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Great Tip
Authored by: dcoyle on Jan 04, '03 06:25:20PM

I stumbled on to this when the earliest versions of OS X were out. What I've been doing is creating a folder called "Apps" in my home folder. Inside this folder, I've got several folders, such as "Utilities". I drag an alias of the various applications I use to wherever it makes the most sense to me. I keep an alias of "Apps" on the dock.

An old trick from the old MacOS still works: do a "get info" on the Applications folder. When the GetInfo window pops up, single-click on the icon, then, from the Edit menu, do a Copy. Now on the folder you have created for your application shortcuts (in my case, "Apps"), do another "get info", single click on the icon, then select Paste from the Edit menu to give you the same icon in your dock that the Applications folder has. You can, of course, paste in whatever icon you want.

Another trick, for those of us who still use Classic a lot, is to find "System Folder:Launcher Items" and make an alias of that in your new Apps (or whatever you choose to call it) folder. Rename the alias to "Classic Apps" (or whatever). All of your Classic applications now appear in a submenu in exactly the way you have structured Launcher.

For those of you new to the Mac, here are some Launcher tips:
You can create an heirarchy of Launcher items in pre- OS X by going to "System Folder:Launcher Items" and creating whatever folders you need, such as "Utilities", "Graphics", or whatever. The trick is that in order for this to work, you have to precede the subfolder name with a bullet, which you get by pressing [Option}-[8]. Whatever isn't in a subfolder shows up in the Launcher in a tab called "Applications". The rest show up in a tab called by whatever name you give it minus the bullet. OS X respects this, and my Classic applications show up in the same heirarchy as in pre - OS X.

For working in the pre - OS X environment, you can also make an alias of "Launcher Items" in "Apple Menu Items" (all in the System Folder). The advantage is that you can still select a new application when the Launcher is obscured by some application's window. I have also found this a good way to avoid the culture shock you get when changing between OS X and older envirionments. "Apple menu: Launcher Items" turns out to be very similar to "dock:apps:Classic Apps".

Again, great tip, great site, and I hope I've contributed something.

Dan



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As an aside, use the control key
Authored by: tcurtin on Jan 06, '03 06:54:06PM

Another thing I stumbled on is if you use the "folder of aliases" technique, you can control-click on it to have the submenu with the contents come up immediately (instead of after a pause.) Otherwise, just one more good hint for a great OS! I just got my new ibook two weeks ago, and I'm still finding out great things about OS X. Man, I've missed having a mac!



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Great Tip
Authored by: dMac? on Jan 07, '03 06:43:33PM

I've found it's simpler for me to have the Favorites folder in the dock.



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