If you’re keen to maximise your desktop area, clean up your Dock, view hidden files or get some mouseover highlighting occuring where it should, this is a useful list for you. Most of these can be activated with a quick shortcut or a simple Terminal command.

1. Auto-Hide Windows When You Change Focus

Sometimes you might wish that you could actually see those beautiful desktop backgrounds you’ve downloaded. But sadly, most of us clog up our space with all the apps we’re using. Windows pile up on top of each other and leave you with just a tiny amount of free desktop space around the edge. This sort of anti-minimalist behaviour is easy to stop. It’s possible to automatically hide any window that doesn’t have the focus. It takes a little getting used to, but it will keep your desktop uncluttered.

To automatically hide non-focused windows, open Terminal (found in Applications > Utilities) and type this command:

defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool TRUE

Then restart the dock by typing:

killall Dock

If you decide you don’t like it, you can go back to normal settings by typing this into Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool FALSE

Some people might prefer to only hide other windows on occasion. This is possible when you’re accessing an application via the dock. When you click on the application, press Command-Option at the same time and it will hide all the other application windows.

2. Highlighting Items On Mouseover In Stacks Grid View

MakeUseOf Mac users know that Stacks are great. There’s a number of different cool ideas for great stacks you can use. But for some reason, in Snow Leopard when you go to use Stacks, the highlighted focus only works when you’re using the arrow keys, not the mouse. But there’s a quick fix to get highlighting happening for the mouse as well.

In Terminal, type this command:

defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilite-stack -boolean yes

Then restart the dock:

killall Dock

To reverse this, use this command:

defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilite-stack -boolean yes 

3. Add Spacers To Dock

If you’ve got way too many applications in your dock, this tweak is for you. Basically, you can add spacers between your applications in the dock as well as many other dock tricks.

In Terminal, type this command to create each spacer and repeat for however many spacers you want:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{"tile-type"="spacer-tile";}'

Then restart the dock:

killall Dock

When the dock restarts, you’ll see a gap on the right hand side. You can move the spacers about as if they’re regular dock icons, so just drag them into place.

To reverse this, right-click over the spacers and click “Remove from dock”.

4. Viewing Hidden Files

There are two easy ways to show hidden files for Mac. If you’re using the Open/Save dialogue of any application, you can view hidden files by pressing Command-Shift. This only works for the Open/Save dialogue, not for Finder windows.

Hidden files can be shown permanently in Finder using a Terminal command.

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool YES

If you want things back to normal, type:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool NO

More Mac Tweaks

We know you love tweaking your Mac to get it just right. So here’s a bunch more articles that you’ll love:

• How To Place Your Widgets On The Desktop [Mac]
• Tweak Program Settings & Activate Hidden Features With Tinkertool [Mac]
• Unveil Hidden Mac OS X Features With Secrets
• Supercharge your Mac Dock with these 4 tools [Mac only]

What other Mac tweaks would you love to see? Let us know in the comments!

One of these little annoyances is changing the application icons. Once upon a time, you used to be able to copy and paste your preferred icons straight into “Get Info” in order to change them to a new icon. But in Snow Leopard things are a little different. But don’t worry, we’ll get this fixed in no time.

Creating Or Finding New Icons

There are plenty of great tools to create .icns files, such as Img2Icns. These tools are described in more detail in this post. You can also find free icons using sites like InterFaceLift.

Method 1: How To Change Application Icons (With Backup)

What we’re going to need to do is quit Finder and relaunch as the root user. This will give us the permissions to change the icon in the “Get Info” detail of the application.

Personally, I’m not too keen on plain icons, so that’s what I’ll change to demonstrate.

Add a Quit Finder Option To Finder

The best way to quit the Finder is to use Terminal to add a “Quit Finder” option to Finder. To open Terminal go to Applications > Utilities. Then type in the following command:

defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 1

This will add a “Quit Finder” option to your Finder menu after you relaunch Finder.

Relaunch Finder

To relaunch Finder, you can use the Force Quit dialogue. Access this dialogue by going to the Apple menu and choosing “Force Quit” or by pressing Command-Option-Escape.

You could also relaunch Finder by using Terminal and typing the following command:

killall Finder

Quit Finder

Now in Finder you should be able to go to Finder > Quit Finder in order to exit Finder.

Run Finder As Root User

While you’re still in Terminal you can launch Finder as the root user. To do this, you’ll need to use the sudo command. Type in the following:

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder

You’ll then need to give your administrator password. When Finder opens it will be running as the root user, meaning you’ll have access to the properties of many more files than a regular user. Make the icon changes as quickly as possible and then relaunch Finder.

