
		System 6.0 Tips and Shortcuts

There is usually more than one way to perform a function on your Apple IIGS.  A number of shortcuts have been built-in to the System 6 software to provide the greatest flexibility and efficiency.  This document lists a number of tips and shortcuts that may or may not have been described in the manual.  You may have already discovered some of these for yourself, but many are not obvious.

Note: if you run across terms which are unfamiliar to you, please check the glossary at the back of the System 6 User's Reference.  This document assumes some familiarity with the operation of your GS and with system software.  Consult your manual if you run across an area which is unfamiliar to you. 

System Startup Options
When turning on the computer or rebooting, hold down the 'Shift' key to inhibit loading of non-system Inits (in the System.Setup folder) and all desk accessories (in the Desk.Accs folder).  This can be useful if you've recently added an init or DA that prevents the system from booting normally.  You can use the 'Shift' key to boot without loading the offending file, and then remove the file once the system displays the Finder.

If you normally have a Startup application selected (with the SetStart control panel), you can temporarily override this setting by pressing the 'Command' key during the startup process.  When the SetStart icon appears (the boot), the Control Panel will recognize the keypress, skip setting the Startup application, and then draw a red X through the icon.  (At this point, you can release the 'Command' key.)  The system will start the Finder instead of the selected startup application.

¥ WORKING WITH THE FINDER
Many Finder shortcuts are listed under Finder Help in the Finder.

The File menu command 'Put Away' (Command-Y) now works on disk icons as well as files and folders.  Putting away a disk will eject the selected disk. In the case of a mounted AppleShare volume, 'Put Away' will 'unmount' the volume.  (Dragging a disk icon to the trash works in exactly the same way, but 'Put Away' may be a more preferable method and has a keyboard equivalent.)

For your convenience, the Finder automatically selects a disk's icon when you insert the disk.  Also, when you close a window the Finder automatically selects the disk or folder icon into which the window closed, if no other icons would otherwise be selected (the Finder assumes that if you selected icons in another window or on the desktop, it should leave them selected).

Holding down 'Option' while double-clicking a document (or while choosing 'Open' from the Finer's File menu) presents the directory dialog box.  You can specify what application to associate with the desired document for a one time launch.  Holding down 'Option' and 'Control' while double-clicking a document does the same thing, but the Finder makes a note to launch that application whenever you open a document of that same kind.

You can double-click on a Control Panel icon to open that Control Panel, even if it's not in your startup disk's System:CDevs folder.  (However, Control Panels that do special things at system startup time must be kept in the System:CDevs folder.)

You can hold down 'Option' and choose 'Control Panels' from the Apple menu to open the System:CDevs folder.

You can drag a Control Panel icon onto the desktop for convenience.  (If you drag it from the System:CDevs folder, the Control Panel is still seen by the system as being stored in the CDevs folder.)

You can drag folders onto the desktop (this was not allowed in previous versions of the Finder).

When an Icon Info window is in front and the General card is visible, typing 'I' toggles the Inactive checkbox (if present) and 'L' toggles the Locked checkbox.  (You can inactivate several kinds of files, including Finder Icon files that you don't want to use.)

'Command-1' through 'Command-4' select various Icon Info cards, left to right.  (Not all cards are present for all icons.  The four cards are General, Where, Comment, and Access.)

In the Shut Down dialog, you can type 'S', 'R', or 'Q' to select the Shut Down, Restart, or Quit radio buttons, and you can use the up and down arrow keys to select different buttons.

In the Preferences dialog, '1', '2', '3', and '4' toggle the four checkboxes grouped under List Views, and 'S', 'H', 'W', and 'C' toggle the other four items, which begin with those letters.  (These work with or without the Command key.)

Window Shuffling
'Command-W' always closes the front System window (NDAs and Control Panels, for example), even if the application you're in does not support the standard Command-W equivalent for 'Close' in the File menu.

If you already have NDA windows open, you can bring them in front of some dialog boxes (for example, Finder Preferences and EasyMount 'Connect As'), just by clicking in the NDA window.

