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Mac n00b tips!

2

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  • Registered Users Posts: 256 ✭✭Turnip2000


    Absolute noob here. Just made the change yesterday with a spiffing new macbook 2.2Ghz and have to say I'm very impressed. But i really thought the change over would be a little less difficult.

    Im figuring most things out myself through trial and error and reading older threads etc. but I'm about to crack over one or two minor issues.

    1. I have no downloads or documents folder in the dock and any effort to put them in fails miserably with either a big black question mark appearing on the folder or the folder(in dock) not updating with the actual folder itself?

    2. After downloading new apps such as messenger and Firefox I'm left with "a disk" on the desktop. After restarting my computer they disappear and i must then re-download the apps. Is there any way of moving these disks to a set location or "ejecting" them without deleting the software required to run the program.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,667 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Turnip2000 wrote: »
    1. I have no downloads or documents folder in the dock and any effort to put them in fails miserably with either a big black question mark appearing on the folder or the folder(in dock) not updating with the actual folder itself?
    You need to place them on the right side of the divider, next to the trash icon.
    2. After downloading new apps such as messenger and Firefox I'm left with "a disk" on the desktop. After restarting my computer they disappear and i must then re-download the apps. Is there any way of moving these disks to a set location or "ejecting" them without deleting the software required to run the program.
    You need to drag and drop those apps from the disk image to your applications folder. The disks images are just temporary for installation, you can eject them after copying over. Don't run the app from within the disk image.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,401 ✭✭✭jtsuited


    Simon201 wrote: »


    erm this thread is gonna be renamed 'wasting time on your mac' soon!!

    hopefully:D

    loving that ctrl+alt+command+8 thingy. Had no idea that you could do this. and i've been wasting time on my mac for two years now!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭triple h


    Here are two good tricks. Safari only.

    1) -- If you are on a web page and you want to email the page to someone --- hold down the apple key ( command key) and press the letter i. Your mail opens up and it's ready to send the page to whoever....

    2) -- Click view ( 4th word from the apple logo top of your screen) --- go to customize toolbar --- a box opens up and you can add stuff to your toolbar and it will appear under the red, yellow and green dots in your web page anymore.
    One feature you could add is font size. If for example your dad is looking at your computer and he cant read the text too well, he can click the font button and it will make the text bigger. Add whatever tricks you want.


  • Registered Users Posts: 256 ✭✭Turnip2000


    Thanks very much prof. They worked a treat. Really getting the hang of it now. :D


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  • Registered Users Posts: 8,326 ✭✭✭Zapp Brannigan


    I have a question!

    In safari, is it possible to set it up so that just a normal click will open a link in a new tab? Any time I click on a link it opens a new window and the only way to open it in a new tab is either right click and select new tab or hold command and click. I'm too lazy for both, so is there a way to solve my plight!


  • Registered Users Posts: 26,555 ✭✭✭✭Creamy Goodness


    is there a keyboard shortcut for menu bar apple logo >> shutdown/restart?


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,227 ✭✭✭Breezer


    @Zapp: No. Although there's plugin called Saft that might do this. I've never tried because that behaviour would annoy me, but Saft does a lot so possibly.

    @Cremo: Apple menu is Ctrl + F2. Shut down is Ctrl + Option + Command + Eject.


  • Registered Users Posts: 849 ✭✭✭Simon201


    I have a question!

    In safari, is it possible to set it up so that just a normal click will open a link in a new tab? Any time I click on a link it opens a new window and the only way to open it in a new tab is either right click and select new tab or hold command and click. I'm too lazy for both, so is there a way to solve my plight!

    Well if your mighty mouse is configured so that the scroll wheel is 'Button 3', pressing down on it when you're on a link in safari will do exactly what you're looking for, (with tabs activated in Safari prefs) and then you can choose, also in Safari prefs, whether you want the clicked and tabbed page to show in front or behind your present page.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,227 ✭✭✭Breezer


    Simon201 wrote: »
    Well if your mighty mouse is configured so that the scroll wheel is 'Button 3', pressing down on it when you're on a link in safari will do exactly what you're looking for, (with tabs activated in Safari prefs) and then you can choose, also in Safari prefs, whether you want the clicked and tabbed page to show in front or behind your present page.

