Tips Archive

RAM

2008-08-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

Here’s the situation.

Your machine is running slow. A friend told you that a RAM upgrade will help, but you don’t know when asked how much RAM (Memory) you have and how it is distributed in your machine.

To find out how much RAM your machine has, just go to the Apple Menu and select “About this Mac”.

Next, click the “More Info” button to open the Apple System Profiler.

Once the Apple System Profiler has been opened select the “Memory” item from the left-hand side bar and this will display the desired info in the profiler window. It also (sometimes, but not always) displays the type of RAM your machine uses.

Monolingual

2008-07-27T23:26:00.001-07:00

I have highlighted this amazing freeware many times in the past, but I think it is so useful that I will give it another mention.

As you all know Mac OS X is a multi-lingual OS, which means that the OS is translated into a multitude of languages which most of us will never use.

Also many software packages use these language translations, and all this boils down to about 2GB (you heard right) of diskspace which you have paid for and will (most likely) never use.

Monolingual, brought to us by Sourceforge.net, gives you the option to remove all these unwanted translations thereby saving all this diskspace for more useful data. For the record, those multi-linguists among us need not be put off by the name - although it is called “Mono” Lingual it gives you the option to keep as many languages as you like!

Download Monolingual here.

Change preferred application to open files

2008-07-23T21:46:00.001-07:00

Sometimes your Mac may open certain files with a less preferred application, and you would like to tell it to use a different application from now on.

This is very easy to use, following these steps as illustrated above.

First, select the file (or one of the series of files) in the finder, and choose “File > Get Info” (or press “Command i” or Right-click and select Get Info) to bring up the “Get Info” window as in Fig. 1.

Then go to the “Open With” part of the Get Info window as in Fig. 2 and select the application of your choice. If your preferred application does not appear in the resulting pop-up menu (and you are sure it can open this file) click “Other” and select the application.

Once this is done you may want to click the “Change All” button (Fig 3.) which tells OS X to open this type of file with your preferred application from now on.

Quick calculations

2008-07-02T23:08:00.001-07:00

A friend showed me this quick way of performing calculations on your Mac when you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to open your calculator app or widget.

Just click on spotlight and enter your calculation string there, and the answer will be displayed as in the above image.

Its the simplicity of this that I really like - give it a try!

Login items

2008-06-29T09:51:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it makes a lot of sense to have your Mac launch certain applications upon startup - these will be items which are constantly in use such as your email. I do not really suggest having too many items as login items, especially if you are a little impatient and like to get started right away, as having a large number of login items can delay startup by a few minutes.

Also beware of certain software which has the effrontery to automatically give itself automatic login item status - this really gets up my nose.

Anyway, to add (or remove) login items go to system preferences, select “Accounts” and choose the “Login Items” tab as in the images above.

Then to add a login item simply press the “+” button at the bottom of the list and select the application you wish to add, and to remove a login item select it from the list and press the “-” button.

Schedules

2008-06-26T22:04:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you need to carry out a task, such as rendering some video or a similar long job, and you need to be somewhere else at the same time. Either that, or you simply need to find your machine switched on when you get in to the office.

Whatever the case may be, the Energy Saver system Preference has a built-in schedule app which can start up and shut down your Mac when you’re not there.

Bring up your System Preferences (Apple Menu > System Preferences) and choose the “Energy Saver”.

Click on Schedule and input the appropriate startup and shutdown times - note the highly configurable “Day” options - just choose the option that suits you best from the pop-up.

Simple as that - you’re done.

Accidentally deleted a Mac application

2008-06-25T22:33:00.003-07:00

Rarely, a user may accidentally delete a Mac application (or it may become damaged and not work) - that is to say, an application which came with the system such as Address Book, Safari, iChat and others. I encountered a case like this last week and my client was convinced that he would need to reinstall his system. Not always so, as in this case.

Yes I know that you can’t find software such as this to download, but if you are using OS X 10.3.9 or later you can use the System Disks that came with your computer to restore these software titles. Before doing anything like this ALWAYS back up your computer as a precaution, even though you won’t be erasing your hard disk.

