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47K views 41 replies 12 participants last post by  Gillette62 
#1 · (Edited)
Here's the story: you switch to use a Mac, get basic help, find the support you need, and then you want to explore the tips and tricks of Apple professionals. All wrapped up in one neat little package.

Switch to Mac 101: Apple - Support - Switch 101

Mac Help 101: Apple - Support - Mac 101

Apple Support: Apple - Support

Mac Pro Tips: Apple - Pro - Pro Tips

What's your favourite switching story, help tip, support solution, or professional time-saving strategy?

My favourite tip is, after a search to see if the answer is already posted, "ask on ehMac first." Chances are you'll get help here faster than elsewhere.

I updated the Pro Tips link above.
 
#29 ·
New Mac setup and orientation tips from a seasoned professional.

I've just prepared the following note to send to a friend who has purchased his first Mac (a MacBook Pro 15"). Some of the comments are specific to laptop users (trackpad), but in general I think it's useful for most new Mac users.

Any comments / suggestions / critiques? I think of this as "stage one". "stage two" would jump into add-ons (FruitMenu, NuFile, iStatMenus, etc.) and more advanced tips. But I don't want to overload switchers' brains... :)

BEGIN TIP SHEET

The following two add-ons are essential for viewing of all video file formats on the web, including Windows Media Video files (WMV).

1/ Install PERIAN (Perian - The swiss-army knife of QuickTime components)


2/ Install Flip4Mac (Download details: Windows Media® Components for QuickTime)


3/ Set your Trackpad preferences (Apple Menu-->System Preferences-->Trackpad

(a) check "tap to click"
(b) check "dragging"
(c) check "secondary tap" (this is equivalent to RIGHT CLICK, aka CTRL-CLICK)


4/ Customize the "dock" - the row of icons across the bottom of the screen. You can access the options either in APPLE MENU-->SYSTEM PREFERENCES-->DOCK or by right-clicking (control-click) on the dividing line between application icons and folders on the dock itself.

Here's how *I* like it - you may have other tastes...

(a) put the dock on the right side of the screen (vertical).
(b) turn Hiding On
(c) in the System Preferences-->Dock Preferences, turn ON magnification, but set the slider to minimal, just enough to give you a visual cue when mousing.
(d) in the "FINDER" (which is the equivalent to Windows Explorer), open a new window (FILE-->NEW WINDOW or press COMMAND-N) and click on the Macintosh HD in the sidebar. Drag the Applications folder to the dock, below (or to the right of) the dock dividing line. You can drag any file or folder here, so it makes a useful launcher for templates / frequently access documents etc. Consider dragging the DOCUMENTS folder, etc.
(e) With the Applications or Documents or any other folder on the dock, you can single-click on the folder to give you a pop-up list of the contents, selecting an item from within the folder without opening the folder itself.
(f) CTRL-CLICK (or two-finger TAP on the trackpad) on a folder in the dock for options, I recommend "sort by name" and "display as folder"
(g) NOTE that you can remove icons of programs that you are not going to use frequently by simply clicking and dragging them off the dock ("poof!"). Applications can always be added again later by opening the Applications folder and dragging the icons to the dock.


5/ Learn the trackpad.

(a) one-finger-tap is a click
(b) two-finger tap is a right-click
(c) one-finger drag moves the mouse pointer
(d) two-finger drag scrolls the application window (e.g., up and down in a web browser window)
(e) four-finger swipe Left or Right shows currently running applications, from which you can swich to another application (same functionality as COMMAND-TAB, which is like ALT-TAB from Windows)
(f) four-finger swipe UP hides all windows and shows you the desktop
(g) four-finger swipe DOWN tiles ALL open windows, from which you can choose to switch to another application window


6/ SECURITY.

(a) Under "Apple Menu-->System Preferences" consider checking the box beside "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver". Useful if it will be left unattended in a café or office environment.
(b) I recommend NEVER enabling File Vault, which encrypts the hard drive on the fly. If you ever forget the password for this feature, your data is essentially GONE.
(c) Consider checking "Disable Automatic Login". This will require you to enter your username / password upon bootup. NOTE that more options regarding login are available under the System Preferences-->Accounts preference pane.
(d) Viruses: As of 11 June 2009, there are still no viruses affecting Mac OS X. Relax! However, you can be a carrier of viruses, such as those hidden inside Microsoft Office files. If you feel like you need to have a virus program to be happy, consider the free and very capable ClamXav.
(e) Trojans: There are a couple of "trojan" programs which appear to be nice and friendly, but in fact damage or hijack your computer, out there. But they are exceedingly rare. Just be smart about installing only software that you trust. If in doubt, ask!

7/ SOUND

(a) Under System Preferences-->Sound, consider UNchecking "Play feedback when volume is pressed". This drives me totally batty.
(b) in the Sound preferences, you can also set "Ambient Noise Reduction" under the "INPUT" tab, which may make Skype calls clearer in noisy environments.
(c) this is also the place where you would select a USB digital headset / microphone, should you wish to use one. NOTE that the Mac audio-in port is LINE level, which means most PC microphones will NOT work. An external mic would need to be powered. But the built-in mic on the Mac is more than sufficient for most uses.


