Most people don't care how their computer works; they just want to use it. Tell the average person how to give commands to his computer's operating system and his eyes will glaze over with boredom. But tell that same person how to have fun and do something useful with his computer and his eyes will light up immediately.
That's why this is a different kind of computer book. Instead of babbling about every possible feature and command and then hoping that you'll find an actual use for that information, this book teaches you how to do something fun and useful with your Macintosh right away.
With most computers, the biggest problem is just getting them to work. With a Macintosh, the biggest problem is figuring out all the different ways you can put your computer to work for you. People often use a Macintosh for years just to write letters or send email and then suddenly discover that they could have also been using that Macintosh to organize and edit photos, watch DVDs, or make their own audio CDs containing their favorite songs.
The whole purpose of this book is to teach you how to get the most out of your Macintosh without having to buy a single extra thing. If you already know how to use a different type of computer, you'll find that your Macintosh works in similar ways. If you're new to computers altogether, you'll find that the Macintosh can be a friendly, forgiving, and fun tool that will make you wonder why anybody in their right mind would ever want to use a different type of computer. No matter what your experience with computers may be, you'll soon learn that the Macintosh comes loaded with dozens of neat programs and tools for making your life easier. This book will show you how to use them.
This book won't just teach you how to use your Macintosh; it will teach you how to use your Macintosh to make your life easier without having to become a computer expert. After all, you probably bought a Macintosh because you wanted a computer that works for you, not the other way around.
If you're already familiar with computers, you can skip this section. If you aren't comfortable using a computer, take the time to learn some common terms that you'll see in this book. Basically, using a computer involves the computer displaying information on the screen and waiting for you to select from a limited number of choices. Depending on your selection, the computer then displays new information and waits for you to choose another option.
To use a computer, you need to know how to decipher the options the computer displays and how to tell the computer what your selection is.
With a desktop Macintosh, you control the computer using a mouse. The two main functions of the mouse are:
Pointing simply means using the mouse to move the pointer on the screen. The two main purposes for pointing include:
Choosing a command
Selecting something, such as text or a picture that you want to modify
Once you point to something on the screen, the computer won't do anything until you click the mouse.
Pointing and clicking are the main ways to tell the computer what to do. However, there are five ways you can click the mouse:
Clicking This means pressing the mouse button once and releasing it. Clicking often selects a command or moves the cursor to a new location.
Double-clicking This means pressing the mouse button twice in rapid succession. Double-clicking is most often used to select a file and open it.
Dragging This means holding down the mouse button and moving the mouse. Dragging is often used to move items from one location to another or to select two or more items, such as several words in a paragraph.
Clicking and holding This means holding down the mouse button without moving it. Clicking and holding on an icon on the Dock displays a menu.
Right-clicking This means either holding down the ctrl key and clicking the left mouse button or clicking the right mouse button (on a mouse that has two buttons). Right-clicking typically displays a menu of additional commands from which you can choose.
With a laptop Macintosh, you control the computer using a trackpad. With older laptop models, you use a trackpad with a single button. With newer laptop models, the trackpad acts like a giant button and allows multitouch finger gestures. Table 1 lists ways of clicking, double-clicking, dragging, clicking and holding, and right-clicking with a mouse or a trackpad.
Table 1. Using a Mouse or Trackpad
Click | Double-Click | Drag | Click and Hold | Right-Click | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard two-button mouse | Press and release the left mouse button | Press and release the left mouse button twice in rapid succession | Hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse | Hold down the left mouse button | Press and release the right mouse button |
Trackpad with a button | Press and release the trackpad button | Press and release the trackpad button twice in rapid succession | Hold down the trackpad button while sliding your finger across the trackpad | Hold down the trackpad button | Hold down the ctrl key then press and release the trackpad button |
Trackpad without a button | Press and release anywhere on the trackpad with one finger | Press and release anywhere on the trackpad with one finger twice in rapid succession | Press and hold down the trackpad with one finger while sliding that finger across the trackpad | Press and hold down the trackpad with one finger | Press and release anywhere on the trackpad with two fingers |
Your Macintosh displays lists of available commands in menus. The top of every Macintosh screen contains a menu bar, which organizes related commands into categories with names such as File, Edit, or View, as shown in Figure 1.
Note
The menu bar always displays the name of the active program, which is the program that will accept input from the keyboard. The menu bar changes every time you switch to a different program, such as from iPhoto to the Safari web browser.
Before you use some pull-down menu commands, you may need to tell your Macintosh what you want to modify by pointing to and selecting an item (such as dragging the mouse to select several words). After you've selected what to modify, you can choose a menu command.
As an alternative to pull-down menus, you can also use pop-up menus, which appear when you point at an item and right-click the mouse. Pop-up menus simply display the most common commands you might use on the selected item. So if you right-click a picture, you'll see a different pop-up menu than if you right-click a folder, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Pop-up menus display a short list of commands to modify the item to which the mouse currently points.
When you choose some menu commands, such as Cut, your Macintosh immediately obeys. However, some menu commands may require more information. For example, if you choose the Print command, your Macintosh has no idea which printer you want to use or how many pages you want to print. When the Macintosh needs more information after you choose a command, it displays a list of additional options in a small window called a dialog, as shown in Figure 3.
Dialogs often display one or more of the following options:
Most dialogs also display at least two buttons. One button is labeled Cancel and appears white. The second is highlighted in blue and is the default button. It has a label specific to the dialog, such as Print, OK, or Save.
Clicking the Cancel button (or pressing the esc key) makes the dialog go away and tells your Macintosh, "Oops, I changed my mind and I don't want you to do anything right now."
Clicking the blue default button (or pressing the return key) tells your Macintosh, "See all the options I picked in the dialog? Use those options and obey my command."
Most of the time, you'll use the mouse to control your Macintosh and use your keyboard to type numbers and letters. However, you can also use the keyboard to use pull-down menus. This can be handy in case your mouse isn't working or you don't want to take your fingers away from the keyboard.
To access the pull-down menus with the keyboard, follow these steps:
Press ctrl-F2. (Hold down the ctrl key, press the F2 key, and then let go of both keys). This highlights the Apple menu.
Press the left and right arrow keys to highlight a different menu title, such as File or Edit.
Press the down arrow key or press return to view a pull-down menu.
Press the up and down arrow keys to highlight a command on a pull-down menu.
Press return to choose a command (or press esc to exit out of the pull-down menus without choosing anything).
Once you understand the basics for using the mouse and keyboard, you're ready to start using your Macintosh.