Keyboard Navigation in Lists
Whenever you see a List control with a bold frame, you can use the up and down arrows to select various items in the list.  You can also type the first one or more letters of an item to select it.  (When typing the first several letters of an item, you have to type a key every two-thirds of a second or faster.)

Some lists without bold frames work this way, too.

Initializing and Erasing Disks
When initializing or erasing a disk (in the Initialize dialog), 'Command-Return' works for the Initialize or Erase button.

When you insert a disk that is already formatted, but not for a file system you can use, you get an alert that identifies the disk's format as best it can and asks "Do you want to initialize it?  Eject/Initialize".  If you hold down 'Option' when you click 'Initialize', the system offers to erase the disk instead.

Note:  Erasing saves time, since the media will not be physically reformatted.  On the other hand, the system does not verify that all blocks on the disk are usable.  Use 'Erase' instead of 'Initialize' only if you're sure the disk is properly formatted.

EasyMount
If the EasyMount Finder extension is installed, then 'Create Server Alias...' appears in the Extras menu.

After manually logging onto a server volume (using the AppleShare Control Panel), select the server icon and choose 'Create Server Alias...' from the Extras menu.  EasyMount will ask you where to save the EasyMount document.

You can double-click on an EasyMount document to quickly log onto a server volume.  A 'Connect as' dialog will appear if a password is required but not recorded in the alias.  (Once the volume is mounted, its window opens automatically.  To avoid this, hold down 'Control' while double-clicking the EasyMount document.)

If the password is recorded, but you want the 'Connect as' dialog anyway, hold down 'Option' while double-clicking the alias.  (You can change the Guest/Registered User setting or enter a different user name.)

In the 'Connect as' dialog, 'Command-G' and 'Command-R' select the Guest and Registered User radio buttons.


¥ TEXT EDITING
When editing text (for example, in the Teach application, or in the Comment card of an Icon Info window in the Finder), try the following...

'Command-Left Arrow' moves left by words (i.e. a word at a time).  
'Command-Right Arrow' moves right by words.  
'Option-Left Arrow' moves to the beginning of the line.  
'Option-Right Arrow' moves to the end of the line.  
Add the 'Shift' key to the key combinations above to select the intervening text.

'Command-Up Arrow' moves to the top of the page.  
'Option-Up Arrow' moves to the beginning of the document.   
'Command-Down Arrow' moves to the bottom of the page. 
'Option-Down Arrow' moves to the end of the document.  
Add the 'Shift' key to the key combinations above to select the intervening text.

'Delete' (or 'Control-D') removes the current selection (if there is no selection, it removes the character to the left of the insertion point).

'Clear' removes the current selection.

'Control-F' removes the character to the right of the insertion point (if there is a selection, it just removes the selection).

'Control-Y' removes all characters from the insertion point to the end of the line.

'Control-X', '-C', and '-V' are Cut, Copy, and Paste (you can use these even in unusual cases where the Edit menu is not available).

Clicking the mouse moves the insertion point; dragging selects by character.  Double-clicking selects a word; dragging extends the selection by words.  Triple-clicking selects a line; dragging extends the selection by lines.

Keyboard Translation
If 'Standard' is chosen in the General Control Panel's Translation menu, you can type special characters by holding down the 'Option' key.

Most of the special characters are easily viewable if you have Video Keyboard installed (use the Installer script Special Aids: VideoKeyboard).  Choose Video Keyboard from the Apple menu, and then hold down 'Option', or 'Option' and 'Shift'.

Certain characters begin two-character sequences:  'Option-e' puts an accent over the next letter, 'Option-`' puts an (`) accent over the next character, 'Option-i' puts a caret (^) over the next character, and 'Option-n' puts a tilde (~) over the next character.


¥ WORKING WITH VARIOUS DIALOG BOXES
System 6 often prompts the user with dialog boxes.  Dialog boxes are windows containing either additional information, warnings, or instructions which often prompt you to provide additional commands in order to perform a certain function.  Below, are a number of tips for working with the various dialog boxes that you may encounter.

