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Another means of opening files from the keyboard Desktop
Everyone knows that if a file is selected in a finder window that you can hit Command-O to open the file. But did you know you can also hit Command-Down Arrow to open the file with the default application for its type? Now you do!

[robg adds: This appears to be the opposite of Command-Up Arrow, which opens an item's enclosing folder. If you have a folder selected, Command-Down Arrow opens it ... or launches the selected application. As far as I can tell, this is an undocumented shortcut.]
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Another means of opening files from the keyboard | 15 comments | Create New Account
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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: Nasir on Nov 28, '03 11:09:36AM

Not really "X": This shortcut has been in the Mac OS since version 7.



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Old-School
Authored by: Diggory on Nov 28, '03 12:16:13PM

I've been using that for as long as I can remember! Of course it opens folders as well.

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*****
monkeyfood software - http://www.monkeyfood.com



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not a new hint on MOXH
Authored by: earthsaver on Nov 28, '03 12:33:55PM

A search for <command-down> found this hint already posted 10 May 2001 as Navigating the Finder old-school style..., submitted by MiniD.

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- Ben Rosenthal
Lombard 400 512 MB RAM OS X 10.3.1



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Not exactly undocumented...Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: ReznorB5 on Nov 28, '03 01:57:51PM
It may be not well documented under Mac OS X, but it was well documented under "keyboard shortcuts" in previous Mac OS generations. It is also listed in the "Other Commands" section at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459.

Yes, as Rob pointed out, it is the opposite of the keyboard shortcut for going up in a directory heirarchy. Command+up for up and Command+down for down...it makes sense. :-)

I'll tell you something many of you may not have known...Apple did include help explaining all of those odd-ball symbols used to represent modifier keys in keyboard shortcuts in menus and documentation. In Mac OS X's Help Viewer search for Keyboard shortcut symbols.

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Not exactly undocumented...Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: TvE on Nov 28, '03 02:06:41PM

Well - I have been using that shortcut as far back as OS 8 - and I think also 7.6



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Yup, old hint, but good none the less... try with option key.
Authored by: ajung on Nov 28, '03 04:14:42PM

If you hold down the option key with the command key and up/down arrows, it will close the window that the file/folder is currently in...

I used this more often than the old 1 1/2 click you could do on windows in OS 8/9.

Command up/down works in open/save dialogues too.

Cheers,
Andrew.



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: britrock on Nov 28, '03 07:39:16PM

Ya know, even if this is documented, and some people have known about it since OS 7, some of us didn't know until now.

I for one am VERY happy to learn this. I for one think that enter should do this. Why the hell is enter rename? Enter should do the default action, not some obscure task, such as rename. I mean honestly, how often do you rename a file?



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: _merlin on Nov 29, '03 03:16:31AM

Because under System 6, whenever a file was selected, typing would rename it. Hitting return would select the entire name. Deleting the whole name and hitting return would restore the name to what it was last time you hit return or clicked the icon. So return sort of "burned in" the name.

It was, of course, far too easy to rename files. So Apple made return start and end editing the file name in System 7. Oh, and command-down worked in System 6 as well.



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: Base80 on Nov 29, '03 07:51:43AM

MacOS7hints.com...
Very nice but this is the first thing I learned on navigating the finder back in the behinning of the '90's.



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press option too...
Authored by: josephaw on Nov 29, '03 08:28:11AM

This will close the document/application/folder window as it is launched.



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: mzajac on Nov 29, '03 11:58:09AM

Someone should start another site for hints like these: "system6hints.com" or "80sMac.com".

Just kidding -- stuff like this is as useful as it was in the 80s and still just as difficult to stumble on if your brain isn't hardwired into the Mac OS.



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: lpangelrob on Nov 29, '03 11:04:12PM

I agree... as a switcher, I'm sure I've only barely scratched the surface of Mac OSX shortcuts and stuff. I have to admit, upon hitting return I sorta did expect the file to open as well, but that's been covered already. :-)

I used to browse help files for this kind of thing... that the best way to go now? I barely have spare time as it is right now (nevermind that I'm posting a comment on this site... ahem... :-) There being nearly a hundred apps on my book, I don't want to browse through 20 or so help indices...

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-Robert Guico



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: xSmurf on Nov 30, '03 12:53:01PM

For those of you that are knew to this, holding option while performing this hit will also open the path in a new window while closing the last one. I think this has become pretty obsolete with MacOS X, but was a HELL of a time saver in previous versions!

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PM G4 DP 800 / 256Mb / 80Gb+40Gb /SuperDrive / SCSI: AGFA SnapScan 1236s / Jaz 1Gb / Zip 100Mb
- The only APP Smurf ;P



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: TvE on Nov 30, '03 03:47:08PM

There is a lot of undocumented good hacks / tricks with using modifiers (Command, Alt, Shift) with the arrow keys (and just in general) with Apples SW - both OS'es (Mac OS <insert random number here>) as well as applications (EG QuickTime Player)



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Another means of opening files from the keyboard
Authored by: adammm on Mar 10, '04 03:28:55AM

...interestingly, though, although I have generally been having trouble with keyboard shortcuts working reliably in Panther (i.e., command-o, command-delete, etc. often simply fail to work, for reasons I cannot fathom) the command-down shortcut always continues to work. So, it has actually become newly important!
(Anyone else having this trouble?)



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