FINISHED: Apple / MacOS Tip a day for a year !

cowasaki

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Welcome to Cowasaki's MacOS/Apple top tips thread.


Well following Digital Failure's purchase of an iMac and the discussions I have decided to nick Marcel's idea of a 'post per day' but rather than 365 pictures of me I am going to do a tip/hint/tutorial per day for a year which I will then stick on my site.

I have done the first 10 and they are waiting for the right days. When I am not working I will upload a tutorial or longer tip and some might be a bit simple but hopefully all will be useful. If anyone has any questions about the Mac or MacOS just ask me (on this thread) and I might well make them a tip of the day. Also if there are any other Mac gurus out there that have any tips that they think I might like to add please PM me.

I do not want this to turn into a Mac V PC debate. I use both machines and do not want to get into silly arguments about the fact that something is easier on one or another as this will spoil the thread and I am doing this for everyone else's benefit. If anyone goes off at a tangent like that I will ask a mod to delete the entries and tidy the thread back up again.

If I really cannot get to a computer and miss a day I will catch up with 2 tips.

I will be including hardware and software tips and quite a number of conversion tips for people moving from Windows to MacOS.

The way I look at it is this, I started 18 months ago with my first non point and shoot camera and have had endless help from all manner of people on this site. I can see that some of those same people are in a position where I can help them so this is my payback :)
 
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CONTENTS

Categorised list on my site upgradeyourmac HERE (note that the tips on my site are not as up to date as on here).

Welcome to the new index page (thanks admin for changing the dead post time!) so that this can be done.

You can now click on the tip number to go straight to that tip.

