The introduction of the Macintosh back in 1984 helped release us from the bondage of the command-line interface. So, it seems ironic that there’s a relatively new category of Mac productivity apps that lets us control our Macs from the keyboard. ![]() Quicksilver was one of the first of these utilities, and I was a big fan. But when developer support fragmented, other apps like Launchbar and even Apple’s own Spotlight moved in to stake a claim. I’ve tried all of them and, while all have their merits, I eventually landed on Alfred by Running With Crayons and haven’t looked back. ![]() Yes, Alfred is an app-launching tool, but it can do so much more.Īt its most basic, Alfred is an app-launching utility. Rather than clicking on an icon in your dock or rummaging through your Applications folder, you simply type a key-combination (Cmd+Space, in my case) to bring up a text input window. As you begin typing the name of the app you want to open, Alfred starts displaying matches, narrowing down the list as you continue to type. Either hitting the Return key or selecting a Command-key option will open the selected item. This was a long time coming/ Apple.Not only can you launch apps this way, but you can open files, folders, emails and contacts, perform web searches, copy/move files and folders, and a whole host of other actions. w.,I recenty noticed tha rejiggered Apple rejiggered SSH, so now you can cut-and-paste data and pass files and folders by drag-and-drop bewten linked Macs. TDM is nice idea, but Apple could make it a lot better by a.) creating a way for a Maq to boot into TDM, and b.) allowing one to open/close a TDM connection by issuing simple keyboard commands on his primary compute, eliminating that silly and very un-Mac-like need for a second keyboard and pointing device.ī. When you want to get reclaim your second Mac as a simple,external screen, just go to Dock, find the SSH icon, and use it to open a tunnel to your new Mac.Once your SSH connection is established, keep it on and dodge in our of using your second Mac independently by showing or hiding SSH via its Dock menu. Then use it to launch SSH to operate your second Mac as a separate computer. Once TDM is established, get the utility Screen Sharing Menulet (two or three bucks), go to its Preferences and tick the Launch on Startup option. Hope you can help - Perplexed Staminac!Īlways boot the second Mac in TDM (you only have to do this when you reboot your second Mar, afterwards you forget your second, dedicated keyboard and mouse goodbye). Hoping some very creative experts are out there who have a good idea for a true work-around or else know how to pass the Command-F2 from an object on the desktop rtather than the local keyboard. This too is a less than perfect solution for the obvious reason that, again, there is then less display real estate. Similarly, another proposed work-around I have heard is to use Target Disk Mode instead of Target Display Mode and use the MBP disk for the iMac display, thus giving up remote access to the MBP 15" display. (BacktomyMac also cannot address the TDM command situation.) In consequence, the virtual desktop work-around is not a good solution. The Logmein solution toggles (elegantly) through multiple screens, while the BacktomyMac implementation is cludgy in many ways that make it unusable for remote work. However, I use LogmeinPro to access remotely. PS - I am aware of the possible work-around of using virtual desktops on the MBP instead of actual displays on the MBP and iMac when I am remote. Anybody have any ideas on this somewhat obscure but real dilemma? I have searched Help for Script Commands, including those for Terminal. ![]() In using scriptwriter I don't know the syntax to actually instruct the script to issue a Command-F2 and there seems to be no documentation on this procedure. Quickly restarting apps with LaunchBar (and friends) I’ve been using this little trick frequently for a while now. If I try to record the command while writing the script it just pops my iMac right into TDM. However, when I try to set up the script, the Command-F2 does not seem to be recordable (or enterable) in the script. One of the Apple geniuses suggested setting up a desktop script with a shortcut that will issue the Command-F2 when clicked even from the remote machine. This is apparently impossible - only a connected keyboard can generate a Command-F2 that can throw the iMac into TDM. When this happens it will be necessary to have a method of sending the command-F2 from the remote machine. However, when working remotely, if there is a power interruption at the office and machines reboot, I will not be in TDM (and there are other ways this could happen also - all of them end up with me away from the office and the iMac not in TDM where I need it).
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