Changing Icon Files Manually

This way to changing the icons involves getting into the package and replacing the .icns file with another .icns file. This method allows you the option of backing up the original icon by renaming it.

• Go to the application for which you wish to change the icon, then right click and choose “Show Package Contents“.
• Then go to Contents > Resources and rename the .icns file for backup. Remember what the original name was! Copy the .icns file you wish to use into this folder and rename it to the same name of the original icon in this folder.

These changes should show up instantly in Applications, but you will need to restart your Mac before it will show up in the Dock.

Method 2: How To Change Application Icons (Without Backup)

This is using the copy-and paste method of changing icons, which doesn’t give you a chance to backup the original icon. You can use the previous method for obtaining file permissions or the following method.

Change Application Permissions Individually

This method of changing application permissions is simple when it works, but often the permissions can be a bit of a headache. Each application file needs the permissions to be changed individually and changed back individually afterwards.

• Right-click on the application you wish to change and choose “Get Info“.
• Click into the Permissions area and click on the padlock in order to make changes. You will be asked for your administrator password.
• Change user type “Everyone” to “Read & Write” access.

• Access the “Get Info” information of both the application image file you wish to use and the application you wish to change.
• Click on the icon in the top left corner of the image you want so that it is highlighted.
• Copy this file using CMD-C, then click on the icon in the top left of the destination application so that it is highlighted. Paste using CMD-V.

This process can also be achieved by opening a file in Preview, then selecting the entire picture and copying, then pasting into the icon detail of “Get Info“.

Again, the dock won’t reflect changes until the computer is restarted.

Did one of the two above methods work for you?  Which one was easiest?  If you are having any problems updating your application icons, let us know in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help.

Lion boasts more than 250 new features, covering all facets of the Mac operating system. Highlights include AirDrop, FaceTime, AutoSave, Internet Restore, new features for Mail and better usage of full-screen capabilities.

Lion will be available to users with the latest Snow Leopard update, using an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor. Mac fans can sign up to be notified the minute Lion becomes available. The purchase can be made online in Snow Leopard via the Mac App Store and installation can begin immediately.

Many of the new Lion features are designed to work together, such as the Full-Screen Apps, Multi-Touch Gestures and Mission Control. Users can enjoy their applications full-screen, then switch to Mission Control with a quick gesture in order to change applications.

Lion features such as Resume, Auto-Save and Versions work harmoniously to ensure your work is saved and ready to use at all times.

Other new features such as FaceTime bring the family of iOS devices closer to Mac OS.

So, will you be an early adopter of Lion? Let us know in the comments!

Even though, in the twenty years I’ve been a Mac user, I have never experienced any known security issues, I will at least use the Firewall application installed by default in Mac OS X. It’s easy to set up, but there are a few considerations you should know about if you have not yet activated the firewall on your Mac.

The Purpose Of The Firewall

Without getting too technical, the purpose of a firewall, as the name implies, is to keep out malicious traffic from invading your computer through various networks and protocols. As you will know, when you’re using the Internet, all kinds of data traffic comes through different ports of your computer via email (typically port 25), your web browsers (port 80), chat and webcam applications, and mobile remote applications requiring access in order to perform certain functions. Each program wanting to communicate with a device does so through a special sort of file called a socket, “which specifies the protocol being used, the local IP address and port, and, in some cases, also the remote IP address and port.” (Mac Security, by Joe Kissell).

The job of the firewall is to determine which data and networks can have traffic access to your computer or mobile device. If you leave the firewall off, then you’re saying to the computer world, “please, scan my computer for open ports and come right in”.

Enabling The Firewall

To enable the Firewall on your Mac, open System Preferences and select Security.  Please note that these instructions are based Mac OS X Snow Leopard. They should also apply to Leopard, with a few slight differences. If you are already running a third-party firewall application like Little Snitch, then there shouldn’t be a need to run Apple’s default firewall).

Next, choose Firewall. To make changes you will need to click the padlock and enter your administrative password. Click the Start button to turn on the firewall.

The Firewall application will ask you to approve any applications or programs already installed on your computer.

Many of these requests may come from iOS mobile related applications. If you are aware of these applications and you don’t see any risk in allowing them access, then click Allow.

