What Is New in Tiger Y - catalogimages.wiley.com · the author, or other criteria — and Spotlight shows you a list of possible matches organized by type. Spotlight indexes your

What Is New in Tiger

SpotlightYou can use Spotlight to find files, whether theyare text documents, images, folders, applications,PDFs, e-mail contacts, or calendars. You can accessSpotlight by clicking the Spotlight icon in the upper-right corner of the screen; this reveals theSpotlight search field. You can enter words that relateto the item you want to find — part of its name,when it was accessed or created, the kind of content,the author, or other criteria — and Spotlight showsyou a list of possible matches organized by type.Spotlight indexes your hard drive and updates aschanges are made to items to keep its informationcurrent. You can also access the Spotlight feature byusing the Spotlight search field in the Toolbar of anyFinder window. For more information, see “UseSpotlight to Find Files in the Finder.”

DashboardYou can use Dashboard, Mac OS X 10.4’s newinterface layer, to work with a special class ofapplications, called widgets, which can help youorganize your work and your life. When you press onekey, Dashboard zooms onto the screen, displaying thelast widgets you have opened and Dashboard’sFavorites Bar, from which you can launch otherwidgets and connect to Apple’s Web site for moredownloadable widgets. The widgets that come withMac OS X 10.4 include a stock tracker, a dictionary, aworld clock, an iTunes controller, stickies, an AddressBook contact reader, a unit converter, a translator, aweather tracker, and more. Many of these can useyour Internet connection to update their datainvisibly. You can click anywhere on the screen thatis not a widget to dismiss Dashboard. For moreinformation, see “Open and Use Dashboard.”

Y ou can explore the many new features in Mac OS X10.4 to help you work more productively, be morecreative, and share your computer more efficiently

with others. Mac OS X 10.4 includes over 200 new featuresand enhancements to the operating system andapplications included with it.

Under the hood, Mac OS X 10.4 includes a new core thatoffers the power of the latest version of Unix and bettermultiprocessor support. To most users, this means better

protection from system crashes, the ability to work withlarger files, and, in computers with two processors,improved performance.

You can take immediate advantage of the new userinterface features, new applications, and new versions ofapplications included in Mac OS X 10.4. You can use theseto better work with files and folders, stay in touch withfriends and family, synchronize your data across multiplecomputers, automate regular tasks, personalize news feeds,work with your computer if you have a disability, and more.

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Safari You can use Safari, the new version of Mac OS X’sWeb browser, to access Real Simple Syndication(RSS) feeds. These are article headlines andsummaries provided by news organizations, personalWeb sites, and blogs; Safari tracks these RSS feeds soyou can see them together in a simple text format,free of ads. When you see a headline for an articleyou would like to read, you can click that headlineand see the whole article. You can also select RSSfeeds to bookmark. Once these are bookmarked,Safari automatically updates and notifies youwhenever the feeds have new content.

AutomatorYou can use Automator, a new application includedin Mac OS X 10.4, to automate nearly any taskon your computer. You work with Automator byconnecting together actions, which are smallpackages of instructions included in Automator.Actions tell the computer to do something, fromcreating a new folder to applying image-editingfilters. You can drag and drop actions to create astring of them, which is called a workflow. Workflowscan be as complex as retrieving a collection ofimages from a remote server, resizing and rotatingthem, organizing them by name or date, andplacing them into a page layout application.Automator includes a library of actions that workwith the applications on your computer as wellas with the operating system.

QuickTime 7QuickTime 7 offers improvements to the videoformat, including support for the H.264 standardthat allows QuickTime to play High Definitionvideo (HDV). You can also use this new standardto capture and edit HD content. The newQuickTime also allows improved video conferencingcapabilities in iChat AV, so that if you and a friendhave FireWire-equipped Web cameras or digitalcamcorders, you can both enjoy smooth, full-color, two-way video and audio.

MailYou can use new features in Mac OS X 10.4’s Mailapplication to organize your e-mail correspondencesmore efficiently. Mail adds Smart Mailboxes, whichautomatically collect incoming messages accordingto criteria you set, so that work messages can gointo one folder and family messages can go intoanother automatically. Mail also takes advantageof Spotlight, so that you can search all your e-mailmessages more efficiently. For more information,see Chapter 22.

VoiceOverIf you or someone using your computer has a visualor learning disability, you can enable VoiceOver,Mac OS X 10.4’s new spoken interface. VoiceOver,which is integrated into Mac OS X 10.4, reads thecontents of the screen, including the interface aswell as the contents of documents, Web pages,e-mail messages, and other files. This is useful ifyou have trouble reading the text of the interfaceon your computer screen. You can customizeVoiceOver to work with any set of key combinationsfor navigation; these commands remain the sameacross all applications for ease of use. You canuse VoiceOver in conjunction with other UniversalAccess options that allow you to navigate thescreen, the Dock, the menu bar, window tools,and any other interface element with the keyboard.For more information, see Chapter 11.