8/ Customize the Finder.

(a) with "FINDER" showing at the top left, beside the Apple menu, click on FINDER-->PREFERENCES
(b) under the GENERAL tab, UNcheck the showing of Hard Disks on your desktop. There is NO REASON for you to go into the hard drive 99% of the time.
(c) this is really a matter of taste, but I believe it helps with the adjustment to the Mac environment to forget about the Hard Drive as the source of all things. Your "Home Folder" is where you live!

9/ Understand where the Mac OS keeps things.

(a) As a multiple-user operating system, the OS keeps everyone's stuff inside their own protected folder, indicated by a little icon of a house, with your username as the folder name. The file path is: Macintosh HD / USERS / YourFolderName For want of a better comparison, consider this the "MY DOCUMENTS" folder on your Windows machine.
(b) Within your "house" are folders for Documents. Pictures, Movies, Music, etc. DO NOT MOVE THESE
(c) Within the /PICTURES/ folder will be a file called "iPhoto Library" if you use iPhoto to manage your digital photos. DO NOT MESS WITH THIS FILE! Manage your photos from within the iPhoto application.
(d) likewise, within the /MUSIC/ folder will be a file called "iTunes Library" if you use iTunes to manage your music. DO NOT MESS WITH THIS FILE! Manage your music, etc., from within the iTunes application.
(e) At the root of the Macintosh HD (hard drive), at the same level as the USERS folder where YOUR "house" is, you'll find the Applications folder. This folder is accessible by all users on the computer. This is where you will find all of your programs.
(f) SUPER important: NEVER rename the Home Folder! There are (complicated) ways to change the name, but it's really not worth it. Changing the name fo the Home Folder will result in your Mac becoming completely confused, and all of your documents will vanish.

10/ INSTALLING and REMOVING applications

The Mac OS is, generally, far easier to deal with when adding / removing programs. There is no control panel called "Add/Remove programs".

(a) to remove a program, open the Applications folder, click once on the program icon to select it and drag it to the trash (or press COMMAND-DELETE). Done.
(b) to install a new program, you will generally download files that arrive in your DOWNLOADS folder (accessible on the dock) that are named "filename.dmg" DMG is "Disk Image".

When you double-click on a Disk Image, a new white icon will appear on your desktop. Inside it will be an application installation package (often looks like a brown packing box that is open). Double-click this to launch the installer. You will need to provide, in may cases, your password to perform the install. ONLY do this if you are confident in the source of this installation program.

Once the install is completed and the installer quits, you will still have that white icon of the open Disk Image on your desktop. You can drag it to the trash, as well as the original "Filename.DMG" file that is in your /Downloads/ folder.

(c) now that a new program is installed, you will likely need to open the /Applications/ folder (which we put on the dock in Step 4 above) and drag the new program's icon on to the dock for easy access.

11/ There are many other things to learn in the other various System Preferences (like the screen saver, desktop picture, etc.)... but we'll leave those until you have explored and become familiar with the rest of the system.


Finally, here are some helpful websites to make your transition easier:

Apple's Official Switchers Page
Get A Mac

A good site for Switchers from Windows:
My First Mac - Help Buying and Getting Started with Your New Mac

There may be software you have used on Windows that is not on the Mac. Do a search at this site for free / shareware / commercial possibilities:
Mac OS X Software Updates and Mac OS X Downloads - VersionTracker

Peer help is always nice. Canada's Mac Community:
Canada's Mac, iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Community!

* * *
Updated 2:51pm Central - thanks Chas_m!
And a good reply:

Two thoughts:

1. It's just a matter of personal opinion, but I like to set users up the way Apple intended, ie no telling them "here's where I put the Dock" or stuff like that. They should at least START by doing things the way Apple wants, they can develop their own tastes later when they get more savvy.

2. I find your "step 8" absolutely bizarre. It's very reassuring to a new user to know that their hard drive is okay because it's visible and clickable.

3. Step 9 is very good, except that you need to tell them NEVER to rename the house folder except in the ONE safe way Apple (as of Leopard) finally implemented. Doing it any other way will spell LOST DATA.

4. In step 10, do NOT mention torrenting programs. Again, let's start them off as honest users and encourage them to buy the songs, videos and software they will use. It's much more important for the Mac platform to have mostly-ethical users, as we have a smaller pool of developers and have to work harder to keep them attracted to the platform.

5. There's no need for a new user to start bloating up the hard drive with all kinds of shareware and other programs (apart from the very good suggestions in Step 1). AFTER they've learned the basic Mac OS X apps and other great programs that are already ON their computer, THEN they should start exploring the larger world.
 
#30 ·
Learn about iTunes library files, information from Apple.


What are the iTunes library files?

What are the iTunes library files?
Last Modified: 06 July, 2009
Article: HT1660

Summary
The iTunes library is a database iTunes uses to organize your music. Two iTunes library files are created and maintained by iTunes for different purposes. They're both in the iTunes folder.

