Problems for people switching to Apple - Part 2

( Next and out )

Save, print and search

Here are some tips for using Mac OS X and its applications.

Discover options. By default, the Print and Save dialog boxes for most applications are quite sparse. That makes it easy to confuse. Looking at the downward-pointing triangle in the blue box? Click on it to display a lot of options that can be said to be hidden.

PDF. When you are in the Print dialog, note the hard-to-detect button marked with PDF. Click it and you will see a drop-down menu that includes Save as PDF. That means that anything you can print can be converted into PDF format instead of printing it.

Search with Spotlight . This hard drive search tool needs a complete article to introduce it, and in this article we will just briefly talk about what it is. Your Mac maintains a Spotlight index that includes not only filenames but also words within each file, Spotlight will fetch results accordingly. Click on the glass cover in the upper right corner and enter a word to start the search. Spotlight is also a display engine with a small search bar in every Finder window. When you perform a Spotlight search that way, the results you receive will be displayed with a limit to the current directory, the entire contents of the files, or only the filename section.

If you're used to using Google Desktop on Windows PC, you'll know that it does what Spotlight can't do: It displays the results with text quotations, just as Google search does. often. You can download the Mac version for Google Desktop to try this feature, but the search speed will be a bit slower. Another solution is to download a free application called, this is the application that uses Spotlight indicators but displays the results with text, Google text.

Manage windows with Exposé. Exposé is another feature that can save you a lot of time. It includes a number of keys, in which a key will scan through all open windows to explore your Desktop (until you press the key again); a key will push all open windows so you can select any window by moving the mouse pointer over them; The third key will be similar, but only for the windows in the nearest application. Which key does the function depends on your Mac and you can change it in Apple | System Preferences | Exposé and Spaces.

Change every shortcut. This change is probably quite powerful, but you can really change and create keyboard shortcut types. In Apple | System Preferences | Keyboard, you can create a keyboard shortcut for any pre-existing menu item. This can be done extensively in the system or for individual applications. Microsoft Office users for Mac should note that Microsoft Office applications have their own applets to do so.

Confusing issues between Windows and Mac

Command and control. Normally, if you are used to using the Control key in Windows, Command is similar in OS X. For example, Ctrl-x, -c, -v is used to cut, copy, and paste a part already. Some choices become Cmd-x, -c, and -v. Cmd-a is the same as Ctrl-a.

Know what you will close . Ctrl-w to close a window in Windows and Cmd-w to close a window in Mac. Quitting an open application is not just about closing its windows with the above key but you must use Cmd-q from the keyboard or use the mouse.

Jump round . Alt-Tab for switching between open windows for Windows, Cmd-Tab also has the same function in Mac. However, Cmd-Tab is indeed a switch between open applications. Use Cmd- ~ to switch between open windows in an application. However, once you're used to using Exposé, you probably won't care about this.

Exit . Ctrl-Alt-Delete in Windows computers (used to summon Task Manager when something is frozen) is Cmd-Option-Escape on Mac: it also invokes a list of running applications for you. can exit one of those applications. You can also call this program by selecting Force Quit from the main Apple menu

Check action . All of the Task Manager functions on Windows are in the Activity Monitor on the Mac; This feature is in the ApplicationsUtilities folder . This is a feature that can be said to be dragged into the Dock for quick access. If your Mac is slow, then you need to guess that something is affecting its processor. The Activity Manager will show you about currently running processes and allow you to exit programs that cause system slowdowns.

Create aliases . What Windows is a shortcut, the Mac is called alias. You can create an alias by controlling-clicking on the icon of a file or folder, then selecting Make Alias ​​- or simply pressing Cmd-l. Unlike a Windows shortcut, Mac's alias knows the target file's identity, not just its location, so you can move the target file, or even rename it, while aliases still work.

Screen capture . There is no Print Screen button for screen capture, but you can use a keyboard shortcut Cmd-Ctrl-Shift-4 to do that. When you press this key combination, you can access any area of ​​the screen to capture to a clipboard; Then paste it into an editing software. If you don't mind pressing the Control key, the screenshot will be saved to the desktop instead of a file. If you press 3 instead of 4, you will automatically capture the entire screen. And if you don't feel comfortable using such a key combination, use the Grab application in your Utilities folder.

Clean up the drive debris . Unlike Windows, Mac does not provide the feature to remove unused icons on the desktop, but you have another way to gather what is not needed here: the DMG file. If you download these applications from the web, a lot of files will download in .dmg format (disk-image files). When you double-click the DMG icon, it will open in the form of a virtual drive - a temporary folder that Mac considers as a newly inserted disk or a flash drive. If you want to keep the contents of the virtual drive, you must drag them to another folder (such as the Applications or desktop folder); That operation will be equivalent to copying them. The virtual drive can then be "eject" - by dragging it to the trash or pressing the Eject icon that appears next to the drive in the Finder window. But now you have your required DMG file.

Get the information . On Windows computers, you can gather information from various selections on the Start menu - information here such as the computer's system memory, or its hardware type. To get this information on your Mac, select About This Mac from the Apple menu. That window will immediately show you the version of OS X you are using, along with other information. Click More Info to open the System Profiler utility, where you'll see more details.

Type hidden characters . There is a world of characters and symbols hidden behind the Option key. For example, press Option-e then any vowel you type next will have an accent. Click Option-u, then any vowel you type next will have two dots on it. Press Option-4 (the key with the dollar symbol) you will get ¢. The results for key operations are different if you hold down the Shift key. In order to know more about the combination of key combinations, please refer to an Apple tutorial on this issue.

Only for laptop computers . Did you notice that when you are using a battery powered source, the display will dim or turn off after a few minutes. That way is to save energy but sometimes makes you feel quite uncomfortable. To turn off that function, go to Apple | System Preferences | Energy Saver, in the Options section , cancel selecting Automatically reduce the brightness .

Come on and zoom. There is a keyboard shortcut used to zoom the entire screen. First, press Cmd-Option-8 to enable this function. Press Cmd-Option- = to zoom. Press Cmd-Option-'-' to pull back.

Applications for Mac

We can't give you much information here about specific applications that come with Macs, but only mention a few:

Preview is an application that will open your DPF files by default (along with image files). You can use this application instead of Adobe Reader; You will also find that this application will work much faster than Adobe Reader does. Unlike Adobe Reader, this application also allows light editing with DPF files - you can delete or reorder the pages on the right side of the sidebar. You can also use this application to create slideshows: In the Finder, highlight the image file cluster, then double-click on them. They will be opened simultaneously in Preview and there is a sidebar with thumbnails on the right that allows you to easily control them.

Disk Utility (in the ApplicationsUtilities folder) is a utility used to format flash drives as well as external drives. This is the utility that runs with the highest speed and the best adaptability to Mac, choose Erase and Volume Format, Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If you need a backup device to be able to read with Windows, choose MS-DOS format. Besides, Disk Utility also allows you to create some separate DMG files - use the File | menu option New | Disk Image from Folder. What's really interesting is that you can encrypt your .dmg file; This is a great tool for storing sensitive data.