Mac OS X
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0 www.blogmines.com Mac OS X Beginners GUIDE Digital Answers www.blogmines.com
description
This ebook contains tutorials on Mac OS X. Also some cool tips and tricks on Mac OS X
Transcript of Mac OS X
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Mac OS X Beginners GUIDE Digital Answers
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Table of Contents Where to find the serial number in Mac OS X? ..................................................................................... 4
Display the hard disk on Mac Desktop.................................................................................................... 5
How to change the timezone on Mac OS ............................................................................................... 5
Change battery display on Mac Book Pro .............................................................................................. 6
Change the number of recent items displayed on a Mac OS .............................................................. 6
How to display the WiFi status in Menu bar on Mac OS ...................................................................... 6
How to display screensaver with clock on Mac ..................................................................................... 7
How to turn off the automatic download of update on Mac OS........................................................... 7
Display Date Created in finder view on Mac OS ................................................................................... 8
Exclude folders from Spotlight search on Mac ...................................................................................... 8
Turn off warning message for empty trash on Mac OS X .................................................................... 8
How to configure Gmail in Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................................. 9
Resume from where you left after shutdown in Mac OS X Lion ......................................................... 9
How to check the latest software update installed on Mac OS X Lion ............................................. 10
How to display user icon in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion .................................................................. 10
How to uninstall Safari extension on Mac OS X Lion ......................................................................... 11
How to change the desktop background in Mac OS X Lion .............................................................. 11
How to change the check for new messages in Mail on Mac OS X Lion ........................................ 11
How to change new message sound in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion .............................................. 12
How to use Reliance Connect with Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................ 14
How disable user changing password on Mac OS X Lion ................................................................. 18
How to keep copy of email sent from Mail app on Mac OS X Lion .................................................. 20
How to display the sound control in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion ................................................... 21
How to enable spell check before sending email on Mac OS X Lion ............................................... 22
How to configure Yahoo Mail on Mac OS X Lion ................................................................................ 23
How to disable auto login on Mac OS X Lion ...................................................................................... 25
How to enable password protection for screensaver on Mac OS X Lion ........................................ 27
How to show battery status in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion ............................................................. 28
How to hide or unhide finder favorites on Mac OS X Lion ................................................................. 29
How to change computer name and localhost name on Mac OS X Lion ........................................ 30
How to enable internet sharing on Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................. 31
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How to enable remote login on Mac OS X Lion .................................................................................. 33
How to enable remote management in Mac OS X Lion ..................................................................... 34
How to add RSS feed in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion ........................................................................ 36
Automatically delete RSS articles in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion ................................................... 37
How to change decimal separator on Mac OS X Lion ........................................................................ 38
How to run traceroute on Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................................. 39
Quickly preview files and folders on Mac OS X Lion .......................................................................... 40
How to launch Mail app on Mac Startup ............................................................................................... 42
How to change dock position on Mac OS X Lion ................................................................................ 44
How update Safari browser on Mac or PC ........................................................................................... 45
How to change attachment download location on Mac Lion Mail App ............................................. 47
How to connect Apple Wireless keyboard with Mac Book Pro ......................................................... 48
How to change file association on Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................. 50
How to connect Apple Magic Mouse to Mac Book Pro ...................................................................... 52
How to connect HP Deskjet 3050 J610 series printer to wireless network ..................................... 54
How to change the background color of Launch Pad in Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 ............................ 57
iPhone and Image Capture app on Mac ............................................................................................... 59
How to copy screenshots from Google Nexus 7 to Mac .................................................................... 61
How to disable the display of save to cloud on OS X Lion ................................................................ 63
can’t be opened from an unidentified developer error message on Mac OS X .............................. 65
How to recover Wi-Fi password on Mac OS X Lion ............................................................................ 67
How to insert keyboard characters on Mac OS X Lion....................................................................... 69
Spell check settings on Mac Mail ........................................................................................................... 70
How burn a disc with iso image on Mac Lion ....................................................................................... 72
How to change the display language on Mac Lion ............................................................................. 73
How to check battery level of Apple Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard ................................... 75
How to unhide Status Bar and Path Bar on Finder in Mac Lion ....................................................... 77
How to apply restriction for Mail and Chat apps on Mac Lion ........................................................... 79
How to rename Bluetooth devices connected to Mac Book Pro ....................................................... 81
How to hide unwanted system preferences on Mac Lion .................................................................. 84
Disable Restore Window when reopening apps on Mac OS X Lion ................................................ 85
Free screen recorder with audio on Mac .............................................................................................. 86
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Clean up Wi-Fi network on Mac ............................................................................................................. 87
Prevent dim display in Macbook Pro ..................................................................................................... 89
What is better – Mac OS X or Windows ............................................................................................... 90
How to take a screenshot In Mac? ........................................................................................................ 92
To take screen shot of the entire screen on Mac: ....................................................................... 93
Save a screenshot to clipboard on Mac: ...................................................................................... 93
How to navigate through Mac OS X ...................................................................................................... 93
How to change Bluetooth device name of iPhone/iPad/Mac............................................................. 94
Activity Monitor – Terminate non responding processes on Mac ..................................................... 98
How to enable automatic app updates on Mac OS X ......................................................................... 99
How to copy photos from Mac to iPad ................................................................................................ 101
Problem starting oDesk Team app on OS X Mavericks ................................................................... 102
Problems adding pdf books to iTunes on Mac .................................................................................. 104
How to retrieve password for websites on Mac OS X ...................................................................... 106
Fix Wi-Fi connection problems when Mac goes to sleep or idle ..................................................... 107
How to change the default folder for new finder window ................................................................. 109
How to get trash icon on Mac toolbar.................................................................................................. 112
Quickly see the occupied space of folders and files on Mac ........................................................... 113
Save Rich Text document as Word document on Mac using TextEdit .......................................... 115
How to assign Keyboard shortcut for App menus on Mac ............................................................... 116
Freeze desktop on Mac – Prank .......................................................................................................... 118
How to create a drop shadow effect using TextEdit on Mac ........................................................... 120
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Where to find the serial number in Mac OS X?
Let us say you have bought a new Mac System and you want to register the system
with apple for future upgrades. Apple would request you to enter your Mac serial
number for the registration. You can quickly find a Mac OS X serial number using the
About this Mac menu option.
On clicking the About This Mac menu would display the following
To see the serial number of your Mac, click the More Info button.
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The above dialog has the Serial Number (System) of your Mac System
Display the hard disk on Mac Desktop
This short tutorial provides the instruction for displaying the hard disk on Mac
desktop. Launch Finder application then click the Finder menu next to Apple logo and
select Preferences with displayed menu list.
In the Finder Preferences Window, mark the check box Hard disks under Show these
items on the desktop.
This would display your Hard Disk on the Mac Desktop with the default name as
Macintosh HD. If you want to rename the display name of the hard disk then tap the
name twice click and provide a name of your choice
How to change the timezone on Mac OS
This is a simple tip on how to change the time zone on your Mac OS system. Mac
users can change the time zone using the System Preferences.
