Mac newbie questions

[None Such]

I just got my MBP yesterday, it's my first Mac. But a few things are annoying me, that I can't seem to figure out. And it's annoying because these things have to be easy, I'm just not seeing how to do it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. How do I see what version of OSX, and other settings I have.

2. How do I maximize a window in Firefox or Safari and get it to fill up the screen? I hit the green button and it just fills the window about 3/4th of the way.

3. How do I get Firefox to stay on the dashboard? It's gone everytime I turn off my MBP.

 

[xUKHCx]

I just got my MBP yesterday, it's my first Mac. But a few things are annoying me, that I can't seem to figure out. And it's annoying because these things have to be easy, I'm just not seeing how to do it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. How do I see what version of OSX, and other settings I have.

2. How do I maximize a window in Firefox or Safari and get it to fill up the screen? I hit the green button and it just fills the window about 3/4th of the way.

3. How do I get Firefox to stay on the dashboard? It's gone everytime I turn off my MBP.

1.) Click the apple logo top left, about this mac.
2.) the zoom button (green one) maximisies the window to the page content rather than the screen. I believe Opera has full screen viewing if you really want it or Firefox extensions might add it.
3.) I assume you mean the dock rather than dashboard. Go to you applications folder find firefox and drag it to the dock. IT'll then stay there. The dock is the thing on the main screen with all of the icons on it. The dashboard is a separate layer with widgets on it accessed by F12.

 

[jczubach]

I just got my MBP yesterday, it's my first Mac. But a few things are annoying me, that I can't seem to figure out. And it's annoying because these things have to be easy, I'm just not seeing how to do it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

1. How do I see what version of OSX, and other settings I have.

2. How do I maximize a window in Firefox or Safari and get it to fill up the screen? I hit the green button and it just fills the window about 3/4th of the way.

3. How do I get Firefox to stay on the dashboard? It's gone everytime I turn off my MBP.

1: click icon, top left corner "About this Mac"
2:Safari: same corner "Dock" turn hiding on - then maximize your windows
3:right click on icon in dock and select "Keep in Dock"
cheers

 

[gr8tfly]

3. When Firefox is running, right click or click & hold on its dock icon, and select "Keep in dock."

 

[MisterMe]

Whether or not Firefox is running, drag its icon to the Dock.

 

[XheartcoreboyX]

just curiously,why would someone make a browser's window full screen??
maybe you like the white spaces on the 2 sides...i can understand you used to them in IE XD...

 

[None Such]

1: click icon, top left corner "About this Mac"
2:Safari: same corner "Dock" turn hiding on - then maximize your windows
3:right click on icon in dock and select "Keep in Dock"
cheers

Thanks, now how do I right click on the MBP?

 

[None Such]

just curiously,why would someone make a browser's window full screen??
maybe you like the white spaces on the 2 sides...i can understand you used to them in IE XD...

Just habit I guess. I've never had or used a mac. I thought that's the way it should be and I just had something screwed up.

 

[psycoswimmer]

Thanks, now how do I right click on the MBP?

Click and hold / Control+Click

Tip: If you want tabs in Safari, it's in preferences. I had problems with this when switching, so I thought I'd tell you.

 

[None Such]

Whether or not Firefox is running, drag its icon to the Dock.

How do I do this with the MBP trackpad?

 

[None Such]

Click and hold / Control+Click

Tip: If you want tabs in Safari, it's in preferences. I had problems with this when switching, so I thought I'd tell you.

Thank you! Especially for that Safari tip. I just finished checking a box in preferences where you hold two fingers on the trackpad and click for a right click.

 

[Luigi239]

Thanks, now how do I right click on the MBP?

You can do a ctrl click, or go into system prefs (apple>system preferences), go to keyboard and mouse, go to trackpad, and enable "Two fingers for secondary click."

 

[kiwi-in-uk]

Just habit I guess. I've never had or used a mac. I thought that's the way it should be and I just had something screwed up.

This is an important point.

As you become more familiar with the way OS X works you will find that many operations are designed to be drag/drop between windows. This means that you will need to see both windows. I have had to show several people (switching from Windows to OS X) why the "full screen habit" actually obstructs a lot of OS X and app functionality. (I did the same thing when I bought my first Mac 3 years ago).