There are some applications out there that never cease to amaze me. We're always looking for shortcuts and ways to make our lives (and our computer use) much easier. Iced Cocoa's new Keymote [iTunes Link] for iPhone and iPod touch is sure to do just that!

With Keymote, you'll never again have to remember a shortcut. Keymote creates single buttons out of complicated shortcuts and groups them by application, speeding up your productivity and boosting your workflow. Basically, Keymote acts as a remote for your Mac and can control almost any application.

The developer notes that you can "Easily control Front Row from across the room, refresh your Twitter stream wirelessly, or play a song from iTunes without even touching your computer, the possibilities are endless."

Some highlights of Keymote include:

• Simple and intuitive user interface that makes using Keymote easy and fun.
• Easy to connect and operate over a Wi-Fi connection.
• Organizes your keystrokes, keeping the ones you use close at hand.
• Highly customizable with different key colors, the ability to add tactile feedback with vibrations and more.
• Built-in store for purchasing keystroke sets for almost any Mac application. Don't worry, most of these are free.
• Customize and share your keystrokes and layouts with other users easily.

I found the Keymote interface to be simple to use, and the commands are snappy, happening almost instantly. The in-app store is great too; I was able to download keystroke sets for Tweetie, Coda, iTunes, Safari, Firefox, Photoshop and so much more. I'm also a sucker for a beautiful user interface and Keymote certainly has that. The menus are easy to use and the keystroke pages are downright gorgeous.

The application is available in the iTunes App Store for $3.99 and is well worth the price. In addition to the app, you'll need to head over to Iced Cocoa's website, download the free Keymote receiver, and then pair your iPhone or iPod touch with the receiver application on your Mac.

Here are a few shots of the application in action:

Another quick tip in our Mac 101 series for beginners: Some special folders on your computer have keyboard shortcuts that you can press to instantly navigate to that folder when using the Finder.

For example, to open your Applications folder, click on your desktop and use the shift (?) and command (?) keys to type ? ? A. Voilà! Your Appplications folder appeareth.

Other folders have shortcuts too:

• Your computer: ? ? C
• Your home folder: ? ? H
• Your desktop: ? ? D
• Computers on your local network: ? ? K
• Your Utilities folder: ? ? U
• Your iDisk: ? ? I

You can also bring up a dialog box to specify a path to a specific folder on your hard disk by typing ? ? G.

Mice can be great, but sometimes my hands are too cozy on the keyboard to make the trip over to the aptly named pointing device. And contextual menus can be great, too, but I've got a few CM plugins creating a little maze of hierarchical menus. Some of them are used much more frequently than others and could benefit from ... a keyboard shortcut!

In walks Shortcuts, another very useful contribution from Abracode, makers of ClipMaster and quite a few other great (free) plugins and programs. It simply allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to any contextual menu item. The interface shows you what menu items would be available for a file, folder, multiple selections and text selections in Cocoa text fields. You just select the menu item you want easy access to and assign a hotkey.

I experimented with a "Copy Path" shortcut and a "Secure Delete" shortcut with great results. My only significant complaint is the lack of Path Finder support, which could probably be fixed fairly easily. You can edit the way it interacts with various programs using AppleScripts, so it should be possible to add some new "context providers". It will take a little more exploration on my part.

Shortcuts is a free download.

Thanks Michael G.

It's no surprise to most Mac users that you can use arrow keys to navigate through Finder windows. Arrow-key presses work in all three window styles: icon view, list view and column view. What many new Mac users don't realize though is that there are Command versions of these arrow keys.

When viewing folders using icon view or list view, both Command-Up-arrow and Command-Down-arrow play a special role. Command-Up-arrow moves you up to the parent folder of the currently-displayed folder. So if you are in, say, /Users/ericasadun/Pictures/Family, Command-Up-arrow would take you to /Users/ericasadun/Pictures. Press Command-Up-arrow again and you move to /Users/ericasadun. You can check your current folder by command-clicking the icon at the top of the folder window.

Command-Down-arrow only works when the selected item is a folder, and, like Command-Up-arrow, only in icon and list views. Pressing Command-Down-arrow opens and selects the current folder. So it essentially does the opposite of Command-Up-arrow. It moves you further down in the folder hierarchy as opposed to Command-Up-arrow which moves you up the folder tree.

These are useful shortcuts to have at hand when you prefer to use the keyboard to navigate through your files rather than the mouse.

Hi, my name is David Chartier, and I'm an RSS-aholic.
[your collective response: Hi David]

The last time I refreshed my newsreader was... well, probably a minute or two ago, and then 30 minutes before that. You see, I'm obsessed with news, and I've been using some sort of a newsreader for around three or four years now. Since I began writing for TUAW and Download Squad, I've probably tossed my OPML (an exported list of your RSS feeds) into more newsreaders than I can imagine, and one of my greatest loves has always been Adriaan Tijsseling's endo, which we've mentioned a few times before on TUAW. While I typically use NetNewsWire as my main reader, I'm giving endo a thorough run-through again as it has really matured into a great, stable product, and it has a lot of pleasant surprises and unique features that make sifting through large amounts of feeds and headlines a pleasure. In fact, with how well things are going, I wouldn't be surprised if endo upset my newsreader balance, at least for my regular reading. See the rest of the post to find out why...

