P O R T A B L E G E N I U S
MacBook®
by Brad Miser
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P O R T A B L E G E N I U S
MacBook®
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P O R T A B L E G E N I U S
MacBook®
by Brad Miser
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MacBook® Portable Genius
Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.10475 Crosspoint Blvd.Indianapolis, IN 46256www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-29169-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or byany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permittedunder Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc.,10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations orwarranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaimall warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may becreated or extended by sales or promotional materials.The advice and strategies contained herein may not besuitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged inrendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services ofa competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable fordamages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citationand/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses theinformation the organization of Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readersshould be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between whenthis work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact ourCustomer Care Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317)572-4002.
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Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley &Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. WileyPublishing, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
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About the Authorhas written more than 25 books, with his favorite topics being anything related
to Macintosh computers or starting with “i” such as iTunes, iPhones, and iPods. In
addition to MacBook Portable Genius, Brad has written Teach Yourself Visually MacBook; MacBook
Pro Portable Genius; My iPhone; Absolute Beginner’s Guide to iPod and iTunes; Sleeping with the
Enemy: Running Windows on a Mac; and Special Edition Using Mac OS X Leopard. He has also been a
co-author, development editor, or technical editor on more than 50 other titles.
Brad is or has been a solutions consultant, the director of product and customer services, and the
manager of education and support services for several software development companies.
Previously, he was the lead proposal specialist for an aircraft engine manufacturer, a development
editor for a computer book publisher, and a civilian aviation test officer/engineer for the U.S. Army.
Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic
State University at San Luis Obispo and has received advanced education in maintainability engi-
neering, business, and other topics.
In addition to his passion for silicon-based technology, Brad enjoys his steel-based technology,
motorcycles, whenever and wherever possible. Originally from California, Brad now lives in Indiana
with his wife Amy; their three daughters, Jill, Emily, and Grace; and a rabbit named Bun-Bun.
Brad would love to hear about your experiences with this book (the good, the bad, and the ugly).
You can write to him at [email protected].
Brad Miser
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Senior Acquisitions EditorStephanie McComb
Project EditorChris Wolfgang
Technical EditorGriff Partington
Copy EditorMarylouise Wiack
Editorial ManagerRobyn B. Siesky
Vice President & Group Executive PublisherRichard Swadley
Vice President & PublisherBarry Pruett
Business ManagerAmy Knies
Senior Marketing ManagerSandy Smith
Project CoordinatorErin Smith
Graphics and Production SpecialistsAlissa D. Ellet
Jennifer Henry
Andrea Hornberger
Jennifer Mayberry
Quality Control TechnicianLaura Albert
ProofreadingMelissa D. Buddendeck
IndexingRebecca R. Plunkett
Credits
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The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought
not to deter us from the support of a cause we
believe to be just; it shall not deter me.
—Abraham Lincoln
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AcknowledgmentsStephanie McComb with whom this project had its genesis and who allowed me to
be involved. Chris Wolfgang deserves lots of credit for keeping the project on track
and on target; I’m sure working with me was a challenge at times. Griff Partington did a great job of
keeping me on my toes to make sure this book contains fewer technical gaffs than it would have
without his help. Marylouise Wiack transformed my stumbling, bumbling text into something peo-
ple can read and understand.Thanks also to my agent, Marta Justak, for managing the business of
the project and being a support for me during the writing process. Lastly, thanks to all the people
on the Wiley team who handle the other, and equally important, parts of the process, such as pro-
duction, sales, proofreading, and indexing.
On my personal team, I’d like to thank my wife Amy for her tolerance of the author lifestyle, which
is both odd and challenging. My delightful daughters Jill, Emily, and Grace are always a source of
joy and inspiration for all that I do, and for which I’m ever grateful.