Tip 1 – MacOS [1] - Screen snapshot
Tip 2 – MacOS [2] - Adding the EJECT menu to your top bar
Tip 3 – MacOS [3] - Find out information about a file
Tip 4 – MacOS [4] - Changing the icon for a file or drive
Tip 5 – Tutorial [1] – Making your own icons for drives
Tip 6 – Tutorial [2] - Making a file vault
Tip 7 – MacOS [5] - Viewing hidden and system files
Tip 8 – Bootup [1] - Booting from your optical drive
Tip 9 – Networking [1] - (background and speed differences)
Tip 10 – Networking [2] - (theory of making your network - WIRED)
Tip 11 – Networking [3] - (theory of making your network - WIRELESS)
Tip 12 – Networking [4] - (Setting up your network – WIRELESS)
Tip 13 - Networking [5] - Setting up your network – WIRED
Tip 14 - Networking [6] - Making Apple computers talk to each other !
Tip 15 - Networking [7] - Making Apple computers talk to Windows computers and allowing Windows computers to connect to Apple)
Tip 16 – Bootup [2] - Transferring large amounts of data from one computer to another using TARGET MODE.
Tip 17 – MacOS [6] - Opening a file with a different application.
Tip 18 – Applications [1] “PREVIEW” - Using preview to shrink pictures, change formats and crop.
Tip 19 – Applications [2] “SAFARI” - Viewing web sites that do not like Safari and require Explorer!
Tip 20 – MacOS [7] - Snapshot of a window
Tip 21 – User Accounts [1] - Woops I forgot the admin password and I am locked out!
Tip 22 - Saving space on your hard drive [1] – Removing foreign language help files.
Tip 23 – MacOS [8] - Turn on RIGHT CLICK.
Tip 24 – MacOs [9] - Change the default application for a type of file.
Tip 25 – Applications [3] "VUESCAN" - Using a PC Scanner
Tip 26 – MacOS [10] - Printer prints in black and white or in poor quality.
Tip 27 – Bootup [3] - Ejecting a disc stuck in your drive
Tip 28 - Networking [8] - Automatically reconnecting to a share on restarting
Tip 29 – User Accounts [2] - Changing a users avatar
Tip 30 - User Accounts [3] - Create a spare user to avoid problems later !
Tip 31 - MacOS [11] - Adding and removing an application from your doc
Tip 32 – Bootup [4] - Startup boot options {008}
Tip 33 – MacOS [12] - Finder shortcut keys
Tip 34 – MacOS [13] - Linking an Apple remote to a specific computer or disabling remotes
Tip 35 – Hardware [1] - Fitting a second optical drive on your Mac Pro
Tip 36 – Hardware [2] - Fitting a SATA drive into the 2nd optical bay of a Mac pro
Tip 37 – Hardware [3] - L-Ion batteries
Tip 38 – Applications [4] "MAIL" - Move Talk Photography mails to separate folder
Tip 39 – MacOS [14] - Installing Tiger / Leopard
Tip 40 – Applications [5] - Managing Fonts.
Tip 41 – Applications [6] - vCards
Tip 42 – Apple Script [1] - Introduction
Tip 43 – Apple Script [2] - [Cancel all print jobs]
Tip 44 – Apple Script [3] - [Running a script when you start your computer]
Tip 45 – Apple Script [4] - [Setup Apple Script Menu etc]
Tip 46 - Apple Script [5] - [Running an Apple Script Remotely – by EMAIL!]
Tip 47 - Saving space on your hard drive [2] – Removing unused printer drivers