Products Affected
iTunes 7 for Mac, iTunes 7 for Windows, iTunes 8 for Windows, iTunes 8 for Mac, Windows
Mac OS X
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml

Microsoft Windows
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml

The two different iTunes library files serve different purposes.

iTunes Library (iTunes Library.itl in Windows)

This file is a database of the songs in your library and the playlists you've created. Some song-specific data is saved in this file. If you delete the file, iTunes creates a new, empty copy when you open the application, but any playlists, song ratings, comments, or other information you created is lost. The iTunes Library file is only used by iTunes.

Note: The library file name for versions of iTunes prior to 4.9 was "iTunes 4 Music Library" for Mac OS X and "iTunes 4 Music Library.itl" for Windows. After upgrading to iTunes 4.9 or later, the older library files are moved to a "Previous iTunes Libraries" folder.

Tip: New versions of iTunes sometimes include enhancements to the iTunes library. When you open the new version of iTunes, iTunes upgrades your existing library to the new format and places a copy of the old library in the Previous Libraries folder. If everything goes fine during your upgrade to the latest version of iTunes, you can delete the older iTunes Library files.

iTunes Music Library.xml

This file contains some (but not all) of the same information stored in the iTunes Library file. The purpose of the iTunes Music Library.xml file is to make your music and playlists available to other applications on your computer. In Mac OS X other iLife applications (like iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie) use this file to make it easier for you to add music from your iTunes library to your projects.
 
#31 ·
Modem tips!

Thanks to ehMac member "Leigh: for these cool tips.

Just want to note that WEP 'protection' is easily broken these days, so you're way better off with WPA/WPA2, depending on the devices/computers that are served.

Most of us use a wireless router (e.g., Apple Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, Airport Express, d-link, linksys, etc.) in addition to a DSL/Cable modem, and set protection from there.

You should also hide your SSID ("Closed Network") so neighbours/wardrivers can't see the network at all.


All of a sudden, our wireless doesn't work. Ethernet connections are fine however. I've solved the problem a few times in the following way (i hope this helps someone bc finding a Bell person who knew this information was a feat of magnanimous proportions as most of the tech guys want you to reinstall airport and a whole buncha other BS that will never work and might screw up something else)...

Connect via ethernet
type "mymodem" into your browser
when the panel comes up, go to the top nav (that says summary, wireless settings, advance) hit wireless settings
first, rename your wireless network (make it simple all one word with no dashes etc.)
then make sure your authentication for your password is set to WEP-Open
Put a new password (again make it all numbers like a phone number without any dashes etc.)
hit save
disconnect your Ethernet cable and try going to the new network, typing in the new password.

Hope this helps someone else out there!

Leigh
 
#32 ·
An important hint for transferring email to a new user account, from a Time Machine backup, thanks to Lars.


I just did a clean reinstall of Snow Leopard. I want to transfer my email and email settings from my time machine backup, but nothing else. The items it gives me that I can migrate are:

Users
Applications
Settings > time zone, machine, network
Other files and folders on Mac HD.

I only want my email transferred, nothing else, which one do I install?

Neither.

Skip the migration assistant and setup a new user account; then enter Time Machine and restore the following (~ = user folder):

~/Library/Mail

and:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist

Migration Assistant does not allow individual folder/file restoration. It's whole categories of information or nothing at all.
 
#33 ·
Delete files like a pro!


Try this (from Apple)
-------------------------------------------
Advanced tip about deleting locked files

If there are several locked files in the Trash, you can unlock them all at the same time at the command line. Follow these steps:

Open Terminal. It's located in /Applications/Utilities.

Type: chflags -R nouchg

Note: Type one space (not pictured) after nouchg in the line above, so that it ends in "nouchg ". Do not press Return yet.

Double-click the Trash icon in the Dock to reveal the contents of the Trash. If necessary, arrange the Finder window so that a portion of the Terminal window is still visible.
Press the Command-A key combination to select all files in the Trash.
Drag the files from the Trash to the Terminal window.
Note: This automatically enters the pathname for each file. This eliminates the need to individually empty multiple Trash directories, particularly when multiple disks or volumes are present.
Press Return. No special text message will be shown indicating that the command was successful.
Empty the Trash.
------------------------------
 
#36 ·
I'm quoting the first post in this thread here; plus I have updated the Pro Tips link below.

Here's the story: you switch to use a Mac, get basic help, find the support you need, and then you want to explore the tips and tricks of Apple professionals. All wrapped up in one neat little package.

Switch to Mac 101: Apple - Support - Switch 101

Mac Help 101: Apple - Support - Mac 101

Apple Support: Apple - Support

Mac Pro Tips: Apple - Pro - Pro Tips

What's your favourite switching story, help tip, support solution, or professional time-saving strategy?

My favourite tip is, after a search to see if the answer is already posted, "ask on ehMac first." Chances are you'll get help here faster than elsewhere.
 
#37 ·
This is more a forum tip rather than a Mac or other tip.

When someone quotes a post as below, you can jump back to the post being quote by clicking on the 'right-arrow' symbol to the right of their name (where quoted):

I'm quoting ...
 
#39 ·
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
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