Favorite Tip
My favorite tip is only for OS X users, but this little known OS X feature may be enough to entice you to upgrade if you are using an older Mac operating system.

Since all Macs still ship with a single-button mouse, many Mac users don’t realize that with OS X and most OS X applications, you can use a two-button scroll mouse. Once you use a two-button mouse, you will never want to go back to that single button. In Mac OS X, the right-mouse button works just like clicking an object while holding down the Control key. This functionality is available without any drivers or installation. Just plug the mouse in and the second button will be operable. This is a time-saver extraordinaire.

If you purchase a mouse that also has a scroll wheel in between the two buttons, you can use it for scrolling up and down on Windows and Web pages. Simply roll the wheel upward to scroll up and downward to scroll down. The wheel mouse makes navigating Web pages much easier. (The wheel itself can also act as a button, but you must install the mouse’s Mac OS X drivers to initiate this feature.)

You can’t do this in Windows
There are some places where the Apple excels. Doing a screen capture is one of them. In windows capturing a picture of the screen is difficult. With a Mac, it’s easy.

Press Shift-Command-3 to capture the entire screen. The screenshot is saved on your desktop named Picture 1. (If you take more than one screenshot, they will be called Picture 2, Picture 3, etc.) Press Shift-command-4 to capture a particular portion of the screen. This will give you a crosshair that you can drag it to create the area you want to capture.

Mac users also have it easy when they want to create a PDF (portable document file.)

Depending on the Mac version that you are using, you will find this option either in the File or Print menu. Click on File and if there is a “Save as PDF” option, you can use that to save a file as a PDF. If you don’t see that option, you will probably find the PDF option in the Print menu. Select Print from the File menu and click “Save as PDF” button in the print dialog box. The computer will then save the document as a PDF file.

You can create PDFs of many different types of documents including e-mail, Web pages, and Word and Excel documents. Creating a PDF saves the document just as it is seen on the screen, so the formatting is always correct. If you want to send a Word or Excel document to someone who doesn’t have the appropriate Microsoft program, you can simply send them a PDF of the document instead. Any computer can read a PDF file with the free Adobe Reader program that is already installed on most computers.

Shortcuts
There are many shortcuts that can be used to simplify your computing life. Learning just a few of them can make your everyday computing easier. Here are a few I use often:

The Command-Option key +A opens the Application folder.

Command +H will hide the top window in any application.

Command+Option+D will hide or show the dock,

Command+M can be used to quickly minimize a Window.

Hold down the Option key when you use the scroll bars and you will scroll pages instead of lines.

Undo Your Mistakes
Everyone makes a mistake now and then, but there is an easy way to correct something you’ve just done. Did you inadvertently send a file to the trash or move a file to the wrong location? Press Command-Z to undo the last action you took. This works in most programs as well as in the operating system. While some programs, like Word, support multiple levels of undo, when you are working in the operating system you can only undo the last thing you did. So you must remember to undo your mistake immediately before you move or change another item.

There are many shortcut keystrokes that can save you time and aggravation. Taking the time to learn about them will save you time in the long run. Oh, here is one more tip. Everyone needs a rest now and then. So when you are ready give yourself and your Mac a break, you can quickly put your computer to sleep by pressing Command-Option and then holding the Eject button for about 2 seconds. Have a good rest!