Key for launching a program from Finder?

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
You'd think it was enter, but that renames the file!! WHAT?! So I'm at a loss for how to launch a file using the keyboard...

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    command-o. where command looks like an apple, or a flower, and o is the letter (for 'Open').
  • Reply 2 of 12
    That is the stupidest shortcut key I have ever heard of... It's even worse than Maya!!
  • Reply 3 of 12
    I take it you're not a long-time Mac user. These two shortcuts have been the same for well over ten years.



    And how is it stupid? O is for Open. How hard is that to remember? It's the exact same keystroke in every program for the Mac! Do you have trouble with command-Q for Quit too?



    I actually find these shortcuts to be more useful than their Windows counterparts. Wait, there isn't a single-keystroke shortcut for renaming in Windows, is there?



    Another one you can use is command-down arrow. This is perfectly consistent with the how you can navigate the Finder via the keyboard. Command-up arrow takes up up the folder hierarchy; command-down arrow takes you down the folder hierarchy or opens a document/program. Command-shift-up arrow will take you to the desktop.
  • Reply 4 of 12
    First of all it's stupid because it's harder to hit cmd-o than enter. Fitt's law (the bigger the size, the easier a target it is). Secondly It's so unintuitive that it hurts my brain.



    Yes, I am a new Mac user, going on 1½ months. And the fact that I couldn't figure out how to open a file from the keyboard, an action which I think is many times more important than renaming, is a good sign that something is wrong. I'll tell you as much as my Mom knows how to open a file using the keyboard on Windows, but she would NEVER figure it out on OS X.



    Thirdly, yes there IS a single-key rename on Windows, it's F2...



    Now, how do I remap this ludicracy?
  • Reply 5 of 12
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eudaimic

    Thirdly, yes there IS a single-key rename on Windows, it's F2...



    Wow, talk about stupid keystokes. I bet most my Windows-addict colleagues don't know that one. Where can you even find that in Windows without searching online?



    Anyway, you can try remapping the shortcut from the Keyboard & Mouse pane of System Preferences. See Keyboard Shortcuts. If you use return/enter, it may conflict with the rename key and not work, but I haven't tried it myself.
  • Reply 6 of 12
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    for future reference (and to make things easier on yourself) you'll notice that many commands in the pull-down menus have key and letter combinations on the right hand side.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eudaimic

    First of all it's stupid because it's harder to hit cmd-o than enter. Fitt's law (the bigger the size, the easier a target it is). Secondly It's so unintuitive that it hurts my brain.



    Hmmm, let's see, the biggest key on my keyboard is... space!



    So, make space open a file!



    No, wait, make space edit the filename!



    Hmm... make space delete the file!







    See how silly that is?



    Cmd-O is 'open file'. It open the application file (launching it), it opens a document file (with the appropriate application), it opens folders. Simple, consistent, and easy to remember.



    Quote:

    Yes, I am a new Mac user, going on 1½ months. And the fact that I couldn't figure out how to open a file from the keyboard, an action which I think is many times more important than renaming, is a good sign that something is wrong. I'll tell you as much as my Mom knows how to open a file using the keyboard on Windows, but she would NEVER figure it out on OS X.



    As alcimedes said, look in the File menu. See 'Open'? See the keystroke next to it? Cmd-O. See all the keystrokes listed next to their menu counterparts? Learn them. Love them. Live them.



    Quote:

    Thirdly, yes there IS a single-key rename on Windows, it's F2...



    Now, how do I remap this ludicracy?




    You're kidding, right?



    New OS, new muscle memory to learn. Trust me, it doesn't take long. Having useful mnemonics means that you can learn them quickly.



    Fire up Mac Help (Help menu in the Finder is one way to get to it) and look up 'command key'. That lists the symbols you see in the menus, and what modifier keys they correspond to. Also try looking in the Keyboard & Mouse panel of the System Preferences. It will give you a list of common keystrokes... and these work across all applications in basically the same manner.
  • Reply 8 of 12
    Also, search Mac Help for the term "shortcuts" and you'll find some useful entries.



    Shortcuts for freezes

    Shortcuts for dialogs

    Shortcuts for Mouse Keys

    Shortcuts for Universal Access

    Shortcuts for starting up

    Shortcuts for the Dock

    Shortcuts for windows

    Shortcuts for the system

    Shortcuts for the Finder



    And the list goes on...



    Alternatively, open the Mac Help, click the Home icon in the toolbar, Browse Mac OS X Help, Shortcuts.



    Quote:

    Shortcuts



    You'll find keyboard shortcuts shown next to menu commands, but here are some additional tips and shortcuts that are not available in the menus.



    Shortcuts for using your computer

    Shortcuts for people with disabilities

    Tips and tricks



  • Reply 9 of 12
    Hey, I never said F2 made any sense -- But it's there



    Space would be my second guess for opening files (and that doen't do it either).



    All in all the keyboard combinations on the Mac are at times... trying. I recently described the Mac as keyboard shortcut hell on my blog, a description that is slightly over the top. Just slightly.



    Command-Option-P-R for Resetting the parameter RAM?... Well you won't be hitting it by chance that's for sure
  • Reply 10 of 12
    the one thing i really miss about windows is assigning F12, for example, to a folder. you hit F12, it opens. i dearly wish i could set F4 to open a finder window (yes, i know i can hit cmd-n, but my fingers are already by F4 for exposé... i re-assigned them). anyways, if you followed that, congratulations.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eudaimic

    Hey, I never said F2 made any sense -- But it's there



    Space would be my second guess for opening files (and that doen't do it either).



    All in all the keyboard combinations on the Mac are at times... trying. I recently described the Mac as keyboard shortcut hell on my blog, a description that is slightly over the top. Just slightly.



    Command-Option-P-R for Resetting the parameter RAM?... Well you won't be hitting it by chance that's for sure




    *laugh* Nope. Which is kind of the point for that one.



    But come on, you have to admit that most of the shortcut letter choices make sense:



    o = open

    c = copy

    n = new

    pr = PRAM

    s = save

    d = duplicate

    ? = help

    a = select all



    You can't seriously argue that F2 makes more sense for opening a file than Cmd-O... but of course, if it's what you're *used* to, then 'sense' goes right out the window. No pun intended.



    Frankly, I find that the shortcuts on Windows are immensely baffling. You need a cheat sheet printed out next to you to remember them, because there is no *way* you're going to stumble onto most of them by just trying the obvious things.
  • Reply 12 of 12
    It's not that the letters don't make sende. It's just that Enter for rename?!... What?! F2 doesn't make more sense, but it still makes a lot more sense than Enter!
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