tips and tricks

Create one-click desktop shortcuts for Web sites in Chrome

You can add bookmarks, favicons to the toolbar, or just type the Web address to get to your favorite Web site. But what if you want something even faster? Evidently the development team behind Google Chrome feels the same way.

Thankfully, the process is very simple: just navigate to a Web site you want extra-fast access to, and then click the wrench icon near the top right-hand corner of the Chrome window. From there, pick Tools and then select Create application shortcuts.

In the pop-up window that appears, pick the places you'd like to have a shortcut for the … Read more

13 useful VLC keyboard shortcuts

If you're like me, you enjoy doing things faster. Using keyboard shortcuts can help you spend less time looking for buttons or menus, and more time enjoying music and videos. So take a moment to become a more efficient by reading over these VLC shortcuts:

Space: toggle pause/play

F: toggle full-screen (you can also use Esc to leave full-screen mode)

Z: change zoom mode

Ctrl + Up / Down: Adjust volume up/down (you can also use mouse scroll wheel for this)

M: toggle mute

T: display time remaining/elapsed

+ / -: play media faster/slower

S: … Read more

Photography 101: Learning the ropes with your new camera

Editors' note: This is an updated version of a story first posted in December 2011.

You've opened the box, charged the battery, and oohed and aahed over your shiny new toy. Now what?

Scan your manual No, you don't have to read the whole thing, just the important stuff. In the beginning somewhere there will be a diagram showing you the parts of the camera. That's the really important stuff. Then turn to the index, providing the manual has one (there are some utterly heinous examples of manualcraft that don't include an index); if there isn't, use the table of contents instead. Run down the index or TOC, and look at the page in the manual for every term you don't understand. … Read more

A place for everything: How to manage your photos

Managing your photos--a lot easier than you think.

What a surprising number of people don't realize is that every device these days pops up as a drive on your system, and that you can drag and drop your files onto your computer--even your phone. (And to those of you saying "everybody knows that already!" trust me; they don't.)

Commit to downloading First, you have to make the decision--and stick to it--that you'll download (or upload) all your photos and videos within a day or so of taking them. It's a good idea to get … Read more

Four handy iOS 5 tricks for the iPad

iOS 5 further improves the iPad as a productivity device, with new features that streamline navigation and speed up word processing. Four of these new features stood out to us, two of which are only available on the iPad.

All of these tools are built in, so you can start using them right away. Watch the video and follow the tips to get started:

1. Multitasking gestures With iOS 5, the Home button is nearly obsolete, as you can now navigate and manage your iPad using multitouch gestures. To enable gestures, go to Settings > General, and turn on multitasking … Read more

7 Google+ essentials

Adopting a new social network like Google+ is taxing enough--re-adding friends, creating "Circles", adjusting privacy settings, etc.--so learning to navigate can be a bit overwhelming. 

Luckily, we did the heavy lifting for you. Here are seven Google+ basics you should learn:

1. Bold, italics, and strikethough. Do you miss the funky fonts and formatting you had in MySpace? Neither do we. Google+, however, gifts you with three simple formatting tricks: *bold*, _italics_, and -strikethough-.

2. Tag friends in posts. Get a friend's attention in a post by tagging them. Type "+" or "@&… Read more

iWeb quick tip: Offline editing and 'Under Construction' pages

For any Mac users who take advantage of iWeb for their Web site publishing needs, editing offline and keeping your Web site active online can be a bit tricky. A couple Apple Support Community members have combined to come up with some good practices of doing just that.

Support Communities user "mharts" writes:

"I would like to over-haul my website look on iWeb and put up "under construction". But I don't want to loose the photos and some of the writing I've done."

This is a common issue with iWeb users, and … Read more

Mac OS X trick: Change contextual menus on your Dock

Right-clicking (or Control + clicking) on a Dock icon will bring up a contextual menu with available options for that application or file. This trick will allow you to customize the language of that contextual menu, further personalizing your Mac experience.

For example, when you have Safari open, if you right-click on the Safari icon in your Dock, the contextual menu offers you the options of New Window, Options, Hide, Quit (as well as showing you the current page name). You can change Quit to anything you want, like say, "End" or "Close."

This trick, from mactipsandtricks.… Read more

Chrome hints and tricks from Ask the Editors

Earlier today, Rafe and I hosted a lively Ask the Editors chat about Google Chrome. As is often the case, we both learned a bit while we were answering your questions. Here's a round-up of some of the more interesting answers.

Once you've imported bookmarks, it turns out there is a way to manage them. It's not readily apparent, though. Hit CTRL+B to show and hide the Bookmarks bar. When the bar is showing, at the right end there's a folder icon that you can use to manage those bookmarks.

One reader pointed out that … Read more