    Woops - forgot those things existed! Only got a trackpad here. My bad, sorry!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 849 ✭✭✭Simon201


    Well Breezer knowledge has been shared tonight cos I didn't know that 'control/option/command/eject thingy for shutting down. Brill!


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,326 ✭✭✭Zapp Brannigan


    I don't have a mighty mouse just ye olde trackpad.


  • Registered Users Posts: 849 ✭✭✭Simon201


    I don't have a mighty mouse just ye olde trackpad.

    ok what about 'two finger tap' to show contextual menu and then one click for 'open link in new tab'.

    All still with one hand!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭triple h


    Upgrading to Leopard

    ( i know we have a thread on this, but i hope this is made simple for the new mac person that just left windows )
    ( i am no expert, i am only repeating what eirlink, sad professor and the rest have said. Repeating it in the language of a new person, i hope)


    1) -- The minute you know you are buying Leopard, upgrade everything on your computer -- click the blue apple ( top left ) and click software updates. Update. Then open your applications folder ( in finder), open the first app, say it is omnioutliner ( which i love) click the name and scan to check for updates. update if you have to. Then when you are finished move to the next app and update and to the next app and update again and so on....
    Get rid of some apps if you want to. For example you might have apps you got a free trial and now these guys want money and you are not prepared to buy it. OR i got rid of google earth ( i will download it again) cause i found it crashed even in tiger when i did not update, So i said to myself 'feck google earth'

    2 -- Buy an external hard drive and back up your system. Just in case. When you yolk it up you may be led to disk utility, click on the harddrive you bought, click erase, select mac os extended journal, click erase. then copy.

    3 -- If you have bought new stuff leave it aside, for example, I bought a new mouse, a scanner and a mac game and i said to myself ' just to be safe i will set these up when i get leopard' ( i could be wrong, but i felt safe doing this) . I wonder did i do well, because the game i bought 'command and conquer' had to be updated. When i installed it onto my computer and then opened it up i clicked update, for the laugh, and was told there was a new update to make it compatible with leopard.

    4 -- The big moment, install the leopard disc. By default it will upgrade, this is best for you, ( like me). It took about 1 hour and 10 minutes for this to be done.

    Don't know if this was any help, but any more questions just go to the leopard thread.


  • Registered Users Posts: 235 ✭✭bobtjustice


    Hey all.

    Is there a command to minimize all screens??


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Entertainment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 22,667 CMod ✭✭✭✭Sad Professor


    Hey all.

    Is there a command to minimize all screens??
    As in shrink to the Dock? I don't think so. Command+option+m will minimize all windows in the currently selected app though. And command+option+h will hide everything except the current app.

    Do you not use Expose?


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,675 ✭✭✭ronnie3585


    I recently bought a new MacBook. Whilst impressed with it just one minor thing is pissing me off. When I tap on the track to activate something or to close a page, I move the cursor up to the red button to close the page for instance but when I tap the trackpad it causes the cursor to moves a fraction of an inch, however this is enough to move the cursor off the red button. I have played around with the tracking speeds etc in the user preferences but to no avail. This is really wrecking my head, has anyone else had this problem.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,326 ✭✭✭Zapp Brannigan


    ronnie3585 wrote: »
    I recently bought a new MacBook. Whilst impressed with it just one minor thing is pissing me off. When I tap on the track to activate something or to close a page, I move the cursor up to the red button to close the page for instance but when I tap the trackpad it causes the cursor to moves a fraction of an inch, however this is enough to move the cursor off the red button. I have played around with the tracking speeds etc in the user preferences but to no avail. This is really wrecking my head, has anyone else had this problem.

    Can't say I've ever had that happen to me. Hittin the red button only closes the window however, to close the app you need to press command + q.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,069 ✭✭✭triple h


    BOOKMARKS ( safari) --- for new mac users

    dragging your favourite web sites down to your bookmark bar is great. But after a while you notice that you end up with loads of sites on your bar ( even though you made the names short)

    Well you have to make bookmark folders to put sites into. For example call one folder favourite sites and you can have youtube, boards.ie, google news and so on in that folder instead of having 3 different names clogging up space on your bookmark bar. You could have another folder named shopping and guess what you put in there ????