The first step is to load the Mac OS X Disk 1 (you have to use the disks that came with your machine - using a disk that came with a different model will not work) and click the “Install Bundled Software Only” link. You then need to select the destination volume (usually Macintosh Hard Disk”, click “Continue” and, very important, select the “Customize” option. This will allow you to choose which software you wish to install. Needless to say, do not reinstall any software which is already installed and working well as this may cause problems.

Once you are satisfied that all is well select the “Install” option to proceed and then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Once the installation is complete you may need to restart your Mac, and I then recommend that you carry out a software update to ensure you bring your restored software up to date.

More about the Finder

2008-06-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

When you are in the Finder, one great way of personalising your Mac is through the Finder Preferences. As is the case with all applications, go to Finder > Preferences to access them and you will see a window like the one above.

The General tab: Here you can adjust the way you would like your computer to work for your own personal comfort. You can choose to show or hide connected removable disks and servers, where you would like new finder windows to open from (i.e. Macintosh HD, Home Folder or any folder of your choice).

Choosing the Open folders in a new window option is, for me at least, a more efficient way to work, and Spring-loaded folders cause folders to open automatically when you hold a file or folder over them.

Labels: Here you can name your Labels as required.

Sidebar: Here you can choose what and what does not appear in the sidebar of each opened window. In OS X 10.5 “Leopard” these items items are nicely grouped into Devices, Shared, Places and Searches.

Clicking the Advanced tab gives you some more advanced preferences such as showing file extensions (a little bit to “PC” for me), showing or hiding a couple of warnings and a secure trash option. Choosing the

last option makes deleted items much harder to retrieve, but this can take some time especially if you have a large quantity or large items in the trash and is not really recommended.

The Finder

2008-06-18T00:35:00.001-07:00

Flipping through your open applications (for example by pressing Command and Tab) you will notice that there is an application called the “Finder” which is ALWAYS running. No matter what you do, it’s there. So what is the Finder and what exactly does it do on your Mac?

The Finder is the very core of Mac OS X. It is the be all and end all, literally, of your system, as it automatically starts up at the beginning of every boot, and switches off at every shutdown - it can never be deactivated (only re-launched) while your computer is running. As the name suggests, the Finder keeps track of all files, folders and applications on your Mac. It is the very reason why the Mac is so good at multi-threading (doing multiple tasks simultaneously) and why the Mac is superior, by a long chalk, at finding and then listing the results of search results you may make when looking for something on your Mac.

If something goes wrong with your Finder, you could be in trouble. Symptoms of Finder corruption include icons being displayed as generic document icons, when before they displayed, for example, a preview of a file or logo of a software.

As is the case with all software, the Finder has a preference file, called com.apple.finder.plist and located in your user library “preferences” folder. Sometimes trashing this can fix problems, but please do not touch these things unless you know what you are doing. Normally the only fix for drastic finder problems is a complete reinstallation, since certain problems would be hard to trace as the finder is just so vast.

Some third party developers such as Cocoatech or Xfile offer alternatives to the finder which could be interesting. It is also worth checking out your finder preferences which includes way to personalise your Mac - an option close to the hearts of most Mac users ;)

A little bit of history - it is interesting to note that the very first finder could only handle one application at a time and it was only with the advent of OS 4.x that multi-threading became synonymous with the Mac!

More about printers

2008-06-17T03:06:00.003-07:00

In the same way that you maintain your computer by keeping it free from dust, emptying the trash (you ARE emptying the trash I hope!), performing regular software updates and similar day-to-day tasks it is important to ensure that your printer software is kept up to date for optimum performance.

It may well be the case that your printer or multi-functional is a year or two old, but manufacturers are obliged to keep the device’s software up to date in line with each system update.

For example, I own a Canon Pixma MP500 (pictured above) which I bought quite a while ago. In fact it is no longer manufactured, but despite this Canon still update the software to bring it in line with the latest Mac OS version. These updates are not ongoing however and once a device has reached a certain age the manufacturer may stop issuing updates.

Sometimes it may arise that you own a printer which is very old and no drivers are available for it on the manufacturer’s website. The good news is that the people at sourceforge.net offer free high-quality drivers for many old printers here. So, before you throw away your old printer see if you can get it to work with Gimp Print!

Can’t print, won’t print.