Directory Dialog boxes (Standard File)
You can type one or more letters from the beginning of an item to jump the selection down to that item.  (To use the first several characters of an item name, you have to type one key every two-thirds of a second or faster.)

'Tab' no longer moves to the next disk, but 'Command-Tab' does.

In dialogs where you enter a file name, 'Tab' chooses between the edit line and the file list.  Keystrokes go to whichever one is active.

'Command-period' is the Cancel button ('Esc' is not).

'Esc' and 'Command-up-arrow' are equivalent to the Close button (moving 'up' one level).

'Command-Esc' or 'Command-D' (for Disks) jumps to the Volume list level (like clicking Close repeatedly or clicking the Volumes button).

Clicking on the 'path item' (the triangle in a box, or the text next to it) displays a pop-up menu with one item for every level in the current path, all the way up to Volumes.  Choosing an item takes you 'up' one or more levels.

'Command-O' and 'Command-down-arrow' are the Open button (not always the same as the bold-outlined button).

AlertWindow Dialog boxes
Many dialog boxes are handled by AlertWindow (there will be some text, one or more buttons, and usually an icon in the top left).  In these dialogs:

¥ 'Esc' and 'Command-period' are the Cancel button, if one is available.
¥ 'Return' is the bold-outlined button, if there is one.
¥ For other buttons, you can type the first letter of a button name to go to that button (if two buttons have the same first letter, typing that letter does nothing).  This feature works with or without the Command key.

Font Selection Dialog box
This dialog is the one that appears in Teach when you choose 'Choose Font...' from the Font menu.  (Note that the same dialog appears in many other applications, sometimes in response to a menu item with a different name, like 'Attributes...').

Use 'Tab' (or the mouse) to move between the font family list, the size list, and the size box.  In the family list, you can use arrows and letters to choose a family.  In the size list, you can use the up and down arrows (typing a letter takes you back to the family list automatically).

'Command -P', '-B', '-I', '-U', '-O', and '-S' toggle the six Style checkboxes (Plain, Bold, Italic, Underline, Outline, Shadow).

Tabbing Between Controls
'Tab' advances to the next targetable control.  In many dialogs, 'Command-Tab' moves in the opposite direction, to the previous targetable control.

Checkboxes and Radio Buttons
You can almost always toggle a checkbox or select a radio button by clicking in the description beside it.  You don't have to click inside the square or circle.


¥ WORKING WITH THE CONTROL PANELS
The Control Panels window
'Command-Shift-Esc' opens the Control Panels window, just like choosing Control Panels from the Apple menu.  ('Command-Option-Shift-Esc' opens the System:CDevs folder, if you're in the Finder.)

You can use letters and arrow keys to select a Control Panel icon.

'Return', 'Command-O', or double-clicking an icon opens the selected Control Panel(s).

If you hold down 'Option' while opening a Control Panel, the main window closes after the Control Panel opens.  (Similar to 'Option-opening' a folder in the Finder.)

You can hold down 'Command' and click on an icon to select several Control Panel icons at once, or you can hold down 'Shift' to select a whole range of Control Panel icons.

'Command-H' or 'Command-?' is the Help button.

AppleShare Control Panel
You can 'Tab' between the Zone list, Server list, and User Name.  If you have a lot of zones or a lot of servers, arrow keys and letter keys are helpful.

In the 'Connect to the file server...as' dialog, 'Command-G' and 'Command-R' select the Guest and Registered User radio buttons.

Sounds Control Panel
The Sounds Control Panel lets you choose what sounds, if any, the computer plays for the System Beep and twenty-two specific events (such as Disk Inserted, Disk Ejected, and Task Completed).

Choose an event from the Event menu, and then choose a sound from the Sounds menu.  The Sounds menu contains 'Not Assigned', 'Silence', and 'Standard Beep', plus the sounds in your System:Sounds folder.  These sounds are in the same format HyperCard IIgs uses (if you put a HyperCard IIgs stack in the Sounds folder, any sounds in the stack are available).  If no sounds are listed, install Control Panel:Sounds using the Installer; eleven sounds are provided.

