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1. Diagnose MobileMe Sync Glitches:
If MobileMe syncing never seems to work right (and it never has for me) you can check what went wrong by holding the Option key and clicking on the Sync icon in the menu bar.
A menu will pop down showing what synced and what didn’t.
There’s also a link to Sync Diagnostics and you can reset sync system without having to open System Preferences.
A menu will pop down showing what synced and what didn’t.
There’s also a link to Sync Diagnostics and you can reset sync system without having to open System Preferences.
2. Sync Google and Yahoo Calendars:
You can easily import your Google and Yahoo calendars into iCal.
In iCal, go to the iCal menu and hit Preferences.
Select the Accounts tab hit the Plus sign under the Accounts box.
The dialog box that pops up will allow you to log into your Google or Yahoo accounts by entering your email addresses and passwords.
Select the Accounts tab hit the Plus sign under the Accounts box.
The dialog box that pops up will allow you to log into your Google or Yahoo accounts by entering your email addresses and passwords.
3. Auto Text Correction:
If you always make habitual typing mistakes like “don;t” instead of “don’t,”
go to System Preferences>Language & Text.
Under the Text tab you’ll find a list of text substitutions.
Hit the + sign at the bottom, add your most annoying mistakes, and Snow Leopard will automatically correct them.
Only works in certain apps like Mail, iChat and TextEdit.
Unfortunately it corrects fun mistakes like “teh” for “the.”
go to System Preferences>Language & Text.
Under the Text tab you’ll find a list of text substitutions.
Hit the + sign at the bottom, add your most annoying mistakes, and Snow Leopard will automatically correct them.
Only works in certain apps like Mail, iChat and TextEdit.
Unfortunately it corrects fun mistakes like “teh” for “the.”
You can also add shortcuts like “tyl” which will type out
“Thank you for your letter but this isn’t my department.
I refer you to my esteemed colleague, cc’ed here,” and so on.
It will also fix curly quotes, which don’t play nice when cutting/pasting text into a webpage.
“Thank you for your letter but this isn’t my department.
I refer you to my esteemed colleague, cc’ed here,” and so on.
It will also fix curly quotes, which don’t play nice when cutting/pasting text into a webpage.
4. Shrink App Windows Behind the App’s Dock Icon:
For some reason, it irritated me when a minimized window shrunk to the Dock next to the Trash can.
Shrink a lot of windows and they would all line up on the right-hand side of the Dock, next to the Trash.
In Snow Leopard, they can now be shrunk behind the application’s icon in the Dock, where they belong.
Go to System Preferences>Dock and check “Minimize windows into application icon.”
5. Auto Time Zone:
If you travel a lot, your Mac can now detect what time zone you’re in and automatically reset the time in the menu bar.
Go to System Preferences>Date &
Time and select the Time Zone tab.
Hit the “Set time zone automatically using current location” box.
Time and select the Time Zone tab.
Hit the “Set time zone automatically using current location” box.
6. Force Quit With Option-Click in the Dock:
If you have trouble remembering the Force Quit key combination (Option-Command-Esc) or hate hunting down the Force Quit dialog under the Apple menu,
here’s a Snow Leopard shortcut.
here’s a Snow Leopard shortcut.
Hold down the Option key while clicking an app’s icon in the Dock.
Up will pop a contextual menu with Force Quit.
It also presents a Hide Others option, which I use a lot.
Up will pop a contextual menu with Force Quit.
It also presents a Hide Others option, which I use a lot.
Quick and easy.
7. Change Audio Input and Output:
Instead of firing up System Preferences to switch from speakers to headphones,
hold down the Option key and click the volume control icon in the menu bar.
A menu will pop down showing the available inputs and outputs.
hold down the Option key and click the volume control icon in the menu bar.
A menu will pop down showing the available inputs and outputs.
8. Enlarge Your Icons:
Ever want to look through a big folder of pictures to find the one you want but find Quick Look cumbersome?
In Snow Leopard just choose Icon view and hit the slider at bottom right to enlarge the icons to their full 512×512 glory.
Now you can see clearly what each file contains.
Icons also give a live preview of the file – music, movies and multi-page PDFs.
In Snow Leopard just choose Icon view and hit the slider at bottom right to enlarge the icons to their full 512×512 glory.
Now you can see clearly what each file contains.
Icons also give a live preview of the file – music, movies and multi-page PDFs.
9. Use Stacks as a Quick Launcher:
To quickly launch an app, put your Applications folder in the Dock.
When you click on it, it’ll pop up as a stack.
Start typing the first few letters of the app you want – say “iCh” – and hit the Return button when the icon is highlighted.
This works pretty well as a fast app launcher after you’ve tried it a few times and got used to it.
When you click on it, it’ll pop up as a stack.
Start typing the first few letters of the app you want – say “iCh” – and hit the Return button when the icon is highlighted.
This works pretty well as a fast app launcher after you’ve tried it a few times and got used to it.
10. Easy Convert Movie for iPhones and iPods:
Movies downloaded from the Internet are always a pain to get on your iPod or iPhone.
Not in Snow Leopard.
Not in Snow Leopard.
In QuickTime X, go to the Share Menu and Select iTunes.
In the dialog box, just choose the device you want – iPod, AppleTV or Computer.
Be sure to download and install Perian for maximum file compatibility.
Be sure to download and install Perian for maximum file compatibility.