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BetterTouchTool and Mac OS X: Lock your Mac with a touchpad gesture / keyboard shortcut and more

One thing that seems to be missing from Mac OS X is the ability to lock and NOT logout of your account with a quick keyboard shortcut.  We can accomplish this with BetterTouchTool and also setup a touchpad gesture to do this too. (touchpad must support gestures to use gestures).

BetterTouchTool is a very useful utility to have for any Macbook owner.  This utility will let you customize all aspects of gestures on the touchpad from 2 finger to 5 finger.  This tool also lets you customize keyboard macros/shortcuts to do other tasks too.

1. Download BetterTouchTool from blog.boastr.net. Its a free utility and you can support the developer with a donation if you feel the app is worth it (it is!)

2. After installed, go into the apps Preferences from the Menu bar icon and then go to Gestures > Keyboard.

We can now add a new shortcut under the Global category on the left.  The main thing is that you will want to choose Show Loginscreen under the Predefined Actions.

In my example below, I setup using Control + Option + Apple + L key to Show Loginscreen under the Predefined Actions.  In Windows terms, Lock your computer if you have a password setup.

We can go even further and setup a Touchpad Gesture similar to our keyboard one.  In my example below, I use a 5 Finger Tap to again Show Loginscreen.  Be sure to not disable 5 Finger gestures or this will not work.

This app also lets you assign application specific gestures.  For example, I have setup gestures in Chrome so that I can do a 3 Finger Swipe up or down and it will change between tabs.  However, once I exit Chrome or switch to different app, the gesture mapping is no longer active. I also like to use  a 4 Finger Tap to bring up my Spaces window.  I have about 9 Spaces setup for various different tasks.

-Use the Global category for your gesture to be universal throughout all apps and the operating system.

Jimmy S
Jimmy Shttp://blogs.tech-recipes.com/jimmyselix
Jimmy Selix is an early adopter that loves to be one of the first on the block to have the latest and greatest in technology and gadgets. Another love of his is being able to share his knowledge to others seeking it. Feel free to drop any comments or questions that you may have.
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