Launch apps from the Finder without using a mouse
Mar 25, '04 09:49:00AM
Contributed by: Anonymous
Don't know if this has been addressed here yet, however I just started using this technique a week or so ago, and I've been a Mac user for 20 years... It has become invaluable to me. Need to open an app in Finder but can't / won't use the mouse? Try this instead:
- Command-tab to the Finder
- Shift-Command-A to bring up the Applications folder
- Type in the first few letters of the app (e.g. "saf" for Safari)
- Command-O to open the app -- or more elegantly, Option-Command-O, which will close the Finder window at the same time.
Quick, painless, and your hands never leave the keyboard. Shift-Command-U will bring up the Utilities directory, Shift-Command-H for the Home directory for similar tricks.
[robg adds: This is a simple hint that combines a few nice features of the Finder to make for fast application access. Of course, if you really want to launch things quickly, you can use something like LaunchBar or Another Launcher (now Butler) -- you can get to any app (or document) with a few keystrokes. But the above solution is built in to every copy of OS X.]
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