For all of you switchers out there or if you’re just new to OS X environment entirely. You may have run into a pesky problem when using tab to navigate through forms as you’ll notice OS X, by default, will only tab to text fields and list boxes. This is fairly retarded as it forces you to reach for the mouse over and over again if you’re navigating a large number of UI elements. So, in an effort to keep you informed and hopefully keep you from smashing your skull into the keyboard frustratedly, below are the steps needed to enable tabbing between all controls and not just text fields and list boxes.
1. Go to System Preferences -> Keyboard
2. Make sure that the All Controls radiobox is checked (which, again you can’t tab to until this is turned on) under the ‘Full Keyboard Access: In windows and dialogs, press Tab to move keyboard focus between:‘ section.
Why, you’ll be a tabbing fool with this little tidbit! So go on, go file your taxes or something and make sure you think of me in gratitude every time you don’t have to reach for the mouse.
Why yes, that is a Jinx reference, thank you for noticing! A couple of weeks ago I started this series that is aimed only at noobs unfamiliar with the Mac. I was going to post my first impressions of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, but since I’m working on a few other posts right now I figured I’d save that for later this week after I’ve spent more time with it. Now, down to business for this quasi-instructional post.
A few weeks ago I did what I thought was unthinkable and bought my very first Mac. Now, I’m not here to bash Windows, which I’ve used since Windows 3.1 made its debut, but I had some bad experiences in purchasing a new computer that came pre-loaded with Vista. Frustrated, I made my first foray into working with OS X after deciding it’d be worth a shot. So far it’s been a joy, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t had to get acclimated to some new conventions on a Mac whilst migrating from PC land. Bearing that in mind, I figured there’s probably more than a few switchers out there who are scratching their heads while getting used to OS X. So, I decided to start a series explaining to noobs like myself how to accomplish some very simple tasks on a Mac that hopefully some of you will find useful. So read on this week as we tackle navigating the dock in OS X.