Introduction
OS X v.10.4
Macintosh
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Introduction |
This page provides a brief overview of the Macintosh computer and operating system, as well as an introduction to its operation, layout, and general use as a tool for internet access and desktop productivity.
CONTENTS
System Preferences Computer Viruses Dock
The Macintosh computer, like a Windows computer, uses a graphics-based operating system with a user-friendly interface and fast, easy access to files. Any files and directories, or folders, on the Desktop appear as icons. The Desktop is the empty space on your screen when all windows are closed.
Some permanent fixtures on the Desktop are the Macintosh HD and the Dock. Zip disks, CDs and other media you have inserted also appear on the Desktop.
The Desktop also provides drop-down menus you can use to ask the computer to do certain things. These are located at the top of the screen on a white bar sometimes called the Apple Menu bar. Examples of a menu would be File or Edit. If you click on these words on the Apple menu bar with your mouse, a menu will drop down. The mouse is an integral part of the user interface, although many operations can also be performed with the keyboard. For more information on the mouse, refer to Navigating with the Mouse.
Your computer, along with every other computer on campus, can be connected to the campus network. This network allows you to check e-mail, read conferences, browse the World Wide Web, print to networked printers, use Banner, and share files between computers.
If you ever need help with your computer, refer to Getting Help with Using your Macintosh Computer.
The best way to turn ON your Mac is to use the power button. On the G4 flat-screen iMacs, the power button is located in the left back side of the base. On the new G5 iMacs, the power button is located on the right back side of the monitor. Just press it once to turn on your computer.
The best way to turn OFF a Mac is to go to the Apple menu (on the Apple menu bar) and select Shut Down. In the dialog box that appears, choose Shut Down.
Occasionally, an application or the operating system on your computer may "crash" or "freeze," meaning it will stop responding. You can try to Force Quit by holding down the APPLE
+OPTION+ESC keys on your keyboard. In OS X, you can also click on the Apple Menu and select Force Quit. A window will appear with a list of open applications. Select the frozen application and click on the Force Quit button .
If your computer is completely frozen and Force Quit doesn't work, hold down the power button for several seconds until the computer shuts down completely. Bear in mind that this should be used only as a last resort when the computer freezes and not as a regular shutdown procedure.
To navigate on a Macintosh computer, you can use the keyboard or the mouse. On the screen, you will see a pointer or cursor, usually in the shape of an arrow. Moving your mouse (up, down, left, right) on the mousepad will cause the pointer on the screen to move in the same direction on the screen.
The Macintosh mouse is equipped with one button which you can use to click
and select, drag-and-drop, and double-click items. The new Mac optical mice
with red lights instead of rubber balls do not have a button but the front
part of the mouse will function as one big button.
Dragging and dropping lets you move items around in a window or on the desktop.
To drag, position your cursor over the item, click the mouse button once,
and hold it down while moving the cursor. The mouse will drag the item along
with it. To drop the item, simply release the mouse button where you want
the item dropped. You can move items into a folder by dragging the item
to the destination folder until the folder is highlighted or outlined, and
then releasing the mouse button.
To open a file or application, position the mouse above it, and double-click.
A double-click is a quick succession of two clicks in the same spot. If
the succession of clicks is not quick enough, or if you accidentally move
the mouse in between the clicks, you have not "double-clicked."
Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Many mouse operations can also be performed using the keyboard. The APPLE
(or "command") key identified by an apple or ,
located on either side of the space bar, can be used in combination with
other keys to perform menu functions quickly. For example, in Microsoft
Word, you can print a document by pressing the two keys on the keyboard:
APPLE +
P. Other command operations are listed next to the function they perform
under the different menus in each application.
