7 ms·

Ask HN: tips for working with Mac OS X without using the mouse? (RSI)

• Artagra 16y ago
  Divvy will help tons: http://www.mizage.com/divvy/ http://www.mizage.com/divvy/ Otherwise, consider getting a trackpad / trackball for when you have to use the mouse. Or even using your mouse with your left hand (my brother does this).
  • thibaut_barrere 16y ago
    Thanks for all this - trying out Divvy right now, and will definitely consider buying a trackpad. I already switch hand from times to times and it helps, too.
    • Artagra 16y ago
      My pleasure. One more tip - try switching mice from time to time. I used to use a MS mouse at home and a Razer mouse at the office to reduce strain - different shapes reduced problems. The Razer you control with your fingers, palm on the desk, while the MS mouse I had in my palm, moving my whole hand. Using both every day reduced strain :) http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.207541300 http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID...
  • tibbon 16y ago
    Wow, this is great. One thing I've missed for years from Windows is being able to easily tile windows in a sane manner.
• scotth 16y ago
  I use and love SizeUp. http://irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ http://irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/
  • alextgordon 16y ago
    Can't say enough good things about this. It's basically eliminated my need to mouse to move and resize windows. Massive timesaver.
  • Brajeshwar 16y ago
    ShifIt (free) seem to do almost the same thing as SizeUp. http://code.google.com/p/shiftit/ http://code.google.com/p/shiftit/
  • roryokane 16y ago
    As cjoh also mentioned, Divvy (http://www.mizage.com/divvy/ http://www.mizage.com/divvy/) is a more customizable alternative to SizeUp.
• florentvaucelle 16y ago
  Also consider trying Zooom2 (http://www.coderage-software.com/zooom/ http://www.coderage-software.com/zooom/). It's all about moving/resizing a window with the trackpad and a key combination. I can't live without it.
• zackola 16y ago
  I'd say try becoming ambidextrous with the mouse, and switch hands every month or so. And under Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts make sure Full Keyboard Access is on 'All Controls' so you can focus/select buttons with tab. Also, make that useless Caps Lock key into Ctrl :) Ctrl+F2 = Access Menu bar Ctrl+F3 = Access Dock I will give someone 1 american dollar if they can tell me how to get menu bar selections to wrap back around to the top when I get to the bottom of the menu. EDIT - the magic mouse has been fantastic for eliminating the need for precise clicking when scrolling - that swipe to scroll feature is amazing, especially in tabular apps like Sequel Pro and Excel.
  • Timothee 16y ago
    I did the same thing (full keyboard access and Caps Lock=>Ctrl), so I don't have much to add. For your question, I just noticed you can use Page Up/Down to go to the top/bottom of the menu. Is there a way to select which functions keys should work as function keys and which one work as the Apple special keys (Exposé, volume control…)? The reason I ask is that I always found it inconvenient to use shortcuts like Ctrl+F2 because I have to move my hand much more to get to the fn key. But at the same time, Exposé is too useful to be left behind it.
    • jcl 16y ago
      I'm not sure if this helps in your particular case, but I believe some of Exposé's functions are mapped to four-fingered multitouch swipe gestures on the touchpad (up and down).
      • Timothee 16y ago
        Thanks, but yeah, in my case, it doesn't work since my MacBook is too old to support it. But I tried it and it seemed very useful indeed.
    • deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
  • hopeless 16y ago
• thibaut_barrere 16y ago
  Thank you all, thank you really! I will definitely summarize all this into a blog post.
• Hagelin 16y ago
  "MouseClick is an ergonomic software that will click the mouse for you. The software assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).” http://ufridman.org/mouseclick.html http://ufridman.org/mouseclick.html
  • thibaut_barrere 16y ago
    Are you using it ?
    • Hagelin 16y ago
      Nope, thankfully I don’t have a need for it.
• pvg 16y ago
  http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC380LL/A (you don't have to put it on the side of the keyboard or you could get one of the tinier al. keyboards) Not the same as mouse-less operation but a lot less strain than reaching for and moving a mouse.
  • isleyaardvark 16y ago
    A nice thing about the Magic Trackpad is you can set it to "tap to click" and just set it on your lap. It's not the ideal setup, but it's pretty nice.
