Using function keys in the Treminal
Preferences of the Terminal app allows us to view and amend function key mapings:
The default maping is <fn> + <alt> + fuction key. Then you avoid to trigger OS X Finder mappings like Exposé, Search etc, which is what happens when you use e.g. <fn> + F11 (same as just pressing F11).
Open Terminal here ...
Mac OS Lion has a built-in function for opening a terminal from the folder selected in the Finder. It is implemented as a "Service". A "Service" is an action built to interact with specific types of selected objects. Cocoa/AppKit looks for matching services (actions) based on selections the user makes in various applications. Applicable services then occur as context-sensitive menu items in the context menu ("right-cklick"-menu) as well as in the application menu (next to the right of the apple menu, submenu "Services").
The "New Terminal Tab at Folder" service is disabled by default. The article "OS X Lion: How to Easily Open a New Terminal or Terminal Tab at a Folder - Tech-Recipes" shows how to enable it. Whether it will appear within a "Services" sub-menu or in the root of the in the context menu depends on how many services that apply. +4 results in a "Services" submenu. 1-4 will appear at the root level of the context menu.
Since I use this service a lot and since it appears within the "Services" sub-menu of the context menu, I prefer to use a keyboard command. This article describes how to assign keyboard shortcuts to context-sensitive menu items (like the "New Terminal Tab at Folder" service) Chose "Finder" as the application and specify exactly "New Terminal Tab at Folder" as the "Menu Title".
Then, you can select a folder in the Finder and open a terminal that is pre-located at the selected folder simply by typing the shortcut you've specified.
Please note that keyboard shortcuts do not work for single-folder services when using the column view - only in icon-, list- and cover-flow views. This is a Finder (or appkit) bug that has been around since the early days of the Finder. It drove me crazy until apple support helped me out. As an old NeXTStep user, I've always been using the column view. There is however a dirty workaround: select an additional folder (multi-select) in addition to (in that order) the intended one. Then you keyboard shortcut will trigger the service and "open in terninal" the folder you selected first.