If you think of the computer desktop as a real-life desk on which you work, the windows are like books or folders on that desk. Most of the time these books are closed. If you need to work with a book, you can open it up by double-clicking the item. If you want to work with multiple books, you can open multiple windows and spread them out. But just as you can read only one book at a time, you can use only one window at a time, called the 'active' window. While you can have many application programs open at once, only one of them can be active at a time. When a window is active, it is like an open book you move to the top of your pile of open books. If it is a large book, it might hide some of the smaller books underneath it.
The idea of a small book hiding behind larger books is important when
working
with windows. Sometimes you may click on a window that takes up most of
the
screen, and it will cover up smaller windows behind it. The smaller
windows have not disappeared, they are just hidden. Unlike books, however,
you have the option of re-sizing a window, moving it aside, or adjusting
its location on the screen. You can change a window's size by moving the
mouse cursor to the icon at the bottom right corner of the window: 
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Hold down the mouse button and drag the corner until the window is the
size
you want, then release the mouse button.
There are four buttons on the title bar of OS X windows:
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The red button on the left closes the window. If the window is a document, it closes the active document (and will prompt you to save if you have not already). This is not the same as quitting the application itself. To quit an OS X application, you will have to go to the menu with the application name and select Quit [application name], or press APPLE + Q on the keyboard. Leaving many applications open at once might lead to memory problems, so please remember to quit applications when you are done using them. |
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The yellow button minimizes the window and sends it down to the Dock. To bring the minimized window back up to the desktop, click once on the icon of the minimized window on the right side of the Dock. |
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The green Zoom button expands or contracts the window size depending on its current and former position on the screen. |
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The button in the upper right-hand corner shows or hides the toolbar at the top of a window. |
In the Finder in OS X v.10.4, there are two main sections in the window, along with a toolbar at the top. At the left is the sidebar, which contains shortcuts to the Desktop, Home, Applications, and other areas of the computer for ready access. The upper left portion contains Network, Macintosh HD, and any connected network servers, CDs, and zip disks. At the right, the window displays any files and folders. You can customize the sidebar by dragging folders into or out of the left side of the window.
Navigates back to the previous window or folder level, much like the back button works in an Internet browser. Navigates to the next window or folder level, like in an Internet browser. The three View buttons allow you change the view characteristics of the window to icon, list, or column. The action menu provides access to tasks relevant to the selected object. Shortcut to your Home area. Shortcut to OS X Applications folder. Allows you to search your computer for a folder or file.
When your computer boots up, you will see the Apple menu bar at the top of the screen and the Desktop, which contains an icon named Macintosh HD.Please do not rename your Macintosh HD! Renaming it can misdirect your aliases and confuse the directory paths set for certain programs.
The Hard Drive
When you double-click the Macintosh HD you will see folders containing applications in OS X, the Users folder, as well as essential operating system files contained on your computer.
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The OS X v. 10.4 Apple Menu works much like the OS 9 Special and Apple Menus combined without the applications. All applications that were located in the Apple Menu in OS 9 have moved to the new Applications folder. Applications can also be accessed by using the Dock, described below. The OS X v. 10.4 Apple Menu is where preferences and settings can be modified, users can log in and out, restart or shut down their computer. Use About This Mac to find out what version of the Operating System the computer is running, the processor speed, and the amount of memory (RAM).
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To access the System Preferences, choose Apple Menu > System Preferences... This is where you can find preferences for Date/Time, Energy Saver, Network (formerly called AppleTalk and TCP/IP), Classic, and more. By single-clicking on the item you want to change, you will be taken to a new window that will bring up the preferences. To go back to the main System Preferences window that shows all the System Preferences, click on the Show All button located in the upper left corner of the window.
OS X uses the Dock (usually located across the bottom of the screen) to hold the aliases to some applications and utilities, the trash, open applications and windows, and aliases to folders and documents.
Black triangles below application icons indicate an application is open.
Hovering your mouse over an icon in the Dock displays the name of that item.
The Finder
will always be listed in the Dock with a black triangle below it because it must be open in order for you to use the Desktop.