Keyboard Maestro is a well-regarded keyboard macro application for OS X that lets you define and use a variety of custom keyboard shortcuts. Macros are basically scripts that can be used to perform a variety of actions, including manipulating on-screen windows, simulating mouse and keyboard buttons, controlling the clipboard, etc. Version 2.1 is Universal and includes several bug fixes.

If you're interested in automating certain tasks on your Mac, or even over-riding keyboard shortcuts in certain applications, Keyboard Maestro's macros might very well do the trick.

Keyboard Maestro is $20US and a demo is available.

[via 123Macmini]

I understand if this might sound kinda weird, but hear me out: As an iChat user, I love the flexibility of its UI and the clever menubar item that displays all available contacts. Since I've found myself flying without displaying the buddy list more and more often lately, I've been wishing for a way to select iChat's menubar item with a simple keyboard shortcut, giving me quick access for viewing who's online no matter what app I may be using at the moment. Thinking out loud this morning, I even posted this wish on Twitter - only to find Daniel Jalkut of Red Sweater Software (makers of MarsEdit, FastScripts and more) coming to my rescue moments later! Demonstrating the wonders of AppleScript, Daniel quickly whipped up a script that does exactly what I want. To make the script painlessly easy to use, it can be tied to a shortcut with his excellent FastScripts or a Quicksilver trigger, providing instant access that selects and displays the iChat menubar item and all available buddies. Easy breezy iChatting, without needing to keep my buddy list always visible.

If you want the script, head over to Daniel's Twitter post that contains the tinyURL download link. Toss the script you download into your ~/Library/Scripts folder (or anywhere else you like to store them), and then point your favorite keyboard shortcut utility at it to make your iChat life a bit easier. Thanks Daniel!

Click To Play

One of the things I mentioned in my Aperture podcast that I love so much about this app is its plethora of features designed especially to increase efficiency for power users and pro photographers. This tip centers around Aperture's keyboard shortcuts that allow for some very useful navigation and scrolling of the library browser, which is the pane that displays thumbnails of all the images in the currently selected album, project or folder. Instead of just explaining the shortcuts or giving you a screenshot, however, I thought I would go one step further and put together a short demo video of the shortcuts and the browser in action, additionally pointing out the small shuttle control on the right that helps detail just how quickly you're scrolling. It isn't anything fancy, but it should give you an idea of just how cool and actually useful this feature is.

For those who want the actual keyboard shortcuts, they are: J, K and L to scroll up, stop and scroll down, respectively.

Last October was when we first mentioned KeyCue from ergonis software, the utility that displays all the keyboard shortcuts for the app you're in, and even though I fell in love with it I somehow missed its update to version 3.0. Luckily, today's MacZOT was just the reminder I needed, as KeyCue is on sale today for only $12.99, a 35% discount from its regular $19.99. If you've ever wanted a handy birds-eye view of every shortcut for an app without having to dig around in menus and manuals, KeyCue is definitely the way to go. It even works with just about every app I've thrown at it, including Firefox and Photoshop. This latest 3.0 version added a performance boost of up to 10x when collecting shortcuts, as well as a theming engine with a new Dashboard theme that darkens the rest of the screen when activating the shortcuts window.

KeyCue is a great app that I personally recommend, and it's a steal at today's MacZOT price.

Keyboard shortcuts are one of the finer pleasures of computing, especially on a Mac. While we've been blogging all manner of these shortcuts, especially some of the gems in Mac OS X, there is always the One True Keyboard Shortcut Document to Rule Them All; the one maintained by Apple themselves. The doc came across my RSS feeds which means that it has recently been updated, though I admittedly couldn't tell you exactly what is new. When it comes to a list of shortcuts like this, I think I exhibit the Homer Simpson syndrome, where I always learn something new that inevitably knocks out one of the older shortcuts. Take Option-Command-Right Arrow when in the Finder's List View, for example - I have no idea if that's new (though I highly doubt it; List View has been around for ages), but it expands both a folder and all of its subfolders. Option-Command-Drag (again, probably not new, but new to me) to create a file alias in a new location will also prove darn handy, as my home network is finally demanding more and more use of aliases across my machines and hard drives.

No matter how you work, taking a glance at this recently updated doc just might help you get things done a little better.

More Mac 101, TUAW tips for the new Mac user and for us forgetful veterans. I often hear a complaint from switchers and newcomers: "Why do I have to use the mouse for everything?" Of course, we all know that there are scores of keyboard commands waiting to be used, but some particularly helpful ones are less than obvious.

