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Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Features: New Drag & Drop Animations, Enhanced Window Shadows, Updated Dictionary App

Apr 13, 2011 11:56 GMT  ·  By
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   Mac OS X Lion banner

For today’s OS X Lion feature, we have a trio of new additions to report on: new animations when dragging and dropping files into a folder; changes to the UI with the addition of deeper shadows; and the updated Dictionary.app.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Developer Preview 2 introduces new animations, visible when dragging a batch of files from one place to another.

When selecting multiple screenshots for relocation into a new folder, Lion automatically arranges the ‘ghost’ selection in a list view, if the user takes his / her time to decide where to drop them.

For example, you can drag a bunch of screenshots from the desktop into a folder in under a second, and you will not be able to see the animation kick in.

Do it slowly, hovering with the selected screenshots over that folder for a second, and Lion compresses the selection to a list view of your selection, so you can better visualize what items are being copied / moved to that location.

Just have a look at the screenshots (click to enlarge), and all will become clear.

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Next up, we’d like to talk about the improved shadow system implemented in Mac OS X Lion.

It’s nothing big, but the change should be quite visible to those using Apple’s desktop OS on a regular basis.

Switch from Snow Leopard to do a couple of tasks in Lion and you’ll instantly notice that the shadows cast by application windows are now darker, and have a bigger radius.

Again, it’s not something that will stand out for all users, but it does make it feel like you’re working with physical sheets and panes, rather than virtual gateways to their contents.

Check out the screenshot below where the blank windows of TextEdit and Dictionary are used to demo the change.

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Speaking of which, Dictionary 2.2 is a much-improved application in Lion with a new UI that splits words from their definitions in a two-pane display.

On the left, you have all the results from your query; on the right, you have the various definitions, examples, and explanations pertaining to that term.

Users will find it easier to reference an entire list of words in alphabetical order, with options to instantly display the definitions from all available sources without going back and forth in the application’s interface.

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The Dictionary app also features an updated "New Oxford American English" dictionary, now at its third edition of 2010.

A new Oxford Dictionary of British English is now included, alongside a companion British English Thesaurus.

Also updated are the Japanese, Japanese-English, and Japanese Synonym dictionaries from Shogakukan.

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As with Snow Leopard, Lion’s Dictionary integrates with Spotlight.

However, instead of just offering all references to that term, including an option to see that term explained by Dictionary.app, Lion’s Spotlight can now instantly show the definitions in a preview window, as shown below.

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For more OS X Lion coverage, visit the relates links below.