Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [18]
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Note: Apple Only
Full-screen mode hasn’t been built into all applications; to start with, only Apple’s own programs have this feature. Other developers will undoubtedly add full-screen mode to their programs soon.
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Finding and Starting Up Programs
Mac OS X is a very structured operating system, with a place for everything and everything in its place. Applications are no exception to this rule; all your programs live in the Applications folder where you and other users of your Mac can find them easily.
In the Finder, either press or choose Go, Applications to open the Applications folder.
Locate the program you want to use and double-click its icon to start it up.
If you can’t find a program, look in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder.
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Tip: Control Your Programs
If the wrong program starts up when you double-click a document in the Finder, you need to specify a different program to open that type of document. Press to see the document’s information and select an application in the Open With section of the Info window. Click Change All if you want the new program to open all documents of this type.
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Saving Files
Every program is different, of course, but some operations work almost the same no matter which program you’re using. One of those is saving a file. Each program saves files in different formats, depending on which type of data that program works with, but the general process is the same no matter what. Here’s how it goes.
In the application in which you’re working, either choose File, Save or press .
Give the file a name and choose a location in the pick list. If you don’t see the pick list, click the arrow button to the right of the Save As field.
Choose file options such as format and compression (the available options vary depending on the program).
Click Save.
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Tip: Pay Attention!
Save dialog boxes usually open to the last place you saved a file in that program, which is unlikely to be the same place you want now. To save to the desktop, press —you’ll have to put the file away later, but you’ll be able to find it for the moment.
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Note: Save Early, Save Often
Don’t wait until you’re done working on a file to save it—start early and keep using the Save command as you continue to work. That way the file will be stored on your hard drive in case of a drive crash or power outage. After the first time you save a file, the File menu’s Save command turns into Save a Version.
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Writing with TextEdit
Mac OS X’s TextEdit program can do a lot more than its remote ancestor, TeachText. It’s really a very compact, fast word processor with a lot of formatting options and tools as well as the capability to read and write Microsoft Word documents.
Start TextEdit (located in the Applications folder) and begin typing in the new document window.
To copy text to another location, click and drag to select the text and press ; place the cursor where you want the text to appear and press to paste it.
To change the font, select the text and choose Format, Font, Show Fonts.
Choose a new typeface and size in the Fonts panel. The change is applied immediately.
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Tip: Learning How to Spell
TextEdit gives questionable words a red underline; Control-click each and choose an option from the contextual menu. The Learn Spelling command adds the word to a system-wide dictionary.
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Note: What’s Not in There
TextEdit is capable, especially with features such as automatic bulleted lists, but it’s not a full-featured word processor. If you need to use outlining or HTML conversion, you should use a program such as Microsoft Word.
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To change the text alignment or spacing, click and drag to select the text and choose an option from the controls at the top