Tip 48 – User Accounts [4] - Resetting a user’s password.
Tip 49 – MacOS [15] – Applications using memory!
Tip 50 – Applications [7] “Activity Monitor” – What is going on in my computer?
Tip 51 - Applications [8] “Xbench” – How fast is my computer.
Tip 52 – MacOS [16] – Accessing another Mac on your network.
Tip 53 – MacOS [17] – How much time have I got left on my battery.
Tip 54 – MacOS [17] - Where does MacOS store files/picture etc downloaded as part of email.
Tip 55 – Hardware[5] – What is the maximum memory?
Tip 56 – MacOS [18] – Zooming into your screen
Tip 57 – MacOS [19] – Zooming in to your screen 2
Tip 58 – MacOS [20] – Reverse Video (Black on white)
Tip 59 – MacOS [21] – Copy screen/part to CLIPBOARD
Tip 60 – MacOS [22] – Keyboard shortcuts general
Tip 61 – MacOS [23] - Showing more information in finder (in the current folder)
Tip 62 – MacOS [24] - Changing the columns in finder (in the current folder)
Tip 63 – MacOS [25] - Change the default boot disc.
Tip 64 – MacOS [26] - How much time have I got left on my battery.
Tip 65 – MacOS [27] – [DELETE] on a laptop.
Tip 66 – MacOS [28] – Random Backdrop pictures from your gallery
Tip 67 – Airport [1] – Setting up an airport network
Tip 68 – Airport [2] – Setting when the kids can use their laptops on the network.
Tip 69 – Airport [3] – Finding each device’s MAC codes
Tip 70 – Airport [4] – Adding a shared printer.
Tip 71 – Airport [5] – Extending a network to more than one airport device using WDS
Tip 72 – Airport [6] – Using an airport express to play music away from your computer.
Tip 73 – Airport [7] – Adding a shared hard drive.
Tip 74 – MacOS [29] - Adding applications to your sidebar
Tip 75 – MacOS [30] - Adding short cuts to your sidebar
Tip 76 – MacOS [31] – Instantly print an image.
Tip 77 - MacOS [32] – Sick of being harassed about what to do when a blank DVD is inserted?
Tip 78 – MacOS [33] – Calibrate your display
Tip 79 – MacOS [34] – Sharing a printer over the network
Tip 80 - MacOS [35] - Gaining vertical space on your screen
Tip 81 – MacOS [36] – More Dock related Tips Hide and bring back
Tip 82 - MacOS [36] – More Dock related Tips !
Tip 83 – MacOS [37] – Disable Crash Reporter
Tip 84 – MacOS [38] – Reading current settings for default commands
Tip 85 – MacOS [39] - Opening Word files without Word
Tip 86 - MacOS [40] - Adding login text.
Tip 87 - MacOS [41] - Correcting your spelling.
Tip 88 - MacOS [42] - View basic EXIF data on a file without opening it.
Tip 89 - MacOS [43] - View Photo’s EXIF Metadata.
Tip 90 - MacOS [44] - Tagging a file with a colour.
Tip 91 - MacOS [45] - Turn off the annoying data detectors in MAIL.
Tip 92 - MacOS [46] - Searching for colour tagged files.
Tip 93 - MacOS [47] - Selecting a picture as the finder background.
Tip 94 - MacOS [48] - Umlauts.
Tip 95 - MacOS [49] - Accents.
Tip 96 - MacOS [50] - Yet another screen shot tip!
Tip 97 - MacOS [51] - Convert a DMG file to ISO to read on a PC.
Tip 98 - MacOS [52] - Convert an ISO file to DMG.
Tip 99 - MacOS [53] - Tilde.
 
