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Mac Tricks and Tips, Wallpapers and Applications for Mac Users
Daily Trick 43. Batch Resize Images (10.6)
Although the steps needed to do batch resize images on Snow Leopard are more or less similar to those batch resize steps for Mac OS X Leopard, there is a simple workaround needed to perform batch open and resize images on Snow Leopard.
Mac Color Picker Trick
Previously, we've talked about built-in Preview color picker for Mac OS X Leopard. To our disappointment, last time we've failed to grab the real hex color code for picked color.
Fortunate for us, we found out a way to get the real hex color code from color bar and we will discuss about that in this article.
Create Booklet with Mac Preview
One of the missing yet necessary utility from our Mac Preview, though we've gotten many other extra features, is the ability to print document as booklet.
Unlike normal printing option, to print a document (or maybe, eBook) as booklet the order of the page is extremely important, e.g. order of the page for printing 8-Page document should be 8-1 2-7 6-3 4-5, which will consume up most of the time in the process of ordering.
Therefore, to create booklets of our documents, we will need…
10 Handy Mac Preview Application Tricks as Image Editor
Preview is the default image editor for your Mac. Even though it's shipped along with your Mac for free, but it's surprisingly useful for Mac users, especially for those who have upgraded to Mac OS X Leopard.
First, I will guide you to learn the very first and important technique of using Preview application, i.e. opening multiple images at once in one Preview window.
1. Opening Multiple Images at Once
Before you opened many images file with your iPhoto, think first. You will give heavy load to your Mac. It's better for you to open all of those images file with Preview application.
When you're going to open many images at once, don't forget to set your Preview Preferences (Command-Comma) to open all selected images in one window (if not, all images will be opened in separate windows).
Preview Tutorial - Mark Up Tools
With Preview, you can open your PDF files and do some modifications to the files. Modifications can be done only when file isn't locked.
There are several useful tools in Preview that you can use. One of those is the Mark Up Tools.
Introducing Mark Up Tools
As the name suggest, this tool is useful for you to emphasize some parts of your PDF files. There are three mark up tools available: Highlight Control Command H, Strike Through Control Command S and Underline Control Command U. Don't worry about the shortcuts since they're easy to remember: take out the first letter and add Control Command in front.
If you still forgot what are they, you can always refer back to Preview menu Tools ▸ Mark Up. The tools can be seen there.
Preview: Handy Color Picker [Leopard]
As a huge fan of Leopard Preview, I always try to do my image editing process with Preview. And I guess today is my lucky day, I discovered how to pick color from anywhere of your Mac screen with only Preview in hex format.
You could see the benefits here: Preview is fast, rarely crash and most importantly: it's free.
Setting Up
Here is the step by step tutorial on how to set up the color picker:
- Open Preview without opening any images file. This way, only the menubar of Preview will be shown on your Mac
- While the menubar is showing Preview, hit keystrokes Shift Command C to reveal one of Preview tools: Show Colors
- Inside Colors Pane, choose Color Palettes which is the third pane from the list of tools
- There you will see the palette chooser. In order to display the hex format of the color, you need to choose palette named Web Safe Colors
- Now, you've done the setting
Open PDF Link in Preview
If you've installed Adobe Reader, you'd notice that everytime you click a link containing PDF files, that file will automatically be opened in another browser tab with Adobe Reader instead of Preview.
And some Mac users don't like this behavior because Adobe Reader is more likely to crash than our lovely Preview. How to revert this opening PDF link behavior to its original, i.e. open PDF link in Preview?
Batch Resize Images
While resizing all my images, photos and wallpapers, I came into this great trick to easily batch resize images that I've never read somewhere else before; You can simply use Preview to batch resize images.
Wanna know more?
Sort Images with Leopard Preview
Unlike in Tiger where you can do image sorting with simple Control-Click anywhere on the sidebar - as discussed in my earlier post Meet the Preview Ultimate Sort Ability, in order to perform images sorting in Leopard Preview you need to click on the gear button (to the left of the slider), expand the menu and choose Sort By.
Preview Tutorial - Reading PDF Files
Brief Introduction
Somehow I feel it's quite difficult to read through many pages of PDF using my small display of MacBook. Fortunately, I come out with several ideas to improve the readability of reading PDF files with Preview which is our Mac default application to view PDF files.
Setting Default Application
Perhaps you haven't set up your default opening application for PDF file to Preview, you can do the following steps :
- Highlight one of your collection of PDF Files
- Right click on it to show up the contextual menu
- Mouse over on
Open Withwith modifier keys Option pressed. You should notice that the name is now changed to Always Open With - Choose and Click on Preview
- Now, you've done setting up Preview as your default opening PDF Files as well as opening that highlighted file with Preview
Preview Tutorial - Resize at Ease
Why do you need to look for others when you've already had free, capable application shipped along with your Leopard?
As Usual, Find Image First
Some of the readers might have known that I like to find an image before starting my tutorial. Here is the chosen one :
Preview Tutorial - Extract Shape
With Preview alone, you can do the most basic image editing, such as Extract Shape.
Pick Your Image
If your image is in the form image type file, i.e. JPEG, GIF, PNG, etc, you can highlight the file and then choose Open With ▸ Preview (if Preview hasn't been set as your default application) or simply use Command-A.
However, if you want to pick your image from existing Application's icon, you can do these steps :
- Highlight the icon
- Copying it into clipboard (Command-C)
- Open Preview
- Select File ▸ New From Clipboard (Command-N)
I picked : MacBook Air which I just captured from Apple.
Leopard Preview Trick : Grab Icon
Responding my recent article Easiest Way to Grab Icon, Luke provides very nice trick that I believe putting it here will be helpful.
With a simple highlight and import, Preview can display exactly the displayed icon. Let's see how to do it.
Leopard - New Preview Tools
Leopard Preview got some new tools, from the coolest and most useful one to the ugliest and least useful.
Adjust Color
This is the most useful new feature of Preview in Leopard. As its name states, it helps you adjust your image color right inside the Preview. This tool isn't attached to the toolbar. However, you should be able to call it up with keystrokes Command-Option-C or with menu
Apple ▸ Tools ▸ Adjust Color.
With some adjustments on Exposure, Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Temperature, Tint and Sepia, you could actually enhance special effect to your image, like what I did to this Leopard's image Clown Fish.jpg. This image can be found inside
Macintosh HD ▸ Library ▸ Desktop Pictures ▸ Nature.
Delete Ugly Image with Preview
Having many images do not guarantee that all of the images is of high quality. Sometimes it's really troublesome to get open those images one by one then get rid of those beasts.
Perhaps, it's time to use the Preview to its fullest. Preview can open a bunch of images at one breath.
And by following these steps, it will be very easy to spot and delete unwanted image.
- Firstly, highlight all the images to be sorted
Preview - PDF Slideshow
There are reasons why Preview most likely to be used by people.
One of those, Preview provides a feature called Slideshow. With slideshow, all pages on the PDF can be read in full screen. The environment for Slideshow is similar to that of Expose, one of the coolest feature presented by Mac. Slideshow also provide Autoplay so it will be able to cross all the page automatically.
This is how the slideshow looks like when it's being played automatically..
Croppin' Image with Preview
The most powerful and useful feature Cropping Image. Actually everyone will know how to use this application. It's quite nice and easy to understand. In case you do not know, I will tell you.
Sometimes you need a particular part of your image, not the whole of your image. Here you need to crop your image.
Let me tell you the most useful feature in here, you can adjust your cropping area (usually rectangle) by moving its edge (similar to photoshop free transform selection). Nice right?