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Elements of the Finder WindowY ou can use the Finder as the master element of the

interface between you and your Mac. Whateversystem operation you want to perform — locate a

file, folder, or application; organize files or folders; managelocal and remote hard drives; move items such as folders,files, or applications; copy or delete items — you can do itall in the Finder.

The Finder is an application that is designed to run on yourMac and to provide you with certain functionalities. TheFinder launches when you start up your Mac, and allows

you to manage all other applications and files through it.The Finder displays your desktop, as well as folders andtheir contents. For this reason, an open window thatdisplays the contents of a hard drive or folder is called aFinder window.

Finder windows are different from application windows.The latter display the items, such as documents or images,which you are working on. The former display iconsrepresenting items on your computer’s hard drive and, ifyou are connected to a network, a remote computer’shard drive.

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Title BarThe Finder window’s Title bar has window control buttonsand an area that you can grab with the cursor to move thewindow around the screen. In addition, a Finder window’sTitle bar displays the current name of the hard drive orfolder. The Title bar appears whether or not the Toolbar isvisible. When the Toolbar is visible, the window has borderson the sides and bottom. You can grab to drag the window;when the Toolbar is not visible, you must use the Title bar.

Window Control ButtonsThese three buttons enable you to close, minimize, andmaximize the Finder window. The red button closes thewindow. The yellow button minimizes the window to theDock. You can return a minimized window to its formerstate by clicking its icon in the Dock. The green buttonmaximizes the window, allowing it to take up more screenspace. When you move the cursor over the window controlbuttons, the X, minus, and plus symbols appear within

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the buttons to remind you of their purpose. TheToolbar button, located in the upper-right corner ofthe Finder window, toggles the Toolbar off and on. Thewindow control buttons appear whether or not theToolbar is visible.

Back/Forward ButtonsIf you have used a Finder window to view the contents ofmore than one folder, then you can click the Back buttonto return to the contents of the previously viewed folder.You can also click the Forward button to move throughthe content of viewed folders; this button is enabled onlyif you have already moved back. The Back and Forwardbuttons do not appear when the Toolbar is hidden.

View ButtonsIn the currently open Finder window, you can use thesebuttons to display your folders in Icon, List, and Columnview. The View buttons do not appear when the Toolbaris hidden. However, you can still change each Finderwindow’s view type by clicking View in the Menu barand selecting a view option.

Action ButtonYou can click the Action button to open a menu thatallows you to perform various actions within the Finder,such as creating a new folder within the currently openfolder in the Finder window or change the View optionsfor the window. The options displayed in the Actionbutton’s menu change according to the context in whichit is used. If you select a file or application within theFinder window, the Action button displays more options,such as opening the file or moving it to the Trash.

Status BarThis area shows you how many files are displayed inthe Finder window. When you change the contentsof the Finder window, the count changes to reflect this.The second number displayed in the Status bar showsyou how much space is available on your computer’shard drive.

SidebarThe top section of the Sidebar displays the icons for yourcomputer, your network if you are connected to one, yourhard disk, any connected removable storage devices, andyour iDisk if you have a .Mac account. The bottom sectionof the Sidebar displays icons for your home folder, theDesktop folder, the Applications folder, your Documentsfolder, your Movies folder, your Music folder, and yourPictures folder. You can click any folder icon in the Sidebarto display its contents in the Finder window.

You can drag and drop items such as documents, URLs,and folders to the Sidebar. When you drag and drop anitem, you do not move the actual item; you move apointer to the item. The exception is when you drag anddrop an item into a folder in the Sidebar; in this case,the item will move from its original place into the folder.Note that the item does not now reside in the Sidebar,but in the folder in that folder’s actual location.

You can remove an item from the Sidebar by dragging itout of the Finder window without deleting the originalitem. The icon of the item disappears in an animated puffof smoke. The original item remains in its actual location.If you remove a remote server’s icon from the Sidebar,that server is unmounted and you are no longerconnected to it.

SpotlightMac OS X version 10.4 uses a new built-in search enginecalled Spotlight, which can find items that meet a widevariety of criteria, anywhere on your computer. You canclick the Spotlight button and enter text in the searchfield. Spotlight displays its results within the Finderwindow. You can sort the results by name, date modified,size, or kind, just as you would normally sort files in aFinder window. Spotlight indexes your computer’s harddrive when you install Mac OS X 10.4 or first turn on anew computer equipped with Mac OS X 10.4. When youmake changes to files, Spotlight updates its database totrack the change.

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Create a New Folder onthe Desktop and WithinAnother FolderY ou can create a new folder on the Desktop, or a

subfolder within any other folder. This allows you tobetter organize your various files and applications.