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Really appreciate you taking the time to do this (y) Much appreciated :)
 
Tip 100 - MacOS [54] - Copyright symbol.
Tip 101 - MacOS [55] - View all the files in a directory.
Tip 102 - MacOS [56] - Finder key combination examples...
Tip 103 - Hardware [6]- Faulty iBook touch-pad
Tip 104 – Applications [9] - Image Capture
Tip 105 – Safari 4 Beta [1] – Restore blue progress bar
Tip 106 – Safari 4 Beta [2] – Switch off URL autocomplete
Tip 107 – Safari 4 Beta [3] – Move tab bar back !
Tip 108 – Safari 4 [4] – Zooming in and out
Tip 109 – Safari 4 [5] – Top Sites
Tip 110 &#8211; Safari 4 [6] &#8211; Tab <> Window
Tip 111 &#8211; Safari 4 Beta [7] &#8211;Make Safari use alternate search engine
Tip 112 &#8211; MacOS [57] &#8211; Center current text
Tip 113 &#8211; MacOS [58] &#8211; Left Justify current text
Tip 114 &#8211; MacOS [59] &#8211; Right Justify current text
Tip 115 &#8211; MacOS [60] &#8211; Underline
Tip 116 &#8211; MacOS [61] &#8211; Italic
Tip 117 &#8211; MacOS [62] &#8211; Open document
Tip 118 &#8211; MacOS [63] &#8211; Finder (search for files by criteria)
Tip 119 &#8211; MacOS [64] &#8211; Finder, saving standard searches
Tip 120 &#8211; MacOS [65] &#8211; Quit currently selected application
Tip 121 - Applications [9] - Preview II (preferences for photographers)
Tip 122 - MacOS [66] - UndoTip 123 - MacOS [67] - Redo
Tip 124 - Automator [1] - Resize images to 800 pixels
Tip 125 - MacOS [68] - Find and replace
Tip 126 &#8211; Hardware [7] &#8211; Cleaning Epson print heads 1
Tip 127 &#8211; Hardware [8] &#8211; Method 2 for Epson head cleaning.
Tip 128 - MacOS [69] - Set a vCard as "MY CARD"
Tip 129 - MacOS [70] - Notify people in your address book automatically when your details change.
Tip 130 - MacOS[71] - Setting up address book to default to your vCard.
Tip 131 - MacOS[72] - Setting up address book to use UK phone numbers.
Tip 132 - MacOS[73] - Sharing your address book with another 'me.com' member.
Tip 133 - MacOS[74] - Zoom within Finder.
Tip 134 &#8211; Tutorial [3] &#8211; Transferring your OS to a new drive.
Tip 135 &#8211; Bootup [4] &#8211; Single user mode.
Tip 136 &#8211; Bootup [5] &#8211; Running FSCK to check your drive
Tip 137 - Bootup [6] - Verbose mode.
Tip 138 - MacOS[75] - Installing MacOS on a Mac below minimum spec.
Tip 139 - MacOS[76] - Undo last delete in Finder.
Tip 140 - MacOs[77] - Creating a "webloc" Web Location file.
Tip 141 - MacOS[78] - Adding a web page shortcut to the DOC
Tip 142 - MacOS[79] - Automatically use birthdays from Address Book in iCal
Tip 143 - MacOS[79] - Automatically use birthdays from Address Book in iPhoto (for calendars)
Tip 144 - MacOS [80] - Active Screen Corners
Tip 145 - MacOS [81] - Active Screen Corners (Stopping the screen saver)
Tip 146 - MacOS [82] - Active Screen Corners (Dashboard)
Tip 147 - MacOS [83] - Active Screen Corners (Desktop)
Tip 148 - MacOS [84] - Expose (All windows)
Tip 149 - MacOS [85] - Expose (Clear Screen)
Tip 150 - MacOS [86] - Dashboard display
Tip 151 - Welcome to the world.....
Tip 152 - MacOS [87] &#8211; File Vault
Tip 153 - MacOS [88] &#8211; Firewall
Tip 154 &#8211; MacOS [89] &#8211; Auto log off
Tip 155 &#8211; MacOS [90] &#8211; Auto lock computer
Tip 156 &#8211; Unix [1] &#8211; General
Tip 157 &#8211; Unix [2] &#8211; Viewing the current directory
Tip 158 &#8211; Unix [3] &#8211; Navigating between directories
Tip 159 &#8211; Unix [4] &#8211; Creating and removing directories
Tip 160 &#8211; Unix [5] &#8211; Copying and moving directories
Tip 161 &#8211; Unix [6] &#8211; File/Folder/Drive sizes
Tip 162 &#8211; Unix [7] &#8211; File permissions
Tip 163 &#8211; Unix [8] &#8211; File deletion
Tip 164 - TP[1] - Uploading images to TP using the Mac
Tip 165 &#8211; Unix [9] &#8211; Miscellaneous commands
Tip 166 - Hardware - Is my computer under warranty?
Tip 167 - Hardware - Apple Care
Tip 168 - MacOS[91] - Downloading updates
Tip 169 - Hardware - Computer specs
Tip 170 - MacOs[92] - How do I change the Mac Voice?
Tip 171 - MacOS [93] - Adjusting how the time is displayed on the menu bar
Tip 172 - MacOS [94] - Announcing the time at varying intervals.
Tip 173 - MacOS [95] - Setting the time automatically over the internet
Tip 174 - MacOS [96] - Delete unused icons from System Preferences
Tip 175 - MacOS [97] - Make your computer BLACK & WHITE
Tip 176 - MacOS [98] - Change the contrast of your display
Tip 177 - MacOS[99] - Flash the screen on errors
Tip 178 - MacOS[100] - Ejecting a disc without a keyboard
Tip 179 - Applications - Setting up MAIL for a new mailbox
Tip 180 - MacOS[101] - Change graphics card on unibody Mac
Tip 181 - MacOS[102] - Access printer specific configurations
Tip 182 - MacOS[103] - Adding/removing a printer
Tip 183 - MacOS[104] - Creating a PDF file
Tip 184 - Safari 4 [8] - Address Book shortcuts
Tip 185 - Safari 4 [9] - Open download window
Tip 186 - Safari 4 [10] - Cycle through page tabs
Tip 187 - Applications - Writing an ISO image to disc using Disc Utility
Tip 188 - FreeNAS [1] - What is a NAS
Tip 189 - FreeNAS [2] - FreeNAS
Tip 190 - FreeNAS [3] - Initial setup
Tip 191 - FreeNAS [4] - Logging in
Tip 192 - FreeNAS [5] - Initial setting up of your NAS
Tip 193 - FreeNAS [6] - Using your freeNAS from MacOS
Tip 194 - FreeNAS [7] - Creating HOME directories
Tip 195 - FreeNAS [8] - Warning Emails
Tip 196 - FreeNAS [9] - Changing your password
Tip 197 - FreeNAS [10] - Backup and Restore all the settings
Tip 198 - Hardware - Cleaning dis-coloured white Macbooks
Tip 199 - QuickTime (inc pro) [1] - Video Keyboard shortcuts
 
