Old Winows user! How do you do basic functions on a Mac?

[-Josh-]

Hey guys!
I'm a new user to the macworld, I'm going to be picking up a pick when the next update hits - but I don't know too much about them.
I tried screw around with basic functions with the Macs at CompUSA and was pretty lost. Is there anyway to full screen? How about saving images from Safari to your computer, on Windows you right click - save as - ect.

Is there a site with maybe, 10 basic applications for ex windows users, or something?

Thanks!

 

[arkitect]

How about saving images from Safari to your computer, on Windows you right click - save as - ect.

Well for a start, just dragging and dropping the images works… 🙂

 

[Roy Hobbs]

Hey guys!
I'm a new user to the macworld, I'm going to be picking up a pick when the next update hits - but I don't know too much about them.
I tried screw around with basic functions with the Macs at CompUSA and was pretty lost. Is there anyway to full screen? How about saving images from Safari to your computer, on Windows you right click - save as - ect.

Is there a site with maybe, 10 basic applications for ex windows users, or something?

Thanks!

Keep in mind OS X is not windows so they don't function the same way.

OS X was designed for multitasking so there really isnt a button to go FULL SCREEN as there is in windows. But you can drag the bottom right corner of most windows to make them bigger.

To safe an image, right click just like in Windows (if you have a 2 button mouse) or Control-Click on the Image, or you can 2 a two finger click on the trackpad if using a Apple Notebook.

 

[skinnylegs]

Macs have right-click options now. Saving images from a browser to the desktop (or where ever you like) is not much different.....

In terms of full-screen viewing, it depends on what app. you are working in. It's not available across-the-board.

If you have other questions, fire away! OS X is pretty easy to work with. I would highly recommend getting comfortable with the Finder. It is a very powerful tool and will get even better when Leopard is released.

 

[JFreak]

OS X was designed for multitasking so there really isnt a button to go FULL SCREEN as there is in windows. But you can drag the bottom right corner of most windows to make them bigger.

Or click the green "zoom" button which (usually) makes the window as big as is necessary. That too is application dependant, for example iTunes zooms back and makes it a mini player. Anyway, you're right, Mac uses are used to *not* having application windows fill the entire screen.

 

[WhySoSerious]

start here bro........helped me out a TON!

myfirstmac.com

 

[samuraikiss]

This Tiger OSX tutorial from Apple itself will probably help you out too. But, as a Windows user of 15 years trying to make the switch, I sympathize completely. Good luck!

 

[IJ Reilly]

Well for a start, just dragging and dropping the images works… 🙂

The other answers are correct but this IMO is the best one, because it really describes how the Mac differs from Windows. Unlike Windows, drag-and-drop really works in OSX.

 

[TheStu]

The other answers are correct but this IMO is the best one, because it really describes how the Mac differs from Windows. Unlike Windows, drag-and-drop really works in OSX.

And it works freaking everywhere. You can drag the image out of Safari, hit F9 to tile all your open windows while still holding the image, and then move the image onto a Finder window and through enough spring loaded folders (another thing different from Windows, holding an item over a folder will cause it to open after a second or so) to an application like Photoshop or iPhoto and you can immediately start editing it if you like.

Just try things on the Mac. The likelihood of you breaking something is incredibly low, so you don't have to worry about it. And I am personally much more surprised when something that I am trying on a whim doesn't work in OS X than when it does (the opposite was true in Windows, I was surprised when it did work)

 

[rosh325]

If you don't mind spending money, this is a really good book. It is sold in all apple retail stores and will probably be updated shortly for leopard.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APP.../shop_mac/mac_accessories/books&nplm=T9275Z/A

 

[enklined]

I would highly recommend getting comfortable with the Finder. It is a very powerful tool and will get even better when Leopard is released.

Huh? Isn't Finder basically just Windows Explorer? I know with Leopard it will be getting some nice features added on (QuickLook or whatever, and Coverflow).

I'm new to Macs, and from my few weeks of experience, it seems as though that Finder is just Windows Explorer....without the ability, that I can find, of setting a default view (ie tile, spring loaded, or detail) for ALL FOLDERS AT ONCE. There has to be away, if you know, please PM me or something (as to not hi-jack this thread completely).

 

[Edot]

Huh? Isn't Finder basically just Windows Explorer? I know with Leopard it will be getting some nice features added on (QuickLook or whatever, and Coverflow).

