Introduction to Mac OS X

Based on Nadine Wettlaufer's notes at: (http://facs-newmedia.finearts.yorku.ca/~nmw/multim/macosx_ccc/macosx_ccc.html). Used with permission.

Contents:

• The MacOS X Desktop
• Important parts of the Desktop
• What is the Finder?
• Finder Windows
• Adjusting Volume on the Mac
• To Run a Program
• Open a File in a Program
• Save a File in a Program
• See all programs that are currently running
• Switch from one program to another program that's already running
• Quit programs that are running that you are not using
• Emptying the Trash on a Mac
• PC User Confusion about how Disks work on a Mac
  • When a Disk is put into the Drive It Shows Up on the Desktop
  • Deleting files off of Disks
  • Copying Files off of a Disk
  • Ejecting a Disk
• Starting an eMac
  
• Restarting or Shutting Off a Mac
• If a Mac crashes
• Quitting Netscape or Internet Explorer on a Mac
• Open a new browser window in Netscape or Explorer
• Some Shortcut Keys for MacOS X

The MacOS X Desktop

Important parts of the Desktop:

• Hard Drive:
  (towards the top right of the desktop)

  In Macs running OS X, the hard drive has designated spaces for different things. There is a special folder where all programs are installed (the Applications folder), and particular folders named Documents in which you can save your work. If you double-click the hard drive icon, it opens a window that lets you look for what you need on the ard drive.
  
  PCs usually label their hard drives as drive C or drive D, and their CD/DVD drives as drive D or drive E, etc. Macs do not use letters to identify their drives. The hard drive on a Mac is simply referred to as the hard drive, and is often named Macintosh HD. If you look at the desktop of your computer, near the top right of the screen should be the icon with the name Macintosh HD.

  
  
• The Apple Menu:
  (hold the mouse down at the top left of the screen):

  Allows you to restart and shut down the computer, change computer settings (under System Preferences and Dock), and find useful applications (under Recent Items).

  
  
  
  
• The Current Application name:
  (beside the Apple menu at the top left of the screen):

  Diplays which application is currently running and active (meaning, which application is at the front and is currently being used).
  
  Here, the current application is Photoshop, because its name is visible beside the blue apple. Even though a Netscape window is also visible on the screen, Photoshop is the program that is at the front.

  
  
  
• The Dock: (usually at the bottom of the screen):
  
  
  The Dock closer up:
  
  
  The Dock holds the Trash can (for deleting files like the recycle bin does in Windows), icons of running applications, shortcuts to other applications, as well as any minimized windows.
  
  Dock Preferences:
  
  To set Dock preferences, hold down on the Apple menu and choose Dock:
  
  
  Magnification can be turned on and off in the Dock menu. Magnification On makes the program icons in the Dock get larger when the mouse is over top of them.
  
  Hiding can also be turned on and off. Hiding means that the Dock will automatically "hide" itself off screen when it is not in use (when your mouse is not moving over top of it). To get the Dock back, put your mouse to the correct edge of the screen and wait a moment.
  
  The position of the Dock is usually at the bottom of the screen, but, it can be set to appear at the left or right side of the screen instead.
  
  More Dock preferences (like size, Magnification scale, Genie Effect, etc.) can be set by choosing Dock preferences...

What is the Finder?

The finder is a basic Mac application that runs all the time. It is the Mac OS running constantly in the background, sort of like how Windows runs constantly on a PC. The Finder is where we run and quit programs, copy files/folders, trash files/folders, connect to servers, open disks and drives, eject disks, adjust volume, and do various tasks involving files/folders.

So that you can switch to it at any time, the blue Finder icon is always in the Dock, on the extreme left hand side:

If you double-click on a folder, disk, or a drive, the window that opens is always part of the Finder. Here is the window you get when you double-click on the Hard Drive:

Finder Windows

• Icon view
• List view
• Column view

Icon View:

Clicking the Icon View button (furthest left of the three view buttons) shows all folders and files in that Window as icons, with the corresponding file or folder name below each icon:



List View:

Clicking the List View button (the middle of the three view buttons) shows all folders and files in that Window in a list.


The advantage of List View is that a lot of files and folders can be listed and visible, along with a lot of information about each file and folder. Information about each item in the list includes the file/folder Name, the Date Modified, the Size, and the Kind. Notice that these are the names of the four columns you see in a window's List View. If you click on the name of one of these four columns, the files/folders will be listed in order according to that attribute.