You can have as many levels of subfolders as you want.

Once you create a new folder, you can move files and otherfolders to the new folder. You can use folders to organize aproject, such as a family photo collection.

You can do many things with folders that you can do withfiles. For example, you can move folders anywhere, exceptinto areas that you do not have permission to access. You

can also rename folders as you would files. As with files, youcannot have two folders with the same name in the samedirectory. For more information about permissions, seeChapter 3.

You can give a folder almost any name that you want.However, certain characters and names are prohibited; ifyou try to create a folder with a forbidden name or usingforbidden characters, then the Finder alerts you and asksyou to choose another name.

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1 In the Finder, click File.

2 Click New Folder.

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• A new folder with the name untitled folderappears on the Desktop.

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Can I name a new folder?

Yes. When you create anew folder, it appearswith the name untitledfolder. To change thename of the new folder,click the name. When ithighlights, you can type anew name for the folderand then press the Returnkey to apply the namechange.

What are the restrictionsfor naming a folder?

You cannot use reservednames for folders becausethese names are used bythe Finder. For example,you cannot call a folderSystem or Users, at thesame level as these specialfolders. You also cannotuse certain characters,such as a colon (:) orbegin a folder name witha period (.).

Can I delete folders thatI have created?

Yes. Just as with a file,you can drag a folderto the Trash and emptythe Trash to delete thefolder. The contents ofthe folder are deletedat the same time.

1 Open an existing folder.

2 Click File.

3 Click New Folder.

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• A new folder appears in the existing folder,with the name untitled folder.

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Label Folders and FilesY ou can append labels to important folders and files

in order to distinguish them visually. These labelsappear as a colored bar around the item’s name.

This coloration appears whether you are viewing the itemin List, Icon, or Column view. You can use labels to helporganize folders and files. For example, business folders andfiles can have red color labels while letters to friends canhave blue color labels.

When you have a folder or file selected, you may not be ableto view the exact color of the label. To view the color of thelabel properly, click outside the icon of the folder or file.

The label remains constant if you change the folder or file.For example, you can change the name or move the folderor file, and the label remains the same color.

There is no preassigned meaning to a label color. Forexample, you can use red labels for personal or work items,for movies, for folders that are full, or for work that needsto be done. For more information about folder and fileviews, see Chapter 2.

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1 Click the icon of the folder that you want tolabel.

2 Click File.

3 Click the color that you want to use to labelthe folder.

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• The filename displays with the color labelthat you selected.

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Can I change a label colorto another color?

Yes. You can repeat Steps1 to 2 and then select adifferent color. The folderor file appears with thenew label color that youselected.

Can I remove a color labelfrom a file or folder?

Yes. You can repeat Steps1 to 3, but instead select X(no color) in Step 3. Thisremoves any color fromthe title of the folder orfile.

Will adding a label to anitem affect the contents ofthe item?

No. The label changesonly the appearance of thefolder or file in the Finder.The label remains thecolor you chose even ifyou share the item withanother user; for example,a red-labeled file youe-mail to a friend willappear with a red label onyour friend’s computer.

1 Click the icon of the file that you want tolabel.

2 Click File.

3 Click the color that you want to use to labelthe file.

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Label a File

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Move and Copy Itemsin the FinderY ou can move items such as files, folders, and

applications in the Finder. This allows you toorganize items in the way that best meets your

needs. You can also copy items as you move them. This isuseful if you want to have multiple copies of an item. Forexample, if you have a birthday photo in your personalfolder, you can move a copy of that birthday photo intoanother user’s personal folder; you may also want to workon a letter while retaining a copy of the original in anotherfolder.

When you move a folder, all items within it are movedalong with the folder. Similarly, when you copy a folder toa new location, all items within it are copied to the folder’snew location. Keep in mind that if you copy a folder thatcontains very large files, such as movies, this can take agood deal of time.

You can move or copy items anywhere on your computer’shard drive, such as to the Desktop, a folder, or another harddrive, as long as you have write permission for the targetlocation. For more information about permissions, seeChapter 3.

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1 Click and hold the item that you want tomove.

2 Drag the item to a new location.

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• The item moves to the new location.

• The item disappears from its originallocation.

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Can I quickly move or copy a fileto a commonly used folder?

Yes. The Mac OS displays a list ofcommonly used disks and folders,such as Documents and Pictures,in the Sidebar of every open Finderwindow. You can use the methodsdescribed in this task to move orcopy a file or folder to one of theselocations. A blue highlight appearsaround the name of the targetlocation.

When I drag an item to anotherhard drive, why does the Mac OScopy, rather than move, the item?

