From the monthly archives:
September 2006
Escape from typing
Escape from typing
Mac Tip #262/27-Sept-2006
I’m good at spelling but hopeless at typing. If you’ve ever received an email from me or have been reading these tips for a while you’re bound to have noticed some weird typo or other somewhere along the way.
Did you know that in Mac OS X you can sometimes press the Escape key to finish typing a word for you? I’m not sure if it’s only 10.4, or it also applies to earlier versions.
First, you need to be using a Cocoa application such as Safari, Text Edit, Mail or the like. Older applications just won’t show this helpful behaviour.
So, perhaps you want to send an email out about the Speleologist Convention next month. That’s sure to be a typing trap.
Open Mail.app and click in the Subject line or the main body of the email. Now type the letters Spe, then press the Escape key. It’s at the top left corner of the keyboard, marked with the letters ‘esc’.
- 
[Click on the thumbnails for larger versions.]
When you press the Escape key a list of possible words appears, as you can see in Screenshot 1. There are rather a lot of them. You can scroll down the list with your mouse or use the arrow keys. When you reach the correct word, press the Return key or Spacebar to enter it and continue typing.
Of course, you can narrow down the list of possibilities by typing more letters yourself. Once I’d typed ’spel’, and again pressed the Escape key, Speleologist came up at the top of the list, along with its companions Speleologist’s, Speleologists and Speleologists’. See screenshot 2.
Try the Escape key trick in your favourite applications where you do a lot of typing. It could be helpful.
Popularity: 7% [?]
{ No comments yet }
Battery indicator
Battery indicator
Mac Tip #261/20-Sept-2006
To keep track of your Mac laptop’s battery you can use the buttons on the battery as I described in last week’s Tip or, more easily, you can display the battery charge in the menu bar.
Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences, then click on the Energy Saver Preference. You should see a small window, with a button near the bottom labelled Show Details. Click the Show Details button and click on the Options tab.
In the Options section you will see a checkbox to Show battery status in the menu bar. Check that box if you wish to use Apple’s battery status icon.
Note: these instructions are valid for Mac OS X 10.4.7. In earlier versions you may find the Show battery status checkbox in a slightly different place within the Energy Saver Preference Pane.
Apple’s battery status icon gives you information about your battery’s charge, but the free Slim Battery Monitor does it better.
Apple battery recalls
Note that Apple has recalled batteries from several recent models of laptop because there is a small risk of the battery catching fire. To see if you are eligible for a free, new battery visit: https://support.apple.com/macbookpro15/batteryexchange and support.apple.com/batteryprogram.
For more general support and information be sure to check: www.apple.com/support.
Popularity: 13% [?]
{ No comments yet }
Battery check
Battery check
Mac Tip #260/13-Sept-2006
I use a Mac laptop, a MacBook Pro. In the last few days I’ve had a few problems with the power cord. The power cord will be replaced under warranty, but in the meantime I need to keep a close eye on battery levels.
Unfortunately the battery indicator in the menu bar occasionally gets ’stuck’ and tells me the machine is out of juice when it clearly isn’t, or that it’s 90% charged, even after I’ve run it on battery for an hour or two. I suspect these glitches are related to the currently erratic power supply.
The good thing is that on Mac laptops for years now, you’ve been able to check the battery level by using a button on the battery itself. Turn over your laptop and locate the battery.
Now look for a small flat button on the surface of the battery and press it. You should see a few lights beside the button. On my MacBook Pro there are five.
If your laptop battery is fully charged all the lights will shine green when you press the check button. The lower the charge the fewer lights will shine.
These older MacTips may be of interest, if you have a Mac laptop:
Next week: how to put a battery indicator in the Menu bar.
Popularity: 13% [?]
{ No comments yet }
is jointly authored by Miraz Jordan and Maria Langer.