Teach Yourself VISUALLY Mac OS X Leopard - Softcover

Kent, Lynette

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470101679 ISBN 13: 9780470101674

Publisher: Visual, 2007

Synopsis

Do you prefer instructions that show you how instead of telling you why? This book is packed with easy, visual directions and full-color screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 150 tasks with Mac OS X Leopard, including adding applications to the Dock, color-coding files and folders, viewing windows in Expose, using the QuickTime player, storing files on your iPod, creating your own Web widgets, and more. Succinct explanations walk you through step by step.

About this title

About the Author

Lynette Kent (Huntington Beach, CA) studied art and French at Stanford University. After completing her master's degree, she taught at both the high school and community college level. A fervent Mac user since 1987 and unconventional computer person, she writes books and magazine articles on digital imaging and photography and enjoys presenting computer graphics hardware and software at trade shows. Her books include Photoshop CS3: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Digital Photography, and Scrapbooking with Photoshop Elements: The Creative Cropping Cookbook. Lynette is also one of the leaders of the Adobe Technology Exchange of Southern California, a professional organization for graphic designers, photographers, and artists.

From the Back Cover

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer instructions that show you how to do something — and skip the long-winded explanations? If so, then this book is for you. Open it up, and you will find clear, step-by-step screen shots that show you how to tackle more than 150 Mac OS X Leopard tasks. Each task-based spread includes easy, visual directions for performing necessary operations, including

• Adding applications to the Dock

• Color-coding files and folders

• Viewing windows in Exposé

• Using the QuickTime player

• Storing files on your iPod

• Creating your own Web widgets

• Helpful sidebars offer practical tips and tricks

• Full-color screen shots demonstrate each task

• Succinct explanations walk you through step by step

• Two-page lessons break big topics into bite-sized modules

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Teach Yourself VISUALLY Mac OS X Leopard

By Lynette Kent

John Wiley & Sons

Copyright © 2007 Lynette Kent
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-470-10167-4

Chapter One

Getting Started with Mac OS X Leopard Fundamentals

Introducing Mac OS X 4 Installing Leopard 6 Start Up the Computer 8 Click, Double-Click, or Click and Drag 10 Understanding the Mac Interface 12 Control the Mac with Menus 14 Open, Close, and Resize Windows on the Desktop 16 Change Your View 18 Create and Name a Folder 20 Logging In and Out 22 Put Your Mac to Sleep 24 Restart or Shut Down the Mac 26 Using the Help Menu 28

Mac OS X Leopard, also known as Mac OS 10.5, is Apple's latest operating system. The Mac OS is the underlying software that runs your Macintosh computer and enables you to interact with the computer using a mouse and a keyboard. Leopard includes a variety of built-in programs to help you work or play and even get entertainment on your Mac.

Introducing Mac OS X

The Macintosh Operating System, abbreviated OS, is actually the most important program running on a Macintosh. Leopard is version 10.5 of Apple's most advanced operating system to date. Understanding Leopard and familiarizing yourself with some Leopard tricks make everything you do with your computer much faster and more fun.

The Central Command Post

The operating system controls all the hardware and software connected to or installed on your computer. It controls the input from devices such as the mouse and keyboard and the output to the monitor and printer. The OS keeps track of all your files and folders on your computer, as well as any additional data on external disk drives.

Leopard and Computer Hardware

The Mac OS is responsible for understanding and acting on the information that you send to it by pressing keys on the keyboard, clicking the mouse, or using the trackpad. Mac OS X Leopard enables you to personalize the feel of your mouse and keyboard as well as the screen display using the many options in System Preferences.

Run Applications

The Mac OS enables your computer to run application software so that you can accomplish a variety of tasks and projects better and more quickly than using a traditional pen and paper and other noncomputer methods.

Surf the Internet and Send Email

Leopard provides you with everything that you need to surf the World Wide Web. The included Safari Web browser gives you the means to view Web pages. Leopard's Mail program gives you access to the world of email.

Share Files and Hardware with Others

The Mac OS helps you connect to other computers anywhere on a local network, whether wired or wireless. You can share files as well as hardware such as printers with others on the network.

Interface with Other Equipment

The Mac OS helps you connect and work with a variety of external hardware, such as different types of mice, keyboards, scanners and other input devices, and external disk drives, as well as iPods, cameras, cell phones, and printers.

Installing Leopard

Before you install Leopard on your Mac, you must check the hardware requirements of the new operating system. Your third-party applications may need to be upgraded so that they will function with Leopard. In addition, your hard disk must have sufficient space available and be checked for disk errors. The type of installation that you select depends on your current system.

