Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
8. If you want to prevent Notification Center from playing a sound when a
notification occurs from this app, uncheck Play Sound for Notifications.
Changes take place immediately.
Having set up those system-wide preferences, you need to visit each individual app's
preferences to determine which events or conditions trigger a notification. That's where the
real power comes in.
Every app is different, but let me give you some ideas about uses for notifications that may
not be immediately obvious:
•
Mail:
You can set Mail's preferences to trigger a notification whenever a new
message arrives in your Inbox, any mailbox, or a particular smart mailbox; or
when you receive a message from a sender you've designated as a VIP, or from
anyone in your Contacts list. You can even have a rule trigger a notification
according to any criteria you choose (see
Manage Incoming Apple Mail with
Rules
).
•
AppleScript and Automator:
If you use either of these tools to automate
your Mac (see
Use OS X Automation Technologies
)
, you can include a
command to display a notification when any desired condition exists. (In
AppleScript, it's
display notification [text]
; in Automator, use the
Display Notification action.) For example, you might have an AppleScript
Folder Action display an alert when someone adds a file to a shared folder.
For more details, see the
System Notifications Support
page at Mac OS X
Automation.
•
Macros:
Keyboard Maestro (see
Control Your Mac with Keyboard Maestro
)
can trigger a notification as a step in any macro—which means you have almost
unlimited control over what conditions result in a notification. For example,
you might have a macro that runs every hour to check for certain text on a Web
page, and it could display a banner if the text exists.
Log In to Your Mac Automatically
When you first set up a new Mac, part of the process involves creating an administrator
account for yourself as the owner. If you stick with the default settings, OS X logs you in
automatically with that account whenever you turn on or restart your Mac.
Thealternative istoselectorenteryourusernameandthentypeyouraccountpassword.And
that's a safer approach, because it means that if your Mac were lost or stolen, or if someone
elsegotaccesstoit,there'dbeatleastamodestbarrierbetweenanyotheruserandyourdata.