Check out the Keyboard Shortcuts pane of the Keyboard & Mouse system preference panel. There you'll find my new best friends, "Move focus to the Dock" and "Move focus to the active or next window." With the first shortcut (control-F3 by default; note that on a laptop keyboard, you need to add the Fn key as well, lest you inadvertently mute your sound) you pop up your Dock, and you can select an application with the left and right arrow keys. Hold down the option key and you can relocate the selected app to another Dock slot. It's not a direct substitute for Command-Tab application switching, but it's still helpful.

The second option works like a supercharged version of the Command-` window rotation shortcut, cycling through all your open windows in all applications -- similar to the difference between the F9 and F10 Expose options. This is a great timesaver when you've got two or three apps open and you need to swap between them rapidly.

Have fun exploring the rest of the Keyboard Shortcuts pane!

[via Theocacao]

These days, there is absolutely no shortage of apps that let you control iTunes in one way or another. You can use your PSP, tiny menubar controllers, countless iTunes widgets and now - CoverSutra. Featuring a stylish bezel with loads of control feedback and album art display, CoverSutra aims to give you complete control over iTunes without invading your space. It can even work with the Apple Remote, offering visual feedback without the need to enter something like Front Row.

A 10-day demo of CoverSutra is available, and it sells for just under $13 USD (€9.95). While CoverSutra is a brand new 1.0 app, the developer is promising "plenty of new things in [the works] for you," and upgrades are free until version 2.0. If other controllers such as the über-everything Quicksilver don't quite float yer boat, CoverSutra looks like a great solution for controlling iTunes without interrupting your flow.

If you're jonesing for your Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts to work on Windows, or if you just can't give up Apple's keyboard while using Boot Camp, the AppleK Pro keyboard driver for Windows might just be your fix. This little driver allows you to use most Mac OS X shortcuts (such as cmd - shift 3/4 for screenshots and cmd - opt - esc for the Windows Task Manager), and you can even plug in an Apple USB keyboard to keep on truckin' (great for the Boot Camp users in the audience).

My big gripe with AppleK Pro however (besides the logo), is its outlandish $25 price. $5 - sure. $10 - I'd consider it (if I had to use Windows, that is). Even $15 might be reasonable, as long as you throw in the answer to the meaning of life or something. But $25 for some keyboard shortcuts? I might as well buy a new keyboard - at least then I could have one of those cool Matrix-style, multi-keyboard setups and act like I can actually see things when I stare at scrolling Klingon-ish code. Maybe these guys should hook up with MacZOT to cut the Mac shortcut addicts a break.

A post at Mac OS X Hints lists some bizarre shortcuts that appear to be new in iTunes 7. The shortcuts apply to selecting the various content sections such as Music, Movies and the Store, but what's strange is that if you have any playlists which begin with the same letter as the shortcut, the playlist takes precedence. For example: the letter M (amongst others) can take you to your Movies section, but if you have a playlist titled "Mashups," the letter M will take you to the playlist, not the major content section.

These shortcuts are very strange indeed, and it would be nice to have a more unified and universal list tucked away under a menu somewhere, so the shortcuts worked no matter what you were doing in iTunes, or what was selected. Still, if you're interested, check out Mac OS X Hint's list of shortcuts found so far.

We here at TUAW are suckers for productive shortcuts, and since yesterday's System Preferences tip was such a hit, I thought I'd post a few shortcuts to speed up the Sleep, Restart and Shut Down commands. There's actually quite a few ways to accomplish these tasks, so I'll try to mention all the methods I've heard of.

The first: hold the option key while selecting Restart or Shut Down from the Apple Menu to bypass the 'Are You Sure?' dialog, and cut right to the chase. You even get visual feedback in the Apple Menu; click the menu, then press the option key to see the trailing dots disappear from those two commands (as far as I know, this is a typical UI feedback element used throughout the OS; any commands - at least in Cocoa apps - that have keyboard modifiers will change their appearance in the menu if you press the modifier before choosing the option).

The second method is my personal favorite: 100% keyboard shortcuts. Here's a list:

• Sleep = opt + cmd + eject
• Restart = ctrl + cmd + eject
• Shut Down = ctrl + opt + cmd + eject

The third method, involving the power key, can still be counted as a keyboard shortcut, but since I almost never touch the power key (I Sleep my Macs about 99% of the time via my aforementioned favorite method), I don't really consider it part of my typical keystroke regimen. For you power key lovers out there, you can press your Mac's power key, and at the resulting 'Are you sure?' dialog that contains four buttons (Restart, Sleep, Cancel and Shut Down), you can press the first letters of a couple of these actions. Specifically, 'r' for Restart, 's' for Sleep and Enter for Shut Down. 'C' for Cancel doesn't seem to work, but Esc should get you out of the dialog if you need to keep computing.

Here's hoping you don't have a Homer Simpson-like brain, where each new shortcut you learn knocks out an old one. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on these shortcuts, and enjoy one more trick for working with your Mac just a little bit faster.