Non-Apple kb sleep keyboard shortcut?

R

RobinS

robins
I've googled & googled and can't find a way of sleeping my computer (Mac Mini) with a non-Apple keyboard (no power or eject key), with a keyboard shortcut. I've been looking into power consumption as I may be going camping for an extended time with solar as the only means of powering the computer so conserving power is important. Since I'm frequently sleeping my computer during the day, a keyboard shortcut would be great. It just seems incomprehensible how Apple wouldn't allow it considering how many people use non-Apple keyboards with their computers. Dashboard might work to if needed. Let me know. But nothing beats the ease of having it right on the keyboard.

Please tell me there is a way!
 
As far as I know there is no standard keyboard shortcut that doesn't use the power button. However, you add/customize shortcuts for just about any menu item, including the Sleep menu item in the Apple menu.

Go to System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts. Click the "+" button below the list. In the resulting dialog box, set the application to "All Applications", the menu title to "Sleep" and the shortcut to whatever you like (how about command-control-Q?).

Close System Preferences, and check the Apple menu — it should show your new shortcut next to the Sleep command, and that shortcut should work from any application.

(My directions are based on Leopard, but I think it's basically the same in Tiger and even Panther.)
 
FYI: There is a standard keyboard shortcut that doesn't use the power button: Command+option+eject. Other than that, great answer Mikuro, short and to the point!
 
I said I DIDNT have an Apple keyboard so no stupid Eject button. Its so brainless to have a keyboard shortcut that isn't available on 99% of the world's keyboards. Welcome to the world of Apple - the center of the computing universe - though only in their very limited eyes. WAKE UP Apple.

Anyway, I got Fruitmenu and it works great. Its also got lots of other advantages too. HIGHLY recommended. Best $10 you'll ever spend.
 
RobinS said:
I said I DIDNT have an Apple keyboard so no stupid Eject button. Its so brainless to have a keyboard shortcut that isn't available on 99% of the world's keyboards. Welcome to the world of Apple - the center of the computing universe - though only in their very limited eyes. WAKE UP Apple.

Anyway, I got Fruitmenu and it works great. Its also got lots of other advantages too. HIGHLY recommended. Best $10 you'll ever spend.
Click to expand...

My comment was aimed at Mikuro, not you. He was the one that said there wasn't a standard shortcut. Anyway, Mikuro's advice would've done the trick if you'd bothered to try it. Better than wasting $10.
 
Sorry I should have mentioned that. I did try it but it didn't work. Now that may be my computer as its been doing some mighty strange things recently. But as I said, there are many other advantages to Fruitmenu. People could probably save significant amonts of electricity if they "slept" their computer more. And the way to get them to do that is to make it convenient and easy. Anyway, thanks to both of you for the tips. Just because I despise Apple at times doesn't mean I don't appreciate its loyal helpers. :)
 
Last edited:
You do realize that if you momentarily press the power button you'll get a selection box, one of which is to sleep the mini?
Also you can sleep a mini using the remote that comes with it.
 
The power button is nowhere near my desk. Doesn't work for me.

I've never used the remote.
My keyboard command of Command_Option_Control_7 works better. Fruit Menu rocks.

Boo on Apple for not putting a Sleep command in Sys Prefs. VERY shortsighted. It seems they are getting even MORE mouse-centric, with each revision. What is it with Apple and the keyboard? Does Steve hate kb's so much? He MUST bow down to a big mouse upon arrising every day. What could possibly be the motive of restricting a user's options? There are few things that aid productivity as well as keyboard shortcuts. When I watch the typical Mac user navigate its like watching a bear trying to do a ballet. Hopelessly slow and inefficient. By the time a mouse user has moved his hand to the mouse, the kb shortcut has already been done. Like in 1/2 a second. Then they have to move the cursor to the correct area, click it, and hop back to the keyboard. Absurd. The only people that say the mouse is better than the keyboard are people that can't remember shortcuts and have zero keyboard coordination. I bet the day Steve Jobs is put out to pasture will be the day we get some logic in software design from Apple. Beginning with the SAME commands and shortcuts for all its programs. You'd think the design teams in Apple were on different planets.
 
Is this question still going in circles?
What about the default keyboard sleep shortcut, shown in the Apple menu, next to the Sleep command?
It's control-Option-/
I guess that would be control-alt-/ on the Win keyboard, eh?

I've tried a couple of different Win keyboards that have CD eject keys (along with other media-centric keys, and both worked with OS X, so I'm not sure what you mean by 'limited use', in this case. Now, not all extra keys on Win keyboards work on a Mac, but some do work as advertised....
 
Last edited:
DeltaMac said:
Is this question still going in circles?
What about the default keyboard sleep shortcut, shown in the Apple menu, next to the Sleep command?
Click to expand...

Eh? There is none. :confused: Not for me, anyway. Maybe it varies by localization; I know some other shortcuts do (like the one to switch windows, which is command-` for me). I've never seen a default shortcut for Sleep listed in the menu, though.
 
Oops, missed that. The Sleep keyboard shortcut is not in Leopard, but is on my Mac running 10.4.11, Tiger...
 
Get FruitMenu. Problem solved. If you don't want to pay for it ($10) snag it (you know where). Just be sure to recommend it to people so others will buy it eventually if you use it. I find it wonderful. They deserve to be rewarded financially for such a great product. And it does lots of cool other things well.
 
DeltaMac said:
Oops, missed that. The Sleep keyboard shortcut is not in Leopard, but is on my Mac running 10.4.11, Tiger...
Click to expand...

DM, what's going on ... I use Tiger but don't have that keyboard shortcut symbols to the right of the menu item ... you might have the Special Collectors version of Tiger, the one they sold to the 1,000th customer?





@ RobinS,

Get FruitMenu. Problem solved. If you don't want to pay for it ($10) snag it (you know where). Just be sure to recommend it to people so others will buy it eventually if you use it. I find it wonderful. They deserve to be rewarded financially for such a great product. And it does lots of cool other things well.
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind for the future .... what I find invaluable re: Contextual Menus .... is OpenMenuX. I just couldn't imagine using my Mac without it ....



.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top