Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition

Terminal Tips and Tricks

After you’ve used Terminal awhile, you may feel ready for a few of these power tips.

Switching Windows

You can switch among your various Terminal windows by pressing

-1,

-2, and so on (up to

-9). You’ll be able to identify the windows easily if you choose to include the Command key in the title bars (use the Window section of the Terminal Inspector).

Default .term File

After you’ve changed Terminal’s preferences, it’s not easy to get the default settings back—unless you first save them in a .term file.

If you’ve already made changes to your Terminal’s preferences, quit Terminal and temporarily remove its property list (preferences) file, called com.apple.Terminal.plist, from your Home folder→Library→Preferences folder. Drag it out of the Finder window to the desktop, for example.

Next, reopen the Terminal, where you’ll find that all original settings have been restored. Save this window as a .term file named Default. Finally, quit Terminal and replace the newly created property list file (com.apple.Terminal.plist) with the one you removed initially. When you next open Terminal, you’ll have your old preferences back—and a new Default item in your Library menu that will ...