Setting an event to 'Not Assigned' gives any other sound utilities you installed a chance to respond to that event.  If no sound utility responds to the event, the result is either silence or the Standard Beep (it depends on the program causing the event, not the event itself).

Pressing 'Return' with the Sounds window in front replays the currently selected sound.

Time Control Panel
Use 'Tab' to move between Date and Time controls.  Left and right arrows move between fields.  The up and down arrows change field values.

You can type numbers directly - there is no need to adjust them with the mouse.


¥ WORKING WITH DESK ACCESSORIES
Classic Desk Accessory menu (Command-Ctrl-Esc)
You can type letters to move around in the built-in or 'classic' desk accessory menu (first letter only).  Each press moves you to the next line that starts with that letter.

'Esc' takes you to Quit, and 'Command-up-arrow' and 'Command-down-arrow' take you up and down one screenful at a time.

DESKTOP DA'S:
Calculator Desk Accessory
The Calculator window layout matches the keypad.  You can use the main keyboard, the keypad, or click on the buttons in the Calculator window interchangably.

Every time you use '=' the Calculator repeats the last operation.  For example, to count backwards from 98 by 7s, type "98 - 7 = = = = = = = =".

Typing '/' followed by '=' computes the reciprocal (as on many algebraic calculators).  For example, 4 / = gives 0.25.

'H' toggles between decimal and hexadecimal mode.  'Z' (or clicking the Zoom box) zooms the window to show or hide the 'A-F' keys.  (The keys don't have to be visible to use Hex.  'Hex' appears in the display when you're in Hex mode.)

Clicking on the small 'Apple symbol' (or 'Command-?') shows the About box.

'Copy' (or 'Command-C') copies the Calculator display to the clipboard (as text).

'Cut' (or 'Command-X') copies the Calculator display to the clipboard (as text) and clears the display to '0'.

'Paste' (or 'Command-V') lets you paste numbers or calculations from the clipboard into the Calculator, just as if you were typing the characters on the keyboard.  (Characters the Calculator does not recognize are simply ignored.)

Find File Desk Accessory
Find File normally ignores invisible files.  If you want to include invisible files in the search, hold down 'Option' when you click on the 'Find File' button (or when you hit 'Return' to begin the search).

You may continue working while Find File searches, but it searches faster while the Find File window is in front.  (The system responds to mouse clicks in about one second while Find File is searching.)

'Esc' or 'Command-period' stops the search.


¥ WORKING WITH ARCHIVER
Use '?' for the Identify button.
Use 'Right arrow' for the Device button.
Use 'Command-m' for Mark files, 'Command-u' for Unmark files.


¥ WORKING WITH "EASY ACCESS"
Controlling the Mouse From the Keyboard

On the 1 Megabyte Apple IIgs (ROM 3), and on ROM 01 computers when Special Aids: Easy Access is installed, you can control the mouse from the keypad.  Press 'Command-Shift-Clear' to enable keyboard mouse control; press 'Clear' to disable it.

While keyboard mouse control is on, keys on the numeric keypad control the mouse pointer.  '5' is the mouse button, and the keys surrounding it ('1'-'4' and '6'-'9') allow horizontal, vertical, and diagonal movement.

To make each press of a direction key move the pointer in larger increments, type * followed by a digit from '1' to '9' (*1 or ** returns to normal).

Pressing the '0' key locks down the mouse button until you press the 'period' key.

Sticky Keys
On the 1 Megabyte Apple IIgs (ROM 3), and on ROM 01 computers when Special Aids: Easy Access is installed, you can use Sticky Keys to press modifier keys in sequence instead of all at once.  The modifier keys are 'Shift', 'Command', 'Option', and 'Control'.

To turn Sticky Keys on or off, press and release 'Shift' five times in a row.  When Sticky Keys is on, every modifier key you press and release is considered pressed for the next non-modifier keypress.  To lock down a modifier for a series of keypresses, press and release the modifier twice in a row.  (To turn off a locked modifier, press it three times in a row.)

Sticky Keys automatically turns off if you press a modifier and non-modifier key at the same time.
