Open Files with Finder's App Switcher
Say you're in the Finder looking at a file and you want to open it with an application that's already running but which doesn't own that particular document. How? Switch to that app and choose File > Open? Too many steps. Choose Open With from the file's contextual menu? Takes too long, and the app might not be listed. Drag the file to the Dock and drop it onto the app's icon? The icon might be hard to find; worse, you might miss.
In Leopard there's a new solution: use the Command-Tab switcher. Yes, the Command-Tab switcher accepts drag-and-drop! The gesture required is a bit tricky. Start dragging the file in the Finder: move the file, but don't let up on the mouse button. With your other hand, press Command-Tab to summon the switcher, and don't let up on the Command key. Drag the file onto the application's icon in the switcher and let go of the mouse. (Now you can let go of the Command key too.) Extra tip: If you switch to the app beforehand, its icon in the Command-Tab switcher will be easy to find; it will be first (or second).
Written by
Matt Neuburg
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Published in TidBITS 285.
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ClarisWorks 4.0 & Kanji -- Dan Miller <72511.420@compuserve.com> of ZiffNet/Mac wrote in regard to problems displaying Kanji text in ClarisWorks 4.0 reported in TidBITS-284, saying that he had experienced no trouble using ClarisWorks 4.0 with version 1.2 of the Japanese Language Kit (although it may well have problems with earlier versions of the JLK). Dan Kogai <dankogai@jms.jeton.or.jp> - who reported the original problem - adds that on further investigation, the troubles he experienced seem related to FontPatchin', a common freeware Control Panel that lets applications using Roman fonts by default show Kanji correctly. FontPatchin' also comes with an extension called UnderLineEnabler, which allows underlining text in KanjiTalk - something critical for using the World Wide Web. Dan Kogai adds, however, that the HTML translator in ClarisWorks still had problems using Kanji. [GD]
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