When a dialog box appears in Mac OS X, you typically have to click on buttons to execute a particular command. For instance, when an applicaiton prompts you to save a file, you need to click or tap the Save, Don’t Save or Cancel button with your mouse or trackpad.
For those of you who prefer keyboard commands rather than navigating with your mouse, you’ll be delighted to learn that there’s a way modify this behavior from System Preferences so that you can use your Tab key to move from one button or option to the next.
Quick Guide: Set the option to Tab Between Dialog Box Buttons
- Choose > System Preferences from the menu.
- Click the Keyboard icon.
- Click the Shortcuts tab on top of the dialog box.
- Click the radio button next to All controls.
- Click OK.
And that’s it! I find this a real time saver when navigating my Mac’s dialog boxes and it makes saving files a snap. If you don’t like the option however, you can always revert back by clicking the Text boxes and lists only* radio button.
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Any clue why Tab (±Shift) quits working after a while (~10 “hits”) in a Preview Save dialog if you “overshoot” (takes 5 hits to get to “Don’t Save”) trying to close file/quit without saving?
Strangely, ⌘D (“Don’t Save”) also doesn’t work here…