    This is how you do it
    1) on your bookmark bar you will see a picture of a little book and when you put your mouse over it , it will say show all bookmarks, click it.
    2) go to menu br - bookmarks and it will show all your bookmarks
    3) click bookmarks on your toolbar it is between window and history.
    4) click add bookmark folder
    5) name it and drag sites into that folder
    end result --- less clutter on your bookmark bar


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭greglo23


    From macosxhints

    Fully automated, one-step sending of a URL from Safari
    By: nikoad on Fri, Feb 22 '08 at 10:45AM PST
    For the past few years I have been using a Java scrip, I can't recall where I got it.

    Create a new bookmark and copy the following into the location.

    javascript:location.href='mailto:?SUBJECT='+document.title+'&BODY='+escape(location.href)

    Name the bookmark something like "Send Link" and put it in your Bookmark Toolbar.
    Works every time.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2 Larree


    Hey all.

    Is there a command to minimize all screens??

    Yes just press F11 or Shift and F11 for a slow, flashy version of the minimise animation.


  • Registered Users Posts: 471 ✭✭huggs2


    1.Hold down shift while adjusting volume to mute those annoying click sounds
    or you can switch it off permanently in system prefs>sound>sound efects and untick "play feedback when volume is changed".
    2.hold shift+alt. to get finer adjustment of sound (1/4 steps)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,730 ✭✭✭Type 17


    Ctrl + <Eject> brings up the shutdown/restart/sleep dialogue box - no big deal on a laptop, as the power button is right there, but a handy keyboard shortcut on an Mac Mini, iMac or Mac Pro.

    Shift + Ctrl + <Eject> puts the display to sleep - handy if you need to leave your Mac running, but want to save power/screen life. Any keystroke wakes it up.

    When any dialogue box is open, Esc key = Cancel (not all users realise this, but DOS users will remember it from pre-mouse days!)

    In Finder, Cmd + <up key> will open the folder that contains the one that you're looking at. (Makes more sense when you try it)

    In Finder, if you have a folder open, but don't know its path on the HD, hold down Cmd key and click on its name in the title bar for a path.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,163 ✭✭✭ZENER


    Type 17 wrote: »
    . . . In Finder, if you have a folder open, but don't know its path on the HD, hold down Cmd key and click on its name in the title bar for a path.

    Or you can enable the path bar *: Finder > View > Show Path Bar. My preferred setting.

    ZEN

    * Leopard Only afaik


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,232 ✭✭✭Elessar


    Sick of your Mac laptop's sleep light being too bright at night, keeping you awake?

    Simply put the computer to sleep with the lid open - the light sensor works with the sleep light aswell and it'll make sure the pulsing white light is dimmed just enough when it's pitch black.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,784 ✭✭✭im...LOST


    ZENER wrote: »
    Or you can enable the path bar *: Finder > View > Show Path Bar. My preferred setting.

    ZEN

    * Leopard Only afaik

    Tiger too :p


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,010 ✭✭✭besty


    Think I'm gonna make the big move tomorrow and get a MBP. No doubt I'll be revisiting this thread for some of the tricks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,324 ✭✭✭chrislad


    A useful item I found is a shortcut for Safari.

    Press CMD, Shift and left or right arrow to flick between open tabs. It's probably well known, but I only started looking when I kept pressing CMD and tab!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,760 ✭✭✭skywards


    Elessar wrote: »
    Sick of your Mac laptop's sleep light being too bright at night, keeping you awake?

    Simply put the computer to sleep with the lid open - the light sensor works with the sleep light aswell and it'll make sure the pulsing white light is dimmed just enough when it's pitch black.

    NOT if you have cats though. Ever had to dehair a keyboard? :eek:


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,730 ✭✭✭Type 17


    skywards wrote: »
    NOT if you have cats though. Ever had to dehair a keyboard? :eek:

    You can put it to sleep with the lid up, to get the dimmer LED, and then shut the lid when it has gone to sleep.

    PS: Problems with cat-hair and dust on your keyboard? - try this vacuum cleaner attachment ;) :

    vacuumcleanerbacgs_2047_60745377


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