Notice that Date Modified has been clicked in the above illustration.

• Name lists files/folders alphabetically by name.
• Clicking on Size lists files in order of size, which could help you locate the largest files in a window.
• Clicking on Date Modified will list newest (or most recently modified) files at the top, and oldest files at the bottom.
• Clicking on Kind lists files by kind, like grouped with like (all .html files will be listed together, all .psd files will be listed together, etc.)

Column View:

Clicking the Column View button (furthest right of the three view buttons) shows all folders and files in that Window listed in a column. If you click on any folder in that column list, that folder's contents will then be displayed in the next column to the right. And any folder clicked on in this new column will diplay its contents in yet another column to the right, etc.


There may end up being so many columns in the window that they can't all be visible at the same time. In this case, you will notice that a sideways scroll bar will appear at the bottom of the window, to allow you to scroll to the left or right in order to see all the columns in the window.

If you ever get lost or disoriented using Column View, remember that you can always click on the Macintosh HD shortcut on the left size of the window (or on the Applications or Documents shortcut) to reset the window to display a certain location,


The Forward and Back Buttons

Each Finder window has a Forward button and a Back button near the top left of the window:

If you have been clicking around inside the window, going into various folders, you can use the Back button to back up to whatever you were looking at previously with the window.

This works a bit like the back button in a web browser -- it doesn't matter what the last folder contents in the window were, or where they are located on the computer; what matters is what contents you looked at last using the window, and then what you looked at before that in the window, and before that, etc. The Back button backs you up through each in the reverse order you looked at them.

Similarly, the Forward button will move you forward through what you have looked at in that window.


The Three Very Top Left Window Buttons

Finder windows, as well as many windows in other programs, can be closed, minimized, or resized using the three buttons at the top left side of the window:

• red button (furthest to the left) closes the window.
• yellow button (middle of the three) minimizes the window
• green button (furthest to the right) resizes the window

Minimizing:

Here, a Netscape windowis being minimized using the yellow button:


The minimized window zooms down into the right end of the Dock (by the Trash Can). An icon representing the window will stay in the Dock, waiting until you wish to use the window again. The window is not closed, just out of your way.


When you put the mouse over the window icon in the Dock, the name of the window displays. To maximize the window (make it return to normal), click on the window icon in the Dock. It will return to its previous size and position, and its icon will disappear from the Dock.

Most kinds of windows, in the Finder or in another program, can be minimized this way.

Adjusting Volume on the Mac:

At the top right of the destop, there will usually be a volume menu that you can use to adjust the volume of your computer. Click on the speaker icon and a volume slider appears. Drag up to increase volume, and down to decrease the volume:

An alternative to using the volume menu may be on your Mac keyboard (assuming that it is a relatively new keyboard). Look at the four buttons at the top right of most recent Mac keyboards. The three leftmost buttons should control volume. One button increases volume, one decreases it, and one is a mute button. Press the mute button once to turn volume off, and press it again to turn it on again.

To Run a Program:

1. Look under the Apple menu > Recent Items: (but remember that the only programs listed here will be those programs which have been used most recently):
   
   
   
   Choosing an application out of the list will start that application up. Not all applications installed on the computer will be represented in the Recent Items list. If you can't find what you need in the dock, try one of the following options instead:
   
   
   
2. Click the application icons in the dock (but remember that each computer may have different icons in the dock):
   
   
   
   Clicking an application icon in the dock will start that application up. Not all applications installed on the computer may be represented in the dock. If you can't find what you need in the dock, try the following option instead:
   
   
   
3. Find the program where it is installed on the hard drive (this works on all Macs with OS X):
   
   
   1. Double-click on the hard drive on the desktop. The hard drive icon will be towards the top right of the screen.
      
      
   2. A window will open:
      
      
      
      
   3. Click on the icon named Applications, which may be along the top edge of the window, or, as in this case, along the side. Now you will be able to see the folders of all Applications available on this computer.
      
      
      
      
      
   4. Double-click on the folder of the program you want to run.
      
      
   5. Then, in the window, find the program and double-click on it.
      
      
   6. That program will start up.
      
      

Open a File in a Program:

• With the File Menu, choose Open
• Use the Apple + o shortcut
• Drag File to Program Icon in Dock

With the File Menu, choose Open:

When the name of program you want to work in is visible at the top left of the screen, and you wish to open up a file to work on, or to see, choose File > Open like so: OR, in Netscape:

A window will then come up to let you find the file on the hard drive that you wish to open.

