Teach Yourself VISUALLY MacBook Pro, 2nd Edition (2014)
Part I. Discovering MacBook Pro
Chapter 4. Working on the Mac Desktop
Move to Locations on the Desktop
Moving to specific locations is a critical skill to master because you need to do it for just about every task for which you will use your computer. The Mac desktop provides many ways for you to get to the specific folders you want to view and work with. Two of the most useful ways are the Sidebar and the Go menu. Starting from the Sidebar and using the Column view, you can quickly get to any location on the desktop. With the Go menu, you can easily jump to many locations that you commonly visit, along with locations typically hidden on the desktop.
Move to Locations on the Desktop
Go Places with Column View
Open a new Finder window.
Click Column View (
) if the window is not already in Column view.
Select a starting point such as your Documents folder or a disk.
Click the first folder whose contents you want to view.
A The contents of that folder appear in the column immediately to the right of the folder you selected.
Click the next folder you want to move into.
B The contents of that folder appear in the column immediately to the right of the folder you selected.
Note: In Column view, folders have a right-facing arrow at the end of the column; files do not.
Keep selecting folders until you get to the specific folder or file you want.
Go Places with the Go Menu
Click the desktop.
The Finder becomes active.
Click Go on the menu bar.
The Go menu opens.
Click the location you want to move to.
Note: To go to the Library folder, hold down 
and then click Library on the menu. To go to a folder not on the menu, click Go to Folder and type the path in the dialog that opens.
A Finder window opens, showing the location you selected.
Go Back to a Recent Folder
Click the desktop.
The Finder becomes active.
Click Go on the menu bar.
Point to Recent Folders.
The Recent Folders submenu opens.
Click the folder you want to open.
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How can I navigate in the Finder using the keyboard?
The standard folders on the OS X desktop all have keyboard combinations that you can press to jump to them. The following list shows the keyboard combinations for jumping to some of the more useful locations:
|
All My Files |
( |
|
Documents |
( |
|
Desktop |
( |
|
Downloads |
( |
|
Home |
( |
|
Computer |
( |
|
AirDrop |
( |
|
Network folder |
( |
|
Applications |
( |
|
Utilities |
( |
+
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)Rename Files and Folders
You can change the name of your files or folders as you need to. Just as when you create them, you can change the names to be just about anything you want, using up to 255 characters. Each filename includes a file extension, the part after the period in the name. For example, a Microsoft Word document has a name such as Genealogy.docx, where .docx is the file extension. Unless you are sure what you are doing, avoid changing the file extension, because OS X uses it to associate the file with the application used to open it.
Rename Files and Folders
In a Finder window, select the folder or file whose name you want to change.
Note: Do not change the names of OS X system folders and files.
Press 
.
A The name becomes highlighted to indicate that you can change it.
Note: Changing a file extension may change the application with which the file is associated. OS X hides file extensions so you do not inadvertently change them.
Type the new name of the folder or file.
Press .
The new name is saved.
Note: To change a file extension, Control+click the file and click Get Info. In the Info window, click 
next to Name & Extension, and then type the new extension. In the confirmation dialog, click Keep.
Compress Files and Folders
Files and folders require drive space to store their contents. You can compress them to reduce the space they consume. This is most useful when you transfer these files over a network, especially when you e-mail files as attachments. Not only do compressed files transfer more quickly, but also you can include all the relevant files in one compressed file to make them easier for the recipient to work with. See Chapter 12 to learn how to attach files to e-mail messages.
Compress Files and Folders
Compress Files or Folders
In a Finder window, select the files and folders you want to include in the compressed file.
Click Action (
) on the toolbar.
Click Compress.
OS X creates a compressed file called Archive.zip.
Note: If you compress one file, the Zip file's name is the same as the file you compress.
Change the name of the Archive.zip file.
Expand Compressed Files
In a Finder window, double-click a compressed file.
A OS X expands the file. It stores the uncompressed files in a folder with the same name as the compressed file. If the compressed file contains a single file, OS X does not create a folder.
Open the expanded folder to work with the files and folders it contains.
Note: If you no longer need the compressed file, move it to the Trash.
Find Files, Folders, and Other Information
As you use your MacBook Pro, you create a lot of data in various documents, images, movies, and other kinds of files. You also interact with e-mail, web pages, and other sources of information. Over time, you might not remember where all this information is. OS X includes tools to help you find the information you need. You can search for files using the Search bar in Finder windows. You can also use Spotlight on the desktop to search many kinds of information at the same time.
