Mac and Windows Differences
1. Mouse buttons. The Mac mouse has a single button whereas a Windows mouse has two buttons. To display a contextual menu in a Mac environment, control+click on an object, unless your system has a “Mighty Mouse”, in which case you have a right-‐click option.
2. Keyboard shortcuts. Most keyboard shortcuts are the same on the Macs as in Windows. However, substitute the Command key (Mac) for the Ctrl
(Windows) AND use the option key (Mac) for the Alt key (Windows.)
3. Menu bars. There is only one Menu bar across the top of the screen on the Mac. In Windows, a separate bar appears at the top of every window.
4. Force quit. If the computer freezes up, usually you will see the turning
rainbow pinwheel. First, try to quit the application that you are currently are working in. To do this, click anywhere on the desktop and choose
Command>Force Quit.
Select the name of the application and click on Force Quit.
Mac Interface
Common Desktop Icons
Your desktop by default should have the following: a hard drive icon labeled Macintosh HD and a panel on the bottom of the screen called the Dock.
The icons in the Dock represent the different software packages on the computer.
• Roll over each icon to reveal its name.
• Click on an icon to launch a program.
• You know that an application is active or “running” if there is a white dot below the application’s icon.
If you do not see the Dock, go to the Apple menu at the top of the screen. Select Dock >
Turn Hiding Off.
If you are not able to open a particular program from the Dock:
• Go to the Application folder, in the Hard Drive.
• Find the program that you want to use and double-click on its icon.
Stacks
A feature that was introduced in OSX Leopard is Stacks.
Create stacks from anything you want to access quickly from one place: a handful of documents, a group of applications, or an entire folder. Simply add the folder to the dock by dragging its icon from any Finder
window and dropping it on the Dock. Then click on the folder in the Dock once to display the stack.
Hard Drive
Double-clicking on the Macintosh HD icon reveals folders that are contained in the operating system and applications/programs.
The Applications folder contains your Mac OS X applications, and the System folder contains the Mac OS X system software. The Library folder contains files used by the Mac OS X system software. The Users folder contains a folder for each user of the computer (known as the user’s home folder.)
Storing Files In Your Home
In Mac OS X, each user has a place to store their own files. This place is called Home. Your Home is already set up with folders for items such as your
documents, movies, music, and pictures. To get to your Home, simply click the
Home icon in the Finder winder toolbar.
Trash
The Trash is located at the far right of the Dock. The Trash is where unwanted files are placed for eventual deletion. To get rid of an unwanted file, drag it and place it in the Trash.
Note: Sometimes the computer cannot trash a file because the application that created it is still open or active. You must quit the application and then trash the file. If the file you wish to trash is locked, hold down the option key as you Empty Trash.
Eject
Another important function that Trash serves is to eject removable media such s CDs, flash cards, zip disks and other external devices plugged in via USB.
During these processes, the trash icon turns into an Eject symbol. You also disconnect servers in the same way.
*To eject a CD or disk, drag it to Trash and the disk will pop out of the CPU.
System Preferences
System Preferences is an essential utility for the Mac user. Users can change the screen resolution, QuickTime plug-in settings; adjust sound options, Energy Saver preferences, etc.
For example, The Input tab in the sound preference shows you external devices such as microphones and their signal. This is important when troubleshooting the absence of sound when trying to record to a sound program.
Note: The Energy Saver preference should be set to “Never” so as not to interfere with rendering video and sound.
Menu Bar Items
Across the top of your computer screen is a menu bar. Listed below are options that may be useful while using the Macintosh computer.
Apple Menu
About this Mac > More Info
This will display the System Profile, a software and hardware overview as well as devices and volumes chart that might be helpful to you Apple System Profiler is a utility that monitors the computer as well as its external devices.
Recent Items
• The Recent Items option lists
applications, documents, and servers that you have used in the last day or two.
• Recent Items is a quick way to navigate to current files without having to search for them.
Sleep, Restart, or Shut Down
When you select one of these options under the Apple Menu, a dialog box will appear. If you do nothing [and depending upon the option you have selected], the computer will automatically carry out the function in approximately 120 minutes.
