Time is short, so this week’s Pro Tip will have to be short as well. Not to worry though, it’s still a handy little tip that you’ll find yourself using on a near daily basis once it’s a part of your bag of tricks. And, similar to last week’s tip, the power is in the Command + Click.
As an example of where this hint comes in handy, let’s consider quite a common scenario:
You’re copying a file from one folder to another, which requires having two finder windows open. Often there’s a bit of jostling about as you tediously select one folder, resize and move it to one part of your screen, and then select the other, resizing and moving it. Sometimes, due to other windows and clutter being in the way, you step through this process a couple of times.
Next time, keep the destination folder as the front-most window. As long as you can see any edge of the source window behind, Command + Click (and hold) on that window’s edge, and then drag it around at will; drop it wherever you can see the source file that you want to grab. You can then drag this into the front window and let go. See the video for an example (it’s a bit hard to explain):
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qv-wiLb5jFc" width="350" height="288" wmode="transparent" /]
When you watch the clip, remember that anytime I’m manipulating the window in the background, I’m simply holding down the Control key whilst doing so.
Also, remember that this sort of trick works for other application windows, too. If you need to get to something on your desktop, and there’s one window behind the one you’re on that’s in the way, use this handy trick to push that obstructing window a bit out of the way, and get back to work.