Special characters and useful key combinations

Special Characters and Hotkey Combinations under Mac OS X and X11

Special Characters for UNIX, C, etc.

Albeit the Macintosh's acrylic keyboard is neat and beautiful and well designed, sometimes I desperately search for the key combinations which produce important characters under UNIX or in a C source code:

character	key combination
[	Alt + 5
]	Alt + 6
{	Alt + 8
}	Alt + 9
\|	Alt + 7
\	Alt + Shift + 7
~	Alt + n, then Space
middle mouse button	Alt + mouse click

For more information see:

Typing Special Characters on a Macintosh Keyboard (Washington State University)
Macintosh Accent Codes (Penn State)
Macintosh OS X Keyboards (Penn State)

Useful key combinations and shortcuts under Mac OS X

key combination	function
Apple + Shift + 4	Screenshot, will be saved as a .pdf on the desktop. If you press Ctrl in addition it will be copied into the clipboard instead of a .pdf file.
Apple + Shift + 4, then Space	Screenshot, where you can select entire windows. If you press Ctrl in addition it will be copied into the clipboard instead of a .pdf file.
Apple+ Shift + 3	Screenshot of the entire screen. If you press Ctrl in addition it will be copied into the clipboard instead of a .pdf file.
Apple + Tab	Toggle between running applications. The highlighted application can be terminated by pressing Apple + Q.
Alt + Shift + '+'	Produces the Apple-Symbol, but I guess this is not part of the character set of non-Apple computers :).
Apple + I	Opens an info window, e.g. file or directory info in the Finder.
Apple + W	Closes the currently active window.
Apple + N	Opens a new window, e.g. in the Finder, in Safari, etc.
...more key combinations (a German webpage)



	Finding the Serial Number of your Mac It is written on the bottom plate of your Mac. If you use a flat panel iMac, looking it up there might be a bit inconvenient. ;-) Fortunately, there is an easier way to find it: Click on the Apple in the left upper corner of the screen, select "About this Mac" and click in the Window on the Version Number beneath "Mac OS X". -- Markus Ehrenfried