Launch System Preferences and navigate to System section and click the Date & Time
option
In the Date & Time window, click the Time Zone tab
To set your time zone, choose your location on the map. For example if you want to
set the Time Zone as Central Daylight Time then choose any city on the United States
map with Central Daylight Time as Time Zone.
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Change battery display on Mac Book Pro
In a Mac Book Pro laptop the battery status is displayed on the status bar available at
the top right hand side of the Desktop and by default it displays the battery percentage.
Mac provides users with the option for changing the battery status. It allows users to
change the battery status by time, percentage or only icon. To change the battery
display information, click the battery icon and shows your desired option available
under Show menu.
For example if you want to the battery status to show the time left for next recharge then
click the battery icon on the status bar, then navigate to Show menu and select Time
from the sub menu list. This would change the time left next to the battery icon as
shown below.
Change the number of recent items displayed on a Mac OS
Mac OS displays the recently accessed applications, documents and servers in Recent
Items section available under Apple menu.
The default number of recent items displayed on Mac is set to 10. But you can
change the number of items displayed using the System Preferences menu. To
increase or decrease the number of recent items displays, Launch the System
Preferences window then click the Appearance under the Personal section.
In the Appearance window, navigate to Number of recent items section and using the
corresponding Applications, Documents and Server controls you can increase or
decrease the number of displayed recent items.
How to display the WiFi status in Menu bar on Mac OS
In a Mac OS the status of WiFi (AirPort) is generally displayed on Mac menu bar. This is
very useful to know whether your Mac system is connected to any network and the
current status of the network connection. In case if your Mac system does not show the
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status on the Menu bar then you can turn on the WiFi status using the options provided
as part of Network Preferences.
Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences from the list of available menus.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Internet & Wireless section and click the
Network option.
In the Network window, tick the check box with label as Show AirPort status in Menu
bar.
How to display screensaver with clock on Mac
In this short tutorial we will see how to display screensaver with clock on a Mac OS.
Click the Apple logo and select System Preferences from the displayed menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section then click the Desktop
& Screen Saver option.
Under the Desktop & Screen Saver, tick the check box with label as Show with clock.
This would display the screensaver with clock information.
How to turn off the automatic download of update on Mac OS
In this tutorial we will be looking at the steps required to turn
off the automatic download of update on a Mac OS. If you only want to manually
check for available updates then you can make the necessary changes to the System
Preferences.
In the System Preferences window, click the Software Update option under System
section.
In the Software Update window, unmark the check box with label as “Download
updates automatically“.
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Display Date Created in finder view on Mac OS
The Finder view on Mac OS by default does not display the Date Created field for the
documents, folders and other items. And if you want to know the date created for these
items then you can enable this using Finder View options.
In the Finder View Options window, tick the check box with label as Date Created.
This would display the Date Created column for the respective items as shown above.
Exclude folders from Spotlight search on Mac
This tutorial provides the steps for excluding folders from Spotlight
search on Mac System. This is useful when you have private information in certain
folders and don’t want it to appear when any user does a Spotlight search.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the list of menus.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section and click the Spotlight
option
In the Spotlight Preferences window navigate to Privacy tab.
Click the + sign to launch and select the location you want to exclude from Spotlight
search.
In the above screenshot, Downloads folder has been added and these will Prevent
Spotlight from searching this location.
Turn off warning message for empty trash on Mac OS X
In Mac OS X, when you try to empty trash, a warning message would be displayed “Are
you sure you want to permanently erase the items in the Trash?“
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If you do not want this warning message to be displayed then you can turn off the
message using the Finder Preferences.
Click the Finder and select Preferences from the menu list.
In the Preferences window, navigate to Advanced tab.
To turn off the warning message, un tick the check box with label as “Show warning
before emptying the Trash“.
How to configure Gmail in Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides step by step by instruction for configuring Gmail on Mac OS X
Lion Mail App. Click the Mail icon available on Mac Dock or from the Mac Lion Launch
pad. This would display the Welcome to Mail window, requesting you to enter the
account details as shown below. Enter your Gmail account details and click the Create
button.
After connecting with the server and validating the credentials the Account Summary
screen would display. You can also setup Calendar and Chat module by marking the
corresponding check boxes.
Then click the Create button to complete the setup. The above steps can be followed if
you setting Mail for the first time on your Mac OS X Lion. In case if you had already
created an account want to add one more then click the File menu and select Add
Account from the menu list.
This would display the Add Account screen where you can enter the credentials for
configuring your second Mail Account. After entering the details click the Create button
and continue with setup as explained earlier.
Resume from where you left after shutdown in Mac OS X Lion
Mac OS X Lion has a feature that lets users to resume their work from where they left
before a shutdown. If you have kept applications and windows open before a shutdown
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then you will be provided with an option to keep these windows open when you restart
the system.
When you click on the Apple menu and select restart or shutdown from the menu list,
the following “Are you sure you want to shut down your computer now” window will
appear.
Make sure to mark the check box with label as Reopen windows when logging back
in. This would reopen the windows automatically when the start using your Mac
again.
How to check the latest software update installed on Mac OS X Lion
Mac OS X Lion provides users with the option for checking the list of software
updates installed on the system. This is a useful feature when you are
diagnosing some system problems on your Mac and want to see whether any recent
updates have caused this problem.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to the System section and click the
Software Update option.
This would launch the Software Update window and on clicking the Installed
Software tab will display the list of updates installed. This list would display the name of
the software, installation date and the version of the software.
How to display user icon in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion
Mac OS X Lion by default displays the user name in the Menu bar. When displaying
the full username, you might find the menu bar bit crowded. Mac Lion allows users to
display icon instead of name using User & Group Preferences.
Click the User name and select Users & Groups Preferences from the menu list.
Click the Login Options available under the Users & Groups and select Icon from the
drop down list for Show fast user switching menu.
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Now the menu bar would display the icon instead of the user name.
How to uninstall Safari extension on Mac OS X Lion
In this short tutorial we will see how to uninstall Safari extension on Mac OS X Lion.
Click the Safari menu and select Preferences from the menu list.
In the Preferences window, navigate to Extensions tab.
The Extension tab would display the list of extensions installed and you can uninstall
by selecting the extension and clicking on the Uninstall button.
How to change the desktop background in Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides the steps for changing the desktop background in Mac OS X Lion.
You can change the desktop background using the option provided as part of System
Preferences.
Click Apple menu and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section and click the Desktop
and Screen Saver menu option.
Now you can select your preferred desktop background from Apple, iPhoto or Folders
section.
You can also change desktop background after the specified time by marking the
check box with label as Change Picture and selecting the required time interval.
If you want quickly change desktop background then right click on the desktop and
select Change Desktop Background menu option.
How to change the check for new messages in Mail on Mac OS X Lion
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Mail App installed on Mac OS X Lion has the default time for check for new messages
set to 5 minutes. If you want to change this time or set it to manual then you can do the
following.