I'm new to Macs, and from my few weeks of experience, it seems as though that Finder is just Windows Explorer....without the ability, that I can find, of setting a default view (ie tile, spring loaded, or detail) for ALL FOLDERS AT ONCE. There has to be away, if you know, please PM me or something (as to not hi-jack this thread completely).

Pretty sure it is in Finder > Preferences or View > View Options. I'm not on a mac right now, so I can't confirm it, but it is in one of the Finder menus. I think there is a checkbox for apply to all finder windows.

 

[Brianstorm91]

Huh? Isn't Finder basically just Windows Explorer? ... It seems as though that Finder is just Windows Explorer.

You're in for it now from the mac users mate.
😛

 

[TheStu]

Huh? Isn't Finder basically just Windows Explorer? I know with Leopard it will be getting some nice features added on (QuickLook or whatever, and Coverflow).

I'm new to Macs, and from my few weeks of experience, it seems as though that Finder is just Windows Explorer....without the ability, that I can find, of setting a default view (ie tile, spring loaded, or detail) for ALL FOLDERS AT ONCE. There has to be away, if you know, please PM me or something (as to not hi-jack this thread completely).

Within an active finder window, hit Command (Apple) + J, and that brings up the View Options. At the top of the View Options window, there are 2 bubbles;
This folder only
All Folders

There is your default view.

 

[elppa]

And it works freaking everywhere. You can drag the image out of Safari, hit F9 to tile all your open windows while still holding the image, and then move the image onto a Finder window and through enough spring loaded folders (another thing different from Windows, holding an item over a folder will cause it to open after a second or so) to an application like Photoshop or iPhoto and you can immediately start editing it if you like.

If click and drag an icon from the title bar (for example TextEdit) then you can move it / hover it to open in another application.

The file has to be saved somewhere first.

Within an active finder window, hit Command (Apple) + J, and that brings up the View Options. At the top of the View Options window, there are 2 bubbles;
This folder only
All Folders

There is your default view.

True, but it doesn't solve the problem of the original poster, as you can't specify a view option (icon/list/column).

The only thing I can think of is the "Open new windows in column view" in Finder Preferences. However, that it no good if you prefer some other view!

In this area the Finder is lacking and a little half baked.

 

[Paulsan]

Saving images in Safari

You can option-click on an image to save it to your default folder.

 

[QuarterSwede]

True, but it doesn't solve the problem of the original poster, as you can't specify a view option (icon/list/column).

The only thing I can think of is the "Open new windows in column view" in Finder Preferences. However, that it no good if you prefer some other view!

In this area the Finder is lacking and a little half baked.

Leopard's Finder fixes this problem and will truly remember your settings per folder.

Also, you can drag and drop into the dock as well.

Ex. Drag an image from Safari onto iPhoto's icon in the dock and it will import it even if it currently isn't open. Or drag anything to the mail icon to attach it to a new message. Very simple.

 

[vanmacguy]

As a fairly new switcher myself (just over a year ago) I think the most important thing to know is that OS X works the way you want it to. Versus in the Windows world you have to adapt a lot.

The best thing to do (IMO) is to let go of the way you do things on Windows, sit in front of your Mac and ask how you would logically go about doing something. You'll find that that's the way it normally works on a Mac. It's a very logical OS.

There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts, there's a Widget that you can download that has a ton of them. Some you'll use all the time (Cmd-Q quits an application, Cmd-N gives you another version of the application - Safari for example, Cmd-T gives you a new Tab in Safari, Cmd-I give you the information on something - similar to Properties in Windows) and lots of applications use their own. Navigation around a Mac is so much quicker than a Windows machine if you can remember just a few of them. You'll seriously be amazed.

Welcome to the fold.

Cheers.

 

[mooncaine]

Just try things on the Mac. The likelihood of you breaking something is incredibly low, so you don't have to worry about it. ....

... Except for one thing that catches Windows users who are new to Mac:

When you select a file and whack ENTER or RETURN, on a Mac, that doesn't open the file. It's a habit I had to break when I switched.

Instead, whacking the ENTER or RETURN key on a Mac puts you in filename editing mode, so the next keystrokes you make are now renaming the file.

Once you get used to it, it's great -- I prefer it -- but it takes a while to remind yourself that the ENTER/RETURN keys don't start a program you selected in a folder, or open a document. Instead, use CMD-o to open a selected file. If it's an app, it runs. If it's a doc, it opens.

Like I said, I had to break the old habit when I switched. I was constantly renaming files accidentally, and there was no Undo for that, so if I didn't remember the name of the file, I was outta luck. Now, at least there's one Undo level, if you catch your mistake soon enough.

