Leopard Tips: Adding a 'Hotkey'

Making your own "Hotkeys"

Hotkeys are keyboard shortcuts that allow you to do something without having to use your mouse.  For example: cmd+c copies highlighted material.  Many hotkeys are already in place by default in Leopard.  But, what if you want to make your own hotkey?  Well here's how:

First, open your 'System Preferences' pane, and click on the 'Keyboard & Mouse' icon.

Second, click on the 'Keyboard Shortcuts' tab.  This shows the hotkeys available in Leopard.  Now, to make our own hotkey.  Click on the + symbol at the bottom left of the window.  This opens a pop-up window that asks for an Application, Menu Title, and Keyboard Shortcut.  In this walkthrough I will add a hotkey to Excel that allows me to insert a column into a spreadsheet by using cmd+shift+c.

In the Application drop-down menu, I will select Excel (though you should choose the application to which you would like to add your hotkey).  In the Menu Title text box I will enter Columns.  This comes from the Excel menu bar: Insert>Columns.  This is an important step.  For this entry box, you must enter exactly what the function in the application is.  If there is an ellipsis, you must enter that as well

 (for example: Cells ... ).

  Then, in the Keyboard Shortcut text box, I press cmd+shift+c at the same time.  Once all this is done, click 'add' and there you have it.  The hotkey should appear immediately in the drop-down menu in the chosen application. 

Review: AppTrap

One of the problems many Mac users face is uninstalling applications. Unlike windows, Mac OSX does not have a built-in 'uninstaller' program. The most common way to delete unwanted applications (which, if you like testing out new apps, you do frequently) is to drag them to the trash. However there are often other files associated with the unwanted application. These files are usually preferences or other such settings. By just dragging the application to the trash, you could be leaving other unwanted files on your computer.
But, worry no longer. There is a free "application" (it actually becomes a new pane in the system preferences menu) that allows you to delete those unwanted files. AppTrap is a program developed to delete the unwanted files associated with applications you want to delete. Once AppTrap is installed, whenever you drag an application to the trash a prompt will ask if you want to delete files associated with that application. I am constantly listening to podcasts and reading other blog sites, and I usually like to try all the free apps they mention. Whenever I test an application and decide I don't care for it enough to keep it around, AppTrap deletes the associated files and keeps my computer that much neater. I have not come across any issues while having used this application over the past few months. While there are other paid applications that offer greater functionality than AppTrapp, AppTrap is an excellent free application uninstaller.

AppTrap in the System Preferences Pane

AppTrap setup pane. Very simple. Very Straight
forward.

This is the prompt that shows up when you drag
the application to the trash.