Find Files, Folders, and Other Information
Find Files and Folders with Finder
In a Finder window, type the information you want to search for in the Search box.
A As you type, the Finder suggests options for how you want to search, such as Name matches or Kinds.
Click the option by which you want to search.
B Files and folders that meet your criteria appear in the window.
To make the search more specific, click the Add button (
).
Click the arrows to select the criteria by which you want to narrow your search from the pop-up menu.
Select the condition.
Select other conditions on additional menus that appear.
Repeat steps 3 to 6 to add more conditions to your search.
The Finder window shows the files that meet your criteria.
Find Information with Spotlight
Click the Spotlight icon (
).
The Spotlight bar appears.
Type the information for which you want to search.
C As you type, Spotlight displays matching search results.
Point to a result to see more information about it.
D A preview or other information appears.
To open one of the found items, click it.
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How can I find information not stored on my MacBook Pro?
Spotlight automatically searches for items on accessible network folders as well as on your MacBook Pro. Beyond this, Spotlight can search the web for you too. In the search results, look for the Web Searches category. Select one of the results in that category to perform a web search for the term you entered.
How can I use keyboard shortcuts for Spotlight?
You can start a Spotlight search by pressing 
+
. If you click outside the Spotlight window, it closes, but you can easily open it again by pressing +
.
Find Files, Folders, and Other Information (continued)
If you enter a nonspecific search term, Spotlight may return too many results, and you may not find what you want. Use as specific a search term as you can at first, and make it more general if you do not find what you want. You can also configure the items included in searches and the order in which they appear. You can search for help using the OS X Help system or the help systems provided by third-party applications.
Find Files, Folders, and Other Information (continued)
E The item you clicked opens, and you can work with it.
To return to the search results, click the Spotlight icon again ().
Note: To clear a Spotlight search, click Clear (
).
Configure Spotlight
On the Spotlight menu, click Spotlight Preferences.
F The Spotlight pane of the System Preferences application opens.
Deselect the check boxes for any categories you want to exclude.
Drag categories up or down the list to change the order in which they appear in the Spotlight results window.
Choose a keyboard shortcut for the Spotlight menu.
Choose a keyboard shortcut for the Show All command.
Click the Privacy tab.
This pane contains a list of folders Spotlight does not search.
Add folders or volumes to the list by clicking Add (
) or by dragging them from the desktop or a Finder window into the list.
Click Close (
) to quit the System Preferences application.
Find Help
On the Finder menu, click Help.
Type the information related to the help you need.
As you type, the Mac Help system is searched.
To see where a menu item is, point to it.
A The menu opens and a large pointer indicates the menu item.
To read a help topic, click it.
A The Help window opens and you see the help topic you selected.
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What does the Show All in Finder option in the Spotlight results window do?
When you click Show All in Finder in the Spotlight results window, a Finder window appears, configured with the search information you entered in Spotlight. You can then add search criteria, save the search, and so on.
Do all applications use the Mac Help system?
All applications are supposed to provide a Help menu that you can use to get help. Apple applications use the Help system provided by OS X so that you can use the same tools to find help in any of these applications.
Create Smart Folders
A Smart Folder is a folder with built-in search criteria that make it automatically collect aliases to items that meet the criteria. For example, you can create a Smart Folder for a specific project that includes a key phrase that is part of all the file and folder names related to that project. Whenever you create a folder or file whose name includes that phrase, OS X automatically includes an alias to the folder or file in the project's folder. Each time you open the Smart Folder, you see aliases to all of the files and folders that currently meet its criteria.
Create Smart Folders
With the Finder active, click File and then click New Smart Folder.
Type the text or numbers for which you want to search.
A As you enter conditions, the Finder suggests options for how you want to search, such as Name matches.
Click the option by which you want to search.
Files and folders that meet your search criteria appear in the window.
In the Search bar, click where the Finder should search.
Click Add ().
A row of condition controls appears.
Click the arrows and select the criteria by which you want to narrow your search and then select the condition from the pop-up menu.
To make the search even more specific, click Add ().
A new condition appears.
Click the arrows and select the attribute by which you want to search on the first pop-up menu.
Click here and select the operator from the pop-up menu.
Configure the rest of the parameters for the condition you created.
