Dec 2006
Getting started with your first Mac: Part 1
December, 27 2006 10:45 PM Filed in: How-to
In the past year it seems clear that the number of
Mac users is on the rise and many of these new Mac
folk are likely coming from Windows. Welcome! This
post is for anyone new to the Mac. Let me start by
saying that while using a Mac is a bit different it
is, in many ways, very similar to using any other
graphical operating system.
The Menu Bar
Getting to know what's on screen. Let's start with the Menu Bar (top of the screen) and the Dock bottom of the screen). If you are used to windows you are used to seeing a menu at the top of each application window with menu items such as File, Edit, View, etc. On a Mac there is only one menu bar and it is at the top of the screen. When you first start your Mac the open application is the Finder so you will see, at the top left an Apple and then the word Finder with it's associated menu items: File, Edit, View, Go, Window, and Help. You'll also notice the Dock at the bottom will show various application icons which are shortcuts to the actual applications that reside in your Applications folder. Any open application will have a black triangle underneath as an indicator that it is running. When you first start only the Finder is open because it's always open as long as your Mac is running. To access a Finder browser window click its icon, a smily blue face at the far left of the dock. To open any application that has a shortcut in the dock just click once and you'll see the icon begin to bounce as it opens up. As you open applications you'll notice that they will initially take control of the menu at the top and their name will appear next to the Apple.
The Dock
Adding application shortcuts to the dock is easy. Click the Finder icon in the dock and in the new window you'll see that the left side contains a series of shortcuts to your Applications, Home, Desktop, Documents, etc... just click the Applications shortcut and you'll be taken to your Applications folder. Do add an application to the dock simply click its icon, hold, and drag it to the Dock, anyplace left of the little divider line. The right side of the divider line is for shortcuts to files and folders which are also easily added by dragging them and dropping them into any place to the right of the divider. To remove any shortcut from the Dock simply click, hold, and drag it from dock and release. You'll see it poof away though the actual file is still safely tucked away on your drive.
The Dock serves other functions besides opening applications. You can also use it to switch between applications that are already open by clicking on it's icon. When you do this you'll notice that the application's windows come to the front and the application name appears at the top left next to the Apple Menu. You can accomplish the same task of application switching by holding the Command (Apple) key and then click but release the tab key. You'll see a semi-transparent bar of enlarged icons of currently running applications appear in the middle of the screen. With each click of the tab key you'll see a highlight progress to the right across each icon. To perform the switch release the Command key when the highlight is over the application you want. Once you practice this trick you'll find it very useful for quickly switching between apps.
A few more dock tidbits. Click and hold almost any icon in the dock and you'll see a menu consisting of Open, Show in Finder, Open at Login, Remove from Dock. If you click and hold on a running application you'll also see other items such as Quit and Hide. Many applications have other functions built into their Dock menu. For example, click and hold the iTunes icon while it is running and you'll see Play, Pause, Next, Previous, the currently playing track, Shuffle, Repeat, and My Rating. This is great because it means that you can perform these functions in iTunes without actually switching to iTunes thus allowing you to keep focus on the task at hand. The Dock menu for the OS X Mail application offers items such as Get New Mail and Compose New Message. If you have placed a folder, perhaps your Home folder or your Applications folder in the Dock you can click and hold which will produce a nice pop-up menu allowing you to select items to open or even navigate into other folders.
Next up, Part 2: The Apple Menu, System Preferences, The Finder, and Spotlight Searching
Technorati Tags: Apple, OS X, Macintosh, Mac, Switchers, Switch to Mac
The Menu Bar
Getting to know what's on screen. Let's start with the Menu Bar (top of the screen) and the Dock bottom of the screen). If you are used to windows you are used to seeing a menu at the top of each application window with menu items such as File, Edit, View, etc. On a Mac there is only one menu bar and it is at the top of the screen. When you first start your Mac the open application is the Finder so you will see, at the top left an Apple and then the word Finder with it's associated menu items: File, Edit, View, Go, Window, and Help. You'll also notice the Dock at the bottom will show various application icons which are shortcuts to the actual applications that reside in your Applications folder. Any open application will have a black triangle underneath as an indicator that it is running. When you first start only the Finder is open because it's always open as long as your Mac is running. To access a Finder browser window click its icon, a smily blue face at the far left of the dock. To open any application that has a shortcut in the dock just click once and you'll see the icon begin to bounce as it opens up. As you open applications you'll notice that they will initially take control of the menu at the top and their name will appear next to the Apple.
The Dock
Adding application shortcuts to the dock is easy. Click the Finder icon in the dock and in the new window you'll see that the left side contains a series of shortcuts to your Applications, Home, Desktop, Documents, etc... just click the Applications shortcut and you'll be taken to your Applications folder. Do add an application to the dock simply click its icon, hold, and drag it to the Dock, anyplace left of the little divider line. The right side of the divider line is for shortcuts to files and folders which are also easily added by dragging them and dropping them into any place to the right of the divider. To remove any shortcut from the Dock simply click, hold, and drag it from dock and release. You'll see it poof away though the actual file is still safely tucked away on your drive.
The Dock serves other functions besides opening applications. You can also use it to switch between applications that are already open by clicking on it's icon. When you do this you'll notice that the application's windows come to the front and the application name appears at the top left next to the Apple Menu. You can accomplish the same task of application switching by holding the Command (Apple) key and then click but release the tab key. You'll see a semi-transparent bar of enlarged icons of currently running applications appear in the middle of the screen. With each click of the tab key you'll see a highlight progress to the right across each icon. To perform the switch release the Command key when the highlight is over the application you want. Once you practice this trick you'll find it very useful for quickly switching between apps.
A few more dock tidbits. Click and hold almost any icon in the dock and you'll see a menu consisting of Open, Show in Finder, Open at Login, Remove from Dock. If you click and hold on a running application you'll also see other items such as Quit and Hide. Many applications have other functions built into their Dock menu. For example, click and hold the iTunes icon while it is running and you'll see Play, Pause, Next, Previous, the currently playing track, Shuffle, Repeat, and My Rating. This is great because it means that you can perform these functions in iTunes without actually switching to iTunes thus allowing you to keep focus on the task at hand. The Dock menu for the OS X Mail application offers items such as Get New Mail and Compose New Message. If you have placed a folder, perhaps your Home folder or your Applications folder in the Dock you can click and hold which will produce a nice pop-up menu allowing you to select items to open or even navigate into other folders.
Next up, Part 2: The Apple Menu, System Preferences, The Finder, and Spotlight Searching
Technorati Tags: Apple, OS X, Macintosh, Mac, Switchers, Switch to Mac
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