Find System Preferences Faster by Sorting Alphabetically

By default, System Preferences in OS X organizes its preference panes by category. However, it doesn’t label the categories, making the organization nearly inscrutable. If you have trouble finding the Accessibility preference pane, for instance, which ends up in the bottom right when sorted by category, there’s a better way. With System Preferences open, choose Organize Alphabetically from the View menu (yes, System Preferences has menus!) to arrange the icons alphabetically by name, putting Accessibility in the upper left. The preference panes are also listed alphabetically in that View menu. If even the name escapes you, use the Search field at the upper right of the System Preferences window to search for words related to the setting you’d like to adjust, like “time” to tweak how the date and time appear in the menu bar.