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built-in instant messaging program iChat, controlling other Macs over a network, and the ability to run Windows right on your Mac (if you really feel you must). Along the way, you’ll get used to being able to run a dozen programs at one time on a stable system that doesn’t crash. This book’s step-by-step approach tells you just what you need to know to accomplish the task at hand, quickly and efficiently. All the skills you need to get the most out of Mac OS X, both online and on the desktop, are covered here.

If you want, you can work through the tasks in Easy Mac OS X Lion in order, building your skills steadily. Or, if you prefer, use this book as a reference to look up just what you need to know right now. Either way, Easy Mac OS X Lion lets you see it done, and then do it yourself.

Chapter 1: Getting Started

With the advent of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Mac users get a good view of both the future and the past. Innovative new features such as Mission Control combine with the Mac’s traditionally intuitive interface to provide a user experience that’s both new and comfortably familiar. Mac OS X 10.7 is still many times more powerful than older systems, completely modern, capable of handling the latest innovations in hardware, and as easy to use as any Mac system that has gone before. But Lion has a few surprises in store for you.

The starting point for any exploration of Mac OS X is the desktop: what you see when your Mac has finished starting up. The desktop is operated by a program called the Finder, and it’s a central location where you’ll gain access to your disks and their contents, move files around, and keep track of what your computer’s up to—sort of like a hotel or office building lobby. This section covers the basics of working with the Finder, as well as other functions that work the same no matter what program you’re using.

Mac OS X’s Desktop

Touring the Desktop

If you’ve used an older version of Mac OS before, Lion’s desktop won’t look completely new to you—just a bit unfamiliar. On the other hand, if you’re new to computers, concepts like windows, icons, and menus need a little explanation. Either way, this tour of the Mac OS X desktop should set you on your way.

Double-click to view a window showing the contents of a drive or folder.

Click and drag to move icons on the desktop.

Click objects in the Dock to activate them.

Click a menu name, drag the mouse down, and release the mouse button when the menu item you want to use is highlighted.

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Note: It’s Okay to Explore

If you’re not sure what something on the desktop does, try clicking or double-clicking it—it’s safe to explore and experiment. If something does go wrong, you can usually undo the last thing you did by pressing or choosing Edit, Undo.

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Note: Making the Desktop Your Own

Turn to the task called “Changing Your Desktop Picture” in Chapter 5, “Customizing Your Mac,” to learn how to change the desktop picture so you’ll truly feel at home when you sit down in front of your Mac.

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Click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner of the screen to access the Apple menu, where you can perform tasks that affect your whole computer.

Choose View, Show View Options to open the View Options dialog box. Drag the Icon size slider to change the size of desktop icons.

Change the Text size and Label position settings to change the appearance of icon labels.

Check any of the other options or choose an option from the Sort By pop-up menu to set other options for files, folders, and drives on the desktop.

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Tip: Cleaning Up the Place

When your desktop gets cluttered with files and folders so that it’s impossible for you to find anything, choose View, Clean Up to line up all the icons on the desktop in neat rows, so you can see what you’ve got.

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Note: Where’s the Trash?

If you’ve used pre-OS X Macs, you’re probably looking for the Trash, which used to live on the desktop. It’s in the Dock now, but you can put it back on the desktop if you like