Using Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Yvonne Johnson has been writing computer books and teaching computer classes since 1982. She has written more than 60 computer books and college texts for well-known publishers on practically every type of software that exists–from operating systems to desktop publishing, from word processing and spreadsheets to databases, from programming to graphic design and web design. Her most recent Mac projects include doing the technical editing for Easy iLife 09 (Que) and Switching to Mac OS X Snow Leopard (Pearson Education).   She started the first proprietary computer-training school in Kentucky and operated it for 12 years, serving local clients such as Brown & Williamson Tobacco and General Electric, and sending out trainers to locations all over the country for the Department of Defense, the IRS, and Fortune 500 companies. During that time, she wrote the curricula for all the software programs taught at the school. After selling the school, she worked as a freelance computer curriculum developer, writing a large percent of the curricula offered by a national computer-training company headquartered in Chicago. She also wrote computer-training material and trained extensively for a computer-training and consulting subsidiary of the Washington Post. Ultimately, she took the position of Vice President of Curriculum Development with this company.   Although she has a tremendous depth and breadth of computer knowledge, she has never forgotten how to communicate with beginning learners. She is known for the simplicity of her writing and her ability to explain complex topics in understandable terms. This ability comes from years of delivering classroom training on computer applications to thousands of employees of large and small businesses, military and government personnel, teachers, attorneys, secretaries, and, yes, even Microsoft software support engineers.  

Introduction     xix

 