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Tip 1 – Screen snapshot

Hold down [shift] & [cmd] then press [4]

Is that shortcut with leopard? Have they changed it? I run tiger and it's [shift] & [cmd] then press [3]


The way I look at it is this, I started 18 months ago with my first non point and shoot camera and have had endless help from all manner of people on this site. I can see that some of those same people are in a position where I can help them so this is my payback :)

Well that's very kind of you!(y)(y)
 
Tip 200 - QuickTime PRO [1] - Using macbook as a video camcorder
Tip 201 - Frontrow [1] - Introduction
Tip 202 - Photo Booth [1] - Introduction
Tip 203 - Networking [9] - AutoScan Network[1]
Tip 204 - iWeb [1] - Introduction
Tip 205 - iWeb [2] - Changing themes
Tip 206 - iPhoto [1] - Introduction
Tip 207 - iPhoto [2] - Initial sorting, rotating etc.
Tip 208 - iPhoto [3] - Quickly viewing an event's contents
Tip 209 - iPhoto [4] - Information box
Tip 210 - iPhoto [5] - Naming individual photos
Tip 211 - iWeb [3] - Using iPhoto Events
Tip 212 - iWeb [4] - Publish your site on the internet
Tip 213 - Cyberduck [1] - Download and install - FTP Client Software
Tip 214 - Cyberduck [2] - Setup and use
Tip 215 - FreeNAS [11] - Using FreeNAS as an iTunes server
Tip 216 - MacOS [105] - Quick duplicate file
Tip 217 - MacOS[106] - Using Hotmail with Mail
Tip 218 - MacOS[107] - Maximize Windows with Right Zoom
Tip 219 - MacOS[108] - Running a program on startup
Tip 220 - FreeNAS[12] - Share problems.
Tip 221 - iWeb [5] - Include a map in your web site.
Tip 222 - Safari4 [8] - Opening new tabs/windows.
Tip 223 - MacOS[109] - Finding settings.
Tip 224 - iDVD[1] - Create new iDVD project.
Tip 225 - iDVD[2] - Select a theme.
Tip 226 - iDVD[3] - Changing the Main Screen.
Tip 227 - iDVD[4] - Navigation and sub menus.
Tip 228 - iDVD[5] - Previewing your DVD.
Tip 229 - iDVD[6] - Changing the sub menus.
Tip 230 - iDVD[7] - Adding a slide show.
Tip 231 - iDVD[8] - Slide show settings.
Tip 232 - iDVD[9] - iDVD Preferences.
Tip 233 - Talk Photography - Printing one tip (or one post)
Tip 234 - MacOS[110] - Parental Controls (introduction)
Tip 235 - MacOS[111] - Parental Controls (basic settings)
Tip 236 - MacOS[112] - Parental Controls (advanced settings)
Tip 237 - MacOS[113] - Replying to an email or forwarding with just PART of what was sent
Tip 238 - MacOS[114] - Quickly sending a file by email
Tip 239 - MacOS[115] - Sending a folder by email
Tip 240 - Safari4[9] - Saving files/pictures from Safari
Tip 241 - Safari4[10] - Auto complete page in Safari
Tip 242 - iWeb[6] - Backup or move iWeb files
Tip 243 - MacOS[116] - Forward email (from original sender)
Tip 244 - MacOS[117] - Customizing toolbars
Tip 245 - MacOS[118] - Sleep using the remote
Tip 246 - MacOS[119] - Which version of Mac OS
Tip 247 - MacOS[120] - Mac OS effects, slowing them down!
Tip 248 - MacOS[121] - Forcing dock application to open a file
Tip 249 - Safari[11] - Email current page to someone
Tip 250 - Safari[12] - Jump to bookmark page
Tip 251 - Safari[13] - Open new tab and jump to it.
Tip 252 - Safari[14] - Create quick shortcuts to 9 web addresses
Tip 253 - Safari[15] - Setup jump link
Tip 254 - Safari[16] - Back and Forward shortcuts
Tip 255 - iPhoto[5] - Rate your pictures shortcuts
Tip 256 - iPhoto[6] - Remove a pictures rating shortcut
Tip 257 - MacOS[122] - Dictionary
Tip 258 - MacOS[123] - Thesaurus
Tip 259 - MacOS[124] - Wikipedia
Tip 260 - MacOS[125] - Add button for "Add to address book" in Mail
Tip 261 - Talk Photography[2] - Finding an existing tip
Tip 262 - MacOS[126] - Printing multiple documents of different formats
Tip 263 - MacOS[127] - Periodic maintenance (introduction)
Tip 264 - MacOS[128] - Periodic maintenance (checking when run)
Tip 265 - MacOS[129] - Periodic maintenance (forcing them to run now)
Tip 266 - MacOS[130] - Transfer Outlook data to mail
Tip 267 - MacOS[131] - Installing a web cam on mac mini or pro
Tip 268 - MacOS[132] - Recent documents
Tip 269 - Networking[10] - Multiple network settings
Tip 270 - Networking[11] - Renaming, deleting and duplicating connections
Tip 271 - Networking[12] - Quick select of network connection
Tip 272 - MacOS[133] - Force Quit
Tip 273 - MacOS[134] - Force Quit 2
Tip 274 - MobileMe[1] - Mobile Me Subscriptions
Tip 275 - MobileMe[2] - Mobile Me getting your free 60 days.
Tip 276 - MobileMe[3] - Mobile Me setup your computer.
Tip 277 - MobileMe[4] - Syncronising your 1st (main) computer.
Tip 278 - MobileMe[5] - Syncronising your other computers.
Tip 279 - MobileMe[6] - Setting up iDisc.
Tip 280 - MobileMe[7] - Setting up public folder.
Tip 281 - MobileMe[8] - iPhone iDisk Application.
Tip 282 - MacOS[136] - Simple way to write a folder to CD/DVD.
Tip 283 - MobileMe[9] - Create shortcut to public folder.
Tip 284 - MobileMe[10] - Maximum storage space.
Tip 285 - Snow Leopard[1] - Force into 64bit mode.
Tip 286 - Print Calibration[1] - Spyder3print.
Tip 287 - Print Calibration[2] - Using your calibration files in Photoshop.
Tip 288 - Print Calibration[3] - Transferring or Backing up your profiles.
Tip 289 - Snow Leopard[2] - Little Snitch.
Tip 290 - Snow Leopard[3] - 64 bit? Activity Monitor.
Tip 291 - Snow Leopard[4] - Can I run Leopard and what about 32/64 bit.
Tip 292 - Snow Leopard[5] - NEW Image Capture.
Tip 293 - MacOS[137] - CD/DVD Auto insertion.
Tip 294 - MacOS[138] - Quick resolution selector.
Tip 295 - MacOS[139] - F Keys/FN key on laptops.
Tip 296 - MacOS[140] - Keyboard illumination (Macbook pro).
Tip 297 - MacOS[141] - Character viewer.
Tip 298 - MacOS[142] - Keyboard shortcuts.
Tip 299 - MacOS[143] - Display date in menu bar.
 
