t work in Lion and Mountain Lion, so if you have upgraded to one of these versions, then, unfortunately, you’ll have to use regular menu.
Forget about notifications
If you want to take a break from receiving constant notifications from Calendar, Mail, Reminders, you don’t necessarily need to go to the system settings. There’s another way out. Click on the notifications icon in the top right corner of your screen. After that keep the cursor on the top title. A tumbler Show alerts and banners will appear and you can switch it off.
By the grey color of notifications icon you will be sure that notifications are not coming. But in a day the notifications will return, so you won’t forget to turn them on again. You can also turn on and off notifications with the help of clicking Option button on the notification icon.
Deleting files
You don’t need to open Finder in order to clear the recycle bin. Just press Control on the recycle bin icon and you’ll see a contextual menu. If you want to delete your files permanently, then press Command before and after opening the recycle bin.
Finder re-launch
Sometimes Finder can freeze or just glitch a little bit. In such case I usually prefer to re-launch the app in use. To do that to Finder, click on the Option button on the Finder icon and choose the appropriate option. Just one notice – you need to press Option button before launching.
Change the icons order in the status bar
A lot of the apps you install on your Mac want to add their icon to the status bar. Sometimes it’s really useful. But generally, the icons are situated according to the date of the app installation, which is not very comfortable. If you want to change that order, press and hold onto the Command button and drag the icons in order you like.
Quick switch to system information
Sometimes you may need to see the system information. The reasons can be various: from pure curiosity to fixing some problems with your hardware or software. So to get a quick access to this information just press Option button before or after opening Apple menu and the “About this Mac” field will change to “System information”.
Quick exit
Press Option button in the Apple menu, and the menu “Exit…” will change into “Exit” and that will let you quickly finish your current work without seeing a dialogue box “Are you sure you want to exit?”.
If you know about other interesting and useful features of OS X then share them with others in the comments below.