Dock Structure
The Dock is divided into two parts by a vertical line. The left-hand side of the Dock shows application icons, and the right-hand side shows file, folder, and window icons as well as the Trash. To change the order of the items on your Dock, simply click and drag the icons to the desired order. The applications must stay on the left and the files and folders must stay on the right.
The Dock can be resized to stretch the entire length of the screen or to shrink down towards the center of the bottom of the screen. To resize the Dock, click and drag the vertical line dividing the applications from the files and folders. The cursor will become a resizing tool, and the Dock can be enlarged or shrunk by moving the mouse up and down.
To modify the Dock preferences, go to the Apple Menu > Dock. There, you can choose to hide the Dock, change its location on the screen, and access other Dock preferences by choosing Dock Preferences.
Opening an application
To open an application, file, or folder, you need to click only once on the icon in the Dock. Applications that are not stored in the dock will appear only while the application is open. A black triangle will appear beneath the application icon, indicating the application is open. Pressing and holding the mouse button over an icon on the dock produces a pop-up menu with various functions, including Remove from Dock, Open at Login, Show in Finder, and Open.
To add an application, file, or folder permanently to the Dock, open the application by double-clicking on the icon in the Applications folder. When the application finishes opening and has an icon in the Dock, press and hold the mouse button over the icon in the dock. A pop-up menu will appear with the option to Keep in Dock. Select the option and the item will remain in the Dock whether the application is open or not. Alternatively, you can drag an application icon directly to the Dock. Remember the icon in the Dock is only an alias to the actual application, utility, folder or file.
To remove an unwanted item from the Dock, drag the item off the Dock. The icon will disappear in a puff of smoke. Remember, dragging the item off the Dock does not delete the item. It only removes the alias from the Dock.
The Trash
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The Trash, analogous to the Recycle Bin on Windows computers, is used as a temporary folder for any deleted items. The Trash is located on the Dock. You can drag files or folders into the Trash, marking them to be deleted from your hard drive. Click once on the Trash icon on the Dock to view the files you have placed in the Trash. To permanently delete items, click once on the Trash icon, go to the Finder menu, and choose Empty Trash or click and hold on the Trash icon, and select Empty Trash. This deletes all files in the Trash. You cannot delete items one at a time from the Trash folder. You should not empty the Trash until you are certain you no longer need the items located there. Never use your Trash as a storage area for files you may need or want. Once the trash has been emptied, the items previously inside will be unrecoverable. The Trash is also used to eject disks or volumes on the desktop. To
remove a disk or CD from your computer, drag the disk or other media
icon onto the Trash icon in the Dock. The Trash icon will then change
into an Eject icon |
Although all applications are stored in Macintosh HD, you can access many of these applications from the Dock. The Dock stores aliases to items on the hard drive. An alias is not an actual file, folder, or application. It is a link to the file, folder, or application it represents. When you click on an alias, it points to the actual file in the harddrive and proceeds to open it. Aliases give you a way to easily open a file, folder, or application without having to search through the harddrive for it. Aliases can be deleted without losing any information because they do not represent any actual item, only "bridges" or links to those items.To create an alias, click on the Finder icon in the Dock and then navigate to the Go menu. Select Applications. In the window that appears, find the application, then click once on the application icon to highlight it. Go to File > Make Alias (or use the keyboard command APPLE + L). Alias icons show up with a small arrow, and the name sometimes has the word 'alias' added to it if it has not been renamed.
If you would like to store folders on your desktop, you should put aliases of the folders there instead of the original folders. To put an alias on your desktop, drag the alias icon you created and drop it onto your desktop. To place aliases in the Dock, follow the instructions in the Dock section of this documentation.
The sidebar can also hold aliases as well. To place an alias in the sidebar of a Finder window, drag the item to the sidebar.
Computer files are organized within a hierarchy of folders, as shown below. Files and folders on the right are found inside the folder highlighted in blue on the left.
Computers differentiate files by their names, so every file must have a different name. In other words, you cannot have two separate files within the same folder that have the same name even if they are exact copies of one another.
