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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 603.
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29 Oct 2001 | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

Microsoft Releases Windows XP

by Adam C. Engst Send Email to Author

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Microsoft Releases Windows XP -- Microsoft last week released Windows XP, the first version of the Windows operating system that melds the industrial-strength underpinnings of the Windows NT/2000 line with the more consumer friendly features and interface of the Windows 95/98/Me line. Reactions have been decidedly mixed, with some reviewers enthused over the new interface, built-in tools, and improved reliability, while others have complained that XP feels sloppy and unfinished in places, doesn't support many existing peripherals, and includes troubling links to Microsoft's .NET services.

From the perspective of the Macintosh user forced to use a PC, Windows XP is probably a good thing, given that many of the changes made to the obtuse Windows interface resonate more with a Macintosh approach to human interface design and implementation. Upgrades are available, but realistically, they're probably not worthwhile for machines bought more than a few years ago, given possible problems with older hardware and the low cost of new PCs. As to how Windows XP and Mac OS X compare, well, that will take some time to determine, especially given that Apple has made Mac OS X a fast-moving target, whereas Microsoft tends to release notable operating system revisions less frequently. [ACE]

<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/>
<http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2001/1001/118.html>
<http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/comment/ 0,5859,2819063,00.html>
<http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/ 0,4161,2809517,00.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/05809>

 

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