mac geekery

If you’re in Terminal and want to quickly open an app without finding it in the Finder (and don’t use Quicksilver or Launch Bar) use:

open -a Application\ Name

Example:

$ open -a Mail
$ open -a Activity\ Viewer
$ open -a Safari

Of course, better than the last one, use a URL:

$ open http://www.macgeekery.com

Your default browser will open. Which is, of course, why this command exists, to open things, like files. It uses the Launch Services system to find the right program so on most Mac OS X computers the following opens a file in Preview:

$ open ~/Desktop/Picture\ 1.PDF