Computers identify the format of the file by its extension. An extension represents the format of the file. For example the extension ".doc" represents the format for Word documents and ".xls" represents the format for Excel files. A format is like a computer language. On a PC, you will see this extension as a suffix to the file name, (e.g., paper.doc) and the extension must be part of the file name in order for a PC to read it. Macs, however, automatically add an invisible extension that allows them to identify the format. Macs are set to display file extensions to facilitate sharing documents with PCs.
If you are unable to see your file extensions, you can select the file by clicking on it once, go to File > Get Info. Click on Name & Extension and then uncheck Hide Extension. To show all file extensions all the time, go to the Finder menu and select Preferences. Click on the Advanced tab and check Show all file extensions.
Some applications allow you to save your file in another application's format by pulling down the menu in the Save As box and choosing the format you want. Simply changing the extension of a file by typing a new one does not change its type.
It is a good idea to store all of your personal files, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and other non-system files within your Documents folder within your Home folder. You can create subfolders to organize your files more efficiently.
To make a new folder:
- Go to your Home folder and double click on your Documents folder.
- Under the File menu, select New Folder. The new folder called "untitled folder" will appear. You can use the keyboard keys to create a new folder by pressing the APPLE + SHIFT + N keys at the same time.
Then rename the folder to something that describes or indicates the intended contents of the folder. You can move files into this new folder simply by dragging them over the folder icon. When the destination folder is highlighted, release the mouse button to "drop." This is known as Drag-and-Drop and is very convenient for moving files.
To copy files, hold down the OPTION key while dragging and dropping a file, or go to the File menu and select Duplicate, then drag the duplicate file into the desired folder. For convenience, you can store aliases of files or folders on the Desktop or Dock where they can be readily opened, moved, copied, or deleted. Please do not store original folders and files on your desktop as you may accidentally delete them.
Quick Reference to Common Tasks
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To name or rename a file, folder, or disk, click on its icon once. A rectangle will surround the name. Type the new name and press the RETURN or ENTER key. The cursor will be inserted where you clicked, and you may then alter the name one letter at a time. |
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Opening disks, folders, & files |
Disks, folders, and files are all represented by an icon and a name. An item may be opened either by clicking once on the icon, going to the File menu, and then choosing Open, or by double-clicking on the icon. |
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Moving files |
To keep a disk organized, documents or files often need to be moved. To move a file or a folder, drag it (point to the icon, hold down the mouse button, and move the mouse) to its new location, and then drop it (release the mouse button). Files may be moved into or out of folders and icons can be moved between windows by dragging the icon from one window to the other. To move more than one icon, hold down the SHIFT key, and click once on each icon you want to select. |
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Copying files |
From one disk to another: You can either drag the icon of the file you are copying onto the icon of the disk or to an open window of the disk's contents. You may move the file into a folder afterwards. Keep in mind that copying a file from a different disk will leave a copy of the file on the original disk. From one folder to another within the same disk: Dragging a copy of a file within the Macintosh HD or on the same disk will simply move the file. If you want a copy of the file in both locations, hold down the OPTION key while dragging the file. |
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Creating new folders |
Go to the File menu, and select New Folder. A folder will then appear in the active window. Rename it then press the RETURN or ENTER key. |
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Find |
From the File menu, choose Find (or type APPLE + F on your keyboard). In the spotlight field, type a word or group of words you want to find. As you type, the search results will populate based on whatever search criteria has been selected. For more information on advanced searching with spotlight, see What's New in Tiger. |
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Deleting files |
To delete a file from a disk, drag the file's icon into the Trash on the Dock. Drag the icon until the pointer is inside the Trash and the Trash icon is shaded. When you have dragged something to the Trash, the Trash icon will appear to have papers in it. To permanently remove the deleted items from your computer, click and hold your mouse over the Trash icon in the Dock. A menu will appear and choose Empty Trash. You can also go to the Finder menu and select Empty Trash. In the dialog box that appears, click OK. |
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To eject a disk or CD, drag its icon into the Trash on the Dock. This
will not delete the contents of the disk; it is merely a shortcut,
albeit a counterintuitive one, to eject the disk. When you drag the icon
to the Trash, the Trash icon will change to an Eject icon |
The majority of computers at Wellesley College are connected to networked printers. Network printing enables multiple computers to print to the same printer. Some printers, however, such as Epson Stylus Color printers, are connected directly to the computer and can be used only by one user.