This is a safety feature that ensuresthat you do not accidentally movean item to a disk for which you donot have read or copy access. Whenyou drag a file, folder, or applicationto another disk, the Mac OS createsa copy of the item on that targetdisk. To move an item to anotherdisk without copying it, press andhold Ô as you drag it.

Note: Before copying an item, ensure that you canclearly see the location where you want tocopy the item.

1 Click and hold the item that you want tocopy.

2 Press and hold the Option key as you drag theitem to the new location.

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• A copy of the item appears in the newlocation.

Copy an Item in the Finder

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Use Contextual Menus inthe Finder and WindowsY ou can increase your productivity by using

contextual menus to quickly access a variety ofcommands and actions. These commands and

actions would normally require multiple clicks in theMenu bar.

You can display the contextual menus by holding downthe Control key while clicking the Desktop or an item. Theoptions that you see in the menu change, depending onthe item that you select prior to Control-clicking. When youpress the Control key, a small menu icon appears next tothe cursor icon, to indicate that you can display thecontextual menu.

These menus are called contextual menus because theychange according to their context. For example, when youControl-click the Desktop, a contextual menu appears withgeneral actions related to your computer and the Finder.When you Control-click a file or folder, a contextual menuappears with actions listing what you can do to thatparticular file or folder.

If you have a multiple-button mouse, the right mousebutton calls up contextual menus by default. You canchange this behavior in the Keyboard and MousePreferences. For more information, see Chapter 9.

New Folder

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1 Press and hold the Control key and click theDesktop.

• A contextual menu appears.

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2 Scroll to the action that you want to select.

The Finder applies the action that you select.

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Is there another way thatI can display a contextualmenu?

Yes. If you have a mousewith multiple buttons,you can use the rightmouse button to call upa contextual menu.This is a default option,so you do not have tomake any configurationchanges.

1 Press and hold the Control key and click in awindow.


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2 Scroll to the action that you want to select.

The Finder applies the action that you select.

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Is there any difference between an action in acontextual menu in a Finder window and onewith the same name that appears when I clickthe Action button?

No. Although the contextual menu in a Finderwindow displays some extra options, such as Help,the actions with the same name that appear whenyou click the Action button do the same thing. Forexample, when you click a file in a Finder window,you can access the Open With feature either byclicking the Action button or Control-clicking theitem.

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Move and Resize the DockY ou can move the Dock from its default position at

the bottom of the screen, as well as change its size.This is useful if you want to expand windows and

files all the way to the bottom of the screen, or if yousimply prefer the Dock on the side of the screen. Changingthe size of the Dock allows you to either create larger andeasier-to-read items in the Dock or to shrink the Dock inorder to reclaim screen space.

When you place the Dock along the left or right side of thescreen, the Finder will always be the topmost icon, with theapplications directly below it, and then minimized windows.The Trash icon will always remain at the bottom.

You can also use the Dock to hold minimized windows.When you click the yellow control button in a Finderwindow, the window shrinks to a place on the right side ofthe Dock. To expand the window to its original size andposition, click the window’s icon in the Dock.

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1 Click the Apple menu (Ú).

2 Click Dock.

3 Click an option in the submenu.

You can select Position on Left, Position onBottom, or Position on Right.

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Move the Dock

• The Dock moves to its new position.

To move the Dock back to the defaultposition, repeat Steps 1 to 3, and clickPosition on Bottom.

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How can I identify the icons in theDock?

You can identify the icons in the Dockby name by moving the cursor overeach item and holding it there. Theitem’s name appears next to the item.

Can I identify which applications inthe Dock are running?

Yes. A triangle appears below theicon for each application that iscurrently open.

What is the purpose of the dividingline in the Dock?

The vertical gap in the Dock dividesthe icons of applications from those ofminimized windows and other items.For example, because it represents afolder, the Trash icon is always on thefarthest right of the Dock.

1 Move the cursor over the dividing line in theDock.

The cursor changes to an up/down arrow.

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2 Click and move the mouse up to enlarge theDock, or move it down to shrink the Dock.

Resize the Dock

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Use Contextual Menusin the DockY ou can use contextual menus in the Dock to hide

or quit running applications, or reveal windows anddocuments related to running applications. You can

display these menus by Control-clicking items in the Dock;the options that appear depend on the item that you haveselected in the Dock.

If you have a multibutton mouse, you can also use theright mouse button for contextual menus. Instead ofControl-clicking an item, you can right-click. You can

reassign this function to any mouse key in the Keyboard &Mouse preferences. For more information, see Chapter 9.

If you open files with a running application, you can bringthese files to the front of the screen with the application’scontextual menu. For example, you can Control-click yourword processor’s application icon and select an open textfile, which then moves to the front. You can then repeat theprocess for another application, bringing it to the front.

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2 Click a Dock application icon.


Application icons appear on the left of thedividing line in the Dock, with runningapplications marked by a triangle.