Click the Mail menu and select Preferences from the menu list.
Navigate to Check for new messages under the General tab.
Mail App users can change the time or set it to manual using the Check for new
messages drop down.
How to change new message sound in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion
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Mac OS X Lion users can change the sound for new message for their Mail
App using the Preferences menu. Click the Mail menu and select Preferences from the
menu list.
Navigate to New messages sound section under the General tab.
Pick your desired sound for the new messages using the Sound drop down.
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If the sound you are looking for is not listed in the drop down then using Add/Remove
you can pick the sound from your Mac. Also if you do not want to have any sound when
a new message arrives in Mail app then select None from the drop down list.
How to use Reliance Connect with Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial explains the steps required for using Reliance Netconnect with Mac OS X
Lion. Connect the Reliance Netconnect+ USB dongle to your Mac and if auto install
does not start then click the Finder icon and selectRelianceHSD.dmg from the USB
drive.
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This would start extracting the package as shown below
Click the Reliance Netconnect+ to start the installation.
Keep continuing with the default setup and click Next button.
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A prompt would be displayed as shown below, if you are Ok with the restart then click
Continue Installation.
The following successful completion message would be displayed.
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Now on your Mac OS X Lion desktop, the following Reliance Netconnect shortcut will be
available.
Clicking on the Reliance Netconnect shortcut would start configuring your Mac for
Reliance Netconnect.
In the following Netconnect+ screen, enter your user name and password (the mobile
number of your device) and click the Apply button.
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Click Connect icon should start connecting your device.
If you want to check your connection speed, then use speedtest.net. This is the result of
my Reliance Netconnect+ connection.
Though the connection speed was supposed to 3.1 Mbps it is nowhere near the
connection speed :-). Not sure whether this would improve tomorrow, will keep you
updated.
How disable user changing password on Mac OS X Lion
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This tutorial explains the steps required for disabling changing password for a user
on Mac OS X Lion. You can disable by using the option available as part of Parental
Control.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences, navigate to System section click the Parental Controls
option.
First unlock Parental Controls by entering the required admin user credential then click
the Other tab.
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Now mark the check box with label as “Disable changing the password” which would
prevent the user from changing their password.
How to keep copy of email sent from Mail app on Mac OS X Lion
This article is about the setting available in Mail app which when enabled would keep a
copy of the email that is being sent from the Mac system.
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Launch Mail app, Click the Mail menu and select Preferences from the menu list.
Under Composing section, mark the check box with label as Automatically Cc
myself. If you do not want to be in the Cc list then you can also choose Bcc.
How to display the sound control in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion
This article provides the steps required to display the sound control on Mac OS X Lion
menu bar. By default the sound control will be displayed in Menu bar and if it is not
shown then you can do the following
Click the Apple icon and select Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Hardware section and click the Sound
option.
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In the Sound Preferences, mark the check box with label as Show volume in menu
bar
This would display sound control in the menu bar as shown below.
How to enable spell check before sending email on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial tells you how to enable spell check before sending any email on Mac OS
X Lion Mail App. The default behavior in Mail app is that the spellings will be check as
we type the email.
Click the Mail icon and select Preferences from the menu list.
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In the Composing Preferences, navigate to Composing section and select when I click
Send for Check spelling drop down. This would enable spell check before sending
email in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion.
How to configure Yahoo Mail on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides step by step instruction for setting up Yahoo Mail on Mac OS X
Lion. Mac users can configure Yahoo Mail using the Add Accounts menu option
available as part of File menu.
Click the File menu and select Account from list of displayed menus.
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In the Add Account screen, enter the Full Name, Email Address and Password of your
Yahoo mail then click the Continue button.
The Account Summary screen would display account information as shown below.
If you want to configure Contacts, Calendars and Chat then mark the respective
checkboxes and click the Create button. Now the Yahoo Mail box would be available
under Mailboxes.
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How to disable auto login on Mac OS X Lion
The users of Mac OS X Lion can disable automatic login using the option provided as
part of System Preferences. Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from
the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section and click the Security
& Privacy option.
This would display the following Security & Privacy window. Click the lock icon
available at the bottom of window to make any changes to the security settings.
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A popup would be displayed asking to enter the password for allowing changes to the
Security & Privacy preferences.
Once the screen in unlocked, mark the check box with label as Disable automatic
login. This would disable the auto login for all accounts on Mac OS X Lion.
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How to enable password protection for screensaver on Mac OS X Lion
Mac OS X Lion allows users to password protect the system as soon as
the screensaver begins or when the system goes to sleep. By default the password
protection is turned off and you can enable this using option provided as part
of System Preferences.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the list of menus.
In the System Preferences window, click the Security & Privacy option under Personal
section.
This would display the following Security & Privacy window. Mark the check box with
label as Require Password.
You can also specify the time after which the password protection for screen saver and
after sleep needs to be applied.
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How to show battery status in Menu bar on Mac OS X Lion
We had seen how to change the battery status display on Mac OS X Lion. Mac users
can change the display to Icon only or Time Remaining or Percentage. But for some
reason if the menu bar does not show the battery status then you can enable it using
the option provided as part of Energy Saver Preferences.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Navigate to Hardware section and click the Energy Saver option under System
Preferences.
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In the Energy Saver Preferences, mark the check box with label as Show battery
status in menu bar. This would show the battery status in Menu bar on Mac system.
How to hide or unhide finder favorites on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial is about the favorites section available in the Finder component on Mac
OS X Lion. For example if you are not using the Air Drop feature available in new Mac
OS X Lion then you can hide the item from the favorites section.
Click the Finder menu and select Preferences from the menu list.
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In the Finder Preferences, navigate to Sidebar tab and un mark the check box with label
as AirDrop available under FAVORITES.
By this way you can hide the favorites item on Mac OS X Lion. Similarly you can unhide
any item by marking the check box related with the favorites item under Preferences.
How to change computer name and localhost name on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides the steps for changing Mac Lion’s Computer name
and localhost name. User can change the computer and localhost names using the
option provided as part of System Preferences.
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Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Click the Sharing option available under Internet & Wireless Preferences.
You can change the computer name by providing required name in the highlighted text
box.
And you can change the local hostname by clicking the Edit box and entering the
required name in Local Hostname. After entering the required details, click the OK
button to confirm the changes.
How to enable internet sharing on Mac OS X Lion
In this tutorial we will see how to enable internet sharing via WiFi on Mac OS X Lion.
Let us say you have an internet USB stick connected to your Mac Book Pro with Lion
OS. Now if you want to share this internet connection with your iPad over WiFi then you
can do the following.
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Click the Apple icon on your Mac Book Pro and select System Preferencesfrom the
menu list.
In the System Preferences window, click Sharing option under Internet & Wireless
In the Sharing Preferences window, navigate to Internet Sharing in the services list and
make sure mark the check box with label as Wi-Fi for “To computers using“. Then
mark Internet Sharing check box to start sharing your Internet.