Thanks to
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How Can I Use My Desktop SpaceEfficiently? 2
Setting Desktop Preferences 4
Setting Finder desktop icon preferences 4
Setting desktop pictures 4
chapter 1Working with the Dock 6
Configuring the Dock’s contents 8
Configuring and organizingapplication icons on the Dock 8
Configuring and organizing stacks on the Dock 9
Configuring the Dock’s appearance and behavior 10
Working with the Sidebar and Toolbar 12
Using and configuring the Sidebar 12
Using the Sidebar 13
Configuring the Sidebar 13
Using and configuring the Toolbar 14
Using the Toolbar 14
Configuring the Toolbar 15
Working with Exposé 16
Using Exposé to hide all open windows 16
Using Exposé to show thumbnails of open windows 17
Using Exposé to show thumbnails of an application’s open windows 18
Configuring Exposé keyboard shortcuts 19
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Using Desktop Spaces 20
Creating Spaces 21
Using Spaces 23
Using the Dashboard 25
Working with the Dashboard 25
Getting weather information with the Weather widget 26
Calculating with the Calculatorwidget 27
Tracking your days with the iCal widget 27
Managing widgets 27
Setting the Dashboard keyboard shortcut and hot corner 28
Configuring the widgets on theDashboard 29
Configuring installed widgets 30
Installing more widgets 30
Creating your own Web widgets 32
How Do I Manage User Accounts? 36
Creating and Managing User Accounts 38
Creating new Administrator or Standard user accounts 39
chapter 2
Limiting user accounts with ParentalControls 43
Restricting system resources for Managed user accounts 44
Restricting content for Manageduser accounts 45
Limiting e-mail and chats forManaged user accounts 46
Setting time limits for Managed user accounts 47
Setting Login Items for a user account 48
Creating Sharing Only user accounts 49
Creating Group user accounts 50
Changing user accounts 51
Deleting user accounts 51
Using Automatic Login 52
Configuring the Login Window 52
Working with Fast User Switching 53
Enabling Fast User Switching 53
Using Fast User Switching 53
Working with the Root User Account 54
Enabling the Root user account 54
Using the Root user account 55
How Can I Connect a MacBook to the Internet? 56
Setting Up a Local Network with InternetAccess 58
chapter 3
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Installing and configuring an AirPortExtreme Base Station 58
Installing an AirPort Extreme Base Station 58
Configuring an AirPort Extreme Base Station 59
Building a local network 64
Connecting to the Internet through a Wireless Network 64
Enabling AirPort 64
Connecting to wireless networks 65
Connecting to open wirelessnetworks 65
Connecting to closed wirelessnetworks 65
Connecting to the Internet with an Ethernet Connection 66
Connecting to the Internet with a WirelessBroadband Card 67
Obtaining a wireless broadband card 68
Installing and configuring a wirelessbroadband card 68
Managing Multiple Network Connections 70
Configuring network connections 70
Using locations to manage networkconnections 72
Creating locations 72
Changing locations 73
Changing or deleting locations 74
Troubleshooting an Internet Connection 74
Solving a network problem 74
Solving a MacBook Problem 76
None of these steps helped.Now what? 77
What Can I Do on a Local Network? 78
Sharing Files 80
Sharing your files with others 80
Configuring Sharing user accounts for your MacBook 80
Configuring file sharing on your MacBook 81
Accessing files shared with you 83
Using the Sidebar to access shared files 83
Accessing shared files using a URL 85
Sharing files with Windows PCs 86
Sharing files on a MacBook withWindows PCs 86
Accessing files on your MacBookfrom a Windows PC 87
Sharing files on a Windows PC with Macs 88
Accessing files on a Windows PCfrom your MacBook 89
Sharing Screens 89
Sharing MacBook with other Macs 90
Accessing another Mac from MacBook 91
Accessing a shared Mac by browsing 91
Accessing a shared Mac by address 91
Sharing a Mac’s screen 92
chapter 4
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Sharing Printers 93
Sharing USB printers connected to a base station 94
Sharing printers connected to a Mac 94
Sharing an Internet Connection 95