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3 Scroll to and click the menu option you want.

That option is enacted.

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Close MinimizedWindows in the DockY ou can use a contextual menu to close a window

that you have minimized in the Dock. This isuseful because it enables you to close a window

without having to maximize it out of the Dock first.

This method does not work with windows associated withapplications, such as a minimized Web browser window.You can identify minimized Finder windows because theyinclude the Finder icon at the lower right of theminimized window icon.

Windows will always appear on the right side of the Dock,to the left of the Trash, if the Dock is at the bottom of thescreen. If the Dock is along one side of the screen or theother, minimized windows appear along the lower part ofthe Dock, above the Trash.

The contents of the minimized windows reflect thecontents of the window before it was minimized. That is,a Finder window will show its contents even in the Dock;a QuickTime window will show the movie currentlyshowing.

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Close Minimized Windows in the Dock

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2 Click Close.

3 Release the mouse button.

The window closes.

The closed window is not deleted.

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Switch Between ApplicationsUsing the KeyboardY ou can quickly switch between running

applications in Mac OS X using a keyboardcombination. This is useful if you are working on

more than one project, or want to copy and paste sometext from a document into an e-mail, or to check youre-mail while browsing the Web.

Normally, you would use your mouse to click a runningapplication’s icon in the Dock to switch to that application.Running applications are indicated by a small trianglebeneath their icon in the Dock.

However, it is often faster to switch using a keyboardcombination, rather than taking one hand off the keyboard,locating the icon of the application that you want in theDock, clicking it, and returning your hand to the keyboard.

In addition, the Finder remembers your most recently usedapplications. If you switch from one application to another,and then use the keyboard to switch applications, theFinder first allows you to return to the application you justused. If you have to move back and forth between twoapplications, this is the fastest way to do so.

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1 Press and hold Ô-Tab key.

• A bar appears, displaying application iconsand highlighting the most recently usedapplication.

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2 Press and hold Ô-Tab key again.

• The next application is highlighted.

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Why does an application end up atthe right end of the bar?

When you hide an application, eitherby selecting the Hide command fromthe File menu or by pressing Ô-H,the Finder places it at the right endof the bar when you switch betweenapplications. When you switch tothat application, it is not hidden anymore.

Can I reverse the direction ofapplication switching?

Yes. To cycle backward throughrunning applications, press Ô-Shift,and then, while holding these keysdown, press the Tab key. Each pressof the Tab key moves you oneapplication backward.

3 Release the keys.

• The selected application is active.

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Use Spotlight to FindFiles in the FinderY ou can use Spotlight, the system-wide search

technology in Mac OS X, to look for any file, folder,image, e-mail message, calendar event, Address

Book contact, or any item on your computer. In addition tohelping you find a single item, Spotlight can help you findrelated items. For example, if you search for a friend’sname, Spotlight shows you your friend’s contact file, e-mailmessages from that friend, documents with that friend’sname in them, and more.

Spotlight indexes your entire hard drive when you firstinstall Mac OS X 10.4, or when you first start up a newcomputer equipped with Mac OS X. Whenever you make achange to a file, Spotlight updates its information, so itsresults are current.

You can also search for items based on criteria that describethe item. For example, you can search for all images youhave that are in landscape format by entering landscapeand image into the Spotlight search box. Spotlight returns alist of images that match that description, along with otherrelevant items.

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2 Type a search term.

• Spotlight returns results of your search.

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Show All Windows with ExposéY ou can use Exposé, Mac OS X’s window

management technology, to reveal all openFinder and application windows at once. This is

useful if you have open windows that may be hiding otherwindows that you want to use. Exposé can also help withother window management issues. For more information,see the sections “Show Application Windows withExposé,” “Reveal the Desktop with Exposé,” and “Copyand Make an Alias of a File with Exposé.”

The All Windows feature of Exposé shrinks and reorders allof the windows so that you can see them all at a glance.

If a window becomes too small to recognize, then youcan move the cursor over that window; the Finderhighlights the window and displays the name of thewindow.

Not all computers can support all the features of Exposé.Older computers with video cards that have less than32MB of video RAM will not show a smooth scaling effectas Exposé moves windows on the screen. However, thefeatures discussed in this book are available to allcomputers equipped with Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

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2 Move the mouse over the window that youwant to bring to the front.

• The window’s name appears.

3 Click the window.

You can quickly press the F9 key to keep thewindows displayed; you can also hold the F9key down to show the windows and let themreturn to their normal state when you releasethe F9 key.

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Show ApplicationWindows with ExposéY ou can use Exposé, Mac OS X’s window

management technology, to highlight only thewindows associated with the currently running

application. All other Finder and application windowsappear dim and in the background. This is useful if you areworking in an application with many open windows, suchas a word processor with multiple text files, or an imageeditor with many images being worked on, and you needto see which files are open.