If you want to secure your internet sharing then click Wi-Fi Options button and in the
Configure an internet-sharing network window, select Security as 128-bit WEP. This
would provide the option to password protect the shared internet connection.
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Now when you do WiFi search on your iPad, the shared internet connection should be
available in the name of the shared computer.
How to enable remote login on Mac OS X Lion
In this tutorial we will see how to enable remote login using SSH on Mac OS X Lion.
Click the apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Internet & Wireless section and click
Sharing option.
This would display the following Sharing window.
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In the Services list, mark the check box with label as Remote Login. And if you want
provide access to only certain users then you can enter the list of users under the Allow
access for section by selecting Only these users radio option.
How to enable remote management in Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial is about the steps required to enable remote management in Mac OS X
Lion. By enabling remote management, you can allow other users to login to your Mac
and manage it remotely.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, click the Sharing option available under Internet &
Wireless section.
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Navigate to Remote Management service in Sharing Preferences.
Mark the check box available before Remote Management. This would display the
following window using which you specify the permission available for the remote users.
Depending upon the usage need you specify the appropriate access for the users.
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If you want to allow only certain users then select Only these users radio option and
Allow access and for and add those users in the list box.
How to add RSS feed in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides the steps required to add RSS feed in Mail App on Mac OS X
Lion system. You can add a new RSS feed using the option available as part of File
menu.
Launch Mail app and click the File menu. Select Add RSS Feeds from the displayed
menu list.
In the following Add RSS Feeds window select Specify the URL for a feed and enter
the feed URL in the text below.
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If you want to read the RSS feed articles in your Inbox then mark the check box with
label as Show in Inbox. After making the necessary changes, click the Add button.
Now the RSS articles from the configured blog or website will be displayed in Inbox as
well as under RSS section.
Automatically delete RSS articles in Mail App on Mac OS X Lion
In this tutorial we will see how to automatically delete RSS articles in Mail
App on Mac OS X Lion System. We have already seen how to add RSS feed in Mail
App and if you want remove these articles then you can follow the below mentioned
steps.
Click the Mail icon and select Preferences from the menu list.
In the Preferences navigate to RSS tab.
The default value for Remove articles is set to Manually, change this to any other value
from the drop down list.
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For example if you select the value as “After one day” then the RSS articles will be
automatically cleared after one day.
How to change decimal separator on Mac OS X Lion
A question has been asked by a Digital Answers reader about the decimal separator in
excel.
“Hi! in the excel i want to change the comma (,) to dot (.). any idea? thanks! “.
We had already covered about the steps required for changing the decimal separator on
Windows, similarly you can follow the below mentioned steps to change the decimal
separator on Mac OS X Lion.
Click the Apple icon and select Preferences from the menu list.
Then click Language & Text under Personal Preferences.
In the Language & Text window, Navigate the Formats tab and click the Customize
button available under the Numbers section.
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Mac users can change the Decimal Separator using the option available as part
of Number Separators,
How to run traceroute on Mac OS X Lion
We had earlier seen about the steps required for running trace route on Windows
8 system. And if you have got Mac OS X Lion, then you can use Network Utility tool to
find out the trace route results.
Network Utility is available under Utilities, you can either use Launchpad or Spotlight to
access this tool. In Network Tool, click the Traceroute tab and enter the network
address to trace.
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Clicking the Trace button should display the Traceroute details of network address and
this would help you analyze more on the network issue.
Quickly preview files and folders on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial is about the Quick Look feature that is available on Mac OS X Lion. Mac
users can get a preview of files and folders using the Quick Look option. The Quick
Look on a folder provides information such as the total size occupied by the folder and
number files and folders contained in the selected folder. Similarly the Quick Look on
file gives a preview of the file without launching the application to which the file type is
associated.
Launch Finder application on Mac and to preview the folder, click the eye icon available
in Finder menu bar.
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Other alternate way is to right click on the folder and select Quick Look from the
displayed menu list.
This would display the folder details like folder size, number files and folders and the
last modified date and time. And if you want to open the folder then click the Open
folder option available at the top of the popup window.
Similarly if you want to have quick preview of a html file, then navigate to the file and
click the eye icon on Finder menu bar. Find below the preview of a HTML file displayed
without launching associated HTML viewer.
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How to launch Mail app on Mac Startup
We have already seen how to automatically launch Outlook 2010 on Windows Startup ,
similarly in this tutorial we are going to see the steps required to launch Mail App on
Mac Startup.
Click Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, click the Users & Groups option under System
section.
In the Users & Groups window, select the username then navigate the Login items tab
and click the + sign available at the bottom of the Login items list.
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Now select the Mail App from the Application list and click the Add button.
Then make sure to mark the check box before the Mail App. By this way Mac users can
launch Mail automatically in system startup.
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How to change dock position on Mac OS X Lion
The dock in Mac OS X Lion has various application shortcuts and by default it is
positioned at the bottom of the screen. Mac users can quickly use these shortcuts to
launch their apps from Dock.
Change dock position
Users can change the dock position using the option provided as part of Apple menu.
Dock can be moved to either Left or right or to the Bottom of the screen.
Increase Mac screen space
If you want to increase the screen space of your mac system then you can turn on auto
hide feature of dock. By this way the dock would be automatically hidden or displayed in
the screen. You can turn on this feature either by the using the option available as part
of Dock menu or the Doc Preferences.
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How update Safari browser on Mac or PC
In this tutorial we will be seeing how to update safari browser installed on Mac or PC.
Keeping any software up to date is a good practice as updates might fix some
vulnerabilities and also include enhancements.
Apple Download Center
Launch Safari browser and access Apple Website.
Click the Support link on Apple Website.
In the Support page, click the Download icon.
In the Download page, look for any updates related with Safari. If nothing is listed
then you can use the Search Downloads box for searching any updates related with
Safari
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Navigate to Safari update and click the Download Now button.
System Preferences
Mac users can update their Safari browser using the option available as part of System
Preferences
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Navigate to System section and click the Software Update option.
In the Software Update window, Click the Check Now button under Scheduled
Check.
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If any software update is available then it will display the list with the available
updates.
Pick the Safari button and click the Install option.
How to change attachment download location on Mac Lion Mail App
In this tutorial, we will be covering the steps required to change the download location of
attachments on Mac Lion Mail App. When you try to save an attachment received in
email on Mail App, the attachment will be saved to Downloads folder. Mac Lion users
can change the default download folder location using Mac Preferences.
Click the Apple icon and select Preferences from the menu list.
In the General Preferences window, select the value for Downloads folder as “Other”
The “other” option would allow users to specify a folder for downloading the
attachments.
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How to connect Apple Wireless keyboard with Mac Book Pro
This tutorial provides the steps required for connecting a Apple Wireless keyboard with
Mac Book Pro via Bluetooth. Before connecting the Apple Wireless keyboard, make
sure it is turned on. Then click the Apple icon on Mac Book Pro and select System
Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, click the Keyboard option under Hardware section.
In the Keyboard Preferences, click the Setup Up Bluetooth Keyboard button.
