6 Mac Save dialog tips that will save you a little time

Not everything your Mac does is obvious

We all think we know our way around the Save (Command-S) dialog on our Mac, but there are so many little secret features you may not have explored before.

The insanely useful Save tip

Here’s how many people save items to a specific folder: Hit Save and then ferret around looking for the right folder, or save it to the Desktop and move it to the correct folder later.

There’s a better way.

Tap Save and then begin typing the folder name in the search dialog box you see in the Save dialog and you should see folders containing that name appear in the results box – just tap the one you want to use to Save directly to the folder.

The fastest way to expand/close the Save dialog

You’ll have fun with this. Save a document and want to expand the Save Dialog box? Press Command-=(equal key). Do it again to make it small.

Zip through

Tap the Tab key to swiftly move between the input fields – document name, tag (always use tags) and the Search box. This means it’s as easy to save an item to the correct folder by typing the following sequence: Command-Saveto open the Save dialog, type the name you want to use, tap Taband choose a tag, tap Tab again and in the Search field type the name of the folder you want to save the item to. Select that folder when it appears and hitReturn to save the item to that location. And you can do all of this with minimal eye or hand movement.

Save to a New Folder

Tap the down arrow near the Save As dialog to expand the window and then click New Folder at the bottom left, or (quicker) tap the small folder icon to create the folder. You can also save to a new folder by typing Command-Shift-N.

A fast way to Desktop

Saving a document and want to stash it into your Desktop? Just tap Command-Dto jump directly there. Perhaps you wish to put the item in Documents? That’s OK – just tap Command-Shift-O. Or any of these:

• Alt-Command-L: Downloads.
• Shift-Command-K: Network.
• Shift-Command-A:Applications folder.
• Shift-Command-U: Utilities folder.

Rename

Named it wrong? Just Control-clickthe document name in the Open or Save dialog box.

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