Simple things made complicated by OS X

[alra111]

I love OS X (I put the default Leopard wallpaper on both my Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), BUT...

In both Safari and FireFox, is there an easy way to erase current address in URL bar completely before typing in a new address?

Sometimes with very long URLs I find myself having to hunt for the end for the line and manually delete it by highlighting, then deleting.

Also, how do you go to the beginning of the current line in any Mac OS X app? The home key seems to do nothing and sometimes I need to get to the beginning of a line efficiently.

Thanks,
Alra111

 

[jbarley]

I love OS X (I put the default Leopard wallpaper on both my Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3), BUT...

In both Safari and FireFox, is there an easy way to erase current address in URL bar completely before typing in a new address?

Sometimes with very long URLs I find myself having to hunt for the end for the line and manually delete it by highlighting, then deleting.

Also, how do you go to the beginning of the current line in any Mac OS X app? The home key seems to do nothing and sometimes I need to get to the beginning of a line efficiently.

Thanks,
Alra111

No need to erase, just click on the little icon at the left of the URL, this will select-highlight the Url, now just start typing in the new url.
When the URL is selected, you can if you wish press DELETE, but as I said it is not required.

To move from the beginning to end of a line press CMD+left or right arrow keys.

jb

 

[alra111]

No need to erase, just click on the little icon at the left of the URL, this will select-highlight the Url, now just start typing in the new url.
When the URL is selected, you can if you wish press DELETE, but as I said it is not required.

To move from the beginning to end of a line press CMD+left or right arrow keys.

jb

You rock.

 

[pds]

Or, triple-click on the url. It will highlight the whole thing.

To get the last part of a long url, click at the point you want erase and while holding the button, scroll down (good for getting back to the root address of a domain).

 

[chevy]

Or type cmd-L, it will select the whole URL of the current page.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Even more still, if the focus is already on the URL bar and your cursor is somewhere knee-deep in the middle of the text, simply hit command-A (Apple-A) and that will select all the text in the URL bar... then, simply start typing.

It's a pet peeve of mine to see people highlight a string of text, then unnecessarily hit the delete key, THEN start typing the new text. Skip the middle step -- highlight, then just start typing... it accomplishes the same thing in less steps.

 

[pds]

@smelly diablo - ot

it drives me crazy too. I often wonder if it's a Windows thing, something from a oft-used tutorial somewhere, since there aren't many Mac users around here to see if they do it too.

back on topic
I really like the way OS X does this. One click puts me where I can change one letter, two clicks selects a whole word (between two dots or other marks) and three gets the whole thing. Usually when I want to change the whole url, I just open a new tab.

 

[jbarley]

I really like the way OS X does this. One click puts me where I can change one letter, two clicks selects a whole word (between two dots or other marks) and three gets the whole thing. Usually when I want to change the whole url, I just open a new tab.

I think some of the frustration that switchers experience might have to do with how poorly Apple documents all the OS X features when you first purchase your new Mac.
For instance, I've been using Macs for 3 years now, I've owned a total of 5, and currently still have 4.
But I just now learned this 1-2-3-click thingy, which is a great feature, but I never would have if I did not make a habit of surfing different forums.

jb.