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This would start searching for Apple Wireless keyboard and once found the continue
button will be enabled.
Click the Continue button to pair the device by typing the passkey on the keyboard then
press the Return key.
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By this way you can setup a apple wireless keyboard to Mac Book Pro through
Bluetooth.
How to change file association on Mac OS X Lion
Earlier we had seen how to set keynote as the default application for opening a
PowerPoint presentation file. In this tutorial, we will be seeing an alternate way
by changing the file association on Mac OS X Lion.
Launch Finder application on Mac System and and locate a file for which the
association needs to changed. Then right click on the file and select Get Info from the
menu list.
In the Info window, navigate to Open with section and select your Preferred application
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If you want to keep this association permanently and use this application to open all
documents with this file extension then click the Change All button.
You will be prompted with the following warning message. Click the Continue button to
apply this change to all documents with extension “.ppt”.
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How to connect Apple Magic Mouse to Mac Book Pro
This short tutorial is about the steps required to connect Apple Magic Mouse with Mac
Book Pro. Mac users can connect Apple Magic Mouse using option provided as part of
System Preferences.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from menu list.
In the Preferences window, navigate to Hardware preferences and click the Mouse
option.
The following window will be displayed searching Bluetooth Mouse.
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Make sure to turn on the switch available at the bottom surface of Apple Magic Mouse.
Once Bluetooth mouse is discovered, Found “Apple Magic Mouse” message will be
displayed. Then click the Continue button to pair the device with Mac Book Pro. This
would then display the different features and settings for the paired device.
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How to connect HP Deskjet 3050 J610 series printer to wireless network
In this tutorial, we will be covering the steps required to connect HP Deskjet 3050 J610
series printer to wireless network. For this tutorial, the printer has been connected to
Mac OS X Lion system.
Launch HP Deskjet Embedded Web Server Page
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list. In the System
Preferences window, click the Print & Scan option under Hardware section.
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Then click the Options & Supplies button followed by Show Printed Webpage under
General section.
Connecting Printer to Wireless Network
Now click the Network tab and navigate to Wireless section and click the Wireless
Setup Wizard.
Then click the Start Wizard button and select the network to which you want to connect
the printer.
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Then in Step 3 enter the password phrase for connecting to the network and click the
Next button.
Note: - For this demo the printer is connected to WPA Security enabled wireless
network.
Click the Finish button after verifying the wireless settings in Step 4.
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Now your HP Deskjet 3050 J610 should be available as part of Wireless network.
How to change the background color of Launch Pad in Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2
This is a short tutorial on how to change the background color of launch pad in Mac
OS Lion 10.7.2. The default background color of Launch Pad is set to blue wave as
shown below.
You can change the background pattern by pressing Control + B on the keyboard. This
would give a preview of the available background and you can choose the preferred
pattern/color. The different background pattern/color available for Launchpad on Mac
OS X Lion 10.7.2 are show below.
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iPhone and Image Capture app on Mac
Image Capture app lets Mac users to copy the pictures from you device (iPhone or iPad
or iPod) to their system. We have already covered the steps required to copy pictures
from image capture to new folder. Here are some more tutorials on Image Capture
Prevent Automatic launch of Image Capture
Image Capture app sometimes automatically launched when connecting your device to
Mac. But if you do not want to import pictures always then this could be a nuisance. You
can turn off this feature by using the option available as part of the device settings.
Click the device settings icon available are bottom left corner of the Image Capture
window.
Now click drop down available below “Connecting…..Phone opens“
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and select No application from the drop down list.
By this way, Mac users can stop the automatic launch of Image Capture when a iPhone
or iPad or iPod is connected to the system.
Delete pictures after Import
Image Capture has an option that will delete all the pictures from your device after the
import. This can be done by marking the checkbox with label as “Delete after import”
under Device Settings.
Import Pictures to Preview app
Using Image Capture, Mac users can open the pictures in Preview app by clicking the
drop down next to Import to selecting Preview App from the list.
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Deleting and Rotating Pictures
Image capture also provides option to delete single or multiple selected image. And
users can also use the rotate clockwise or anticlockwise icons to rotate the images.
How to copy screenshots from Google Nexus 7 to Mac
Android File Transfer is an utility that helps mac users to copy screenshots from
Google Nexus 7 tablet to their system. Listed below are steps for transferring
screenshots to Mac OS X.
Step 1: Download the Android File Transfer utility and install it on your Mac.
Step 2: Launch the Android File Transfer utility and click the Get started button.
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Step 3: This should display the files from Google Nexus 7 tablet which is connected to
your Mac.
Step 4: Navigate to the Screenshots folder available under Pictures folder.
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Step 5: Now transfer all the required pictures to the Mac system.
How to disable the display of save to cloud on OS X Lion
OS X Mountain Lion displays the option to save to cloud whenever you open any Mac
App that supports cloud storage. For example, while launching TextEdit on previous
version of Mac OS X would display the New Document window but the latest OS X
displays the following iCloud option.
This is a time consuming option if you are not interested to use could storage option.
Listed below are the steps required to turn off the Save to Cloud dialog box on OS X
Mountain Lion.
Step 1: Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
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Step 2: In the System Preferences window, click the iCloud option available under the
Internet & Wireless section.
Step 3: Now unmark the “Document & Data” option in the iCloud Window. This should
prompt whether you want to Delete all documents stored in iCloud, if you have not
stored any documents then press the Delete from Mac option.
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can’t be opened from an unidentified developer error message on Mac OS X
When you are trying to launch a program downloaded from Internet on Mac OS X and
receiving the error message that can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified
developer then you can trying the following.
Step 1: Click Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
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Step 2: In the System Preferences screen, click the Security & Privacy option under
Personal section.
Step 3: This should display the following Security & Privacy screen. Click the lock icon
and enter your password to make changes to the Security & Privacy settings.
Step 4: Then navigate to Allow applications downloaded from section and select
Anywhere option. This would display prompt asking your confirmation as this option
would make your Mac less secure. Click Allow From Anywhere option to confirm the
changes.
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Now you should be able to run any downloaded application from untrusted publishers.
How to recover Wi-Fi password on Mac OS X Lion
We had earlier seen the steps required for finding saved WiFi password on Windows
7 system. Similarly you can recover the WiFi password on Mac OS X Lion
using Keychain Access utility.
Step 1: Launch Keychain Access utility through Spotlight search.
Step 2: In the Keychain Access window, select Passwords under Category
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Step 3: Now select login under Keychain and double click on the name of the WiFi
network for which you want to recover password.
Step 4: This would display the following WiFi network login password window.
Step 5: Mark the check box with label as Show password, which would ask you to
enter the Mac password.
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After validating the entry, the WiFi network password will be displayed next to Show
password. By this way you can recover WiFi password on a Mac system.
How to insert keyboard characters on Mac OS X Lion
This tutorial provides steps required for inserting Mac Keyboard characters such as Alt,
Command. This will be helpful when you are preparing software guides for Mac system.