Repeat steps 7 to 10 to add more conditions to the search until you find all the content you want to include in the folder.
Note: To remove a condition, click Remove (
).
Click Save.
Type the name of the folder in the Save As field.
Click the arrows and select a save location from the pop-up menu.
Deselect the Add To Sidebar check box (
changes to 
) if you do not want the folder to appear in the Favorites section of the Sidebar.
Click Save.
Whenever you open the Smart Folder — for example, by clicking its icon on the Sidebar — you see all the files and folders that currently meet its search criteria.
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Where is the Saved Searches folder?
When you accept the default location in which to store your smart folders, they are saved in your Saved Searches folder. To access this folder, click the Go menu. Press and hold , and then click Library. You will see the Saved Searches folder in the Library folder. If you do not save your searches on the Sidebar, add the Saved Searches folder to your Dock or to the Sidebar to make moving back there easier.
Get Information About Files and Folders
Finder windows show essential information about the files and folders on your MacBook Pro. To see more details about any file or folder, you can use the Finder's Get Info command. This command opens the Info window, which provides a lot of detailed information about what you have selected. The information in this window depends on the type of item you selected. For example, you see a different set of information when you select an application file than when you select a document.
Get Information About Files and Folders
In a Finder window, select a file or folder you want to get information about.
Click File.
Click Get Info.
The Info window opens. This window consists of several different sections that you can expand or collapse as needed.
Click a section's disclosure triangle to see the information it contains ( changes to 
).
Note: In addition to viewing information about a file or folder, you can use the Info window to make changes to a file or folder. For example, the following steps show you how to change the application used to open a file. You can do other tasks as well, such as change the permissions for an item or enter comments or tags for searches.
Note: To view information about multiple items at once, use the Inspector window. Select the items, Control+click in the selection, press , and then select Show Inspector.
Click Add Tags.
The Tags list appears.
Click each tag you want to apply to the file.
Note: You can use the Inspector window to apply tags to multiple items at the same time.
Click the Open with disclosure triangle ( changes to ) to expand the section.
Click the Open with pop-up menu and select the application in which you want the document to open.
Click Change All to open all documents of the same type in the application.
When you are done viewing or changing information, click Close () to close the Info window.
Note: You can leave the Info window open as long as you want, and you can have many Info windows open at the same time, which makes comparing items easy.
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What are Comments?What are Comments?
The Comments section appears at the top of the Info window. You can enter text in this field to associate that text with an item. When you search your MacBook, OS X includes this information in the search.
What is the Sharing & Permissions section used for?What is the Sharing & Permissions section used for?
Here, you see each person or group who has access to the item along with the permissions each has. You can use the controls in this section to change the access people or groups have to the item. First, click the Lock icon (
) and enter an administrator username and password. Second, use the pop-up menus to change privileges and Add () or Remove (
) to make changes.
Organize Your Files and Folders with Tags
You can organize your files and folders by giving them descriptive names and storing them in appropriate places. But OS X, its apps, and iCloud give you another means of organizing your files and folders: tags. OS X includes a set of default tags that you can customize to better describe your projects. Applying one or more tags to a file enables you to locate it more easily in the Finder, iCloud, or apps. You can use tags to pull together related files from across your MacBook's file system and your iCloud account.
Organize Your Files and Folders with Tags
Customize Your Tags
Click the desktop.
Click Finder.
Click Preferences.
Click Tags.
Click a tag you want to rename, and then type the new name.
Select the check box (
changes to ) to make the tag appear in the list in the Finder.
Drag the tags into the order in which you want them to appear.
Drag tags to the Favorite Tags list at the bottom to control which tags appear in Finder menus.
Click Close ().
The Finder Preferences window closes.
Your customized tags appear in the Tags list in the Sidebar in the Finder.
Apply Tags to Files and Folders
If the Tags section of the Sidebar is not displayed, move the mouse pointer (
) over Tags and click Show when it appears.
Click the file or folder you want to tag.
Drag the file or folder to the appropriate tag in the Tags list in the Sidebar.
OS X applies the tag to the file or folder.
Note: You can also apply tags from the File menu or from the contextual menu.
View Files and Folders by Tags
Click the appropriate tag.
A The Finder window shows the tagged files and folders.
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How do I apply tags to a new document I create?
In the app, click File and Save or press +
.
Type the file name.
Click Tags and then click the tag to apply.
Choose the folder.
Click Save.