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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 919.
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Media Creation | 11 Mar 2008 | Listen  | Print Printer-Friendly Version of This Article

Automating Text-to-Speech Video Narration

by Jeff Carlson Send Email to Author

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In last week's article about the Aperture 2.0.1 update and its improved AppleScript support, I mentioned in passing that the narration used in some accompanying demonstration videos was artificial - the product of Mac OS X text-to-speech technology instead of a human voiceover (see "Aperture 2.0.1 Update Enhanced by AppleScript," 2007-09-07).

However, I made one mistake, for which I must apologize to the women living inside my computer: the voice used in the video is not Victoria. I made a guess based on listening to the ladies in the Speech preference pane, but Sal Soghoian, product manager for automation technologies at Apple, set me straight. She's Lucy, the female British English voice from Acapela (and available in AssistiveWare's Infovox iVox; see "Macs Speak Clearly with Infovox iVox," 2007-09-07).

Soghoian noted that his training podcasts all employ non-human voices. To learn how he's making it work, check out the "Rendered Narrations" video at Automator.us.

 

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