Step 1: Click the Edit menu and select Special Characters from the menu list.
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Step 2: The Keyboard characters will be available under the Technical Symbols
categories. If you do not find Technical Symbols in the available sections then click the
settings icon and select Customize List from the drop down list.
Step 3: In the Select Categories screen, scroll down and select Technical Symbols.
Step 4: Navigate to Technical Symbols section and select the required Keyboard
characters. You can insert by either clicking the symbol or by right clicking on the
symbol then selecting Copy Character Info option.
Spell check settings on Mac Mail
Mac Mail users can change the spell check settings using the option available under
the Composing Preferences. Click the Apple icon -> Preferences and navigate to
Composing Preferences tab.
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The three options available for Check Spelling are as I type, when I click Send and
never.
never – This option completely disables spell checker on Mail. This may not be a
recommended choice unless you don’t see any problem sending emails without doing a
spell check
when i click send – This option would check for spelling and grammatical errors just
before sending the email. This seems to be good except that when you are forwarding
email it keeps checking for errors on the forward content as well. It will be night mare
when it has chain of emails.
as I type
This is my recommended spell check option for Mac Mail as it runs the spell checker as
and when you type. Right clicking on the highlighted error will display the list of
suggestion and spell check option.
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How burn a disc with iso image on Mac Lion
In this tutorial, we are going to see the steps required to burn a disc with iso
image on Mac Lion. This example uses an iso image containing the Windows 8
Consumer Preview and will use the Disk Utility for burning the iso image to DVD. This
iso image will be converted in to a universal format which can later be used to install on
Windows system.
Launch Disk Utility on your Mac after inserting blank DVD disc.
Click the File menu and select Open Disk Image from the menu list. Now select the iso
image that needs tone extracted to the disc in universal format.
This should mount the iso image and it is now ready for copying.
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Clicking the Burn option should starting writing the file to disc.
After verifying the copied file, the disc will b ejected.
How to change the display language on Mac Lion
This short tutorial is about the steps required to change the display language on Mac
Lion. Mac Lion users can change the display language of the system using the options
available as System Preferences.
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Step 1: Launch System Preferences (Click Apple icon -> System Preferences)
Step 2: In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section and click the
Language & Text option.
Step 3: In the Language & Text Preferences window, drag the language to first in the
list to change the order. By this way you can change the display language on Mac Lion.
In case if you do not see your preferred language in the selection list then click the Edit
List button.
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This would display the following Language List box. Now mark the check box available
before the language and click OK button to show your preferred languages.
How to check battery level of Apple Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard
Do you want to recharge the battery of your Apple Magic Mouse and Wireless Keyboard
on time then you can follow the below mentioned steps.
Apple Wireless Keyboard
Step 1: Launch System Preferences on Mac.
Step 2: Click Keyboard option under Hardware section.
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Step 3: Keyboard battery level will be displayed at the bottom of the Keyboard
Preferences window.
Apple Magic Mouse
Step 1: Launch System Preferences on Mac.
Step 2: Click the Mouse option under the Hardware section.
Step 3: As shown below, the Mouse battery level should be available at the bottom of
Mouse Preferences window.
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Check out other tutorials on Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Mouse
Connect Apple Magic Mouse with Mac Book Pro
Connect Apple Bluetooth Keyboard with Mac Book Pro
How to rename Bluetooth devices connected to Mac Lion
How to unhide Status Bar and Path Bar on Finder in Mac Lion
This tutorial about the status bar and path bar available on Finder in Mac Lion. Status
bar displays the list of files and the size occupied by the selected folder and Path
displays the full path of the selected folder. If you do not see the status bar or path bar
then you can follow the below mentioned steps to unhide them.
Unhide Status Bar
Launch Finder on Mac Lion and navigate to View menu. Then click the Show Status
Bar available under View menu list.
This would immediately display the Status Bar in Finder. As shown in the below
screenshot, the Finder Status bar will display the total number of items in the selected
folder and the total size occupied by the folder.
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Unhide Path Bar
Path Bar helps to identify the exact folder path of the selected folder. You can unhide
the Path Bar by using the View menu and selecting Show Path Bar from the menu list.
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As shown in the above the screenshot, the full of path of “Microsoft User Data” is
displayed in Finder Path Bar.
How to apply restriction for Mail and Chat apps on Mac Lion
Mac OS X Lion has a feature which can apply restriction for Mail and Chat apps based
on the contacts. For example, you can use this to allow your kids to exchange
emails or have chat conversation with only certain contacts.
Click the Apple icon, select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, click the Parental Controls option available under
System section.
Make sure to unlock the Parental Control preferences for editing by clicking the “Click
the lock to make changes”
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Now select the user for which you want to apply the access restriction then click the
People tab.
If you want to apply restriction for Mail and Chat apps then mark both the check boxes
with caption as “Limit Mail” and “Limit iChat“. Then enter the accepted contacts by
using the + and – available below the Allowed Contacts section.
There is also another feature which would send an email to the specified address
whenever the user attempts to exchange email with the contact who is not in the
approved list.
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You can enable this feature by marking the check box “Send permission requests to”
then entering the email address. This is quite useful when you have too many allowed
contacts list and you just want to monitor the email and chat activity of your kids.
How to rename Bluetooth devices connected to Mac Book Pro
Mac Book Pro installed with Lion allows users to connect the system with other
Bluetooth enabled devices. For example, the following articles provide step by step
instruction for connecting Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Magic Mouse with Mac
Book Pro.
Connect Apple Wireless Keyboard with Mac Book Pro
Connect Apple Magic Mouse with Mac Book Pro
Mac users can find out the list of Bluetooth devices connected to the system using
preferences option in Status bar.
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Under the devices section, you can find the device that have been connected via
Bluetooth. Devices that are currently active are marked as Bold. If you want to change
the device name that appears in the menu list then select Open Bluetooth
Preferences option.
In the Bluetooth Preferences window, select the device for which the name needs to be
changed then click the down arrow available next the settings icon.
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Select Rename from the drop down menu list and enter the new name for the device. In
the below example, I am renaming the Nokia N97 Mini as Ravi’s Phone. After entering
the name, click the Rename button.
Now the updated Device name should get reflected under the Devices list.
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How to hide unwanted system preferences on Mac Lion
Mac Lion allows user to set their own preferences by changing the required settings in
System Preferences. We have already seen some of the system preferences usage,
like
Connecting Apple Wireless Keyboard with Mac Book Pro
Connecting Apple Magic Mouse with Mac Book Pro
Internet Sharing on Mac Book Pro.
There are lot of preferences available and not all will be useful for most of the users. In
case you want to hide any of the unused or unwanted Preferences then you can follow
the below mentioned steps.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Now navigate to View menu and select Customize from the menu list.
This would display the following window with option to choose the required Preferences.
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For example, I would not be using Spotlight and Universal Access so I can hiding them
by un marking these preferences. Now when you relaunch the System Preferences
window, the preferences will be hidden.
If you want to get them back then you can again navigate to View -> Customize option
and mark those preferences.