How Do I Take Advantage ofMobileMe? 98
Obtaining a MobileMe Account 100
Configuring a MobileMe account 101
Managing a MobileMe account 102
Working with an iDisk 103
Configuring and managing an iDisk 103
Using an iDisk 106
E-mailing from the Web 108
Using MobileMe Webmail 108
Setting Webmail preferences 109
Using MobileMe e-mail aliases 111
Creating e-mail aliases 111
Using e-mail aliases 112
Synchronizing Data 113
chapter 5
How Can I Manage ContactInformation? 116
Adding Contact Information to Address Book 118
Creating a contact manually 118
Importing vCards 120
Adding contact information from e-mail 121
Editing address cards 122
Working with Cards 122
Browsing for cards 122
Setting format and sort preferences 122
Browsing for cards with three panes 123
Browsing for cards with one pane 123
Searching for cards 123
Using card information 124
Organizing Cards with Groups 125
Creating groups manually 125
Creating smart groups 126
Changing groups 127
Synchronizing Contact Information with an iPhone 128
Printing from Address Book 130
chapter 6
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How Can I Go Beyond E-mail Basics with Mail? 132
Configuring E-mail Accounts 134
Configuring a MobileMe e-mail account 135
Configuring a POP e-mail account 136
Configuring an IMAP account 138
Configuring an Exchange account 140
Testing e-mail accounts 141
Working with File Attachments 141
Sending compressed files through e-mail 141
Preparing attachments for Windows users 142
Working with files you receive 143
Organizing E-mail 144
Using mailboxes to organize e-mail 144
Using smart mailboxes to organize your e-mail 145
Using smart mailbox folders to organize your smart mailboxes 146
Using the Junk Mail Tool in Mail 147
Configuring the Junk Mail tool 147
Managing spam with the Junk Mail tool 148
chapter 7Adding Signatures to E-mail 149
Automatically Managing E-mail with Rules 150
Working with RSS Feeds 152
Adding RSS feeds to Mail 152
Configuring RSS preferences 153
Reading RSS feeds 153
How Can I Communicate with iChat? 154
Configuring iChat 156
Configuring iChat with the Assistant 156
Configuring iChat with preferences 157
Setting General preferences 157
Setting Account preferences 158
Setting Messages preferences 159
Setting Alerts preferences 160
Setting Audio/Video preferences 160
Setting Up and Working with Chat Buddies 161
Working with the AIM Buddy List 162
Adding chat buddies 162
Creating a buddy in iChat 162
Adding someone from your Address Book as a buddy 163
Chatting with Text 164
Requesting a text chat 164
Responding to a text chat invitation 165
Chatting with more than one person 165
chapter 8
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Chatting with Audio 166
Chatting with Video 167
Sharing Desktops During a Chat 168
Accessing a desktop being shared with you 169
Sharing your desktop with someone else 171
Sharing a Document During a Chat 171
Chatting On 172
How Can I Get the Most from the Web? 174
Setting, Organizing, and Using Bookmarks 176
Setting bookmarks 176
Setting bookmarks preferences 176
Organizing bookmarks 177
Using bookmarks 179
Using Tabs to Browse 179
Configuring tabbed browsing in Safari 179
Using tabs 180
Opening many Web pages with one click 181
Searching the Web 181
Downloading Files 183
chapter 9
Using AutoFill to Quickly Complete Web Forms 184
Preparing AutoFill 184
Using AutoFill 185
Saving and E-mailing Web Pages 186
Saving Web pages 186
E-mailing links to Web pages 187
E-mailing Web pages 187
Using Firefox to Surf the Web 189
Downloading and installing Firefox 189
Browsing with Firefox 190
Setting and organizing bookmarks in Firefox 191
Browsing with Firefox tabs 193
Configuring Firefox tabs 193
Using Firefox tabs 193
How Can I Manage My TimeEffectively with iCal? 194
Setting Up iCal 196
Creating Calendars in iCal 197
Adding Events to Calendars 197
Creating and Completing To Do Items 200
Adding To Do items to a calendar 200
Managing To Do items 200
chapter 10
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Working with Calendars on Your MacBook 202
Viewing calendars, events, and To Do items 202
Printing calendars 203
Publishing and Subscribing to Calendars 204
Publishing calendars 204
Publishing calendars through MobileMe for iCal users 204