Setting up a Printer
To set up a printer in OS X, you now use the Printer Setup Utility instead of the Chooser or the Desktop Printer Utility, which do not exist in OS X v.10.4. To set up a printer in the Printer Setup Utility, launch the Printer Setup Utility from the dock. If you can't find the Printer Setup Utility icon in the dock, go to the Finder > Go menu > Applications > Utilities > Printer Setup Utility. If you have not set up a printer and try to print, the Printer Setup Utility will automatically appear so you can set up a printer. A printer set up in OS X v.10.4 will also work for Classic applications.
Click here for more information about setting up your printer.
Basic Printing from Applications
To print a file (in Word, Excel, FirstClass, Safari, etc.) make sure you are viewing the file you want to print and then go to the File menu and select Print. Note the name of the printer at the top of the window that appears, and be sure the correct printer is selected. You can also alter the print job specifications before the print job is sent to the printer.
Storage Options Other than the Hard Drive
In addition to saving your files on your computer, you can also save files on a variety of external disks. Saving files on disks other than the Macintosh HD allows you to carry the files around with you so you can access them on other computers. It is important to save copies of important files on an external disk so you will have a backup copy in case anything happens to the original file. For more information on backing up files on your Mac, refer to Backing up Your Files documentation from the Wellesley Computing page.
Disk Care and Strategies
Save copies of important documents or data on more than one disk so if one disk is damaged, you still have a backup copy. Also, if a disk looks like it is beginning to wear down (the metal comes loose or the label starts to peel), transfer the information to another disk and throw out the old one. Even if the disk looks fine but has been used for over a year, transfer the information to another disk and throw out the old disk or store it away.
Keep printed copies (hard copies) of important documents. At least you'll have something to work with if your disk is irreparably damaged.
Disk management is extremely important. It involves making sure your disks are in good shape, that the data stored on them is safe, and that you have backups of all your important files. The Faculty/Staff Computing Helpdesk gets many calls during the year from people who do not follow these rules for disk management and lose very valuable data and documents. Should your disk become damaged, you can always call the Faculty/Staff Computing Helpdesk at x3333 for assistance, but there is no guarantee your files can be recovered.
All external disks are fragile. This means you should always keep your disks in a storage container away from direct heat and light. Do not throw them around your desk or stuff them in a drawer or briefcase unless they are in their own protective cases.
Using Disks
Disk drives can be either internal (built into the central processing unit) or external (separate device connected to the central processing unit). When you insert a disk into the disk drive, a disk icon will appear on your desktop. You can view the contents of the disk by double-clicking on the icon.
Disk Types
1. Zip Disks
Zip Disks hold 100, 250, or 750 megabytes and come pre-formatted for either Macs or PCs. It is important to use the correctly formatted zip disk for your computer. A Mac can read both PC and Mac zip disks, but a PC can only read PC-formatted zip disks.
250 MB zip drives can also read 100 MB zip disks, but you should be careful when using a 100 MB disk in a 250 MB drive since the manufacturer does not guarantee full compatibility. A 100 MB zip drive CANNOT read a 250 MB zip disk properly. Many PCs on campus now have 750 MB zip drives which can read, but will not write to 100 MB zip disks.
When the zip disk is inserted into the drive, it will appear on the desktop. Then you can drag and drop anything you want to save on the disk to the icon on the desktop.