Exposé dims the background and other windows, whilerearranging and highlighting the windows of the runningapplication so that they are not blocking each other. Youcan click a window or press the Space bar to bring theselected window to the front. Exposé then returns yourDesktop to its normal state.

You can change the keys used to activate Exposé featuresin the Exposé System Preferences. You can also set Exposéto activate when you move the cursor to a corner ofthe screen, or assign various Exposé functions to mousebuttons, if you have a mouse with multiple buttons.

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• The application windows highlight andrearrange themselves.

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2 Move the mouse over the window that youwant to bring to the front.

• The window’s name appears.

3 Click the window.

Note: You can quickly press the F10 key to keep thewindows displayed; you can also hold the F10key down to show the windows and let themreturn to their normal state when you releasethe F10 key.

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Reveal the Desktop with ExposéY ou can use Exposé, Mac OS X’s window

management technology, to move all existingFinder and application windows to the side of the

screen to reveal the Desktop. This is useful if you need toaccess files or folders on your Desktop.

Exposé makes all existing windows appear to fly off thescreen. If you tap the Exposé key, the windows remain atthe sides of the screen. If you hold the key down, thewindows remain out of the way until you release the key,at which point they return to where they were.

When you use this feature, all windows move to the sideof the screen, including progress windows. This meansthat progress indicators, such as for file downloads, willnot be visible.

You can change the keys used to activate Exposé featuresin the Exposé System Preferences. You can also set Exposéto activate when you move the cursor to a corner of thescreen, or assign various Exposé functions to mousebuttons, if you have a mouse with multiple buttons.

•

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• All windows move to the edge of thescreen, revealing the Desktop.

Reveal the Desktop with Exposé

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2 Press the F11 key again.

The windows return to their previouspositions.

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Copy and Make an Aliasof a File with ExposéY ou can use Exposé to easily copy files from one

location to another, especially when other windowsin the Finder hide your target location. You can use

this feature to copy files, folders, and applications, either tothe Desktop or to another folder.

You can also use this technique to select a file and attach itto an e-mail. If you have application icons on the Desktop,you can use this technique to select a file in a folder anddrag it onto an application icon to open the file with the

application. When you do this, you are not moving the filebut placing a reference to the file. The original is notmoved.

When you copy files from one location to another, thecursor changes to reflect the action you are taking. Forexample, a small plus sign in a green circle appears nextto the cursor when you are copying a file. Similarly, ifyou are creating an alias to a file, a small arrow appearsnext to the cursor. For more information about aliases,see Chapter 3.

•

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Copy a file with Exposé

1 To copy a file to the Desktop, click and holdthe file that you want to copy.

2 Press F11 to display the Desktop.

• Exposé moves all open windows to theedges of the screen.

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Copy and Make an Alias of a File with Exposé

3 Press the Option key while releasing the fileon the Desktop.

• A copy of the file appears on the Desktop.

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Can I move files with Exposé?

Yes. To move rather thancopy files, do not pressthe Option key in Step 3. Keepin mind that if you are movinga file to a different hard drive,you must press the Optionkey to move the file, but notpress the Option key to copythe file.

Can I cancel the procedureafter I have started it?

Yes. If you use Exposé tomove the windows on yourscreen and decide to abortthe procedure before you havereleased the mouse button,you can press the Exposé keyagain to return the windows totheir previous locations anddrag the file back to where itwas originally.

Make an alias of a file with Exposé

1 To make an alias of a file to the Desktop, clickand hold the file.

2 Press F11 to display the Desktop.

• Exposé reveals the Desktop.

3 Press Ô-Option and drag the file to theDesktop.

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• An alias of the file appears on the Desktop.

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Open and Use DashboardY ou can activate Dashboard, which overlays your

screen with a collection of widgets. Widgets are atype of applications that can help you keep track of

everyday tasks. These widgets are persistent, which meansthat they are always available without your having tolaunch them.

Dashboard is a Mac OS X technology that is similar toExposé. When you click a button, a semi-transparent layerappears on your Desktop, displaying a variety of Widgets.Widgets are JavaScript- and HTML-based applications thatcan provide various functionalities, such as displayinglivestock prices or the view from a favorite Web cam. Theycan access information over the Internet automatically.

Mac OS X comes with a variety of widgets installed. Theseinclude a calculator, calendar, address book, and others.Some, such as an iTunes controller or the address bookwidget, work with and share information with your existingapplications. For example, the address book widgetautomatically includes contacts you have entered into theAddress Book application.

You can enable and dismiss individual widgets whenDashboard is called up. You can also download and installnew widgets from Apple’s Web site.

2


Note: On laptops, this is also the Eject key.

Dashboard appears.