Publishing calendars for non-iCal users 205
Subscribing to published calendars 207
Subscribing to public calendars 208
Moving iCal Calendars to an iPhone 208
How Can I Make Sure I Don’t Run Out of Battery Power? 210
Monitoring Battery Status 212
Configuring the Battery menu 212
Keeping track of power levels 212
Making the Battery Last Longer 213
Using the Energy Saver 213
Using a standard power setting 214
Customizing power settings 214
Adopting low energy habits 217
chapter 11
Powering MacBook while Traveling 218
Powering MacBook with multiplebatteries 218
Packing a power travel kit 219
How Can I Control MacBook More Effectively? 220
Using the MacBook Trackpad 222
Using the MacBook Keyboard 224
Configuring the keyboard 224
Configuring the keyboard’s languagesettings and the Input menu 225
Using keyboard tricks 227
Controlling your MacBook withfunction keys 227
Controlling your MacBook withdefault keyboard shortcuts 227
Configuring keyboard shortcuts 228
Creating your own applicationkeyboard shortcuts 229
Navigating with the keyboard 230
Using the Input menu 232
Using the Character Palette 232
Using the Keyboard Viewer 234
Configuring Bluetooth on a MacBook 234
chapter 12
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Adding a Bluetooth Mouse 236
Pairing a Bluetooth mouse with MacBook 236
Configuring a Bluetooth mouse 237
Adding a Bluetooth Keyboard 238
Pairing a Bluetooth keyboard withMacBook 238
Configuring a Bluetooth keyboard 239
How Do I Make Better Use ofMacBook Audio? 240
Getting Sound Out of a MacBook 242
Understanding sound output options 242
Using external speakers 242
Connecting an analog speaker system 243
Connecting a digital speaker system 243
Controlling sound output 244
Working with Sound Effects 246
Configuring sound effects 246
Using your own alert sounds 247
Creating an alert sound 247
Adding an alert sound for a specific user 250
Adding an alert sound for all users 250
chapter 13
Getting Sound into a MacBook 251
Recording sound with the MacBookinternal microphone 252
Configuring the internalmicrophone 252
Recording sound with the internalmicrophone in iMovie 253
Recording sound with a USB headset 254
Configuring a USB headset 255
Using a USB headset 256
Recording sound with a video camera 256
Recording sound from externalmicrophones and musical instruments 257
How Do I Print with MacBook? 258
Connecting to USB Printers 260
Installing a USB printer 260
Configuring a USB printer 260
Connecting to Network Printers 262
Installing a network printer 262
Configuring a network printer 263
Printing Wirelessly 265
Configuring AirPort Extreme Base Station to share a printer 265
Connecting to a USB printer connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station 266
chapter 14
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Managing Print Jobs 267
Configuring print jobs with the Print dialog 267
Managing print jobs with the Print Queue 269
Printing to PDF 271
Creating PDF Files 271
How Do I Add More Data Storage? 274
Using External Hard Drives 276
Installing an external hard drive 276
Using Disk Utility to prepare an external hard drive 277
Working with external hard drives 280
Maintaining hard drives 280
Managing a hard drive’s free space 280
Using Activity Monitor to check a drive’s available space 281
Using Disk Utility to check or repair an external drive 282
Erasing an external hard disk with Disk Utility 284
Using Disk Utility to check or repair the internal drive 285
Defragmenting and optimizing hard disks 287
chapter 15
Using an iPod as an External Drive 287
Configuring an iPod Classic as a hard drive 288
Configuring an iPod shuffle as a drive 288
Working with an iPod as a hard drive 289
Working with Flash Drives 290
Connecting a flash drive 290
Preparing a flash drive 290
How Can I Protect MacBook? 292
Keeping Software Current 294
Keeping Apple software current 294
Updating Apple software manually 294
Updating Apple software automatically 295
Viewing installed updates 296
Keeping non-Apple software current 297
Updating Microsoft Officeapplications manually 297
Updating Snapz Pro X automatically 298
chapter 16
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Protecting MacBook from Internet Attacks 298