Other than that, you can pretty much try anything without worries that you might break something complicated. Have fun and remember that the little things are different, but that's all they are, little things. Don't let the differences frustrate you; just say, wow, that's different.

 

[JFreak]

True, but it doesn't solve the problem of the original poster, as you can't specify a view option (icon/list/column). In this area the Finder is lacking and a little half baked.

You can set your default view by setting the Finder the way you like and then hold Command(Apple) key while closing the Finder window from the red button. Next time you open Finder, the view should remain how you left it. I mean, literally, Finder should remember window position and all.

 

[mooncaine]

Oh, about the maximize screen: that's another thing we Windows switchers miss, early in our Mac experience, but the desire usually goes away. It turns out to be a small thing, in the grand scheme of life, but I do appreciate it now & then, depending on the app. Preview has a full screen views of its own, for example, if you're reading a PDF.

I was glad to know, from reading I do for my work, that maximizing a web browser wasn't actually helping me as much as leaving it in a tall, narrow column. It turns out [and research proves] that narrow vertical columns of text are easier to read, and read more quickly, without losing one's place in the text. So now I let my Mac decide the right width for a window, and sometimes I even make it more narrow -- and that makes it easier & more efficient to read text.

 

[jim.arrows]

As a fairly new switcher myself (just over a year ago) I think the most important thing to know is that OS X works the way you want it to. Versus in the Windows world you have to adapt a lot.

The best thing to do (IMO) is to let go of the way you do things on Windows, sit in front of your Mac and ask how you would logically go about doing something. You'll find that that's the way it normally works on a Mac. It's a very logical OS.

There are a lot of keyboard shortcuts, there's a Widget that you can download that has a ton of them. Some you'll use all the time (Cmd-Q quits an application, Cmd-N gives you another version of the application - Safari for example, Cmd-T gives you a new Tab in Safari, Cmd-I give you the information on something - similar to Properties in Windows) and lots of applications use their own. Navigation around a Mac is so much quicker than a Windows machine if you can remember just a few of them. You'll seriously be amazed.

Welcome to the fold.

Cheers.

As a frustrated switcher who hasn't used my macbook much since buying in May, all I want it to do is maximize the window when I double-click the title bar -- is there a widget or any other way that adds this functionality? I can't STAND having a busy screen space with multiple windows open! TIA

 

[jim.arrows]

Oh, about the maximize screen: that's another thing we Windows switchers miss, early in our Mac experience, but the desire usually goes away. It turns out to be a small thing, in the grand scheme of life, but I do appreciate it now & then, depending on the app. Preview has a full screen views of its own, for example, if you're reading a PDF.

I was glad to know, from reading I do for my work, that maximizing a web browser wasn't actually helping me as much as leaving it in a tall, narrow column. It turns out [and research proves] that narrow vertical columns of text are easier to read, and read more quickly, without losing one's place in the text. So now I let my Mac decide the right width for a window, and sometimes I even make it more narrow -- and that makes it easier & more efficient to read text.

lol, didn't go away in my case, I went back to windows... 😛

 

[crees!]

Hey guys!
I'm a new user to the macworld, I'm going to be picking up a pick when the next update hits - but I don't know too much about them.
I tried screw around with basic functions with the Macs at CompUSA and was pretty lost. Is there anyway to full screen? How about saving images from Safari to your computer, on Windows you right click - save as - ect.

Is there a site with maybe, 10 basic applications for ex windows users, or something?

If you are really serious about purchasing a Mac, read this and thank me later.

http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Leopard-Missing-Manual/dp/059652952X/

 

[vanmacguy]

As a frustrated switcher who hasn't used my macbook much since buying in May, all I want it to do is maximize the window when I double-click the title bar -- is there a widget or any other way that adds this functionality? I can't STAND having a busy screen space with multiple windows open! TIA

Depending on the Application, the Green button will often 'maximize' it. But as you've learned maximize on the Mac is not the same as it is on Windows. On the Mac, maximize puts the window to the largest it can be without taking over the whole screen.

I'd say that for your problem, either get used to using Expose, which is super powerful when you're used to it. Upgrade to Leopard for Spaces, or download something called VirtueDesktop (I think that's its name). Sadly due to Spaces in Leopard the developer is no longer working on it, but I used it for a while and found it really useful.

I use Expose all the time now and can't imagine life without it. I never need to remember where my open windows and apps are. Expose just knows for me.

Cheers.