• If you have File Sharing and Printer Sharing turned on, Firewall will automatically give network access to these features. You can review the lists of applications that have been approved for network access.
• The + button means that you can manually add applications which you want the firewall to allow. However, based on my experience and research, you shouldn’t have to manually add applications. You simply approve the ones that ask for connections.
• Checking the “Enable stealth mode” is optional, but it is recommended. Stealth mode means that when an outside computer is trying to get access to your computer network and you deny it, that remote application will not be notified that traffic was denied. This way, the accessing computer will assume there’s nothing there to access.
• Unless you have some particular reason to do so, leave the “Block all incoming connections ” unchecked, and check the “Automatically allow signed software to receive incoming connections“.

Enabling the Firewall on your computer shouldn’t be a problem, especially if you are a home or small-office user. Some Internet routers also offer firewall-like protection to Internet traffic, so that if you link to a website which the router find suspicious, a warning will pop up and ask how you want to proceed.

Let us know if you have enabled the Firewall on your Mac and how well it has worked for you. For Windows users, check out Matt’s article about three free applications, and Steve’s 7 Top Firewall Programs To Consider For Your Computer’s Security.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Mac owners will receive the new marketplace when they download the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update for the Snow Leopard operating system that was also released today. It is then possible to peruse the App Store’s offerings, with several categories to choose from containing both free and paid applications.

Each downloadable item can be reviewed, rated and previewed via the screenshots provided. Apple have strived to make the Mac App Store as easy as possible to operate with their simplified install process.

Users simply choose an application they like, input their iTunes password and the app is downloaded and added to the dock. All updates and new versions of installed applications will then be automatically updated by the Mac App Store. Apple have also promised that once you’ve bought an application then subsequent re-downloads (say if you bought a new Mac) are included.

App stores are the hot thing right now, with Google’s cloud-embracing Chrome Web Store being launched just before Christmas and the Android Market getting a lick of paint shortly afterwards. Only time will tell what developers and (more importantly) Mac users will make of Apple’s latest outlet.

Have you tried the Mac App Store yet? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Services can unleash the potential power within Mac OS X and help any Mac users to be more productive. For example, one can quickly rotate images, rename files, or even convert video for iPod without the need to open any application. So let’s get acquainted with this feature and learn more about it.

A Little Bit About It

Finding the right words to explain about Services is not easy. So I’ll just tell you Apple’s definition, quoted from Automator:

Services are contextual workflows available throughout Mac OS X. They accept text or files from the current application or the Finder. Services appear in the Services menu.

From what I understand, Services allow users to access features of one application from within another application. For example, you can select text from a website in Safari and create and send an email message using the selected text.

The term “contextual” means that only a specific kind of Services will appear from within specific file types or applications. PDF-related services will only accessible from PDF files or applications which support PDF. So, even though there are literary hundreds of Services available, the Services menu won’t be cluttered with unused items.

You can access Services items via the application’s menu or via the pop-up right click menu. To access Services which are related to a specific file type, right click on the file from Finder, or select the file and click the task button.

Enabling, Disabling And Customizing

Applications that come with Mac OS X have services items related to their features. Most third party applications add their own services to enhance usage. Users can also create their own customized services if they want to. All of these services items can easily be enabled/disabled and customized according to your needs.

Open “System Preferences” and navigate to “Keyboard“.

From within Keyboard Preferences, go to “Keyboard Shortcuts” and choose “Services” from the left pane.

You will have the list of all available services items. To enable an item, check the box next to it. To disable, do the opposite.

The “Plus (+)” button is useful to add shortcuts to application’s menu. But that’s the topic of another discussion.

You can add shortcuts to Services items that you use a lot and save yourself several clicks to access them. To do that, select an item, press “Return“, and key in the combination that you like.

After enabling and assigning shortcut to an item, it will appear on the Services menu. As an example, I enabled the ability to turn selected text into spoken audio track. The result is a track called “Text to Speech” spoken by the chosen System Voice.

Now, every time I come across articles that I want to save and listen to from my iPod while I’m on the road, I just highlight the text and press the shortcut combination (Command + Option + T). I’m sure you can duplicate the method for other Services that useful for you.

Adding More Services

As mentioned above, Mac users can create their own customized services. But we would need a little help from an automation friend to achieve that.

Open Automator, and choose “Service“.

Decide what kind of input should the service that you are building receive. Also choose what application should this Service related to. Then drag and drop actions to build your Service.

Don’t forget to save your work after the building process is done.

Another way to add more services is by using pre-made services. You can use search engine to find services scattered around the net. One of the site that you can visit to get more ready to use services is Mac OS X Automation. The site also has nice tutorials on building Services.

Now that we are more familiar with Services, we can integrate more Services to our daily Mac usage. Hopefully Services can help us become more productive.

Do you use Services? Have you tried to build one tailored to your need? Share your experiences using the comment below.