This article is the beginning of a thread of articles that provide newbie customers a grounding in the Apple mac running machine. For those used to Windows computers, the switch to Apple can appear daunting. It need not be. In this series of articles, I will lead you through the transition from the Windows environment to the latest version of Apple OS 10.6, additionally known as Snow Leopard. Each article within the series will cover one unique place of using the laptop and give guidelines and recommendations that assist you to operate your pc effectively and successfully to meet your needs. Upcoming articles will encompass:
So, directly to the first article. Identifying the similarities between Windows and Snow Leopard is an awesome manner to get your bearings and quell any fears approximately the size of the mission ahead. The first location to Start on a Windows PC is the Start menu, and on a Mac, it is virtually very similar. On a Windows PC, you find the Start button within the backside left-hand corner of the Toolbar that stays visible by default on the bottom of your display. On a Mac, you click on the Finder icon at the left-hand aspect of your Dock, which is also through default seen on the lowest left-hand side of the display screen.
Clicking the Finder icon brings up a window that looks very much like the Windows Explorer window that might open if you selected My Documents from the Start menu on your PC. The window has some familiar, comparable capabilities that permit you to navigate via your computer. In the window’s left-hand column, you may see three headings: Devices, Places, and Search For. Under Devices, you may see your computer’s difficult disk, via default known as Macintosh HD, an iDisk, and any others drive that can be linked for your laptop, inclusive of a USB pen force or external hard power.
Under the Places tab, you may once more see many familiar capabilities, including Documents, Music, Movies, Pictures, Downloads, and Desktop. These names are self-explanatory; however, for readability, you can relate them to the corresponding Windows folders: My Documents, My Music, My Videos, My Pictures, Downloads, and Desktop.
To navigate via your computer, you really click on the relevant call to peer the documents contained within that folder displayed at the proper hand facet. At this factor, you ought to test with the different view options you pick via clicking on the icons alongside the pinnacle of the window. There are four view alternatives: Icons, List, Columns, and Cover Flow. Icon and listing view display the files within the folder at the proper hand window. The Column view allows you to click on a person report and notice a preview of that document with records on what kind of report it is, while it became created, what length it’s miles, or even indicates a short preview of the report contents. Finally, Cover Flow combines the list view with a preview panel and lets you click on the left and right arrow keys to navigate thru the documents viewing the preview for every.
As with your Windows PC, you store your documents, tune, video, and pics inside the corresponding folders. In later articles, we will discover the programs or applications as they may be recognized on a Mac that you can use with each file type. The Applications folder inside the Finder window is in which all packages are stored for your laptop, and you could open any application installed on your computer with the aid of clicking Applications and then double-clicking the applicable program, such as Mail if you desired to ship or acquire emails.
There is no other way to open Applications that is quicker and more consumer-pleasant, known as the Dock. The Dock is just like the Windows Start menu and is by default located at the lowest of the display. By clicking on the apple icon on the top left-hand nook of the screen, you can adjust how the dock is displayed. You have already discovered the Finder icon, and you may now scroll your cursor throughout the other icons at the Dock to peer the name of every Application. Click on any of those icons to open the program.,
Click the apple icon and hover over the Dock alternative. A pop-up menu appears, and you can pick to Turn Hiding On, Turn Magnification On, change the placement of the Dock, and visit the Dock options within System Preferences. System Preferences is the Control Panel of a Mac computer, and all settings for your Mac may be determined and managed there. Let’s deal with the Dock settings first before searching at System Preferences. Hiding the dock approach that it’ll disappear, providing you with a full display to paintings on and will reappear when you flow your cursor off the edge of the display screen that the Dock is located on. In the default instance with the Dock at the bottom of the display screen, you really scroll right down to the lowest of the display screen, and the Dock appears.
Changing the magnification alters the dimensions of the icons as you scroll throughout the Dock. Within the Dock settings in System Preferences, you can additionally change the overall length of the Dock. If you’ve got many packages at the Dock, it could be less complicated to decrease the Dock length; however, grow the magnification. You can add programs to the Dock to drag the corresponding icon from the Applications folder within the Finder window down to the Dock. Click on the icon, keep down the button, drag the icon to the Dock, and launch the mouse button. All packages currently running will also seem in the Dock if they’re no longer there usually. Applications that are open or strolling have a white dot beneath their icon. To get rid of an application from the Dock, clearly click and keep the cursor at the icon and drag it throughout to the trash can on the proper hand aspect of the Dock.
Well achieved, you have navigated around your Mac for the first time and observed your Documents, Music, Videos, Pictures, and Applications folders. You also recognize a way to open and close applications and upload or remove programs from the Dock. In the following article, we can pass deeper on navigating thru your Mac, establishing and last programs, and the use of keyboard shortcuts.