Check the Hardware Requirements

You can install Leopard on newer Macintosh computers with a DVD drive and built-in FireWire, including PowerPC G4s and G5s and Intel Macintoshes. Although the standard installation of Leopard requires about 11GB of free hard drive space and 512MB RAM, having at least 20GB of available hard drive space and 1GB or more of RAM will enhance your computer's performance.

Check Your Favorite Software

Third-party software manufacturers work with the operating system during its development so that they can update their applications in time for a new Mac OS release. If you need a specific application, you should check with the manufacturer to see if it will work with Mac OS X Leopard.

Back Up Your Hard Drive

If possible, make a bootable backup of your current system on an external drive using an application such as Personal Backup X4 from www.intego.com or Carbon Copy Cloner from www.bombich.com. You can start up from this drive to finish projects or reinstall the old system if you encounter problems after upgrading.

Check Your Disk for Errors

Insert the Leopard DVD. Click the Install Mac OS X icon to restart from the DVD. Type your administrator password in the dialog box, select your preferred language in the first window, and click the forward arrow. When the Install window appears, click Utilities in the menu. Click Disk Utility and check your hard drive as described in Chapter 12. Click the Close button ([??]) to quit Disk Utility.

Select an Installation Type

Continue the installation. Click a hard drive in the Select a Destination panel and click Options to select an installation type. Upgrade Mac OS X simply updates the system software. To install a new copy of Mac OS X while keeping your existing user accounts and settings, click Archive and Install and Preserve Users and Network Settings. Clicking Erase and Install completely erases all data on the destination volume and installs a pristine system similar to that on a new computer.

Use the Time Machine

When you continue, a Time Machine option appears. If you have an external drive attached, click Back up my disk before installing. Time Machine creates an additional backup of your existing system. Continue with the installation, which can take some time.

Start Up the Computer

Whether you just bought a new Mac and are starting it up for the first time or you have installed Mac OS X Leopard on a Mac with a previous operating system, you have a number of options for setting up and personalizing your Macintosh and Leopard.

The Leopard Welcome Screen

Like all Mac operating systems, Leopard welcomes you in multiple languages. A Mac OS X box spins around, asking various questions to guide you through the installation process, starting with the country or region where you are located.

Transferring Information

Previous Mac users can automatically transfer data from another Mac attached with a FireWire cable. You can also transfer from another volume, meaning previous files on the same computer. You can also transfer the information later by choosing not to transfer any data. The built-in software assistant enables you to migrate the information later.

Your Apple ID

If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can create an Apple ID and password during the installation. Your Apple ID is a free personalized information account that you can use with future Apple online and iTunes purchases, as well as AppleCare support.

A .Mac Account

The free .Mac (pronounced dot mac) account is used for activities such as iChat. A paid .Mac membership includes email and personalized iDisk storage space online and is useful for publishing Web sites and syncing your Address Book and iCal calendars with multiple computers.

Create a Leopard User Account

The first time that you start a new operating system, you create a user account. The main user account controls the software that can be installed and limits others who use the same computer. Other accounts can be created later.

Select a Picture

Each user account can have an icon identifier. You can choose one of Leopard's included icons, or if your Mac has an iSight camera, you can take a snapshot of yourself to use with your account. The icon can be changed at any time.

New Backup Option for Installing Leopard

If you are installing Mac OS X Leopard on a computer with a previous Mac operating system, you can back up your existing system and files before you install, as mentioned earlier. Time Machine automatically creates a searchable backup and stores it on a separate volume on your main hard drive if you have partitioned the drive, or preferably on an external drive, as discussed in Chapter 11.

Click, Double-Click, or Click and Drag

You can open and close documents, move items from one place to another on your screen, and control how your computer works all by clicking, double-clicking, or clicking and dragging the mouse or trackpad.

Click, Double-Click, or Click and Drag

CLICK

1 Click the Finder button ([??]) in the Dock. A Finder window opens if one is not already open.

2 Click a folder to select it.

3 Click File.

4 Click Open. The folder opens, revealing its contents.

DOUBLE-CLICK 1 In the Finder, double-click a folder icon.

The folder opens immediately.

Note: Double-click a file within a folder to open that file and the application that created it.

CLICK AND DRAG

1 In the Finder, click and drag a folder out of the Finder window.

2 Release the mouse button.

The file appears outside the Finder window on the desktop.

TIPS

Can I rename a folder with one click?

You can rename a file or folder by clicking its name in the Finder. Press [Return], and the name appears highlighted. Type the name and press [Return] to complete the change.