Part I: Introducing Mac OS X Snow Leopard

1 Setting Up Snow Leopard     2

Initializing a New Computer     2

    Following the Prompts     3

    Selecting the Language     3

    Selecting a Keyboard Layout     5

    Importing Data     7

    Selecting the Network     8

    Registering the Mac     8

    Answering Demographic Questions     9

    Creating Your User Account     9

Purchasing the AppleCare Protection Plan     12

Purchasing a MobileMe Account     13

Keeping Records     14

    Recording Apple ID Information     15

    Recording User Account Information     15

    Recording AppleCare Protection Plan Information     16

    Recording MobileMe Information     17

Upgrading to Snow Leopard     17

    Troubleshooting the Installation     20

    Settling In     20

2 Getting Comfortable with Snow Leopard     21

Starting Up     21

Exploring the Desktop     21

Using the Dock     23

    Launching Applications     23

    Quitting Applications     24

    Checking Out the Dashboard     4

    Looking at Stacks     26

    Going through the Trash     28

Using Menus     28

    Using the Menu Bar     29

    Using Contextual Menus     31

Exploring the Finder Window     32

    Identifying Components of the Finder Window      32

    Exploring the Sidebar     34

    Using the Icon View      36

    Using the List View     36

    Using the Column View     37

    Using the Cover Flow View     38

    Observing the Default Behavior of the Finder     39

Launching Safari for the First Time     39

Sharing Your Computer with Another User     41

    Setting Up Another User Account     41

    Setting Up a Guest Account     44

    Deleting a User Account     44

    Logging In and Out     45

Putting Your Mac to Sleep or Shutting It Down     46

    Putting the Mac to Sleep     47

    Shutting Down     47

3 Getting Familiar with Your Hardware     49

Controlling the Screen Brightness     49

Adjusting the Sound     50

    Using the Keyboard to Adjust Sound     50

    Setting Sound Preferences     50

Setting Keyboard Preferences     52

    Setting the Full Keyboard Access Option     52

    Setting Keyboard Preferences for a Laptop     53

Operating the Mouse or Trackpad     53

    Using the Mouse     53

    Setting Mouse Preferences     53

    Using the Trackpad     54

    Setting Trackpad Preferences     55

Using CD/DVD Drives     56

    Inserting and Ejecting Discs     56

    Setting Preferences for CDs and DVDs     57

Using External Drives     58

    Connecting a Drive     59

    Ejecting a Drive     59

Installing and Managing Printers     59

    Connecting and Using a Printer     59

    Setting a Default Printer     61

Setting Up a Simple Network     62

4 Tailoring the Desktop to Your Liking     63

Setting System Preferences     63

Customizing the Desktop Background     65

Working with Icons on the Desktop     67

    Showing Icons for Disks     67

    Adding and Deleting Icons on the Desktop     68

    Arranging Icons     69

    Customizing the Appearance of Icons on the Desktop     70

Customizing the Appearance of the Dock     71

    Positioning and Sizing the Dock     72

    Animating the Dock     73

    Working with Stacks     73

Working with Icons in the Dock     74

    Deleting Icons in the Dock     74

    Adding Application Icons     75

    Adding Folder and File Icons     75

    Moving Icons     76

Customizing the Finder     76

    Customizing the Finder Toolbar     76

    Customizing the Menu Bar     77

Setting Date & Time Preferences     78

    Setting the Mac’s Date, Time, and Time Zone     79

    Customizing the Clock     80

    Setting the Date and Time Formats     81

Using a Screen Saver     82

5 Making Use of Support Resources     85

Using Help on the Mac     85

    Navigating the Help Files     86

    Sizing the Help Window     89

    Using the Index     89

Using Apple’s Online Support     90

    Going to the Apple Support Page     91

    Searching     92

    Refining Search Techniques     93

    Using Advanced Search     93

Searching the Web for Help     94

Getting Help from Apple Discussion Forums     95

Talking to an Apple Expert     95

Getting Help One to One     96

Visiting the Genius Bar     97

Getting Free Training     98

    Using Online Training     98

    Taking a Free Workshop     98

6 Managing Applications and Files     99

Handling Open Applications     99

    Resizing and Moving Windows     99

    Minimizing Windows     100

    Closing Windows     100

    Switching Between Windows on the Desktop     101

    Using Expose     101

    Using Spaces     102

Forcing an Application to Quit     103

Installing Applications     104

Exploring the File Structure     104

Adapting the Finder to Your Use     107

    Customizing the Sidebar     107

    Setting the Default View     108

Creating Different Types of Folders     109

    Creating New Folders     109

    Creating Smart Folders     111

Working with Files     112

    Finding Files     112

    Using Color Labels     112

    Using Spotlight in the Finder     112

    Using Spotlight in the Menu Bar     113

    Using Quick Look     114

    Opening and Closing Files     115

    Renaming Files and Folders     116

    Opening Multiple Finder Windows     116

    Copying Files     117

    Moving Files     118

    Moving Files to the Trash (Deleting)     119

 