Disable Restore Window when reopening apps on Mac OS X Lion
Mac system has a feature that automatically restores last accessed window when re-
opening the apps. But there are scenarios where you would not like this feature to be
enabled. For example if you have accessed some personal website on your office
laptop at home and closed the app without closing the individual windows And next day
in office when you relaunch the app in front of your colleague the app would display the
last accessed websites and this you might find embarrassing.
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Mac OS X Lion allows users to turn off this feature if the users not want to be enabled
in their System This can be done using the option available as part of Mac System
Preferences.
Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
In the System Preferences window, navigate to Personal section and click the General
Preferences.
In the General Preferences, scroll down and unmark the check box with caption as
“Restore windows when quitting and re-opening apps“.
Free screen recorder with audio on Mac
QuickTime Player does a decent job of screen recording with microphone audio on Mac
system. Listed below are steps to do screen recording with audio using QuickTime
Player.
Step 1: Launch QuickTime Player then click File menu and select New Screen
Recording from the menu list.
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This should display the following Screen Recording App.
Step 2: Click the arrow pointing downwards on Screen Recording App and select Built-
in Input: Internal microphone from the drop-down list. By default Microphone option is
set to None.
If you want to display the mouse clicks the select Show Mouse Clicks In Recording.
Step 3: After selecting the above mentioned options, click Recording button on Screen
Recording to start video capturing of the screen with audio from Microphone.
Clean up Wi-Fi network on Mac
Mac system does not provide a forget this Wi-Fi network and if you want to delete old
and unused Wi-Fi connections then you use option available as part of Network
Preferences.
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Step 1: Click the Wi-Fi icon on Mac Status bar and select Open Network Preferences
from the drop down list. Another way to access Network Preferences is by clicking Mac
icon > System Preferences > Internet and Wireless > Network.
Step 2: Click the Advanced button in Network Preferences window.
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Step 3: In the Wi-Fi window, navigate to Preferred Networks and select the networks
that have to be deleted. Then click – sign available below the Preferred Networks list.
Step 4: Click OK button on the Wi-Fi window to confirm and save the changes.
If you travel a lot and connect to many Wi-Fi networks then it is recommended to un
mark the check box with caption “Remember networks this computer has joined”
under Wi-Fi Window. This would ensure that those temporary Wi-Fi networks are not
saved on your Mac system.
Prevent dim display in Macbook Pro
Macbook laptop would dim the display while it is running on battery power. But if you
want to prevent this behavior then you can change the settings using System
Preferences.
Steps to prevent dim display
Step 1: Click Apple icon and select System Preferences from the list.
Step 2: In the System Preferences screen, navigate to Hardware section and click
Energy Saver option.
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Step 3: Click the Battery tab under Energy Saver screen, deselect the check box with
caption as “Slightly dim the display while on battery power”.
Now you will not notice the dim display behavior in your Macbook laptop. If you going to
be using battery power for too long then it is better to have the checkbox selected so
that your laptop does not run of battery.
What is better – Mac OS X or Windows
There has been a prolonged debate between Mac and PC from the 1980s and it
appears like it is unlikely to come to an end any sooner. There are several important
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points which have been fronted by individuals on both sides of the divide. However,
these comparisons often tend to wrongly confuse hardware with software. Mac happens
to be a bunch of hardware constituents manufactured by Apple together with other third
party manufacturers who make every component to fit specifications of the platform.
This hardware is operated by a patented operating system specifically designed to work
exclusively on Apple machines.
There exists a computer under the aluminum unibody as well as glass screens which
work nearly in the same manner as other PCs currently on the market. Every computer
comprises a motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply and additional common
components. Arguably, except for the costly shell, there is no notable difference.
The actual battle lies in the software. Comparisons have been made between OS X and
Windows every now and then and the dissimilarities between them are clear,
nonetheless, not as important as you would think. The two operating systems have a
number of attributes in common by which you can accomplish a similar task on any of
the platforms.
One of the reasons as to why you have to select Windows as your principal operating
system lies in the available hardware options. It is important to note one vital attribute of
OS X – its closed hardware setting. Consequently, you will be restricted in your
hardware selection to only those components which have been tested and approved by
Apple.
On the other hand, a Windows PC is largely modular and enables you to upgrade
almost any component on a PC without any difficulties. For instance, you can choose
almost any other video card on sale provided it is well-suited with the bus on your
motherboard if you dislike the one you have. The same applies to other components
and other things which you can either take off or put on. Although Mac OS X also allows
for upgrades and adaptability, the drivers are restricted to the manufacturers and
particular products which are permitted for use in Apple systems.
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How to take a screenshot In Mac?
Whether it is a funny chat that you want to capture or just a beautiful picture, you would
need to take a screen shot every now and then. Capturing screen shots on Mac is a
little tricky than you think. Here are a few simple steps to enable you to capture screen
shots in Mac operating system.
Step 1: Press command + shift + 4 and wait for the cursor to turn into a cross hair
reticle.
Step 2: Drag this cursor to select the part of the picture that you want to capture. A gray
colored rectangle will appear over the selected area. If you want to readjust the
selections then press escape to go back to the initial cursor.
Step IV: A brief shutter sound will signal the capturing of the screen shot.
Step V: Next, you need to locate your screen shot on the desktop. The screen shot will
appear on the desktop with a .jpg extension and the name “screenshot” with the date
and time to taking of screen shot
Step VI: Once the screen shot is taken, it is ready to be used wherever you want. It can
be uploaded, emailed or dragged into any application.
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To take screen shot of the entire screen on Mac:
Adjust the screen such that all required windows are clearly visible. Press command+
shift + 3. Then follow the above-mentioned step.
Save a screenshot to clipboard on Mac:
Step 1: When you press Command+Control+Shift+3, the screen shot is saved
temporarily on the clipboard.
Step 2: Press Command+ V or go to edit and press paste to paste the screen shot
saved in the clipboard. This can be done in any application that is compatible, like a
word document, any image editing program or any email service from where you can
directly email the screen shot.
How to navigate through Mac OS X
Users who have just switched from Windows to Mac are often confused on how to
navigate through Mac. There are several ways to navigate through the Mac OS X to
find files and open programs. All you need to do is to familiarize yourself with Max OS in
order to get around this OS. All functions can be carried out through the Dock, the Apple
menu and the Finder.
The dock: the dock functions similar to the toolbar or task bar in Windows. The dock
allows easy navigation through Mac OS X easily. You can open or move through
different applications just through the applications.
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Apple menu: in Mac OS X provides a short list of computer options. The apple button is
present on the top left corner of the screen. Single click on this apple button to navigate
through computer options.
Navigate the finder: this feature is present on the Dock in the Apple menu. Through
the finder, you can locate and open programs and files. Click on finder on the Dock.
Opening programs: the programs may be present on the desktop, in different drives
and in folders. You can open program by a single click on the icon. If the required
programs are not in the dock you can open the hard drive by double clicking, click on
applications and double click on the icon that you want to open.