2. CD-ROM discs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs and DVDs
CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), CD-RW (CD-ReWritable) and DVDs (Digital Video Discs) are disks read by laser. To write CDs or DVDs, you need to have a CD-RW or DVD-R drive in or attached to your computer and a writable compact disc.
CD-RWs and CD-Rs are CDs capable of having information burned onto them. CD-RWs can be reused while CD-Rs cannot, making them a good choice for backing up and archiving data. DVDs hold up to 26 times more information than a CD-ROM.
When a CD-RW or CD-R is inserted into the CD drive, the icon will appear on the desktop. Then you can drag and drop files that you wish to burn using Disc Burner.
3. USB Flash Drives
Flash Drives (sometimes known as USB or keychain drives) are small, self-powered devices that connect to a computer through a USB port. They are both Mac and PC compatible, so you can transfer files back and forth as long as the files themselves can be read on both platforms. Some flash drives require installation of a driver in order for your computer to recognize them.
Given capacity can be as large as a few gigabytes and the physical size of a drive is so small, flash drives are becoming a popular alternative to using zip disks for transporting data.
When a Flash drive is inserted into a USB port, it will appear on the desktop. Then you can drag and drop anything you want to save on the drive to the icon on the desktop.
Formatting a disk
Formatting a disk is when you prepare a new disk to store information. Formatting disks involves deleting all files on the disk. Sometimes disks come formatted for the Macintosh. In that case, you are ready to go. However if they are not pre-formatted, are PC-formatted, or if you want to erase all the information on them, you can format the disks before using them.
- Insert a disk, go to the Go menu, and choose Applications .
- The Applications folder will open. Open the Utilities folder and then double-click on Disk Utility.
- Disk Utility will open up. Select the appropriate disk from the left pane.
- Click on the Erase tab. Several options will appear. Click the Erase button at the bottom of the tab.
- A window will appear confirming that you want to erase all the information on the disk.
- The disk will be erased and formatted for the Macintosh. Note: A Macintosh formatted disk will not be readable on a Windows computer.
Using one disk on both Macintosh and Windows computers
In order for a disk to be readable to both Macs and Windows machines, it must be a PC-formatted disk. A disk formatted for the PC may have the words 'PC' on the disk icon when it shows up on your Desktop, after you have inserted it into the disk drive.
Using one disk between Macintosh operating systems or on both Windows and Macintosh computers
Disks opened on Windows computers or in OS 9 as well as in OS X will have additional files or folders. Below is a table with files that may appear when using disks on various computers with different operating systems.
Windows to OS X Thumbs.db OS X to Windows .Trashes
.Virex Speedscan
.DS_Store
Virex Speedscan
Duplicate files/folders with a period and underscore before the file name, such as ._Assignement.OS 9 to OS X Desktop DB
Desktop DF
Finder.dat
TheVolumeSettings folder
Virex Speedscan
Resource.frk
FindByContentOS X to OS 9 .Trashes
.DS_Store
Duplicate files/folders with a period and underscore before the file name, such as ._Assignment.
Since these files will be re-created every single time you switch between operating systems or from Windows to a Mac, it is best to ignore them.
McAfee will be releasing a version of Virex that runs in Tiger in the fall of 2005.
It is very important to guard against viruses. Viruses are bits of computer programming that alter your hard drive or floppy disks in various ways. Some can cause extensive damage while others are mere nuisances. Like real-life viruses, computer viruses make themselves difficult to detect and easy to pass around to other computers or disks. For instance, if you use a coworker's "infected" zip disk to transfer files to your computer, your computer may become infected.
You can get viruses from infected floppies, zip disks, e-mail attachments, and other networking devices (file sharing, etc.).
For more information on Virex, please go to the Virex documentation.
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Dragging your disk icon to the Trash will not delete your files. To disconnect
from a volume, such as Community, drag the icon from the Desktop to the
Trash. The Trash will change to an Eject icon, just as if you were removing
a disk. 