• roelbondoc 16y ago
  I'm a ruby/php developer who works on a Macbook Pro 9 hours a day and I've learned to work w/o a mouse. Took a while to get used to, but now I keep my mouse in my desk drawer and only pull it out if someone borrows my computer. First it starts with the setup. At work I have an external monitor and keyboard. I keep my MBP to the right so I can use the touch pad here and there when I can't use the keyboard for certain things. Here are some tips/programs/plugins I use: 1) Vim (not macvim) and screen - This dynamic duo is the greatest invention. I recommend it to anyone who has the time to learn. Once you do, you'll never go back. 2) Vimperator - Firefox plugin - This one has changed my browsing experience for the better. Once you learn all the commands you'll be flying through pages. 3) Remap your CAPSLOCK key to ESC - Once you start using vim and vimperator, the esc key becomes more useful. I remapped my CASPLOCK key to ESC so its quicker to reach. I used the program called PCKeyboardHack. 4) Learn your keyboard shortcuts. 6) Try to replace programs you use often with console versions. For example I dont use any gui programs to access databases. Diffs/text search/file searches are all done through command line. 7) Spotlight - I don't use Dock, sometimes I forget its even there. I would disable it if I could. 8) pbcopy - command line program that you can use to copy to your gui clipboard. Try piping contents of a file to it. Becomes very handy. Most of my day I spend using Vimperator and Terminal. So it's easier for me to not have to use a mouse.
  • felxh 16y ago
    7) +1 Spotlight or Quicksilver if you prefer. There is also Alfred http://www.alfredapp.com/ http://www.alfredapp.com/ If you listen to music while working, I also find Coversutra http://www.sophiestication.com/coversutra/ http://www.sophiestication.com/coversutra/ or Bowtie http://bowtieapp.com/ http://bowtieapp.com/ very useful.
    • tta 16y ago
      There's also LaunchBar. http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html
      • mmorris 16y ago
• namastasyai 16y ago
  I find Quicksilver to be absolutely essential to my OS X keyboarding, http://www.blacktree.com/quicksilver http://www.blacktree.com/quicksilver I always disable the spotlight trigger and assign Quicksilver to the oh-so-easy command-space trigger. Try it! It's faster than spotlight and vastly more extensible.
• Hemospectrum 16y ago
  Get a launcher app. Quicksilver has long been a favorite of Mac users, but I'm much more fond of a newcomer called Alfred (http://www.alfredapp.com/ http://www.alfredapp.com/). There are a few others, as well. The idea is to extend the command-line metaphor to parts of OS X where a regular shell isn't useful, and most such tools provide a whole lot of functionality besides just launching apps.
• sgiese 16y ago
  Using SnapRocket will allow you to select different windows using the keyboard instead of the mouse. http://graymatterlabs.com/snaprocket http://graymatterlabs.com/snaprocket
• gte910h 16y ago
  Automator Automator Automater (Free drag and drop scripting toolkit already installed on the machine).
• ignu 16y ago
  i like my apps fullscreen to eliminate all the other noise and using spaces to navigate. fullscreen macvim is actually a beautiful editor.
• ignu 16y ago
  just get rid of your mouse for awhile, even if it kills your productivity. it'll make you figure out the keyboard shortcut for everything.
• spanktheuser 16y ago
  I'd add two points to the excellent comments above. My RSI was aggravated by use of the mouse. I found that using a trackpad with tap-to-click enabled helped significantly. But even more important was moving all of my informational surfing, twittering, emailing, etc. to the iPad. That probably accounted for a couple hours of computer use a day. Perhaps I'll come down with "iPad wrist" in the future, but for now the different gesture patterns don't trigger the RSI pain.
• yanowitz 16y ago
  This is a post from earlier in the year on this subject: http://smartic.us/2010/02/04/using-your-mac-without-the-mouse/ http://smartic.us/2010/02/04/using-your-mac-without-the-mous...
• mccutchen 16y ago
  This might be old news to you, but it took me a while to discover after I started using OS X: Cmd-Tab switches between applications (as I'm sure everyone knows), but it's less useful on OS X than Ctrl-Tab is on Windows or Linux because it doesn't switch between individual windows in those applications. Cmd-Tilde (~) was the missing link for me. It switches between windows in the current application. Those two are probably the most important keyboard shortcuts I know on OS X. Plus, another endorsement for Quicksilver. That's always the first application I install, and I now find it really frustrating to use any computer that doesn't have it installed. And maybe you should set your Dock to auto-hide, so you're not so tempted to move the mouse over there to monkey with things.
