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Macintosh OS X

FAQ

Select the topic below which best fits your needs, or browse through our collection of questions and answers.

return to topHow do I open a program on my Mac?

With Mac OS X, programs are represented by icons, which may be located on the desktop, in folders, or on different drives. If the program icon appears on the Dock at the bottom of the screen, single click the icon to launch the program. You can also double click the hard drive, which is located on the desktop, select Applications, and double click the program you want to use.

return to topHow do I move between open applications in Mac OS X?

The Dock allows you to move between applications with just one click. The Dock is located on the bottom of the screen and lists all the applications that are open. When you want to move between different applications, simply click the application you want to work on and it will come to the front. To minimize an application, click the yellow button in the upper-left corner of the window.

return to topWhat can I name my files?

With Mac OS X, you can name your files almost anything you want, as long as it has fewer than 32 characters, including spaces and punctuation. To keep your files organized, you may want to keep your file names as short as possible. Also, you cannot use some characters such as colons (:) and, in some applications, slashes (/) because they are used as separators in pathnames. If you wish to share files with a Windows machine, it would be wise to use the three letter extension following the document name (e.g., .doc, .xls)

return to topHow can I locate a particular file in a drive?

  1. On the desktop, double click the hard drive icon

  2. On the Menu bar, in the Search text box, type the file name and press [return]

  3. To open the file, double click on the file name

  4. To see where the file is located, click once on the file name
    In the lower part of the window, the navigational path will appear.

  5. To find a file from another drive, on the Menu bar, click the COMPUTER icon to access the network

return to topHow do I delete files?

You can delete files by moving them into the Trash, which is located on the Dock. When something is in the Trash, the trash can will appear to have something in it.

  1. Select the file you wish to delete by clicking it once and holding the mouse button

  2. Continue to hold the mouse button while dragging that file to the Trash

  3. Release the mouse button

To empty the Trash:

  1. From the Finder menu, select Empty Trash

  2. If you are asked whether you want to remove the item permanently, click OK
    The Trash will be emptied.

return to topCan I recover files after I have moved them to the trash can?

It depends. If you have emptied the trash recently, your files are permanently deleted. However, files that have not been emptied from the Trash are easily and safely recoverable.

  1. To see all the files in the Trash, on the Dock, double click TRASH

  2. To recover any of these files, drag the files onto the desktop or into a folder

return to topWhy can’t I open a file or folder?

If you can't open a file or folder, you may not have permission to open it. To see your permissions for an item,

  1. Select the item

  2. From the File menu, select Get Info

  3. In the information dialog box that appears, select Ownership & Permissions
    Your permissions appear.

return to topHow can I find out when a file was created?

Mac OS X usually lists files as icons. However, it can also display this information in text form, including the name and size of the file, when it was last modified, and what program was used to create it. To change the way files are displayed in a folder, from the View menu, select the view that best suits your needs. If you want information about a file but you do not want to change the folder viewing options,

  1. Click the file icon

  2. From the File menu, select Get Info
    The date the file was created appears.

return to topWhat is the Open Apple [command] Key on the keyboard used for?

The Open Apple [command] Key is used in Mac OS X in combination with other keys to perform shortcuts that allow you to bypass using the menu options and thus, save time. For example, to print a document, instead of using the File menu to select Print, press [command] + [P]. To save a document, press [command] + [S]; to open a document, press [command] + [O]; and to create a new document, press [command] + [N]. Many of these shortcuts remain the same from one application program to another, but some programs incorporate additional keyboard shortcuts. Learning these shortcuts will help you accomplish computer tasks more easily and efficiently.

return to topHow do I use Key Caps?

Mac OS X offers a Key Caps option that helps you determine what key combination you need to use to produce a particular symbol or text. Selecting Key Caps will bring up a graphical representation of the keyboard. When you press [option], [shift], or both of them at once, the keyboard will display what characters are available when those keys are pressed. Key Caps also allows you to select different fonts.

  1. To open Key Caps, from your hard drive window, double click APPLICATIONS » UTILITIES » KEY CAPS

  2. From the Font menu, select the desired font
    NOTE: This feature is especially helpful for viewing characters in a symbol font.

  3. Click on the desired key
    That character appears in the sample text area above the keyboard graphic.

  4. Copy and paste the character into your document

return to topHow do I properly eject a CD?

When you are finished working with a CD, you will need to eject it to remove the icon from your desktop. First, close any documents on the CD and quit any applications that may be using files on the CD. Then, you can either press [Eject] on the keyboard or follow these steps:

  1. Select the disk

  2. From the File menu, select Eject

  3. From the window that appears, click EJECT

return to topWhy does my CD keep getting ejected?

If your CD keeps getting ejected, the CD is unreadable and probably needs to be cleaned. To clean a CD, wipe the shiny surface with a soft, damp cloth, working from the center to the edge. If the CD is scratched, it may be unreadable. Try using the CD in another drive to see if it is readable.

return to topCan I undo an action that has already been completed?

Sometimes. Depending on the program you are using, the Undo feature may only work on the last action completed. To undo an action right after it has been completed,

  1. From the Edit menu, select Undo
    OR
    Press [command] + [Z]

  2. If needed, repeat Step 1 until you have found the action you wanted undone

return to topWhy is it important to shut down the Mac correctly?

To shut down your Mac correctly, from the Apple menu, select Shut Down... This tells the Mac to do some small yet important housekeeping chores before it shuts itself off. If you shut down the Mac with the switch, you will lose the contents of the disk cache and perhaps damage any open files.

return to topHow do I change my printer?

When the Print dialog box opens, the default printer will be selected. To change the printer you want to use, from the Printer pull-down list, select a different printer. To add a new printer, from the Printer pull-down list, select Edit Printer List....

To check the status of a print job or add a printer at another time, open Print Center. From the hard drive window, double click APPLICATIONS » UTILITIES » PRINT CENTER. The Printer List window will appear.

return to topWhat is an alias?

An alias works like a remote control and is known as a shortcut to Windows users. Aliases can be used to open files, folders, or applications from places such as the desktop.You can rename and move the alias anywhere you want (e.g., to the desktop). An alias is not a copy of the original but only an additional icon that takes only a small amount of disk space. An alias makes finding and opening the items you need easier, more convenient, and less time consuming.

  1. Select an item such as a file, folder, or an application

  2. From the File menu, select Make Alias
    The alias will appear next to the original icon with a little arrow in the corner of the icon.

  3. You can rename your alias, just like any other filename (see Renaming Files)

  4. OPTIONAL: To move the alias to your desktop, drag the file from its current location to the desktop area

return to topWhat are system preferences?

System Preferences is a utility that allows you to adjust features in Mac OS X such as the date and time, desktop patterns, and speaker volume. To access System Preferences, from the Apple menu, select System Preferences… The System Preferences dialog box will list the various options that you can adjust.

return to topWhat if my screen freezes or a program stops working?

When an application stops working, or “freezes,” try to quit the program by following these steps:

  1. Press [command] + [option] + [esc]
    The Force Quit Applications dialog box appears.

  2. From the scroll box, select the name of the program that has stopped working

  3. Click FORCE QUIT
    NOTE: If this does not work, any unsaved changes in your document will be lost. For this reason, it is always a good idea to save your work often.

return to topHow do I access the Right Click options [control]?

If your mouse does not have a right button, you still have access to those menus. While holding down the [control] key, click once on the item. The Quick menu options for that item will appear.

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