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Open and Use Dashboard

2 Click a widget’s name in the Favorites Bar toopen it.

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Can I dismiss the Dashboard overlay onmy Desktop?

Yes. As with Exposé functions, youcan press the same key that calls upDashboard to dismiss it. You can changethe keyboard shortcut by opening theExposé Preferences and using theDashboard menu. You can also holddown the Shift, Control, Ô, or Optionkey to assign Dashboard to a keycombination, such as Control-D, forexample.

Can I display more than one widget atonce?

Yes. You can open as many widgets asyou like. You can also open multipleinstances of many widgets. For example,you can open more than one World Clockwidget, so that you can see the local timein many time zones, or you can openmultiple Stickies so you can see more thanone note to yourself at a time. If youcannot open multiple copies of a widget,the widget’s name will be grayed out inthe Favorites Bar when one copy of thewidget is open.

3 Move the mouse over a widget.

• A close control appears.

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4 Click the close control.

The widget closes.

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Set Up Multiple AccountsY ou can set up your computer to host multiple

accounts. This allows multiple users to share thesame computer in separate workspaces with each

user seeing its own files, preferences, and music, withoutaffecting the workspaces of other users.

An account is a workspace dedicated to a particular user;the user logs in to the computer with its username andpassword, and is presented with its own Desktop. Each usercan set individualized preferences, such as default icon sizeand desktop picture. Each user has a separate home folderand his or her own folders for Movies, Music, andDocuments.

You can set an account login so that the user only has toclick a picture, rather than a username, to log in. This isuseful when configuring an account for children.

One user cannot access or change the personal files ofother users. However, each user has a Public folder whereone can place items for other users to access, and eachuser has a Drop Box in their Public folder, into which otherusers can place items.

System Preferences...

1

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1 Click Ú.

2 Select System Preferences.

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Set Up Multiple Accounts

The System Preferences window appears.

3 Click Accounts.

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Are one user’s personal files separate fromthose of other users?

Yes. Mac OS X keeps your personal filesseparate from the personal files of other users.For example, your Photos folder contains onlythe images that you have created ordownloaded from your digital camera. Theexception is the Shared folder and its contents,which by default are accessible to other userson the same computer. You can also makeother folders accessible to other users. For moreinformation, see Chapter 3.

How can I personalize my user account?

You can personalize the appearance of youruser account by changing the Desktop picture,the default font size, the appearance of theDock, screen resolution, and any other elementthat can be customized. This is useful if youhave users with different abilities, such asvision-impaired users; you can configure oneaccount with enhanced contrast or theZoom feature on. For more information, seeChapter 11. Changes made to one accountdo not affect other user accounts.

The Accounts window appears.

Note: When you install Mac OS X on yourcomputer, it automatically creates anAdministrator account.

4 Click Add ( ).

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An account configuration pane appears.

5 Enter the full name and short name of the user ofthe new account.

Note: Do not make the short name the same as the fullname. A short name cannot contain spaces.

6 Type a password for the user account.

7 Retype the password to confirm it.

8 Type a password hint.

A password hint is optional.

9 Click Create Account.

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Set Up Multiple Accounts (Continued)

Y ou can configure multiple accounts so that manypeople can share the same computer, though notat the same time, or set up multiple accounts for

one user. The latter can be useful if you want to experimentwith a variety of System settings, or try new kinds ofsoftware that can affect your computer on a system level.If these produce unwanted changes you cannot recoverfrom, you can log back in to your other account.

You can delete user accounts, if you have an Administratoraccount. You may want to do this if a user will no longer beaccessing the computer, or if you created a test account

that you no longer need. However, do not delete anaccount of an active user. Though you have an option tosave the files of a deleted user account, restoring theaccount requires creation of a new user account andresetting of all user preferences, as well as manually movingover all the saved files.

You may also want to delete unused user accounts becauseeach account fills a good deal of space on your computer’shard drive. Mac OS X uses free hard drive space toaugment installed RAM, so the computer may slow downwhen free hard drive space is low.

!

0

The Accounts window appears.

0 To select a picture for the account, clickPicture.

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Set Up Multiple Accounts (continued)

! Click the picture that you want to use for theaccount.

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Can I edit the information for a user account?

If you have an Administrator account, you can makechanges to any user account on your computer. Tomake other changes, open the Accounts pane of theSystem Preferences and select the name of the useraccount you want to edit. You may be asked toenter your user password, or your user name andpassword. Then you can make changes to thatuser’s account. If you do not have an Administratoraccount, you cannot make changes to other useraccounts. Removing Administrator status is a goodway to keep inexperienced or young users fromaffecting other accounts.

Can I delete a user account?

