How about a "Tips" category?

mainstreetmark · Feb 10, 2006

There are like dozens and dozens of little tips and tricks that don't deserve their own "Guide". I propose a category of articles that are devoted to a particular application and contain a bulleted list of all the little simple tips.

For example,

Finder:
- Option drag a document or folder to the menubar.

Safari:
- Option-click to download a document
- Drag an image to the tab bar to open a new tab with that image

..etc...etc..

I don't think they should necessarily be part of the main application article, because having a category of tips based on the application would make browsing around for tips much easier. I am already familiar to death with iTunes and could care less about it's version history, but I'm frequently bored and looking for a juicy little time saver.

HexMonkey · Feb 10, 2006

I see how it could be useful, but realistically most applications would probably have no more than one or two tips listed, in which case a separate page wouldn't be ideal. The [guide]iTunes[/guide] article is unique in that it focuses almost exclusively on history rather than usage, but I think the original goal was to have application articles contain a brief description and/or history, and the rest of the article focused on usage ([guide]Safari[/guide] for example).

Perhaps a better goal would be to make that format more standard, so that application pages become a standard source for tips. Maybe iTunes' history should be branched off into a separate article so that the main article can focus on usage.

Tel · Feb 10, 2006

One I discoved by accident, I'm gussing its system wide but I never knew about it before.

When editiong text:

Cmd+Option+Click and drag - that highlights a square group of text, I thought it was pretty awesome

mainstreetmark · Feb 10, 2006

a perfect example!

I didn't know that, but if there was a "tips" category, that tip would find a great home. Perhaps in a "General Tips" article. For example, the popup dictionary isn't exactly widely known. The things you "know", others do not.

I guess I'm pushing for a Tips->Application structure versus an Application->Tips structure.

Though I do agree that standardizing the Application pages would be beneficial, just not as efficient for the casual browser.

HexMonkey · Feb 10, 2006

mainstreetmark said:
I guess I'm pushing for a Tips->Application structure versus an Application->Tips structure.

Maybe we could have it both ways. Rather than have a category for tips, we could have a page that lists tips and provides links to pages with more detail if necessary. For applications, it could link to the Tips section of the application's page (something a category can't do).

For example:

List of Tips

General Tips

Select a box of text - Hold down option and select an area (requires Tiger)
Show word definition - Hold the mouse over a word and press command-control-D (requires Tiger)

...

Application Tips

etc

kretzy · Feb 10, 2006

I think this is a great idea. It's only because of the little tips I've found around here on MR that I actually know any - having them all in one place would be very convenient.

Shagrat · Feb 11, 2006

Yup, I like the idea of a central Tips area too. As the poster above said, there are lots of tips that one only discovers when someone else points them out.

mainstreetmark · Feb 11, 2006

well, perhaps we should make a iTunes Tips page and see how we like it..?

geniusj · Mar 18, 2006

mainstreetmark said:
Finder:
- Option drag a document or folder to the menubar.

What does this do? I can't seem to get it to do anything.. It just seems to reject the action.

calebjohnston · Mar 18, 2006

How about Option+drag a file (for one or two pixels) and release and it copies it?

Or, I suppose you can option+drag a file to another folder and copy it faster that way.

Mechcozmo · Mar 22, 2006

I feel like a "Tips and Tricks" segment should be a part of the main article. Example would be, on the iTunes page, somewhere along it (probably near bottom) would be a subhead that said "Tips and Tricks" with a listing of them along with their functions.

Separate pages adds to clutter, and makes it harder to find them. (Example: it requires a link from every singe page that has Tips to its corresponding Tips page, and for that link to be maintained in the event of name changes, database upgrades, etc. And if someone makes a "Finder Tips" page, will they add it to the "Finder" page? Will they add the link in the correct spot? What is the correct spot?)

HexMonkey · Mar 22, 2006

I agree, as I said earlier in the thread I think application specific tips should be on the application's page, and in the case of [guide]iTunes[/guide] the history should perhaps be moved to a separate page (with a brief summary on the main iTunes page) since it takes up a large proportion of the page but is of limited interest to most readers. The guides were formed primarily to be a guide, not an encyclopaedia, so it seems to me that isolating the tips only deviates from that goal.

MacEffects · Mar 22, 2006

Hmm, thats a good idea, it makes sense to me... Now the problem would be applying it

sunfast · Mar 22, 2006

max_altitude said:
I think this is a great idea. It's only because of the little tips I've found around here on MR that I actually know any - having them all in one place would be very convenient.

Exactly! I've learnt loads from MR.

motulist · Apr 28, 2006

These Mac guides are great, but I don't think there's a good reason to duplicate resources that already exist. I think if there's a "Tips" entry it should just give you a list of links to good sources where tips can be found such as http://www.macosxhints.com/

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How about a "Tips" category?

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