Part II: Getting Busy

7 Browsing the Web     121

Opening Safari     121

    Setting Safari Preferences     121

    Using Top Sites     123

Setting Parental Controls     123

Browsing in Tabs or Windows     124

Navigating the Web     125

Working with Bookmarks     127

    Bookmarking a Web Page     127

    Using a Bookmark     127

    Organizing Bookmarks     128

    Customizing the Bookmarks Bar     129

    Harnessing the Power of Bookmarks     129

    Downloading and Viewing Files     130

Saving Web Pages     130

Customizing Safari’s Toolbar     131

Quitting Safari     131

8 Keeping Your Address Book and Schedule     132

Using the Address Book     132

    Customizing the Template     133

    Creating Address Cards     134

    Finding, Editing, and Deleting an Address Card     135

    Working with Groups     136

Using iCal     136

    Viewing, Navigating, and Printing the Calendar     137

    Adding Events to the Calendar     139

    Finding, Editing, and Deleting an Event     140

    Creating a New Calendar     141

    Creating To Do Lists     141

9 Emailing and Chatting Online     143

Using Mac Mail     143

    Getting Set Up     143

    Exploring the Mail Window     144

    Viewing and Reading Email     145

    Opening Attachments     147

    Sending New Messages and Replies     148

    Sending Attachments     152

    Filtering Spam     153

    Finding Messages     153

    Deleting Messages     154

    Organizing Your Messages     154

    Working with Reminders     155

    Quitting Mail     155

Using iChat     156

    Opening iChat the First Time     156

    Working with the Buddy List     157

    Showing Your Status     158

    Chatting with Text     159

    Sending a Text Message     160

    Chatting with Audio     160

    Chatting with Video     161

    Making Presentations with iChat Theater     161

    Sharing Your Computer     162

    Quitting iChat     162

10 Using TextEdit     163

Working with Documents     163

Navigating and Editing Text     166

    Navigating in a Document     166

    Editing Text     166

    Correcting Spelling     167

    Finding and Replacing Text     167

    Inserting Page Breaks     168

Setting Margins and Tabs     168

    Setting the Margins     169

    Setting Tabs     170

Formatting Text     170

    Adding Emphasis     171

    Selecting a Font Type and Size     172

Formatting Paragraphs     172

    Setting Alignment     172

    Setting Spacing Options     172

Exploring Other Formatting Features     173

Printing     174

11 Managing and Editing Your Photos     175

Setting Up iPhoto     175

Importing Photos and Movies     176

Viewing Photos     179

    Increasing the Photo Size on Screen     181

    Viewing Photos in a Simple Slideshow     181

Viewing, Changing, and Adding Photo Information     183

    Viewing Information for Photos     183

    Changing Photo Information     185

    Using Keywords     186

    Assigning Ratings     187

Viewing and Changing Information for Events     187

Sorting Photos     189

Exploring Methods to Organize Photos     190

    Splitting, Merging, and Creating Events     190

    Copying, Deleting, and Moving Photos     192

    Organizing by People’s Faces     192

    Organizing by Place     195

    Flagging Photos 197

    Collecting Pictures in Photo Albums     198

Searching for Photos     199

Editing Photos     199

Sharing Photos with Others     202

    Emailing Photos     202

    Putting Photos on a Disc     203

    Printing Photos     204

    Sharing Photos Online     205

12 Using Widgets and Other Applications     206

Using Widgets     206

    Managing Widgets     206

    Downloading More Widgets     208

    Creating Your Own Web Clip Widget     208

Using Preview     209

Consulting the Dictionary     211

Posting Stickies     212

Using the Calculator     214

13 Keeping Your Mac Safe, Updated, and Backed Up     216

Safely Surfing the Web     216

    Exploring Security Settings     216

    Using a Firewall     218

Working with the Keychain     218

Maintaining Your Mac Software     218

    Getting Software Updates     219

    Upgrading to New Versions of Mac Applications     220

Backing Up with Time Machine     220

    Creating Full Backups     220

    Restoring Data     221

    Being Diligent     222

 

Part III: Having Fun and Getting Creative

14 Watching Movies, Listening to Music, and Playing Games     224

Watching Movies and Videos     224

    Using DVD Player     224

    Using Front Row     225

    Using QuickTime Player     226

    Attaching Your Mac to a TV     226

Listening to Music with iTunes     227

    Adding Music to the Library     228

    Creating and Using Playlists     229

    Burning a Music CD     230

    Listening to Radio     231

Listening to Music in Front Row     231

Acquiring and Playing Podcasts     231

Playing Games     232

15 Being Creative with Photos     233

Making Self-Portraits in Photo Booth     233

    Taking Pictures and Movies     233

    Sending Photos and Movies to iPhoto or Email     234

Creating and Exporting Slideshows     235

Designing and Publishing a Photo Book     237

Creating Other Keepsakes     241

Using Comic Life     243

16 Making Your Own Movies     244

Getting Started     244

Adding Video to the Events Library     246

Playing Clips in the Event Library     248

Creating and Playing a New Movie Project     248

Trimming and Splitting Clips     249

Adding Transitions between Clips     250

Adding Titles     251

Sharing and Exporting Movies     252

17 Making Your Own Audio Recordings     254

Getting Started     254

Creating a Magic GarageBand Project     255

Creating a Voice Project     256

    Recording the Track     258

Playing the Recording     259

    Adding and Deleting Tracks     259

    Adding Loops     259

    Exporting a Recording     260

18 Making Your Own DVDs     261

Getting Started     261

Creating a Magic iDVD Project     262

Enhancing a Project     264

    Customizing Menu Buttons and Titles     264

    Adding a Submenu     266

    Configuring a New Submenu     266

Editing Drop Zones and Menu Backgrounds     267

    Adding Sound to a Menu     267

Adding a ROM Section     267

Burning the Disc     268

19 Creating a Website     269

Opening iWeb and Creating a New Site     269

Designing the Site     271

    Adding Pages     272

    Hyperlinking to External Pages and Files     274

    Moving and Deleting Pages     274

Editing Pages     274

    Adding Graphics and Videos     274

    Adding Your Own Text     275

    Adding Special Buttons and Widgets     277

    Deleting Web Page Elements     277

Publishing the Site     277

Index     279