Finder, opening things and the return key

[josepho]

Hiya,

I've been using OS X for a few weeks now, but there's something which I can't seem to solve... When I'm using Finder, and am in a folder I often like to just use the keyboard rather than reaching for the mouse/trackpad. I can move up and down, jump to icons by typing their first letter... but I can't open them! Pressing return just let's me rename them. Seems strange that they think it'd be more likely I'd want to rename a folder/application than open it.

Is there any way to do this/set this up... I'd really find it handy.

Cheers!

[HexMonkey]

You can use either command-O or command-down arrow to open something. If you don't like those, then (if you're using Panther) you can go to System Preferences->Keyboard & Mouse->Keyboard Shortcuts, click the '+' button, choose "Finder" as application, "Open" as menu title and the keyboard shortcut of choice. Unfortunately you can't choose a shortcut such as return, but you can choose any shortcut that contains one or more of the following:

a) Control key
b) Option key
c) Both command and shift keys
d) An fkey
e) A key from the number pad

You'll then need to log in again for changes to take effect.