Basic Mac Skills
1. Find and set the location of the Dock – Click on Apple icon in top left corner of screen. Scroll down and click on “Dock.” Select the position you want your dock to be located (left, bottom or right). I recommend left. If you want the dock to be always present, click on “Turn Hiding Off.”
2. Set the speed of the mouse/cursor – Click on Apple icon in top left corner of screen. Scroll down and click on “System Preferences.” A new window will pop up with several options. Click on the “Mouse” icon and review options. You can adjust the tracking speed and the clicking speed. You can also reverse the direction of how the mouse scroll ball works by clicking the check box at the top of the window.
3. Open Safari and save a bookmark on the Bookmarks Bar – Click on the icon in your dock that looks like a compass. This opens Apple’s internet browser called “Safari.” Type in the URL for the class blog. Once the class blog is loaded, save the address for the class blog in your Bookmarks Bar by following these directions:
1. On menu bar at top of screen click on “Bookmarks.”
2. Click on the option “Add bookmark.”
3. In the box that drops down, look for the drop down menu under the heading “Add this page to.”
4. Select the “Bookmarks Bar” and click “Add” button.
4. Creating/Naming a folder – To create a folder on a Mac, use one of the following options.
1. Keyboard shortcut (recommended) – hold “command” + “shift” and press “N” key.
2. Click on desktop to activate “Finder.” On the menu bar, click “File” and scroll down to “New Folder.”
3. “Right click” your mouse and click on “New Folder” in pop-up menu.
To name a folder, click ONCE on the text underneath the folder. When the text for the folder’s name becomes highlighted, you can edit the name of the folder.
5. Finding downloaded items – All downloaded files automatically are placed in the “Downloads” folder, which is located in your Dock. Click on the “Downloads” folder to see the various files that have been downloaded.
If using Safari, downloaded files can also be accessed by clicking on the small Down Arrow icon to the right of the search bar at the top right side of your browser window. A list of downloaded files will drop down.
6. Viewing/Switching between applications – The current version of the Mac operating system features a “Full Screen” viewing mode for certain applications. You can tell if a program is in “Full Screen” mode if the program window completely covers your screen. You can exit full screen mode by pressing the “esc” button on the top left corner of your keyboard. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND USING “FULL SCREEN” MODE for typical use in our classroom. It will cause problems and make your life miserable in this class.
Below are some tips on switching between programs on Mac.
1. To open commonly used programs, click once on the program icon in the “Dock.”
2. To see all of the program windows you currently have open, press “F3.”
3. To quickly open other applications, press “F4.”
4. To hide an active application to see the desktop or another program, press “command” + “H” key. Return to the program by clicking on its icon in the Dock.
5. To quickly switch between open applications, press “command” + “tab.”
6. To quickly hide all open windows, press “fn” + “F11.” Press it again to restore open windows.
7. Using the “Finder” – The Finder is what you use to navigate through folders and files on a Mac.
1. To open a new Finder window, click on the Smile Face icon in your “Dock” or use “command” + “N” keyboard shortcut.
2. To adjust how files are displayed, click on the buttons at the top of the window just above the file names. There are four different ways to view folders.
a. As an icon. You can adjust the size of icons by adjusting the slider in the bottom right corner of the Finder window.
b. As a list.
c. As columns.
d. In “Cover Flow” mode, which provides an image preview of your file.
3. Each different mode of viewing files and folders has different uses. Learn to use all four of them to effectively use the Mac.
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