Newb Questions - Transition from Windows to OSX

[uhohhotdog]

Hi, i still use windows on my PC but i would like to set up my OSX to operate in the same ways for some things.

1. Home / End keys on keyboard how can i change those to operate how they would on windows where when focusing on text clicking those keys takes you to the end of the line or the beginning. I tried changing my preferences like a couple sites said but it doesnt seem to work in anything but firefox.

2. When clicking on a ICON from the DOCK i would like it to open a new instance of the APP. For example i already have firefox open and i click on the firefox icon on the dock, i want it to open a new instance of the app, not bring the current instance of the app to focus.

3. I cant for the life of me figure out how to configure button 4 & 5 on my mouse. Mainly i want to use them for going forward/backwards like when browsing or evening using Finder.

4. When you have multiple versions of an app open you can visually see this in the Windows Task bar, is it possible to set up the DOCK or some 3rd party app to support that? I have 4 ICONS on my DOCK and thats all ill ever have so im not worried about space.

5a. When using spaces and i have lets say in section #1 firefox open and i move to section #2 and trying to open firefox it will just go back to section #1 and bring firefox to focus. So i would instead like it to open a new instance of the APP i click in that space.

5b. Is it at all possible with spaces to take a current instance of a program and somehow move it to a different space?

 

[tibi08]

You're missing the whole point of Mac OS. It works much better than Windows, get use to it rather than trying to change it and you will soon prefer the Mac way of life.

 

[Tallest Skil]

2. That's not how it works. Use tabs for browsers.
4. You don't have "multiple instances" open, you have multiple windows open. Multiple windows is a concept from 2001. We use tabs for browsers now, and if you tell us the app you're talking about, we'll find you a more elegant solution.
5. Drag the app to that space. The point of Spaces is to keep certain apps in certain spaces.

 

[kunze50]

To get a browser window in two Spaces you could always right click the icon of the browser, in the dock, for a listed option to open a new window in the new Space.

 

[xraydoc]

Hi, i still use windows on my PC but i would like to set up my OSX to operate in the same ways for some things.

1. Home / End keys on keyboard how can i change those to operate how they would on windows where when focusing on text clicking those keys takes you to the end of the line or the beginning. I tried changing my preferences like a couple sites said but it doesnt seem to work in anything but firefox.

2. When clicking on a ICON from the DOCK i would like it to open a new instance of the APP. For example i already have firefox open and i click on the firefox icon on the dock, i want it to open a new instance of the app, not bring the current instance of the app to focus.

3. I cant for the life of me figure out how to configure button 4 & 5 on my mouse. Mainly i want to use them for going forward/backwards like when browsing or evening using Finder.

4. When you have multiple versions of an app open you can visually see this in the Windows Task bar, is it possible to set up the DOCK or some 3rd party app to support that? I have 4 ICONS on my DOCK and thats all ill ever have so im not worried about space.

5a. When using spaces and i have lets say in section #1 firefox open and i move to section #2 and trying to open firefox it will just go back to section #1 and bring firefox to focus. So i would instead like it to open a new instance of the APP i click in that space.

5b. Is it at all possible with spaces to take a current instance of a program and somehow move it to a different space?

1) Nope. Home/End keys operate a bit differently on OS X, though often this is app-specific versus OS-specific.

2) On Mac OS X, there are no separate instances; you can only have one copy of an app running in memory at any one time. You can, however, go to File --> New Window. Or, at least with Safari, right click on the Dock icon and select "New Window"

3) What kind of mouse? If its a Logitech or Microsoft mouse, you can download the drivers from their website. If its some other brand, and they don't offer specific drivers, you can use a third-party generic driver like SteerMouse.

4) The Dock will show running apps, stored apps and minimized windows. An open window won't have an independent icon in the Dock. This prevents an app that has multiple open windows from having multiple icons in the Dock. This is another place where Windows and OS X will differ.

5a) Can't do this - see #2 above. But you can move a Firefox window from one space to another once open. But, as a workaround, see below...

5b) Yes, you can move a window or multiple windows from one space to another. You can also set the app to always open in a certain space (i.e., Firefox always opens into space 3, Mail into space 2, etc.).