  • thibaut_barrere 16y ago
    Woa - I've been looking for cmd-tilde :) Thanks!
  • jaxn 16y ago
    That is Cmd-` (~ would require a Shift) And after Cmd-Tab, Cmd-~ takes you backwards in the list of apps. So if you Cmd-Tab too many times, Cmd-~ takes you back instead of having to cycle through. Likewise, in Safari Cmd-} (aka Cmd-Shift-]) and Cmd-{ take you forward and backward through the tabs. This also works in Terminal. Cmd-L puts the focus on the location bar in Safari if you want to type in a URL (or tab over to the search) Quicksilver is cool, but I just use Spotlight for launching apps. Cmd-Space turns on Spotlight. If you use TextMate, I highly recommend the TextMate book from Prag Press. Those are some of my favorites.
    • prawn 16y ago
      Only had a MBP for a few days (first Mac), but isn't Safari tab-cycling also via Ctrl-Tab, and Ctrl-Shift-Tab to go in reverse? At least on the laptop keyboard, involving the square brackets would necessitate a fairly long stretch, or using both hands? Being new to the Mac, I'd be happy to hear more shortcuts!
      • roryokane 16y ago
• bingaman 16y ago
  Visor http://visor.binaryage.com/ http://visor.binaryage.com/ hasn't been mentioned but it's how you should be opening and running your terminal. Turn on and spend a few minutes learning the keyboard shortcuts in GMail if you use it (conveniently, they map nicely to vi). This alone probably has saved me days of mousing, plus it can make ripping through your inbox kind of fun. I also strongly second vimperator (the only reason I'm still using Firefox) and sizeUp. Finally, just try unplugging your mouse occasionally to see how you're doing and what is still causing you to reach for it. Then sharpen the saw :)
  • tvon 16y ago
    I couldn't live without Visor, I have it set to ctrl-~ and a full screen terminal. It's lovely, I spend most of my time there with vim and screen.
    • bingaman 16y ago
      I have caps-lock mapped to ctrl and visor set to ctrl-<CR>. So my terminal is always two pinkies away :)
      • tvon 16y ago
        Oh, caps-lock to control goes without saying :) I do like the idea of a double-pinkey jab as a shortcut.
  • js2 16y ago
    Seems substantially similar to DTerm -- which BTW, doesn't require SIMBL http://www.decimus.net/dterm.php http://www.decimus.net/dterm.php
    • bingaman 16y ago
      Tried it and I much prefer Visor. But I tend to want to go into Terminal and stay there rather than just running single commands.
• doubleg 16y ago
  You could use Conkeror. It's a keyboard-oriented browser based on Mozilla inspired by Emacs and vi: http://conkeror.org/FrontPage http://conkeror.org/FrontPage The extension 'Vimium' for Chrome offers similar functionality: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/dbepggeogbaibhgnhhndojpepiihcmeb https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/dbepggeogbaibhgn...
• jfager 16y ago
  I haven't seen anyone mention Optimal Layout yet in the thread, so I will: http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ It lets you move, resize, and tile windows easily with just the keyboard, and you get a better Cmd-Tab that switches by window (though unfortunately it binds to Alt-Tab by default, and I haven't figured out how to override that). I think it's better than both Divvy and SizeUp. Also, +1 for vimperator and Quicksilver.
• dgallagher 16y ago
  While not 100% perfect, nor supported by every app in Mac OS X, you can enable voice commands under "Speech" in System Preferences. This will allow you to do certain things without touching your mouse or keyboard (minus a "listen" hot key)! Your Mac will need a mic of course (most have them built in, except for Mini and Pro desktops I believe...).
• Jakob 16y ago
  ctrl-F2 and ctrl-F3 Did you try the Apple Magic Trackpad http://www.apple.com/magictrackpad/ http://www.apple.com/magictrackpad/ ?
• spif 16y ago
  My mostly mouse-less OSX toolbox: 1. SizeUp, small window management tool with keyboard shortcuts 2. QuickSilver 3. Ctrl + tab 4. Things quickentry ctrl + alt + cmd + space (that one is actually very helpfull)
• thought_alarm 16y ago
  When you're working/coding you should never have to use the mouse, except for say, positioning windows, etc. Use the Keyboard Preferences to add or change shortcuts for your most-used commands. This can be done system-wide or on a per-application basis. For example, give the "Access Menu Bar" command a better shortcut, such as Option+Space; give Window Zoom a shortcut (I use command+control+Z), etc. In your most-used apps, explore the menu bar to see what keyboard shortcuts are already available, learn them, assign shortcuts for commands you use the most. And make sure the software you write can also be navigated using the keyboard, assign thoughtful keyboard shortcuts, etc.
