Leaf Raker

I like most of the new features in Leopard (yes, I even like the translucent menu bar!), but there are as always small annoyances.

One of those annoyances is that the printer application stays open and in the dock after printing.

Fortunately there is an easy solution:
Next time you print something just right-click and select “Auto Quit” from the menu:

Voila - now the printer application will quit after the job is done.

Using a Microsoft keyboard with a MacBook is possible but has one major drawback: The “Option” and “Command”-keys are exchanged and called “Windows” and “Alt”-keys.

Fortunately swapping the keys so that the “Command” and “Option”-keys are in the same location like on an Apple keyboard is very simple:

1. Open your “System Preferences”
2. Select “Keyboard & Mouse”
3. Select the “Keyboard”-tab
4. Click on “Modifier Keys…”

In the resulting dialog map the Option Key to “Command” and vice versa. This is a screenshot made with Tiger, the dialog in Leopard looks a little bit different:

Voila - that’s it. Now the Microsoft keyboard should behave just like an Apple keyboard.

Now, for one additional problem (if you are still using Tiger or before):

I am using my MacBook Pro in my office, so I’m frequently connecting and disconnecting my keyboard. Since my external keyboard is an ergonomic keyboard with Microsoft keys I would have to change those settings each and every time I connect or disconnect the keyboard. This is only the case if you’re still using Tiger or before, because in Leopard you can set the keys for each keyboard type as shown in this screenshot: Keyboard settings in Leopard

One solution is an AppleScript, which I found on the following website:

Change keyboard modifier keys automatically on OSX with Applescript

Now I have a Quicksilver Trigger to execute this Applescript, which makes the swapping of the “Command” and “Option”-keys quick and painless!

I’m not using an Apple-keyboard when working on my desk with my MacBook Pro, which creates a number of small but not serious annoyances. One of those annoyances are the reversed Command- and Option keys, another one is the missing “Eject” button.

So I tried to figure out how to eject CDs and DVDs from my MacBook Pro using Quicksilver. What I discovered was something that probably a lot of users know, but I didn’t . So I thought I’ll share it here:

If you don’t have an “Eject” button on your keyboard you can just press and hold the “F12″ key for two seconds and you CD/DVD will be ejected!
(Small disclaimer: I think you need at least Mac OS 10.2 for this to work!)

It’s that simple, no need for some fancy Quicksilver action. Sometimes life is just so much easier than expected.