What shortcuts will help me?

Press [Control] as you click any icon once and a contextual menu opens, revealing different options. Press [??] as you double-click a folder, and the folder opens in a new window. Press [Option] as you double-click a folder to open it in a separate window while closing the previous window.

Understanding the Mac Interface

Although Xerox Corporation's research center originally designed a mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI), Apple created the first computer to popularize a GUI, freeing the user from learning complex commands. The Apple Mac interface uses icons grouped on a desktop, along with windows and a menu system. Getting familiar with the interface is the key to working efficiently and having fun with the Mac.

Your View of the Monitor Screen

When Leopard first opens, your screen displays a green grass background that you can change, a top menu bar, the Dock with icons at the bottom, a hard drive icon in the top-right corner, and a cursor.

Icons

Icons are central to the Mac OS interface. Clicking an icon selects it, and double-clicking it opens the file and launches the associated application. You can click and drag icons to different locations to customize your workspace.

The Dock The Dock is a convenient way to launch applications, quickly access downloaded files, or open often-used files and folders from a stack. You can move, remove, and add other application and file icons to the Dock and even customize its size and location on the screen.

The Menu Bar

The horizontal menu at the top offers numerous options hidden under each word or icon on it. Click a word to reveal a drop-down menu of actions for your task.

Find It in the Finder

The Finder is a software program that is always running. It is basically a file-management system for all the components of the interface. The Finder helps you work with files, desktop icons, and windows, as well as other disks.

Work from the Desktop

The desktop is a metaphor used to describe the top level of the filing system. It is the background area of your screen where you can access and organize your hard drive and all your files, icons, and windows.

Applications

Leopard includes a variety of applications and helps you install other Apple and third-party applications for writing text, creating spreadsheets, listening to and creating music, and viewing and creating videos, photos, and other graphics.

Control the Mac with Menus

You can open items, make selections, and start other applications using the menu bar. The menu choices sometimes vary depending on the application; however, the overall look and many of the options remain the same. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to access some menu items, and the shortcuts are most often the same across various applications.

Control the Mac with Menus

CLICK A MENU

1 In the Finder, click the command with the options that you want to open, such as Go.

A menu drops down with more options.

2 Click the option that you want, such as Home.

In this example, a window opens, showing the contents of your Home folder.

USE A KEYBOARD SHORTCUT TO SELECT MENU ITEMS

1 Click the background area of the desktop.

2 Press the keyboard shortcut for the option that you want, such as [??] + [Shift] + [U] for the Utilities folder.

A window opens, listing the contents of the Utilities folder.

TIPS

What are the small icons on the far-right side of the menu bar?

The menu bar actually has three parts. The Apple icon on the far left is always the same. The name of the open application, such as "Finder," is bolded with its specific menu options next to it. The icons on the right are status menus and shortcuts to certain features such as the sound volume or date and time.

Are there any keys that produce hidden functions in the menus?

You can press [Option] and [Shift] to reveal hidden menu functions. Hidden menu items appear in place of the usual menu items when you press these modifier keys. For example, in the Finder menu, click File and press [Option]. The Get Info selection changes to Show Inspector.

Open, Close, and Resize Windows on the Desktop

Windows are an integral part of the Mac OS interface. The Finder and many applications have windows. You can open, close, move, and even hide or minimize windows with the click of a mouse. You can also change the size of a window by clicking and dragging.

Open, Close, and Resize Windows on the Desktop

OPEN A NEW WINDOW

1 In the Finder, click File.

2 Click New Finder Window. The Finder window opens.

Note: The Finder window is the same as your Home folder window by default, but you can change this in the Finder Preferences.

RESIZE AND MOVE A FINDER WINDOW

1 Click and drag the bottom-right corner of the window.

The window resizes as you drag.

2 Click the green Zoom button ([??]).

The window zooms to full size.

3 Click [??] again.

The window returns to its original size.

4 Click and drag the title bar of the window.

The window moves around on the screen.

CLOSE A FINDER WINDOW

1 Click the red Close button ([??]). The window closes.

Note: Closing a window may or may not quit the application, depending on which application is running.

MINIMIZE A FINDER WINDOW 1 Click the yellow Minimize button ([??]). The window shrinks down to fit as an icon in the Dock.

2 Click the window icon on the right side of the Dock.

The window returns to the desktop at its original size.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Teach Yourself VISUALLY Mac OS X Leopardby Lynette Kent Copyright © 2007 by Lynette Kent. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Visual
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470101679
• ISBN 13: 9780470101674
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 354