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It is with Leopard, are you still running Tiger? If so are you sure it has changed? If so I will add an addendum for Tiger :)

It's definitely [3] on my mac.

Yeah, I'm still running 10.4.11, I am buying a 15" MBP in a couple of weeks, if it's possible then I may attempt installing the new OSX that comes with the laptop onto my current mac, it's a nearly 3 years old 1.83ghz.
 
Friday 14th November
Tip 1 &#8211; MacOS [1] - Screen snapshot

Hold down [shift] & [cmd] then press [4] = option as per below

This will produce a cross hair with the pixel location next to it, as you move the mouse pointer around the screen the pixel location will change. Click one of the corners of an area of the screen the you want to take a snap shot of and click the left mouse button. Then pixel location numbers will change and will now show the size of the area of screen, keep the mouse button pressed. Move the cross hair to the opposite corner of the area of the screen and let go of the mouse button. A file will be saved to your desktop called &#8220;Picture 1&#8221;. If you do another it will be saved as &#8220;Picture 2&#8221; etc etc

CHECKED FOR TIGER AND LEOPARD
 
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You can't actually do that because the install discs are specific to the machine, I would wait for snow leopard and buy a family license.

I had a feeling that would be the case, I'm not too fussed, this machine is being kindy donated to my lovely lady and she'll be fine with tiger.
 
Great idea (y)

Can I elaborate on the screenshot idea?
Get http://plasq.com/skitch instead :D It's a free little app, that sits on your toolbar, and runs off keyboard shortcuts (like the inbuilt screenshot thing). The good thing is, once youve taken your snap, you can instantly add an arrow, text, box etc, resize crop etc etc, and then instantly upload to either your FTP, or the skitch website (either private or publically...you choose), then then one click to copy the URL to the clipboard.

So when Im sending someone a screenshot, I just hit CMD SHIFT 5, select area, click 'share', then it's automagically uploaded for me, and the URL is copied into my clipboard, ready to paste onto here, MSN, IRC etc :D dead easy
 
This is one area where I haven't managed to find a better app on a Mac than SnagIt on the PC/Windows platform. I have seen reports that Snagit was going to be available for OSx, but I haven't looked as yet to check.

I liked the way it allows one to place nice looking edges and borders around screen captures - excellent for slide shows and application product demos in my sphere of work.

Anyone know if it is now released for Mac?
 
cool stuff. I'm just getting to grips with bits and pieces on my new Mac so these little tips certainly help - and further add-ons as provided within the discussion of a new trick only add to it all! :D
 
cowasaki,

Thank you so much for the time and effort. Though I have been with Mac for over a year now, I am still not very well versed with all the details. I barely know how to do the mandane stuff (open file, close file, etc.)! Haven't had time to get myself a good book to hack into it.

This thread will be checked daily by me (y)
 
This sounds like a great idea, just about to plump for a Mac (before Christmas hopefully but reading the possibility of an upgrage on the Mac Pro???) so I will be subscribing to this thread and will enjoy the read.

Thanks.
 
Saturday 15th November
Tip 2 &#8211; MacOS [2] - Adding the EJECT menu to your top bar

Open finder and navigate to the following location..

../System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras

Now double click on the file named &#8220;Eject.menu&#8221; and you will notice a new item on your top bar to the right, this is the EJECT menu. Click it and select eject. This is particularly useful when you have more than one optical drive such as on a Mac pro.
 
