A Beginners Guide to Apple Mac Computers

This article is the start of a thread of articles that deliver novice customers a grounding inside the Apple Mac running device. For those used to Windows computers, the switch to Apple can appear daunting. It needn’t be. In this series of articles I will lead you thru the transition from the Windows surroundings to the modern day model of Apple OS 10.6, additionally referred to as Snow Leopard. Each article within the collection will cover one unique place of the usage of the laptop and will deliver guidelines and guidelines that assist you to use your computer efficiently and successfully to meet your wishes. Upcoming articles will include:

So, on to the primary article. Identifying the similarities among Windows and Snow Leopard is a tremendous manner to get your bearings, and quell any fears about the dimensions of the project ahead. The first region to Start on a Windows PC is the Start menu, and on a Mac, it’s absolutely very similar. On a Windows PC, you discover the Start button in the backside left-hand corner of the Toolbar that remains seen by default on the bottom of your display screen. On a Mac, you click on the Finder icon at the left-hand facet of your Dock, which is likewise by using default visible on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

Clicking the Finder icon brings up a window that looks very similar to the Windows Explorer window that might open if you decided on My Documents from the Start menu on your PC. The window has some of acquainted, similar capabilities that enable you to navigate thru your computer. In the left-hand column of the window, you’ll see 3 headings: Devices, Places, and Search For. Under Devices you could see your computer’s tough disk, by way of default referred to as Macintosh HD, an iDisk, and any others drive that can be linked on your pc consisting of a USB pen drive or outside hard force.

Under the Places tab, you may again see many familiar capabilities, which includes: Documents, Music, Movies, Pictures, Downloads, and Desktop. These names are self-explanatory, but for readability, you could relate them to the corresponding Windows folders: My Documents, My Music, My Videos, My Pictures, Downloads, and Desktop.

To navigate via your computer you genuinely click the applicable name to see the documents contained inside that folder displayed on the right-hand aspect. At this factor, you ought to experiment with the extraordinary view options that you select through clicking on the icons along the top of the window. There are four view alternatives: Icons, List, Columns and Cover Flow. Icon and listing view shows the files inside the folder at the proper hand window. The Column view allows you to click on a man or woman record and see a preview of that record with statistics on what kind of record it is, whilst it turned into created, what length it’s far, and even suggests a short preview of the document contents. Finally, Cover Flow combines the list view with a preview panel and lets you click on the left and proper arrow keys to navigate thru the documents viewing the preview for each.

As along with your Windows PC you store your documents, track, video, and photos inside the corresponding folders. In later articles, we can explore the programs or programs as they’re recognized on a Mac, that you can use with every record kind. The Applications folder within the Finder window is where all programs are saved for your pc, and you can open any program set up in your computer by way of clicking Applications and then double-clicking the relevant software, such as Mail if you wanted to send or get hold of emails.

There is some other manner to open Applications this is quicker and more consumer-pleasant, that is called the Dock. The Dock is like the Windows Start menu and is by default positioned at the bottom of the display screen. You have already located the Finder icon, and you could now scroll your cursor across the alternative icons at the Dock to peer the call of each Application. Simply click on any of those icons to open the program. By clicking at the apple icon at the top left-hand corner of the display you can adjust the manner in which the dock is displayed.

Click the apple icon and hover over the Dock option. A pop-up menu seems and you can select to Turn Hiding On, Turn Magnification On, alternate the position of the Dock, and go to the Dock preferences within System Preferences. System Preferences is the Control Panel of a Mac pc, and all settings on your Mac may be determined and managed there. Let’s address the Dock settings first before searching at System Preferences. Hiding the dock means that it’ll disappear providing you with a full display screen to paintings on and could reappear when you move your cursor off the threshold of the screen that the Dock is positioned on. In the default example with the Dock at the bottom of the display, you without a doubt scroll all the way down to the lowest of the display screen and the Dock seems.

Changing the magnification alters the scale of the icons as you scroll throughout the Dock. Within the Dock settings in System Preferences, you may additionally change the entire size of the Dock. If you have got many applications on the Dock it can be simpler to decrease the Dock length, however, boom the magnification. You can upload packages to the Dock with the aid of dragging the corresponding icon from the Applications folder within the Finder window down to the Dock. Simply click on at the icon and preserve down the button, drag the icon to the Dock, and release the mouse button. All applications which are presently going for walks can even appear in the Dock if they’re now not there commonly. Applications which might be open or running have white dot beneath their icon. To remove an software from the Dock actually, click on and preserve the cursor at the icon and drag it throughout to the trash can at the right-hand side of the Dock.

Well achieved, you’ve got navigated round your Mac for the first time and located your Documents, Music, Videos, Pictures and Applications folders. You also realize a way to open and close packages, and a way to add or eliminate packages from the Dock. In the next article, we can cross deeper on navigating through your Mac, starting and final packages, and using keyboard shortcuts.