Newbie "how to" questions...

[garyd9]

Playing more and more with the new macbook, I've come up with a couple more 'how do I..." questions I can't seem to find the answers for:

In Time Machine, is there a way to add a comment or label to a backup? Some examples might be "clean OS install" or "backup before installing XYZ app"

I purchased a mini-DVI adapter to attach my 22" screen to the macbook... Is there a way to completely turn off the macbook's display and use the external monitor as the primary display? (I can only seem to either mirror or extend - and mirroring limits the screen res to the built-in LCD max of 1280x800)

 

[GGJstudios]

.. Is there a way to completely turn off the macbook's display and use the external monitor as the primary display?

Try Control-Shift-Eject

 

[garyd9]

Try Control-Shift-Eject

That turned off both displays (power save type turn off) but didn't disable either of them. As soon as I wiggle the mouse (or touch the trackpad) but displays popped back on.

It appears I can do what I want IF I plug in an external mouse and keyboard and then close the lid of the notebook. I'd prefer not to connect an external keyboard, though...

 

[blodwyn]

In Time Machine, is there a way to add a comment or label to a backup? Some examples might be "clean OS install" or "backup before installing XYZ app"

Time Machine takes scheduled incremental backups, so labeling it as a snapshot as you suggest above would be misleading. However you could probably open up the information pane for the TM sparseimage and add a comment in the "Spotlight Comments" field.

I purchased a mini-DVI adapter to attach my 22" screen to the macbook... Is there a way to completely turn off the macbook's display and use the external monitor as the primary display? (I can only seem to either mirror or extend - and mirroring limits the screen res to the built-in LCD max of 1280x800)

You can change the primary display to the external monitor. In the "Displays" preference pane, just drag the white menu bar onto the external display, and that will become the primary. You can leave it set that way, and every time you plug in the monitor it will automatically switch to become the primary.

 

[garyd9]

You can change the primary display to the external monitor. ... and every time you plug in the monitor it will automatically switch to become the primary.

That's PERFECT. Thank you! It actually makes it feasible to do photoshop work on this little macbook!

(That answer should go into a FAQ of some kind..)

 

[Consultant]

To turn off internal,
close lid to put it to sleep,
connect external display,
use something usb to wake it up (i.e. mouse, keyboard)

Your external display will now be primary and internal will be off.