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whiteflyer,

Thank you for the link, that needs a bit of time to go through; I am sure I will find a lot of useful stuff in there.
 
I have just got my Imac and this is very helpful, thank you for the time and trouble taken for this information.
 
Tip 2 – Adding the EJECT menu to your top bar

Open finder and navigate to the following location..

../System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras

Now double click on the file named “Eject.menu” and you will notice a new item on your top bar to the right, this is the EJECT menu. Click it and select eject. This is particularly useful when you have more than one optical drive such as on a Mac pro.

And after this been done how do i remove it from the top bar?
 
Ignore just rememeber the tips i been told before hold down apple key and drag off the bar
 
Sunday 16th November
Tip 3 &#8211; MacOS [3] - Find out all the information about a file
Like "properties" under Windows.

In finder RIGHT CLICK on the file and select &#8216;Get info&#8217;. This then shows you the file type, size, security, owner etc

tip3.png


NOTE: Tip 4 will be linked to this tip and show you how to give any drive an icon that you choose then Tip 5 is going to be my first tutorial, a step by step guide for making your own icons complete with masking etc. This will allow your spangley camera to appear on your desktop looking like your camera!! If anyone wants the D200 icon I will make this available too.

Nobody has sent any requests yet, if someone has any ideas about things they would like to be able to do then PM me and I will make them into a TIP or tutorial.
 
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It's definitely [3] on my mac.

Yeah, I'm still running 10.4.11, I am buying a 15" MBP in a couple of weeks, if it's possible then I may attempt installing the new OSX that comes with the laptop onto my current mac, it's a nearly 3 years old 1.83ghz.

Sorry for going back a few days, but you can use either 3 or 4, 3 takes the whole screen, whereas 4 lets you drag a shape/select a window...
 
Sorry for going back a few days, but you can use either 3 or 4, 3 takes the whole screen, whereas 4 lets you drag a shape/select a window...

Holy cow! Cheers mate, I didn't know that at all, I just wondered "What's the cross hairs for?" (y)
 
Sorry for going back a few days, but you can use either 3 or 4, 3 takes the whole screen, whereas 4 lets you drag a shape/select a window...

I think we have a definitive answer now thanks, I have updated the tip, personally I only ever use shift+cmd+4 so I wasn't aware of the [3] option. Everyone is benefiting from this thread :)
 
Monday 17th November
Tip 4 &#8211; MacOS [4] - Changing the icon for a file or drive

1) Find the drive or file that you want to change the icon of and display the &#8216;get info&#8217; information.
2) Now locate a file with the icon you want (or an RSRC file) and open the &#8216;get info&#8217; information for this too so that the windows are open on your screen.
3) Now click on the icon of the &#8216;donor&#8217; file so that it is highlighted (note the blue halo around it) and COPY this (either [CMD] + [C] or select COPY from the edit menu of Finder).
4) Now with the icon in the clipboard you need to copy this to the target drive. Click on the window for the target drive which will select it then click on the target icon (note the blue halo) and PASTE (either [CMD] + [V] or select PASTE from the edit menu of Finder).

http://www.upgradeyourmac.co.uk/mainsite/icons/DriveIcons.html
 
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Tuesday 18th November
Tip 5 &#8211; Tutorial [1] &#8211; Making your own icons for drives

This is a multi stage process convert your JPG to PNG with a transparent background, convert PNG to ICNS file and convert ICNS file to RSRC file.

You first need to install two new pieces of software:

Icns2Rsrc & Icon Composer​

Both these pieces of software are free.

ICns2RSrc can be downloaded for free, just type "Icns2Rsrc" into google. I got it from Versiontracker at this link http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11781

Icon Composer is built into MacOS but is not installed as standard (it is part of the developer tools) and you need to install it from your install disc. Basically just stick your install disc in and install the developer tools and you will find it there. Make a copy of the file because if you re-install then you don&#8217;t have to bother with the developer tools next time as Icon Composer works without the rest of the developer tools and so your saved file will do.

Once you have these two pieces of software you are in a position to make your own rsrc files like the ones I gave a link to yesterday.

You first need to find a picture of the device that you can use as an icon (so bare in mind the picture size).

Once you have your picture load it into Photoshop or similar and make the background transparent &#8211; If you drag the layer onto the layer create button it will duplicate it as a normal layer then delete the background layer. Once you have done this use the eraser to remove the background and save the image as a PNG file.

