How to change energy saver settings in Mac OS X

Description: This is a how-to article for Mac OS X on the topic of changing the energy saver/sleep mode settings. This is primarily useful if the settings have changed, or if there is a specific need.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences.
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, choose Energy Saver
   
   


4. If this is a MacBook or MacBook Pro you can choose between changing settings for when it is running on Battery or when it is running from the Power Adapter
   
   


5. Change the slider bars to the appropriate times, and check the appropriate options below. If you want to set it to Defaults, use the Restore Defaults option in the bottom right.
   
   


6. Once completed you may click on the Lock icon in the bottom right to prevent any further changes without entering the password.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to add a keyboard shortcut to change the input language in Mac OS X

Description: This is a how-to article on the topic of adding a keyboard shortcut to change the input language to Mac OS X. This would be useful if you need to type in any language other than English.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences.
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, choose Keyboard
   
   


4. At the top of the Keyboard window, choose Keyboard Shortcuts
   
   


5. On the left, choose Keyboard & Text Input
   
   


6. In the middle, check the box next to Select the previous input source
   
   


7. Note that a caution symbol will appear, and a message notifying you that there are conflicts. To resolve these conflicts, click on the Spotlight group on the left, or whichever group has the yellow caution symbol.
   
   


8. In the middle, verify that the item with the caution symbol is not used regularly and then uncheck the box to resolve the conflict.
   
   


9. Once that is done the conflict is shown as resolved, and the corresponding keyboard combination can be used to change keyboard input languages.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to enable or disable auto-hide on the Mac OS X dock

Description: This is a how-to article for Mac OS X on the topic of enabling or disabling the auto-hide feature on the Dock.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, select Dock
   
   


4. On the Dock window, check or uncheck the "Automatically hide and show the Dock" option to your preference.
   
   


5. The setting is automatically saved. Close the window to complete the walkthrough.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

What is the Finder Bar in Mac OS X?

Description: Introduction of Finder Bar to windows users moving to the Mac OS X operating system.

Windows users moving to a Mac OS X system for the first time can be challenged by differences working with programs in Mac OS X. One big difference is the use of the Finder Bar at the top of the screen in OS X rather than the Task Bar at the bottom of the screen in Windows. This article will introduce the basic concepts and tools used by the Finder Bar as an overview from left to right.

The Finder Bar is the gray menu bar at the top of the screen in OS X and contains the following elements.

1. The Apple icon - - which when clicked on opens a menu leading to the following items:
   
   
   
   
   
   • About this Mac (operating system information and information about the computer)
   • Software update (to update the basic system software, similar to windows update)
   • App Store (to purchase Apple programs that can be downloaded and installed)
   • System Preferences (similar to the control panel in Windows)
   • Dock (quick access to the dock preferences)
   • Recent Items (programs and documents that have been opened lately)
   • Force Quit (tool to close programs that will not close correctly)
   • Sleep, Restart and Shut down (similar to the windows commands)
   • Log Out (similar to the windows command, this allows the user to close his programs and another person to log into the computer)



2. Program name - -  the next item is the name of the active program on the desktop, also called the program in focus. This way, by glancing at the Finder Bar you know which of the open windows is at the front and is ready to be worked in. The name of the program is always found at the top left of the finder bar along with the following menu items:
   
   
   • File - (like the windows File menu)
   • Edit - (like the windows Edit menu)
   • View - (view options depending on the program)
   • Other menu items depend on the program in focus


3. Time Machine - - (like windows backup). Time machine allows you to automatically backup your Mac each hour and keeps a backup of each hour for the day, each day for the past month and each week for the months before this.
   
   
4. Blue tooth - - allows connection to Bluetooth devices


5. Airport - - wireless and Ethernet connection settings


6. Volume - - sound level for the laptop speakers or the ear phones / speakers plugged in


7. Battery Charge indicator - - by time to finish charging or by time remaining until the battery is empty



8. Date and time



9. Spotlight - - a general search tool similar to the "Search Programs and Files" in the start button of Windows Vista and Windows 7

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to format external drive on Mac OS X

The following article describes the process required to format an external drive on Mac OS X.

1. Connect the external drive cable to the computer
2. From the dock at the bottom of the screen, select Applications
   
   


3. Select Utilities
   
   


4. Select Disk Utility
   
   


5. From the left side of Disk Utility, select the external drive you want to format
   
   


6. Select Erase to show the format utility
   
   


7. To select the file system, click the drop down arrow beside the Format: prompt
   • If you intend to use a drive only on a Mac, use Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
     
     
   
   
   • If you intend to use a drive on both PC and Mac operating systems, use MS-DOS (FAT)
     
     
   
   
8. Enter a name for the drive
   
   


9. Click Erase to begin formatting
   
   


10. Select Erase to confirm formatting the drive
    
    


11. Once format is completed, the drive will appear on the desktop with the name entered in step 8
    
    


12. Once drive is seen on the desktop, it is ready to store files

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to Capture a Screen Shot with Mac OS X

The Mac OS X has several options for Screen capture. The capture process will allow for saving (capturing) the whole desktop or individual items on the screen.

To capture the entire desktop:

• Press the keys: Command + Shift + 3. This will save the capture in a PNG File on the desktop. This file can be opened using the application called
  Preview.

To capture the entire desktop without saving the PNG file to the desktop:

• Press the keys Command + Control + Shift + 3. This will save the screen shot to your clipboard so you can paste it in to another program.

To capture a portion of the desktop or a single item on the desktop:

• Press the keys Command + Shift + 4. This will change the curser to a cross shaped item and will allow you to draw around the item you want to capture. After selecting the area you want, release the mouse button and the item will be saved to the Desktop in a PNG file. (If you are using Mac OS X 10.3 or earlier the item is saved as a PDF file.

To capture a specific application window:

• Press the Command + Shift + 4, then press the Space Bar.
  This will change the cursor to a camera. As you move around the desktop, stop on an application. This will cause the application to become highlighted. With the window highlighted that you want to capture, press the mouse button. This will capture this application window only. The entire desktop does not need to be seen to do this.
  You will find this captured item on the desktop as a PNG File. (If you are using Mac OS X 10.3 or earlier the item is saved as a PDF file.)

Note: you can capture to the Clipboard instead of saving to the desktop by pressing the Control key during the last two commands described above.