Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Most of these commands make changes only to your user account. Other
users won't be affected. Tips that affect the entire system are clearly marked!
After hitting
RETURN
when you are typing commands, you won't see anything
like “Command completed!” or “OK.” If you see no feedback, that's a good
sign—it means everything worked. If there's an error, it probably means you've
mistyped. OS X is usually clever enough not to make any changes should
that happen. Just try again.
Sometimes commands are too long to fit on one line of the topic—an inherent
limitation of both printed and electronic topics. In such a case, the remainder
of the line is indented beneath it, and you should type the entire line, hitting
RETURN
only at the end of the last line. You should usually type a space after
the end of each line that overflows to the next, but it's always clear when you
shouldn't. Using your common sense will once again provide dividends.
Usually you'll be shown the command that activates the secret feature dis-
cussed in the tip, followed by the command that turns it off again should you
want to do so.
1.2
Using the Apple and Application Menus
Some tips refer to the
Apple menu
. Other tips refer to the
application menu
.
The Apple menu is the menu at the top left of the screen, signified appropri-
ately enough by the Apple logo.
The application menu is the menu to the right of this, usually named after
the application in question and in bold text.
The
main menu
simply refers to the entire menu bar along the top of the
screen.
1.3
Making a Time Machine Backup
It's generally good advice to make use of the Time Machine backup utility, if
you aren't already doing so. Even better advice is to have Time Machine per-
form a backup before undertaking some tips in this topic that tweak system
files. To do so, click the Time Machine icon at the top right of the screen, and
select Back Up Now from the menu that appears.
1.4
Using the Mouse or Trackpad
Some tips require you to right-click to access special, context-sensitive menus.
If you're using a standard PC mouse with two (or more) buttons, you'll find
the right mouse button works fine. If you're using an Apple-manufactured
mouse or trackpad, there are a variety of ways to right-click, as follows:
