Mac OS X and Office v.X Keyboard Shortcuts
by Guy Hart-Davis
Osborne / McGraw-Hill
ISBN 0-07-225501-3, 167 pages
$12.99 US, $18.95 CN, £8.99 UK
and
The Mac is Not a typewriter, Second Edition
by Robin Williams
Peachpit Press
ISBN 0-201-78263-4, 88 pages
$12.99 US, $20.99 CN, £9.99 UK
These two very different books have quite a lot in common, including:
• same price in U.S. dollars
• slim girth for brevity of reading and ease of carrying
• simple methods to turn you into an expert without breaking a sweat
• plain language and design, to enhance comprehension
• subtle sophistication under a veneer of simplicity
• page after page of specific examples, plus ready-reference capability.
In subject matter they are miles apart.
__________
Let’s begin with Mac OS X and Office v.X Keyboard Shortcuts. Sounds dull, right? Not a day passes without a beginner or intermediate Macintosher asking me why I insist on using and teaching so many of those darn keyboard commands, when Apple is famous for its graphical interface and mouse technology. I explain that power users value their time and efficiency by how many keystrokes they can utilize, reserving mouse activity for necessity and creativity.
Being a power guy myself, if not a super geeker, I flip to any page in this helpful, practical book, and study its shortcuts. Then I practice them for a few minutes. That’s it! Repetition is my friend, so I keep two lists. One has the most useful and common keystroke commands, and the other has all the rest.
Do you know what happens when you OPTION/DRAG a “menulet.” I doubt it. How about cycling backward through PowerPoint objects on a slide? Office’s shortcuts can be weird and illogical, as you probably already know. Over and over, this Guy’s in love with more useful tips and hints than normally fill a 500 page volume.
If you have no interest in becoming an advanced keystroker, save your dough for a movie and popcorn. But if your heart is pounding, thinking about toggling Dock hiding or browsing hyperlinks in a slide show, stroke your wallet until Mac OS X and Office v.X Keyboard Shortcuts emerges into your sweaty palms. Highest MyMac.com recommendation — 5 out of 5. Thanks to author and publisher!
__________
I began The Mac is Not a typewriter, Second Edition feeling sheepish and nervous, which is not my typical mental state. Author Robin Williams is so smart, sensible, and straightforward that I couldn’t believe I’m approaching my seventh decade having bumbled through life as a writer who ignores many cardinal standards of computer-based typography.
Let’s take the dash. Ordinary, “n,” or “m.” I hope my punctuation is correct, with all those preceding commas and quotation marks. Yikes.
Or abbreviations. Write out Street instead of St.
Or, worst of all, combining a clever-looking variety of different fonts and sizes on the same page.
The Mac is Not a typewriter updates Robin’s original classic. I have my signed first edition stored safely—but where is it? (Did you catch that correct “m” dash?)
Let’s make a deal. If you write for a living, as an academic, or with intended visual/stylistic clarity, get yourself a copy of this masterpiece and study it frontwards and backwards. If you don’t agree that it helps you justify lines better, present improved blocks of text, have feet and inch symbols appear correctly, and work effectively with serif and sans fonts, post your thoughts below in the Article Discussion box, and I’ll eat my words.
Yet another winner from Robin Williams, one of the BIG FIVE Macintosh book authors. Rated at 5 out of 5. Bravo!