2008-06-13T08:53:00.003-07:00

Sometimes you send a job for printing and then wait for it, and wait, and wait, and wait. The printer is on, none of the ink has run out, there’s paper in the tray and still, no warning message, nothing. Assuming that the correct printer is selected in your system, what could be the matter?

More often that not a user may inadvertently press the “Pause Printer” button, and after repeated attempts at printing the document may end up with a print queue as long as your arm since sending a job to the printer which does not print merely adds the job to a queue. So, before clicking the “resume printer” button it is important to clear the print queue unless you want 37 copies of the same document in bright, expensive colour.

You can check the contents of your print queue at any time by just going to the system preferences and selecting the “Print and Fax” item - in the resulting window you can press the “Open Print Queue” button as in the picture above.

Retrieve jammed CDs & DVDs

2008-06-04T23:01:00.003-07:00

Sometimes, no matter what you do, a CD or DVD remains in the drive and staunchly refuses to get out. You’ve held down the “eject” key, you’ve quit all your running applications, and you’ve even re-started, all to no avail. What to do?

Try this: re-start the machine and on hearing the startup tone press and hold the mouse button until the machine boots (on laptops hold the trackpad button or else attach a mouse to your USB port).

The disk should pop out automatically.

Compression

2008-06-03T21:41:00.003-07:00

Mac OS X has built in tools for file compression (i.e. reducing file-size). This makes life easier if you have a large file that you wish to compress in order. say, to email to a friend.

The first way is to right-click (or Ctrl-Click) on the file in question and select the “compress” command (OS X 10.5) or “create archive” (earlier OSs) - this will create a zip archive of the file or folder which can be opened on windows machines.

The second way is through “Disk Utility” (Macintosh HD > Utilities > Disk Utility). This fantastic software, included free with all versions of OS X, is a veritable Swiss Army Knife as it has so much functionality. Once launched, all you need to do is go to the File menu, and select “New > Disk Image from Folder” command and this allows you to create a disk image (.dmg) from any folder on your Mac. Note that your original folder remains untouched. Disk Image files can not be opened by windows machines.

If you are interested in compression, there are also a huge number of third-party utilities for file compression that do the work for you - here are some you can find at Versiontracker.

Scanning

2008-06-02T14:40:00.001-07:00

Scanning is fun and easy, and most people these days have scanners so that they can convert their picture libraries into digital format so that they can share them online, via email and with various digital media such as CDs and DVDs, pen-drives and the like.

The most common problem I encounter is to do with resolution, where people are unsure which resolution (dpi) to use for certain tasks. Use too low a resolution and the image appears grainy; too high and the file sizes become enormous. One small point to bear in mind - scanning a poor-quality image with a high resolution will NOT improve the quality - you’ll just end up with a poor-quality image with a large file size.

Although not set in concrete, these are the resolutions I would use:

Images for web use - 72dpi - 125dpi

Images for offset print - 300dpi - 400dpi

Images for inkjet print - up to you but I would avoid going over 600dpi where possible

Many scanners include built-in filters for use during the scanning process (such as dust and scratches, unsharp-mask etc.) but if you have a decent photo manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop Elements then I would not bother with the scanner’s own filters.

Software Updates

2008-06-01T09:44:00.003-07:00

Do your software updates! Whether your machine is is set to check for updates automatically (through the Software Update System Preference) or you just do it automatically, make sure it is done.

Software updates often contain enhancements which are intended to make your digital life easier, more stable and secure. The last OS X update (just released - OS X 10.5.3) fixes some vulnerabilities in iCal and really needs to be implemented.

Software Updates are what make OS X the cutting edge OS that it is - it is constantly being improved and, best of all - it’s free.

Practice your shortcuts.

2008-05-28T21:27:00.001-07:00

I am sometimes surprised by the number of people who say “how did you do that?” when I use a shortcut in front of them. Shortcuts save so much time and hassle, and just help you to get the job done faster and more efficiently.