• gregwebs 16y ago
  A lot of great tips here. I tried hard to get used to things, but I always felt that I was fighting the Mac window manager. I now have Virtualbox running Linux on my Mac. In full screen mode it is the same as running Linux. I use Xmonad, a tiling window manager with great support for keyboard shortcuts. My other pain point was that Mac doesn't have autocopy, although I am not sure if that is good or bad for your RSI.
• cjoh 16y ago
  Divvy for a window manager, quicksearchbar for shortcutting, and the vimium chrome extension or conkeror browser are super handy. I prefer quicksearchbar to quicksilver. I wrote about how to set up divvy shortcuts here: http://infovegan.com/2010/08/18/manage-pixels-not-monitors http://infovegan.com/2010/08/18/manage-pixels-not-monitors As a paying user of both divvy and sizeup, I have to say I'm bummed about my initial expenditure on Sizeup. Divvy is far more customizable.
  • cabacon 16y ago
    +1 for divvy, especially if you switch back and forth between an external monitor and the laptop display at different resolutions. I have a ton of app-hotkeys setup to resize everything to the aspect ratio I like after swapping resolutions.
• 0x5a177 16y ago
  One of my favorite shortcuts is the Command-? (Command-Shift-/) which will let you search the application menu in any app.
  • michael_scheibe 16y ago
    This shortcut is genius. In TextMate for example, you can type the first few letters of a project and open it near instantly if it's still in your recently opened list. It's one of my biggest productivity differentiators in OS X. You should all try it. I think it's enabled by default on Snow Leopard (not on Leopard). You'll find it under Setting > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Application Shortcuts > Show Help menu.
• anotherperson 16y ago
  KeyRemap4Macbook I’ve enabled “Simultaneous Key Presses” which allow me to use F+H/J/K/L instead of arrow keys. It takes a little getting used to, but I find myself hardly ever needing to leave the keyboard.
• awt 16y ago
  How do you position windows on Mac without a mouse?
  • kevinburke 16y ago
    Use Divvy and shortcuts - Full screen is Cmd+E, then F, right is Cmd+E, then R
• yalestar 16y ago
  One really simple thing that was driving me crazy was when an app pops up a dialog with buttons. Coming from Linux and Windows, where you can tab between the buttons and just hit enter to click the selected button, I was shocked that Mac doesn't do this. Turns out, Enter always fires the default button that's colored blue (e.g. Save), but you have to hit Space to fire the button that's highlighted (i.e. just outlined in blue). That simple revelation has prevented me from defenstrating my MBP in a fit of pique.
• superheroname 16y ago
  Not exactly what you're asking for, but I found the only thing that "cured" RSI for me was push ups. Check out http://hundredpushups.com/ http://hundredpushups.com/ and give it a shot for a few weeks, I'll bet you see a difference. I struggled with RSI for years before hitting on it.
• abraham 16y ago
  SizeUp is great to move application windows around with keyboard shortcuts. http://irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ http://irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/
  • Mizage 16y ago
    You might also checkout Divvy by Mizage for unique window management on Mac OS X: http://mizage.com/divvy http://mizage.com/divvy
    • abraham 16y ago
      I checked out Divvy at one point. I recall not needing the extra power so I stuck with SizeUp.
• sullrich 16y ago
  A great tip: Hit command and then space afterwards. This will drop down the spotlight search box where you can quickly launch applications. For example I will hit command, space and then type Term<enter> which will auto complete to Terminal.
• ido 16y ago
  Did you try using a trackball?
• alanthonyc 16y ago
  The Magic Trackpad. After getting my MacBook Pro, I knew I couldn't go back to a regular mouse again unless I could use a multi-touch trackpad on it. I had no plans of buying a desktop Mac at all until the new trackpad was released this summer. I got one a couple of weeks ago and find it works perfectly.
  • jon_hendry 16y ago
    I had to disable pinch-to-scale with mine. All too often I'd be reading something in the Xcode documentation window, and a slight, inadvertent movement of my fingers would cause the text to get really big or really small.
