menu

Right-clicking a file or folder in Windows Explorer opens a context menu containing links to properties pages, documents, and other programs as well as commands like Copy, Save, and Send To. Both users and programs can add items to context menus. That's great, most of the time, since the ability to right-click a file and perform a wide range of operations right from the menu is one of the things we love about Windows. But it's possible to have too much of a good thing. NirSoft's ShellMenuView can help you bring order to context-menu chaos. It's … Read more

Getting used to various keyboard shortcuts and other shortcuts in OS X can greatly enhance your workflow efficiency. The basics of holding the Command key followed by Q, W, S, or other letters to invoke common functions like quitting, closing windows, or saving, are well known, but OS X and various applications you use may have some unique shortcuts that can be exceptionally useful to some people. Memorizing shortcuts can be a daunting task, but if you incorporate them over time into your workflow you can begin to build a great deal of efficiency into the way you use your … Read more

The boot menu that Apple includes in Mac systems is convenient, especially if you manage multiple operating systems on your computer or if you need to boot to an alternative boot volume. To activate the boot menu, upon starting up you just need to hold the Option key after hearing the system's boot chimes, and then select your desired boot drive from the automatically detected options. While convenient, in some instances the boot menu may start appearing at random times after the system is restarted.

By default, Apple's computers will boot to the hard drive that is selected … Read more

Start Menu enhancements are numerous, but most complaints about the Windows Start Menu boil down to this: there's too much stuff in it, and you have to click through folders to get to your programs. ChemTable Software's Handy Start Menu addresses these two issues by grouping Start Menu items together by category and by replacing folders with shortcuts that open the application in question with a single click. You can quickly toggle back to the regular Start Menu, too. Better still, it's free.

Clicking Handy Start Menu's desktop icon opens a dialog with an About section … Read more

The OS X system menu's support for menu extras is a convenient way to access system and application settings and services. While a default set of menu extras such as the time and date, volume, wifi indicator, Time Machine status, and Spotlight menus are enabled, others can be turned on in their respective system preferences or application settings. Usually these menu extras stay to the right and out of the way of application and system menus, but in some instances they may run into the menus of various applications and be hidden.

Menu extras can usually be moved around … Read more

Right-clicking (or Control + clicking) on a Dock icon will bring up a contextual menu with available options for that application or file. This trick will allow you to customize the language of that contextual menu, further personalizing your Mac experience.

For example, when you have Safari open, if you right-click on the Safari icon in your Dock, the contextual menu offers you the options of New Window, Options, Hide, Quit (as well as showing you the current page name). You can change Quit to anything you want, like say, "End" or "Close."

This trick, from mactipsandtricks.… Read more

There are many times using while Safari (5.0.4) when I have come back to a Web site after a long time, thankful to find that my password was saved. My thanks is usually due to the fact that I couldn't remember the password. With a recent tip from a Mac OS X Hints user, you can reveal the letters behind those password field dots using developer tools in Safari.

The hint is actually a pretty simple little trick, taking advantage of Safari's ability to change elements in a Web site via developer tools that can be … Read more

MenuEverywhere helps power users--and anyone else with multiple monitors, or just a very large monitor--get quick access to an application's menu bar, from any window or any screen.

MenuEverywhere works in the background, with a slim CPU footprint and an extensive set of preferences to control its appearance and behavior. You can set MenuEverywhere to put a complete menu bar on the top of every window associated with an app (for example, the Photoshop menu bar on every Photoshop window, no matter which monitor the window appears in), or you can have it just place a single "Menu&… Read more

Our utilities update report is a column on updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though a utility can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is on bringing you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems. This past week there were only updates to two utilities: a popular OS tweaking and maintenance tool, and a file recovery tool.

The first utility updated this past week is FruitMenu which is not a troubleshooting tool, but has been the … Read more