Controlling Volume
To control volume, go to the top-right of the monitor and click on the speaker icon. Use the slide bar mechanism to control the volume.
File Menu
Select File > New Finder Window. The file management window will be displayed.
• Use the Column View as often as possible as this will help you get acquainted with file management on a Mac.
• The Documents folder is the default for saving documents.
Creating a New Folder
1. To create a new folder, select File > New Folder.
2. An empty folder will appear on the desktop. When the box below the
folder is highlighted blue, you can type in a name for the folder.
3. To edit the name of a folder, click on the text-box below the folder icon, wait until it turns blue, and then type in a name.
Get Info
The Get Info menu item allows you to find out important information on file size and file ownership if you need to change permissions on locked files.
Quick Look
The Quick Look menu item allows you to quickly view the contents of a file or folder without opening it or starting an application. It also works with nearly every file on your system, including images, text files, PDF documents, movies and more.
You can also use Quick Look to create an instant slide show by selecting several images and choosing File > Quick Look. Add a Quick Look icon to your toolbar by selecting Customize Toolbar from the View menu in the Finder.
Find
Find helps you locate files that you may have inadvertently “lost”. To access Find:
1. Choose File > Find. A dialogue box appears.
2. Select the hard drive or external media where you think the file may be located.
3. Type a search word into the text field. The search results will be displayed in a few seconds.
4. Click on an item and the path to that file is shown along the bottom of the window.
View Menu
View allows you to look at the files in your folder as a list, as icons, as columns, or as a Cover Flow, which is new beginning in Leopard. Changing the view to list can be very helpful if you open a folder, know you have a file in there, but cannot seem to find it.
You can also use the Clean Up or Arrange options to organize an untidy desktop.
Go Menu
You can access the many areas of your computer using the Go option. Perhaps most Important, is the ability to go directly to the Applications folder and to Connect to Server.
Exposé
Exposé gives you instant access to any open window with a single keystroke.
Display all open windows as thumbnails, view windows of the current application, or hide all windows to quickly locate a file on your desktop.
Spaces
Spaces is a new feature in OS X Leopard. Use Spaces to group your application windows and deal with clutter. If you do not have a Spaces icon on your Dock, find the Spaces icon in your Applications folder to open the program. You may also choose System Preferences from the Apple menu and click the Spaces icon there. Check the “Enable Spaces”checkbox. You may drag active applications to specific spaces on your screen.
Spotlight
Spotlight and Find are not the same. With Spotlight, you always find what you are looking for, even if you do not know where to look. The Spotlight search field gives you instant results encompassing files, folders
and documents, messages in Mail, contacts in Address Book, iCal calendars, System Preferences and applications.
Dashboard
Dashboard is home to widgets: mini-applications that let you perform common tasks and provide you with fast access to information.
With a single click, Dashboard appears, complete with widgets that bring you a world of information: real-time weather, stock tickers, flight information and more instantly.
Time Machine
Time Machine is the automatic backup system that is built into Mac OS X. It keeps an up-to-date copy of everything on your Mac — digital photos, music, movies, TV shows, and documents. To begin using Time Machine, connect an external drive to your Mac and define it as your backup drive.
Tips and Tricks
Capture Screen Shots
• You can take a screen shot of your entire screen by holding down the Command and shift keys and pressing a 3.
• If you hold down the Command and shift keys and press 4, Mac OS X turns the cursor into crosshairs you can use to select whatever portion of your display you'd like to capture in a screen shot.
Create Your Own Dashboard Widget 1. In Safari, visit your favorite web site.
2. Click the Web Clip button in the Safari toolbar.
3. Position the clear box that appears over your favorite section and click once to place it.
Then, resize the box using the handles that appear along the sides of the box.
4. When it’s the size you want, click the Add button.
To remove a Web Clip, hold down the option key and hovering over the Web Clip will show you an “x”. Click on the “x” to remove the Web Clip.
Open a Web Page from the Dock
1. Go to the Web page you wish to create a shortcut for from the Dock
2. Drag the little Apple icon just to the left of the URL in the Address bar to your Dock.
