Launch bookmarks and history items from the Help menu

Jul 08, '11 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: mtaylorGT

The shortcut combination Command+?, which works out to Command+Shift+/ opens the Help search box from any application in OS X. I have found that this can be a convenient way to run menu commands without having to navigate the sometimes complicated labyrinth of nested menus and ambiguious function locations in various applications.

After invoking the shortcut, simply type a portion of the menu command that you would like to execute and search results will be displayed, which you can navigate with the arrow keys, and then hit Return to execute.

This function is documented, but has an extended use because it works for the dynamic contents of menus, such as bookmarks and history items in any browser, and the contents of the File » Open Recent submenu in other applications, allowing quick, Spotlight-esque access to recent files and boomarks from within any application.

For instance, I have hundreds of bookmarks in my Bookmark menu in Safari. Even though they are organized into sub-menus, visually scanning them for the desired link is an arduous process, and this method allows instantaneous searching and launching of a specific bookmark.

I should note that similar functionality can be obtained with Command+Option+B in Safari, with live previews, but the method given here is browser independent and faster, as it has no graphical previews or new window to open.

[crarko adds: I tested this in Safari, Firefox, TextEdit and BBEdit and it worked as described. I searched for 'Bookmarks,' 'History,' and 'Open Recent' to get to those respective menus.]

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Mac OS X Hints
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