Using a base station to shield yourMacBook 298
Using the Mac OS X firewall to shield your MacBook 299
Protecting MacBook with General Security 300
Protecting Data with Time Machine 302
Preparing a backup disk 302
Backing up with Time Machine 303
Restoring files with Time Machine 304
Restoring files in the Finder 304
Restoring files in applications 306
Protecting Data with Backup from Apple 307
Downloading and installing Backup 307
Backing up with Backup 308
Managing backups in Backup 311
Restoring files with Backup 311
Protecting Data with Encryption 312
Protecting Information with Keychains 315
Viewing and configuring your keychains 316
Adding items to a keychain 317
Working with keychains 319
How Do I Solve MacBook Problems? 320
chapter 17
Looking for Trouble 322
Understanding and Describing Problems 324
Recognizing user errors 325
Recognizing software problems 325
Hangs 325
Unexpected quits 326
Unexpected behavior 326
Describing problems 326
Fast and Easy Solutions 327
Forcing applications to quit 328
Forcing the Finder to relaunch 328
Restarting 329
Shutting down soft 330
Shutting down hard 330
Logging in under a troubleshooting user account 330
Repairing external hard drives 332
Repairing the internal hard drive 332
Repairing permissions 333
Reinstalling applications 333
Starting up from an alternate startupexternal drive 335
Starting up from the Mac OS Xinstallation disc 335
Getting Help with MacBook Problems 336
Getting help from the Mac Help system 336
Describing a problem in detail 336
Profiling a MacBook 336
Monitoring MacBook activity 338
Capturing screenshots 339
Getting help from others 340
Trying Harder or More- Expensive Solutions 341
Reinstalling Mac OS X 341
Melting and repouring 342
Index 344
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its distinctive silver metallic finish to its backlit keyboard, dazzling display, and invit-
ing design, a MacBook is amazing technology that looks as great as it works. Running
Mac OS X and including lots of amazing software, MacBooks let you do more out of the box more
easily than any other computer. In fact, MacBooks do so much, it is easy to overlook some of the
great things they can do.That’s where this book comes in.
While you probably already know how to turn your MacBook on, you might not know how to use
Spaces to create virtual working spaces on the desktop so that you can keep many applications
and windows open at the same time and move among them easily. While you likely know how to
use the trackpad to point to objects on the screen to select them, you might not know how to cre-
ate your own keyboard shortcuts for just about any command in any application that you use.
While you have probably browsed the Web before, you might not have taken advantage of some
of Safari’s really cool, but not so obvious, features to make your travels on the Web better.
The purpose of this book is to provide a resource for you when you are wondering how to do
something better, how to do it more easily, or even how to do it at all.You’ll find that each chapter
is organized around a question.Within each chapter are answers to its question; these answers are
task-focused so you learn by doing rather than by just reading. The steps you’ll find are very spe-
cific and hopefully, quite complete; if you start at step 1 and work through each step in sequence,
you’ll end up someplace you want to go.Thus, the book’s title of Portable Genius; it is intended to be
your companion to guide you on your in-depth exploration of your MacBook. Once you’ve been
through a topic’s steps, you’ll be prepared to go even further by extending what you’ve learned to
other tasks.
xx
From
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xxi
Introduction
We’ve designed this book to provide a broad range of topics in which most MacBook users will be
interested. There’s no particular order to the topics in this book so you can jump to any chapter
without having read the preceding ones. To get started, I recommend that you take a look at the
table of contents and decide which question you’d like to have answered first. Turn to the appro-
priate page and off you go!
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How Can I Use MyDesktop SpaceEfficiently?
