Wait, what?
I can access this just fine on my bluetooth apple keyboard
On 2013-05-22, at 1:09 PM, Alex Hall <[email protected]> wrote:

> One thing to remember is that all those amazing controls only work on Apple 
> keyboards. If, like me, you are cheap and didn't spring for the Apple 
> keyboard and have a mini or other mac without a built-in keyboard, you can't 
> access any of this. I have no idea why (well, actually, it's probably so more 
> people buy official Apple gear) but there it is. I really wish I could access 
> these controls from the keyboard, but...
> On May 22, 2013, at 11:38 AM, Esther <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Teresa,
>> 
>> You can bring up your system sound settings using the keyboard
>> shortcut Fn+Option+F10, or substitute any of the other media keys for
>> controlling sound for F10 (e.g. F11 or F12, where Fn+F11 mutes, Fn+F11
>> decreases volume, and Fn+F12 increases volume).  I'm assuming that
>> your keyboard preferences are set with "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as
>> standard function keys" checked. The general rule is that you can get
>> quick access to the preferences settings menu for a related F-key
>> control by pressing the Option key together with the shortcut
>> combination you'd use.  So adding a press of the Option key to any
>> volume-related F-key shortcut will bring up the sound preferences
>> settings menu.  Similarly, adding a press of the Option key to any
>> brightness-related F-key shortcut will bring up the display
>> preferences settings menu, which contains a slider for setting
>> brightness.  On my 13" MacBook AIr there are controls for raising and
>> lowering the brightness of the backlit keyboard keys with the F5 and
>> F6 keys, so pressing Option+Fn+F5 or F6 will let me bring up the
>> keyboard preferences settings menu.  That won't work on laptop models
>> without backlit keyboards, like the 11" MacBook Air, and I don't think
>> it will work with your Mac Mini.  Also, if I'm giving instructions to
>> someone who isn't using VoiceOnver the shortcut keys are Option+F10,
>> F11, or F12 (without the Fn key press) to bring up the sound
>> preferences settings menu, and Option+F1 or F2 to bring up the display
>> preferences settings menu.
>> 
>> A second tip, if you want to adjust volume or brightness in finer
>> grain increments, hold down the Option+Shift keys as well.  So for
>> lowering volume with the media keys, this is Fn+Option+Shift+F11, and
>> for raising the volume this is Fn+Option+Shift+F12.
>> 
>> Now, an easier way to switch your audio devices without having to
>> bring up your system sound preferences settings is to get a free app
>> named Audio Switcher.  This sits in your status menubar, so you
>> navigate there with either Control+F8 or VO+m+m, and then switch
>> devices from its menu.  I'll point you to the MacUpdate page:
>> https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/26433/audio-switcher
>> You can download from there, but you should also check the link to the
>> developer's web page to read the documentation.  For people who
>> remember using SoundSource, a freebie from Rogue Amoeba that worked
>> accessibly up through Leopard to let you switch your audio devices,
>> Audio Switcher is like that.  (SoundSource isn't compatible with
>> Mountain Lion).
>> 
>> HTH.  Cheers,
>> 
>> Esther
>> 
>> On May 22, 3:19 am, Teresa Cochran <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Hi, all,
>>> 
>>> I have a Mac Mini, and since it doesn't have a microphone jack, I've been 
>>> switching back and forth between using my USB headset for system sound when 
>>> Skype is loaded, and using my  headphone jack/speakers. I'm wondering if 
>>> there's a way to get to these settings quickly so I don't have to open 
>>> system preferences, then sound. Of course, I could just keep the sounds 
>>> dialog open, but I'm curious if there might be a way to show this in the 
>>> status menu volume control settings, or something similar?
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Teresa
>> 
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>> 
> 
> 
> 
> Have a great day,
> Alex (msg sent from Mac Mini)
> [email protected]
> 
> 
> 
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