Using a notebook on the go usually means that you are not in the vicinity of a printer all the time. What happens then when you want to print. Well with Mac OS X you can print to PDF. This is fantastic because you can then batch print those PDFs when you get back to your printer.
The only drawback I have come across with this is that there is no quick key press to print to PDF. ⌘P of course will bring up the print dialogue but then you have to mouse down and click the PDF button and the select “Save as PDF…” which gives you a save dialogue box to name your PDF in.
My problem, I’m a keyboard speed freak. If I’m using the mouse then I like to just use the mouse. If I’m using the keyboard I don’t want to have to switch back to the mouse the back to the keyboard. Precious seconds are lost.
I was thinking about writing an Apple Script solution but I figured there had to be a better way, so with a bit of exploration I discovered a likely candidate in System Preferences.
The keyboard preference pane has a section on Keyboard Shortcuts. Within that is an option to create Application specific shortcuts. With Application Shortcuts selected click the + icon to add a shortcut. You can now select the application that you want the shortcut to relate to. In my case print is the same across applications and I want it to work across applications so i left the default of “All Applications” selected.
The “Menu Title” part is very important. You need to enter the exact text of the dialogue in the menu. In my case it was “Save as PDF…”. Note the ellipses after the PDF. They are part of the menu dialogue and if you don’t type them then it will not work.
The last part is to assign a keyboard shortcut. In my case I made it the same as print ie. ⌘P (This will not conflict with the keyboard shortcut for Print as it is in a level after that shortcut). The double ⌘P press also makes it super fast to print that document to PDF.
I would recommend playing around in the Keyboard Shortcuts section of System Preferences and see what gems you can find to enhance your workflow.
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Hi folks, just giving out a quick tip I picked up here while in the process of “backing up” my DVD collection via Handbrake. Came across this issue while transcoding my “District 9″ DVD where in scenes where the aliens were speaking, I expected to see the translation within the film but instead got nothing. This is due to the fact that some movies when faced with a foreign language use the built in DVD subtitle system standard as opposed to incorporating it into the movie like “Transformers” for example. So how to fix this problem in Handbrake is as follows:
1- Here we have your typical Handbrake screen which you get after importing your DVD “Video_TS” folder:
2- From here after you set up your video & audio settings, you select the subtitles section as follows:
3- Once you have followed the above instructions & completed the transcoding of your video, it will display the subtitles where a foreign language is spoken.
It should be noted that some movies as stated previously will have the subtitles embedded into the film itself, so you may need to check through each DVD film before you put it through Handbrake via the Mac’s built-in DVD player which can play Video_TS folders or via the “Preview Window” function in Handbrake itself (it’s the seventh icon across at top of the application). This is in order to save you having to use this excellent Handbrake function if not required.
Hope this is a helpful tip.
Dave S
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While walking this lunchtime along Dublin’s Grafton Street I spied a curious little sign outside of HMV.
Well being the curious sort I just had to go in and check it out. Sure enough downstairs with the other Tech stuff was a tiny area dedicated to Macs. 
As I had a look around there did not appear to be any sales assistants brave enough to come over and discuss the products with me. As it was I wouldn’t have had the time to quiz them anyway as I was on my usual tight schedule.
I guess it goes to show more and more are wanting to come to the party.
All that being said I still desire that first Apple Store in Dublin.
Until then I can visit HMV and drool.
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This week Dave and Justin have a look at the”New” Macs from Apple while paying homage to a great 1980′s TV show. Can you guess what it is? I’ll give you a hint: there is an “A” in team. Also on the show Dave is having problems with his winky.
Intro
News
Updates
- iLife 09 Updates
- Airport Utility Update
- Airport Firmware Updates
Daves PMT – MSI Winki rips off OS X UI
Feature – Discuss on “New” Macs
Justins Tip of the Week – Multiple iPhoto Libraries
Contact details
Outro
iTunes (link)
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Black Friday is traditionally the day after Thanksgiving in the United States of America. The term “Black Friday” was first used by the Philadelphia Police Department in reference to the heavy traffic on the day in 1965. In more recent times however, it has been used to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).
It is seen as the start of the Christmas spending spree. Many employees take the day off (creating a nice long weekend) and use it to visit the stores and get some Christmas shopping done.
In fact just to stimulate the trade on Black Friday many stores run special sales (kind of like the ones you see on this side of the Atlantic on December 27) and there are fantastic bargains to be had.
Apple retail outlets also partake in the spirit of the occasion and not to be outdone so does the online store.
For the first time Apple are bringing Black Friday to their online store worldwide. Now before you say anything, yes, yes I know they ran special offers last year, but that was one week later after the rest of the planet kicked up a fuss about not being able to avail of the deals that our US cousins got. Thankfully Apple this year has seen fit to be all inclusive from the off.
Make sure to log on to store.apple.com/ and go to your country in the international options. (for the Ireland store click here)
Happy Thanksgiving to all MacCraic subscribers and lets all take a moment to give thanks for Apple.
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