1
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Your MacBook desktop is the area that is displayed on its screen. Like a phys-
ical desktop, you place things (in this case, windows) “on top” to focus your
attention on them and use their content. As you work, your desktop naturally
becomes cluttered with windows for applications, documents, and system
tools. Keeping control of all these windows can help you make the most of
your MacBook desktop space. The good news is that it’s a lot easier to keep
your MacBook desktop neat and tidy than it is a real desktop, and you don’t
need even need a dust rag.
Setting Desktop Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Working with the Dock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Working with the Sidebar and Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Working with Exposé . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Using Desktop Spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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Setting Desktop PreferencesYou can configure your desktop so it appears the way you want it to. You can control some of the
icons that appear on it by default, and you can configure the image that fills your desktop.
Setting Finder desktop icon preferencesBy default, icons for your MacBook hard drive, external hard drives, DVDs and CDs, and servers
appear on the desktop.This is okay if that is your preference, but they take up space on the desktop
that isn’t really necessary because you can get to these elements even more easily by opening a
Finder window and using the Sidebar.To hide these icons, perform the following steps:
1. Choose Finder ➪ Preferences. The Finder Preferences dialog appears.
2. Click the General tab if it isn’t
selected already.
3. Uncheck each check box if you don’t
want to see the icon for items of that
type on your desktop. For example, to
hide the icon for the MacBook hard disk,
uncheck the Hard disks check box (see
figure 1.1). As you uncheck the check
boxes, the related icons disappear from
your desktop.
Setting desktoppicturesI confess that this section has nothing to do
with efficiency whatsoever. However, there’s
more to life than being efficient. Since you
stare at your desktop so much, you might as
well have something interesting to look at,
which is where desktop pictures come in.
You can set any image to be your desktop picture.The images you can use as your desktop include
the default images that are included with Mac OS X, image files you create or download from the
Internet, and, best of all, photos from your iPhoto Library. You can also configure your MacBook so
that the desktop picture changes over time to keep it even more interesting.
4
MacBook Portable Genius
1.1 If you uncheck the four check boxes in the
Show these items on the Desktop section, your
desktop immediately becomes less cluttered.
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To configure your desktop pictures, perform the following steps:
1. Open the Applications folder and double-click the System Preferences icon. The
System Preferences application opens.
2. Click the Desktop & Screen Saver icon. The Desktop & Screen Saver pane appears.
3. Click the Desktop tab. The Desktop picture tools appear. On the lower-left side of the pane
are the sources of images from which you can select pictures for your desktop, such as black
and white images, abstract pictures, or photographs from your iPhoto albums.
5
Chapter 1: How Can I Use My Desktop Space Efficiently?
You can use any folder as a source of desktop pictures by clicking the Add (+) button
located at the bottom of the source list. Use the resulting dialog to move to and
select the folder containing the images you want to use.
4. Choose a source of images in the left pane of the window, such as an iPhoto album.
Thumbnails of the images in that source appear in the right pane of the window.
5. Click the image that you want to apply to the desktop. The image fills the desktop and
you see it in the image well at the top of the Desktop pane (see figure 1.2).
1.2 Here, I’ve selected an event called yosemite, and I can see the photos associated with that event.
Genius
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6. If the selected source is iPhoto Albums, use the pop-up menu at the top of the window
to choose how you want photos to be scaled to the screen.
7. If the image doesn’t fill the screen, click the Color button that appears to the right of
the menu when it can be used.
8. When it appears, use the Color Picker to choose the background color that appears
behind photos when they don’t fill the desktop.
9. To have the image change automatically, check the Change picture check box.
10. On the pop-up menu, choose how often you want the picture to change.
11. If you want images to be selected randomly instead of by the order in which they
appear in the source, check the Random order check box. A new image from the
selected source is applied to the desktop according to the timing you selected.
12. To have the menu bar be translucent so you can see the desktop picture behind it,
check the Translucent Menu Bar check box. With this option unchecked, the menu bar
becomes a solid color.