Most of you will already be familiar with Command-Q (Quit); Command-P (Print) and that Ctrl-Click brings up a sub-menu when clicking on an object. But there are so very many shortcuts you can use to streamline your work, I suggest that you check them out and try to learn them by heart - at least the ones you need to use on a regular basis. Performing a Google search “mac shortcuts” brings up thousands of sites hosting information of this subject, but here is one I myself liked:

Mac Shortcuts

Faulty Mighty Mouse

2008-05-27T23:08:00.001-07:00

I have frequently met people who tell me that their Mighty Mouse is faulty and that they want to bring it over for a technician to check as they suspect a hardware problem.

Usually the problem is linked to the scroll ball, which will more often than not only work in one direction.

The cause of the problem is not hardware, but simply dirt from your hand which has become entrapped in the scroll ball housing.

All you need to do to overcome this is to get a lint-free cloth, put a few drops of surgical spirit onto it and rub the scroll ball gently for a couple of minutes. Holding the mouse upside-down during the procedure helps to free the dirt more efficiently.

Add keywords to iPhoto

2008-05-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

If you have a large collection of pictures in your iPhoto Library, then you’ll know how difficult it can be to find a particular photo. This is why adding keywords to pictures can make your life easier, as these allow you to tag one or more keywords to your pictures to make searching easier.

In iPhoto ’08 adding keywords to pictures has become extremely easy as shown in the screenshots above. You need to have the “Add Keywords” option selected first, and to do this go to View > Keywords. Once this is done, simply hovering over a picture with your mouse brings up the “add keywords” prompt, and clicking on this opens up a field where you can type in your keywords.

iPhoto ’08 also has built-in keyword manager (Window > Show Keywords) which gives you the facility to add and edit keywords. Since iPhoto ’08 attempts to “auto-fill from your keyword library as you enter keywords below photos, this makes the process all the more convenient and efficient.

It is interesting to note that iPhoto ’08 has a little pop-up menu to the left of the search field that allows you to search by keyword, date and rating as well as your standard “everything” searches for added accuracy. Clicking the Keyword search brings up a popup which you can click to find related pictures.

Holding the “shift” key during a keyword search adds an “Or” to your search (i.e. search “family or friends”). Holding down the “Option” key adds a “and NOT” to your search (i.e. search “family or friends and not London”). Holding the “Ctrl” key adds an “and” to your searches (i.e. search “family and friends”).

Create your own alert sound

2008-05-25T17:54:00.003-07:00

Mac OS X allows you to customise almost everything on your machine, and that includes customising your alert sounds. Alert sounds are audible notifications made by the OS when it needs to get your attention, such as when a wrong key combination is inputted.

Before you begin, it is important to note that these sounds need to be in .aiff format and have that extension, otherwise they will not work. If you find a sound you like but it is in a different format you can easily convert it using iTunes (I don’t have the space to cover this here but will in a future edition). You can also create custom sounds in GarageBand, or download a selection of free ones here.

Anyway this is pretty simple - once you have located the .aiff file you would like to use as an alert sound, just drag it to your Macintosh HD > Users > Username > Library > Sounds folder. Don’t worry if the folder appears empty since certain system files may be hidden.

Then go to the System Preferences > Sounds and there, provided you used the correct file and extension, you will find you custom sound.

Enjoy!

Changing Icons

2008-05-23T21:02:00.001-07:00

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Changing icons on a Mac couldn’t be easier.

Once you have decided which folders you would like to have different icons, you would need to download some icons off the internet. A word of warning - these are normally free. You’d REALLY have to like a set of icons to pay for them. Here are a couple of sites which host free Mac icons:

Free Mac Icons Free Mac Icons Free Mac Icons Free Mac Icons Free Mac Icons

You can find more by just typing “Free Mac Icons” into a search engine such as Google.

Open the folder containing your icons, select the icon you want and go to File > Get info (Command - i). Next select the folder whose icon you wish to change and do the same (Command - i), ending up with a similar scene as in Fig. 2 above.

Next, in the “Get Info” window of your selected icon, click on the icon preview and choose Edit > Copy. Then in the Get Info window of the icon to be changed, click on the icon preview and choose Edit > Paste.

That’s it. Done.

Note: You may also find custom icons for system items such as the trash and other hard to reach icons - these would require third party software such as Candybar in order to be changed.

Browsers

2008-05-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

A lot of people like Netscape. I am one of them - I don’t exactly know what it is about it but its go a Mac feel about it, hard to explain.