Use the Apple + o shortcut:

As an alternative to the above, when the name of program you want to work in is visible at the top left of the screen, hold down the Apple key, and, at the same time, press o (not zero). This will bring up the window to let you find the file on the hard drive that you wish to open.

Drag File to Program Icon in Dock:

Sometimes you will not be in the program that you wish to work in, but you have the file you want to work on in front of you. If the program you need is showing its icon in the Dock, you can simply drag the file you wish to open onto the program's icon in the Dock like so, and then release your mouse:

Here, a .psd file on the Desktop is dragged to the Photoshop icon so that the icon hilites. When the mouse is released, the .psd file will open into Photoshop.

Save a File in a Program:

• Choose File > Save or File > Save As... etc.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Apple + s

If the Save window opens after you have used one of the above options, you may sometimes find that the window is quite short, without a way to easily view where you are saving:



Notice that there is a menu of choices beside the word "Where:" -- this lets you choose a recently used folder, or certain shortcut folders. However, these may not get you where you want to save the file, so notice where the mouse is in the illustration above. Clicking on the button the mouse is over will open the window's navigation options, which will look like so:



Now you have the option of using a standard method of finding where you want to save the file. Note the shortcuts to the hard drive, the Desktop, and the Documents folder (among others) that are on the left side of the newly opened navigation area in the window.

Once you have navigated to the place you wish to save your file, click the Save button.

See all Programs that are currently running:

Here, the Finder, Netscape, and Photoshop are running.

Switch from one program to another program that's already running:

1. Hold down the Apple key
   
   
2. Press and release the Tab key once (keep the Apple key down).
   
   
3. An application switching display will show up:
   
   
   Here there are three programs running. TextEdit is currently the selected application.
   
   
4. Keep holding the Apple key while pressing and releasing the Tab key to change which application is currently selected.
   
   
5. When the desired program is selected, release the Apple key. OS X will stop switching programs and will go into the one you selected.

Quit programs that are running that you are not using:

• Quit by using the application's menu:
  
  
  1. Switch to the application that you wish to quit.
     
     
  2. Go to the application's name at the top left of the screen (beside the apple menu):
     
     
     
  3. Hold down on the application's name to show the menu:
     
     
     
  4. Choose Quit, which will be at the bottom of the menu.
     
     
  5. The program will quit.
  
  
  
• Quit by using the Apple key + Q (keyboard shortcut):
  
  
  1. Switch to the program that you wish to quit.
     
     
  2. Make sure the program's name appears at the top left of the screen (beside the apple menu), indicating that it is currently the active program.
     
     
  3. Hold down the Apple key AND then press Q.
     
     
  4. The program will quit.
  
  
  
• Quit by using the Dock and the Control key:
  
  
  1. Go to the dock.
     
     
  2. Find the program that is currently running that you wish to quit:
     
     In this case, I wish to quit Netscape.
     
     
  3. Hold the Control key AND click the program icon at the same time.
     
     
  4. A small menu will pop up from the icon in the dock:
     
     
     
  5. From the small menu, choose Quit.
     
     
  6. The program will quit.

Emptying the Trash in Mac OS X:

In OS X, the trash is located in the dock, at the end on the right-hand side.

How the Trash looks when it's empty:

The trash allows you to delete files (like the recycle bin does in Windows). Just drag the files or folders you want to delete over the trash icon in the dock, and then release your mouse when the trash icon hilites. This should put those files or folders into the trash, ready to be deleted. The trash icon will change to indicate that there are things inside it to be deleted.

How the Trash looks when it's got things inside it to be deleted:

How to empty the trash to delete files inside of it:

1. Go to the dock.
   
   
2. Hold down the Control key AND click on the Trash icon.
   
   
3. A small menu will pop up from the Trash icon:
   
   
4. Click on Empty Trash from the small menu. This will delete the files from the trash.
   
   
5. Release the Control key.

PC User Confusion about how Disks work on a Mac:

PCs usually label their floppy drives as drives A, their hard drives as drive C or drive D, and their CD/DVD drives as drive D or drive E, etc. Macs do not use letters to identify their drives. The hard drive on a Mac is simply referred to as the hard drive, and is often named Macintosh HD. If you look at the desktop of your computer, near the top right of the screen should be an icon with the name Macintosh HD. This is the Mac's hard drive, where you can store files and find programs to run.