Now you have your image with its transparent background run Icon Composer and you will see a window with lots of boxes in it. Drag the picture into each box individually and don&#8217;t accept copying it to others by the program (this avoids your icons being created very small!). Once you have your icons in the boxes you can save the images/icons as a ICNS file.

Now you have your ICNS file you need to turn this into an RSRC file which you can then use to replace the image of your file. You need to use ICNS2RSRC to do this. Run ICNS2RSRC and nothing much will seem to happen but you will notice ICNS2RSRC in the title bar. Click on [FILE] and then [OPEN] and select the file that you created. Once selected another window appears titled &#8220;Enregistrer sous:&#8221;. Click on [SAVE] and this will save your icon as a RSRC file which you can now use as per tip 4.
 
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Will be needing this thread! I've just bought a nice new macbook pro (my first).
I had to google to work out how to right click!!
 
Hi cowasaki
Good of you to share your expertise.

You asked for ideas / requests.
This concerns Iphoto :
In this, when a pic is selected, it has a yellow outline box which is fine, but if you copy pic and go off and work on something else and return to iphoto it is difficult to spot the highlighted pic - the dull yellow outline just does not jump out and smack you on the mouth.
Request - Can this box be customised eg changed to black and bold ?
 
Hi cowasaki
Good of you to share your expertise.

You asked for ideas / requests.
This concerns Iphoto :
In this, when a pic is selected, it has a yellow outline box which is fine, but if you copy pic and go off and work on something else and return to iphoto it is difficult to spot the highlighted pic - the dull yellow outline just does not jump out and smack you on the mouth.
Request - Can this box be customised eg changed to black and bold ?

Sorry I don't actually use the Apple applications I use lightroom and CS3 so can't help with that one.
 
Wednesday 19th November
Tip 6 &#8211; Tutorial [2] - Making a file vault

If you have a number of files that you would like to protect from prying eyes then you can create a file vault to store them in.

1) In Utilities (which is itself inside Applications) run Disk Utility.
2) Click &#8220;New Image&#8221;
3) Type a file name in the &#8220;Save As&#8221; box
4) Type a name in the &#8220;Volume Name&#8221; box (this is what the drive will appear as when you open in.
5) Select a volume size (I like to select this as 4.7Gb DVDR or 800Mb CDR to make backup easier)
6) Select Encrytion type as 256 bit
7) Click CREATE.
8) You will be asked for a password (use a secure one!)

A file with the name mentioned in line 3 will be created of the mentioned size. To activate the drive double click on it and type the password. DO NOT allow MacOS to save the password in your keychain as this makes the whole point of having the file go away!

You can now activate the file vault whenever you need and save items into it. Once you have finished you can then close it and the contents are seriously safe!

NOTE: I have created a nice icon for my file vault and you can follow [tip 4] to change your icon to match (my icon can be downloaded using the link under [tip 4]). You have to activate the drive then change the icon!
 
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Now that IS a useful tip! I had no idea you could do that and it will be VERY useful (y)
 
I had that on my entire home directory, but it played havoc with time machine, and it is only safe when you have logged out of your account...
 
cowasaki,

I can't thank you enough for this last tip (y); this was so badly needed to the point that I concidered buying a 3rd party application to get something like this.
 
I had that on my entire home directory, but it played havoc with time machine, and it is only safe when you have logged out of your account...


Could you please clarify? Are you saying that this isn't a stable way to secure my data? Or was it just unstable with TimeMachine?

Thanks
 
It was unstable with Time machine, in that it would only back up when you logged off and instead of only backing up changes it had to back up the whole home directory each time, all my music/photos etc.

Also when you are logged in your data is not encrypted, so if you just shut the lid/activate the screen saver it is only the password protecting your data. I think having a smaller file vault for just a few files wouldn't have these problems...
 
:) thanks for the clarification.
 
Time machine can be set to ignore the file which takes it out of the equation. The problem with using time machine and file vaults is the size of the vault. If you set one as 4.7Gb so that you can back it up to DVD then it is a large amount for time machine to keep backing up. If you have a number of small files which you regularly need to backup such as daily accounts you can stick these in a 100Mb or smaller vault and time machine will be quite happy. Then just back the vault up to a DVD. This is the method I use. I would not advise larger vaults than the size of a DL disc!

Has anyone used my icons? What do you think?
 
Not yet. Hoping to have a play over the weekend though :)
 
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