• gabrielroth 16y ago
  I've dealt with RSI too, so I have a few years experience trying to minimize mouse use. Other people have talked about the main keyboard shortcuts -- Command-Tab, Command-Tilde, and Control-F2. Make these second nature. Also, of course, learn the keyboard commands for your most-used applications. You can add and change many keyboard shortcuts in the Keyboard preferences pane in System Preferences. Make liberal use of this to make the commands you use most often the easiest to remember and invoke. I used Quicksilver devotedly for years, but it became much less stable with Snow Leopard. It may be better now that it's under more active open-source development, but I'm happy with LaunchBar. Certainly one of those two (or Butler, or Alfred, or there's probably others) will allow you to perform basic filesystem tasks (launching, opening, moving, copying, duplicating, opening a document with a specific application, etc. etc.) with a few quick key commands. A general suggestion: Don't try to learn every single keyboard shortcut all at once -- it'll never work. Instead, figure out the single most common reason you're reaching for the mouse, and replace that with a keyboard method. Once that's second nature, repeat the process. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can learn this way. Use shell scripting, AppleScript, Automator, Keyboard Maestro, and/or Hazel to simplify anything you do repeatedly. Once you've reduced mouse use, you can use these tools to reduce keyboard use as well! Good luck.
• chriseidhof 16y ago
  There are a lot of emacs keybindings available in OS X's text fields, you can even add your own. Check out http://www.applematters.com/article/emacs-commands-work-in-os-x-how-awesome-is-that/ http://www.applematters.com/article/emacs-commands-work-in-o... and the links in those comments. In particular, the following links are very interesting: http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/cocoa-text.html http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/cocoa-text.html http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/selectors.html http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/selectors.html http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/system-bindings.html http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~jrus/site/system-bindings.html
• edj 16y ago
  There's a lot of excellent advice here. Beyond keyboard shortcuts, there's a universe of options to help combat RSI. Here are some of the things I do: 1) Posture. You want your eyes to be on the same plane as your screen so your back and neck are straight. You want your elbows to be be bent at around a 90-degree angle--that helps keep your wrists straight. And you want your shoulders to be relaxed, not hunched. 2) Breaks. Both long and short. I used to use software for this, specifically AntiRSI for Mac. I think I did an 8 minute break every 52 minutes and a 30 second break 5 minutes or so. Now that I've built up better habits I don't use this software anymore. 3) A good chair. My favorite is the Swopper. It's quite expensive, though--around $600 I think. Right now I have standing desk and no chair. I like this set up even better than sitting on an ergonomic chair. 4) A good keyboard. I like "clicky" keyboards in the vein of the old IBM Model M. I use a DAS Keyboard. Costs around $100. It's not ergonomic per se, but the mechanical keyswitches provide great feedback so you can reduce your keystroke pressure to just the right level. 5) Physical therapy aids. I use Theraputty during my microbreaks. It's like silly putty, only it comes in various levels of resistance. I like green, which is medium-firm. Costs like $5 on Amazon. Some people also use the colored rubber bands, but that's more for elbow and shoulder work and my RSI is all in the wrist/hand. 6) Other activities. Rock climbing has very nearly cured my RSI. When I climb regularly my hands, wrists, and forearms are strong enough that keyboarding can't touch them. I suspect fighting RSI is like fighting obesity (though I only have the former so I can't be sure): it's all about building good habits. There's no magic bullet and you can't simply cure it and be done. It's an always on-going process. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • blackguardx 16y ago
    I second climbing. I have been climbing consistently for over two years and have never had a bout of wrist tendonitis like I used to. My wrists sometimes get uncomfortable if I am stuck in an awkward position for long (e.g. typing like a bunny) but I generally have no more pain.
• joestein 16y ago
  I use the wacom bamboo. Its intended for graphic designers but its also very ergonomically and fun to use, and apparently their newer models act just like the mac trackpad too. I also do baoding ball exercises
• crazydiamond 16y ago
  Surprisingly no one has mentioned Namely (http://amarsagoo.info/namely/ http://amarsagoo.info/namely/). Its a free alternative to QS and Launchbar, although simpler. +1 for FF + Vimperator, Screen + Vim. I also use vifm for a filemanager, alpine/mutt for emails, Gmail with keyboard shortcuts enabled.
• kjetil 16y ago
  I always add the following keybindings in System preferences: Cmd-<, Cmd->: switch windows Cmd-': zoom (the green 'maximize' button on windows) I just use Spotlight for launching (Cmd-space). Oh, and set caps lock as ctrl. MacOS supports this out of the box, unlike Windows.