How to put a CD/DVD into the Drive:

Unlike PCs, Macs often don't have buttons on the front of the case to eject the CD/DVD drive tray. On the more recent Mac keyboards, the button at the very top right of the keyboard is the eject button for the door of the CD/DVD drive.

Once you have put your CD or DVD into the drive tray, just press the same button to close the tray so the disk goes into the computer.

When a Disk is put into the Drive It Shows Up on the Desktop

On a Mac, when you put a disk into the drive (like a zip disk, CD, DVD), or when you connect a USB drive, a disk icon shows up on the desktop on the right side of the screen.

A CD inserted into the computer shows up like this:

A USB drive connected to the computer shows up like this:

Double-click on the disk icon that shows up to open a window to see what's on the disk.


Ejecting a Disk

To eject a zip disk, CD or DVD:

1. Drag the disk icon on the desktop to the Trash
   
   
2. Notice that the Trash icon changes to say Eject:
   
   
3. When the Trash changes to the Eject icon, release the mouse
   
   
4. The disk icon should disappear, and the disk should eject

1. Drag the drive icon on the desktop to the Trash
   
   
2. Notice that the Trash icon changes to say Eject:
   
   
3. When the Trash changes to the Eject icon, release the mouse
   
   
4. The drive icon should disappear, and it should be safe to disconnect the physical drive cable or connection

On a Mac, when you drag files that are on a zip or floppy disk into the Trash, the files are still taking up space on that disk! The files are in the Trash AND still taking up space on the disk.
(This is in contrast to a PC, where the files from a floppy or zip disk would be deleted automatically when dropped into the Recycle Bin.)
On a Mac, you must now empty the Trash yourself (by choosing Special > Empty Trash) for the zip or floppy disk to be rid of the file and get the space back that the file was using.

1. double-click on the hard drive icon
2. in the window that opens, double-click on the Documents folder
3. drag the files you want to copy from the disk window to the Documents folder window, and release your mouse
4. the files should copy into the Documents folder on the hard drive.

However, no + sign means you are just MOVING the file to the location you are dragging it to (so the file will no longer be in the original location, only in the new location), not copying the file (which would give you a file in the original location, AND in the new location).

Holding down the option key will make the plus appear or disappear while dragging (copying instead of moving, or vice-versa).

Starting an eMac:

Restarting or Shutting Off a Mac in OS X:

1. Go to the apple menu at the top left of the screen.
   
   
2. Hold your mouse down on it and then choose Restart or Shut Down:
   
   

If a Mac crashes:

Cancel the operation in progress:

This may force the program to stop doing whatever it's doing that has frozen operations:
Hold down the Apple key and press period (.) at the same time:
apple + .

If this doesn't work (it usually doesn't), progress to the options below...

Force-Quitting a program:

This should force the crashed program you are in to quit:
Hold down the Escape key, and the Option key, and the Apple key at the same time:
esc + option + apple

If this doesn't work, progress to the options below...

Restart or Shutdown using Apple Menu:

Use the instructions in the section above to restart or shut down the computer.
The computer should shut down for a moment, and then start back up.

If this doesn't work, progress to the options below...

Forced Shutdown using button:

Hold down the power button for 10 seconds. The computer will shut down.
Wait at least five seconds, then press the power button again, and the computer will start up.

Quitting Netscape or Internet Explorer on a Mac:

Unlike on a PC, when you close the Netscape or Explorer window on a Mac you have not quit the program! If you check the applications running with the dock, the Netscape or Explorer program name will still be listed, showing that the program is still running.

Before closing the Netscape window:


After closing the Netscape window:

Notice how Netscape application name is still showing up beside the apple menu at the top left? This shows that Netscape is still running.

To quit Netscape or Internet Explorer:

1. To quit the current program, select the program's name menu (at the top, towards the left), then slide your mouse down and choose Quit:
   
   
   
   
2. The program will no longer be running, and it will no longer be indicated in the dock as a running application.

Open a new browser window in Netscape or Explorer:

Some Shortcut Keys for Mac OS X