Yes. If you have an Administrator account, youcan delete a user account. To do this, open theAccounts Preferences, select the user account youwant to delete, and click the Delete (-) button. Youmay be asked for your account name and password.You can choose to save the user’s files or deletethem immediately. If you save them, the files arestored as a disk image in the Deleted Users folder,which is inside the Users folder. You can double-click the disk image to see the files or delete theimage.

@ To set this account as an Administratoraccount, click Password.

Note: An Administrator can perform any task on thecomputer, such as installing new programsand adding user accounts.

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# Click this option to allow the person toperform administrative tasks ( changes to ).

$ Click Close.

The new user can now log on to his or heraccount.

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Share Your Computer with Fast User SwitchingYou can move between user accounts quickly with Fast

User Switching. When you enable Fast User Switching,a small Menu bar item appears in the upper right-hand

corner of your computer screen that allows you to switchbetween user accounts quickly. This is useful if your computeris used by multiple people, each with a different user account,and more convenient than logging out and logging in asanother user. It also enables one user to be on the computerwithout having to close another user account.

When Fast User Switching is on and you change users, thecomputer presents you with the login screen for that user.

You can enter the user’s password to log in, if that user’saccount is password protected, or you can cancel. If youcancel, you are either returned to the previous user’saccount, if that does not require a password, or you see ageneral login screen, from which you can enter any user’sname and password.

Switching between accounts does not affect either account.For example, one user can begin a file download, letanother user log in to update his or her iPod, and thenswitch back. The original account is not affected.

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1 In the Accounts Preferences, click LoginOptions.

Note: To open the Accounts Preferences, see “Set UpMultiple Accounts.”

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Share Your Computer with Fast User Switching

The Login Options pane appears.

2 Click Enable fast user switching.

Note: If an alert box appears, click OK.

3 Close the Accounts Preferences.

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Why does the login window shakewhen I try to log in?

The login window shakes when youenter an incorrect password. If youenter the wrong password three times,you may see the password hint. Youcan then try to enter the passwordagain. Check to make sure the CapsLock key is not on, as this will affectthe recognition of your password. Ifyou have forgotten your password,you can click the Forgot Passwordbutton to get a hint or information onhow to reset your password.

Does switching users log out a user?

No. When you switch between useraccounts, the user account switchedfrom remains logged in. Noapplications quit and no files areclosed. When you switch back, allfiles should be just as you left them.Background processes such asdownloading files or image processingcontinue in a user account even whenit is not the active account.

4 In the Finder, click the name of the currentcomputer user.

A list of user names appears.

5 Select a user account.

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If you assigned a password to the useraccount, a login window appears, where youcan enter a password.

6 Type the password.

7 Click Log In.

The computer switches to the selected useraccount.

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Solve a Problem with HelpY ou can use Mac OS X’s Help system to look for

answers to many of your Mac-related questions.This is useful if you run across problems or want to

use features that are new to you.

In Help, you can browse topics, explore new features, enterquestions in plain language, and find troubleshooting tips.You can use the Back and Forward buttons in Help’s toolbarto move between pages displayed in the Help window justas you would in a Web browser.

Each application on your computer has its own Helptopics, most of which you can access through Mac OS X’s

Help viewer. If you launch Help in the Finder, switch toanother application such as Preview or Mail, and open thatapplication’s Help; then the Help page that you originallyopened in the Finder will disappear. However, some third-party applications, such as Microsoft Office, havetheir own Help systems, which do not use the Help viewer.

If at any time you want to return to the main page of theHelp viewer, you can click the Home button in the toolbar.You can use the Back button to return to the last page thatyou viewed.

Mac Help ?

Help1

2

3

Note: Be sure the Finder is the active application;Help opens a topic relevant to the currentlyactive application.

1 Click Help.

2 Click Mac Help.

Note: The name of the Help command depends onthe active application.

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Solve a Problem with Help

The Help window appears.

3 To search for specific help information, clickhere and type a word or phrase that is relatedto the topic and press Return.

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What does the Tell me morelink do?

When you see the phrase Tellme more underlined, you canclick the phrase to display a listof related help topics. You canthen double-click the topics inthe list for more specificinformation.

What happens if I let Help openan application or feature?

Help can open an applicationor feature; it will then guideyou on how to perform the taskdiscussed in the help topic.You do not need to click the linkthat opens the application orfeature.

Do I need to be connected tothe Internet to use Help?

No. Although the Help vieweruses an Internet connection torefresh its content to ensure thatyou have the most up-to-dateinformation, you do not have tobe connected to the Internet touse Help.

Help topics that are related to your word orphrase appear in the Topic window.

4 Select a help topic.

5 Click Show.

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The help topic appears.

• You can click the Back and Forwardbuttons to move through the Help pagesthat you have viewed.

6 When you have finished reviewing helpinformation, click Close.

Note: You can click the Back button to return to thelist of topics, or the Home button to return tothe Help Viewer home page.

The Help viewer closes.

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