I am not alone. There is a big community out there who hook up and share ideas and wax lyrical about the products, it’s features and benefits.

Sadly, all this is going to come to an end. The end of an era really (sniff) as the good people at Netscape have announced an end of support as of 01 March 2008. For those of you who wand to download the last version and keep it as a memento you will find it here. Try not to delay too long as it won’t be there forever.

Netscape users are being advised to download Flock (or Firefox which I already use). I have not tried Flock but I’ll give it a try and see how it goes.

Flock - the browser for people who like to be connected

Those of you who have downloaded and tried it - let me know what you think!

Using Burn Folders

2008-05-22T21:43:00.001-07:00

Creating a “Burn Folder” is the simplest way to make a backup of your work on a CD or DVD (depending on the type of optical drive your computer came with of course). You do not need any software other than the system to do this and yet the result is pretty sophisticated.

First of all you need to create the actual Burn Folder, and you can do this by either right-clicking (or ctrl-clicking) on your desktop and selecting “new burn folder” or, in finder, choosing File > New burn folder which creates a Burn Folder on your desktop.

Once this has been created, selecting items to burn is a simple matter of exploring your hard disk and dragging items to this Burn Folder. Note that the system creates an “Alias” (or shortcut) of each item you wish to burn (rather than moving the actual item) so that the actual items remain in their proper places in your hard disk hierarchy and nothing is disturbed.

It is also worth noting that the actual burning process can be delayed for as long as you like, so that if you are backing up a work-in-progress you can wait until you feel you have enough to back up.

Once you are ready to perform the burn, insert a blank CD or DVD, open your burn folder (containing aliases to the items you wish to burn), click the “Burn” button in the top right-hand corner and you’re off.

If you have not inserted a blank disk, its no problem as you will be prompted to insert one by the system as in the above illustration.

Once the burn has been carried out and you are satisfied with the results, you can delete the burn folder as it contains only aliases.

Creating PDFs from any file

2008-05-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Mac OS X has for some time had the built in ability to save files through the print dialogue box. Many other applications include a built in PDF export feature but the beauty of this is that you can do it from nearly any application.

Simply go through the motions of printing the file (Command-P) and notice the little PDF button at the bottom left of the print dialogue box. Pressing this button brings up a whole host of PDF-based features including the save as PDF one I am talking about here.

It is also interesting to note that you also have the option to Mail a PDF, so if you wanted to share a document just choose this option to mail the PDF to someone.

Combined with the “Adding pages to PDF files using Preview” page in my archive this give you a very powerful tool for projects or for presentation work.

Cut and paste

2008-05-19T12:45:00.005-07:00

Cut and paste are features available in all platforms and have evolved over the years and become refined. In OS X, you will all know the shortcuts by now:

Select All: Command A

Copy: Command C

Cut: Command X

Paste: Command V

However there are some variations. For example you can paste and match the style of your current document in most applications by pressing Command/Option/Shift/V or choosing the “Edit > Paste and Match Style” item from the main menu.

When pasting images you frequently need to resize them. Holding down the “Shift” key while doing so allows you to preserve the image’s aspect ratio.

These days many of these commands work in file management in OS X. For example, you can select a file or folder on your desktop and right-click (Crtl-click) and copy the item and then paste it in a different location by right-clicking (Crtl-click) and choosing “paste item”. However the “Cut” feature is disabled in this mode - so if you select an item on your desktop and right-click on it you will not see a “Cut” command on the contextual menu.

If you need this feature there is shareware that is available here.

Webcams on older Macs and PowerMacs

2008-05-18T10:32:00.007-07:00

With the demise of the iSight camera some time ago, many people thought that they would not be able to enjoy video conferencing on their machines.

Enter Macam from our friends at Sourceforge.net. Macam is a generic driver which supports hundreds of commonly available webcams so that they can be used with your macs running many video-aware applications. However iChat will not recognise most USB webcams unless you install iChatUSBCam which is a software unrelated to Macam.

Anyway Sourceforge have gone as far as testing and listing most USB webcams on their site, stating whether or not they work. So getting a webcam that will work with your Mac is simply a matter of looking it up on this page to see if it will work with Macam.

There is also an interesting FAQ page in case you may have any queries.

Enjoy!