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Open Files with Finder's App Switcher

Say you're in the Finder looking at a file and you want to open it with an application that's already running but which doesn't own that particular document. How? Switch to that app and choose File > Open? Too many steps. Choose Open With from the file's contextual menu? Takes too long, and the app might not be listed. Drag the file to the Dock and drop it onto the app's icon? The icon might be hard to find; worse, you might miss.

In Leopard there's a new solution: use the Command-Tab switcher. Yes, the Command-Tab switcher accepts drag-and-drop! The gesture required is a bit tricky. Start dragging the file in the Finder: move the file, but don't let up on the mouse button. With your other hand, press Command-Tab to summon the switcher, and don't let up on the Command key. Drag the file onto the application's icon in the switcher and let go of the mouse. (Now you can let go of the Command key too.) Extra tip: If you switch to the app beforehand, its icon in the Command-Tab switcher will be easy to find; it will be first (or second).

Visit Take Control of Customizing Leopard

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Published in TidBITS 965.
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Tech News | 16 Feb 2009 | Listen  | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 16-Feb-09

by Doug McLean Send Email to Author

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Simon 2.5 from Dejal Systems is a significant update to the Internet monitoring tool. Changes include an SMS notifier plugin that enables Simon notifications to be sent as text messages to your mobile phone. The update also adds SMART Status and Drive Status services that monitor the health of local hard disks. Minor bugs have also been repaired, including one that could cause new default services and notifiers to disappear after relaunching if no changes were made manually after updating. The full list of changes is available via Dejal's Web site. ($29.95 to $195, free update, 11.7 MB)

PasswordWallet 4.4.4 from Selznick Scientific Software is a minor update to the longstanding password protection utility. The update "simplifies iPhone synchronization for new users, adds Japanese translation, and addresses some usability issues." The company has also released Password Wallet 4.4.5 for the iPhone with a number of cosmetic and usability tweaks. ($20, free update, 5.0 MB)

VMware Fusion 2.0.2 from VMware is a maintenance update to the popular Windows virtualization software. New to this version is the capability to import Windows virtual machines from both Parallels Desktop 4.0 and Parallels Server for Mac, support for mounting unencrypted .dmg files as CD/DVD disk images, support for Mac OS X 10.5.6 as a host operating system, support for Ubuntu 8.10 as a guest operating system, and more. ($79.99, free update, 286 MB)

Chax 2.2 from Kent Sutherland is a minor update to the iChat enhancement and extension utility. Changes include a new Send Camera Snapshot feature that enables users to send pictures from their cameras as inline images, support for multi-touch gestures capable of switching chat tabs, an added option to confirm before ending AV chats, and improved display options for the Message History. The update also fixes several minor bugs. (Free, 1.3 MB)

Nisus Writer Express 3.2 from Nisus Software is the latest version of the streamlined word processor. The update features added backup options, editable document properties, and the capability to select the default file format for new documents. Also new is a Services menu that enables users to create a Nisus Writer document from selected content in another application. Numerous bugs have also been fixed, all of which are listed, along with other smaller changes and features, within the extensive release notes. ($45 new, free upgrade, 59 MB)

 

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