13. Quit the System Preferences application. Enjoy your desktop!
Working with the DockThe Dock is an important part of your desktop space. By default, it appears at the bottom of the
desktop, but you can control many aspects of its appearance, where it is located, and, to a great
degree, how it works. The Dock is organized into two general sections. The area to the left of the
application/document separation line (the white, dashed line) contains application icons. On the
right side of the line, you see icons for documents, folders, minimized Finder, document, or mini-
mized application windows, and the Trash/Eject icon.
6
MacBook Portable Genius
When you empty the Trash, the icon returns to a more pristine state.When you select
an ejectable item, such as a DVD, the Trash icon changes to the Eject symbol.You can
drag a disc or other ejectable item onto the icon to eject it.Note
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When folders appear on the Dock, they
become stacks by default. When you click a
stack, it pops up into a fan or appears as a grid
(depending on how many items are in the
folder) so that you can work with items it con-
tains (see figure 1.3). You can disable this fea-
ture for any folder so that it behaves more like
a normal folder (more on that shortly).
The Dock performs the following functions:
Shows running applications.
Whenever an application is running, you
see its icon on the Dock. A small glowing
light is located at the bottom of every
running application’s icon.
Enables you to open applications,
folders, minimized windows, and doc-
uments quickly.
Enables you to quickly switch among
open applications and windows.
7
Chapter 1: How Can I Use My Desktop Space Efficiently?
1.3 Clicking a folder’s (or stack’s) icon on the
Dock causes it to fan out.
To move between applications quickly, press Ô+Tab or Ô+Shift+Tab.The Application
Switcher appears. Click an icon to move into the associated application, or keep press-
ing the keys to cycle through the list; when you release the keys, you move into the
selected application.
Gets your attention. When an application needs your attention, its icon bounces on the
Dock until you move into that application and handle whatever the issue is.
Enables you to customize its appearance and function. You can store the icon for any
item (applications, folders, and documents) on the Dock.You can control how the Dock
looks, including its size, whether it is always visible, where it is located, and which applica-
tions, folder, and documents appear on it.
Genius
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Two icons on the Dock are unique and are always on the Dock: the
Finder and the Trash. When you click the Finder icon (anchored on the
left end of a horizontal Dock or at the top of a vertical one), a Finder
window opens if none is currently open. The Trash icon is where all
folders and files go when their time is over. When the Trash contains
files or folders, its icon includes crumpled paper so that you know the
Trash is full (see figure 1.4).
Unlike open applications, open documents don’t automatically appear
on the Dock. Document icons appear on the Dock only when you add
them to the Dock manually or when you have minimized a document’s
window. When you minimize a window, by default the window moves
into the Dock using the Genie Effect; it is pulled down into the Dock
and becomes an icon that is a thumbnail view of the window. To open (or maximize) a minimized
window, click its icon on the Dock, and it is pulled back onto the desktop.
8
MacBook Portable Genius
When you hide an application, its open windows do not appear on the Dock.The hid-
den application’s icon continues to be marked so that you know that the application
is running. You can open a hidden application’s Dock menu to jump into one of its
open windows.
Configuring the Dock’s contentsThe Dock gets even more useful when you organize it to suit your preferences.You can move icons
around the Dock, add more applications to it, remove applications that are currently on it, and add
your own folders and documents to it so that
they are easily accessible.
Configuring and organizingapplication icons on the DockTo add an application’s icon to the Dock, sim-
ply drag it from a Finder window and drop it
onto the location on the Dock where you want
it to be stored (see figure 1.5). Application
icons must be placed on the left side of the
dividing line. When you add an application
icon to the Dock, an alias to the application is
created; like the default application icons, you
can click the icon to open the application and
Ctrl+click its icon to open its Dock menu.
1.5 Because I frequently use Firefox, I’ve added its
icon to my Dock.
1.4 At least this trash
doesn’t smell when it is
full.
Note
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