Closing programs: before closing programs, make sure you save your work before
closing. Press Command key+ Q or go to menu and select Quit.
Logging out from Mac OS X: after you are done working with your system, make sure
you log out. Go to Apple menu, select log out. A dialogue box will open, click Log out.
The Mac OS X dialogue appears.
Shutting down: select shut down from the Apple Menu and click on shut down. Mac
OS X will shut down.
How to change Bluetooth device name of iPhone/iPad/Mac
Change Bluetooth name for iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro.
In this tutorial we are going to cover the steps required to change the device name that
appears while discovering Bluetooth enabled Apple devices. For example when you
are trying to pair iPhone with MacBook Pro, the Set up Bluetooth Device screen on
MacBook Pro would display the following
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Where “Ravi Shankar’s iPhone” is the name of my iPhone. Similarly on iPhone under
Bluetooth settings, you should find the MacBook Pro’s name.
How to change Bluetooth device name for iPhone
Step 1: Tap the Settings icon on the Home screen.
Step 2: Under Settings, Tap General options.
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Step 3: Navigate to About option under General Settings.
Step 4: In the About screen Tap Name option. This should provide an option to change
the name of your iPhone.
How to change Bluetooth device name for iPad
Follow the same steps mentioned for iPhone (Step 1 to 4) to reach the Name screen on
your iPad.
How to change Bluetooth name for MacBook Pro
Step 1: Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list
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Step 2: In System Preferences screen, navigate to Internet & Wireless section and click
Sharing option.
Step 3: Click Edit button under Computer Name section and provide your preferred
name.
Step 4: Click OK button to confirm and save the changes.
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Activity Monitor – Terminate non responding processes on Mac
In the earlier tutorial, we had seen the steps required to kill non responding applications
on Mac. But when you do not see the application in “Force Quit” screen then you can
use Activity Monitor kill the processes. Activity Monitor is a Mac tool which is
equivalent to Task Manager on Windows.
Terminate processes using Activity Monitor
Mac users can launch Activity Monitor using Spotlight search.
Activity Monitor has tabs displaying information for each categories such as CPU,
Memory, Energy, Disk and Network. Use the CPU tab to locate the Non Responding
process on Mac OS X.
In the above screen, you will notice that there are more than one task in Not
Responding state (highlighted in red color). Now select the process that you want to
terminate and click “Force a process to quit” option on menu bar.
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This should display the following
prompt “Are you sure you want to quit this process?” asking for your confirmation.
Click Quit or Force Quit button to continue terminating the process.
How to enable automatic app updates on Mac OS X
Mac OS X Mavericks has an option which is available as part of System Preferences
that enables automatic app updates on the system.
Launching App Store Preferences
Step 1: Click the Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Step 2: In the System Preferences window, click the App Store option.
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This would display the following App Store Preferences screen.
Step 3: You can enable automatic app updates on Mac OS X by marking the checkbox
with caption as “Install app updates”.
By enabling this option, all software updates related with Mac System and Apps except
third party software will be automatically updated.
Turn off automatic check for updates
If for some reason you do not want the system to automatically check for updates then
you can un mark the check box with label as “Automatic check for updates”. And you
can manually install by clicking the Show Updates.
Apps purchased on other Mac
App Store preferences also provide option to automatically install apps purchased on
other Macs. You can enable this feature by marking the checkbox with caption as
“Automatically download apps purchased on other Macs”. This is quite useful when
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you have more than one Mac and want to keep the system updated with downloads
done on other Macs.
How to copy photos from Mac to iPad
We had already covered couple of articles on the steps required for copying photos
from iPhone or iPad on to Mac using Image Capture. In this tutorial, we are going to see
the steps involved to copy photos from your Mac or Windows on to iPad or iPhone.
There are many ways to copy photos from Mac to your device and in this tutorial we
are going to use Apple iTunes.
How to copy photos from Mac or Windows to iPhone or iPad using Apple iTunes
Step 1: Connect your device (iPad, iPhone or iPod) to the system with Apple iTunes
(Mac or Windows)
Step 2: Now create folder under the default Pictures on Mac or Window.
Step 3: Now copy the photos or images to the newly created folder.
Step 4: Launch Apple iTunes on your Mac or Windows.
Step 5: In iTunes, click your connected iPhone or iPad under Devices section and then
navigate to Photos.
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Step 6: Mark the check box with caption starting with “Sync Photos from “. Then
choose “Selected Folders” radio option and select the newly created folder with Photos.
Step 7: Now click the Apply button on iTunes to start transferring the images from
system to devices.
Problem starting oDesk Team app on OS X Mavericks
Listed below are solutions for some of the problems that you might face while trying to
use oDesk Team App on Mac OS X.
App can’t be opened because it is from unidentified identifier
This usually occurs when you try to open any apps downloaded from third party
developers and not from Mac App Store. This issue can be resolved by providing the
necessary permission using System Preferences.
Launch System Preferences on Mac
Select Security & Privacy options and navigate to General Tab.
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Make sure to unlock Settings for making changes. Then navigate to Allows apps
downloaded from and mark the radio option with caption as “Mac App Store and
identified developers”.
oDesk Team Critical Warning – Unable to count keyboard events
Launch System Preferences and navigate to Security & Privacy options.
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Click the Accessibility option under Privacy tab and make sure mark the check box
next to oDesk Team.app. This would allow the apps to capture the keyboard events
from your computer.
Problems adding pdf books to iTunes on Mac
Are you facing the following problems with iTunes on Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)
Books is missing under the Library section on iTunes App.
Any PDF’s added via File -> Add to Library in iTunes is not available for device
sync.
This means that you will not be able to sync any newly added PDF books to your iPad
or iPhone. One possible solution to resolve the above issues is use iBooks on Mac. It is
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strange but you need to add PDF’s and other file formats related with Book to iBook
App. Launching iBooks should copy all the existing Books from iTunes to iBooks.
Now to add new PDF files, click File menu and select Add to Library.
Now navigate back to iTunes then to your device. Books section should show the newly
added PDF’s and it is available for Sync with your device.
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How to retrieve password for websites on Mac OS X
All the browsers provide option to save the user credentials for websites. If you are
using Mac OS X and want to retrieve the saved username and passwords of these
websites then you can use the feature available as part of Keychain Access. For this
example, let us try to retrieve the password for Amazon account.
Step 1: Launch Keychain Access using Mac Spotlight search.
Step 2: In the Keychain Access window, navigate to login under Keychains and
Passwords for Category.
Step 3: Navigate to the website and double click on the row for which you want to
retrieve password.
Step 4: In the Websites properties window, click the Attributes tab. This should show
the Account details of the website.
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Step 5: The see the password for the website, mark the check box with caption as
“Show password”. You might be prompted to authenticate the request.
After allowing Keychain to retrieve the details, the password will be displayed next to
Show password field.
Fix Wi-Fi connection problems when Mac goes to sleep or idle
This article is for all the Mac users having problems with Wi-Fi connection after the
installing the recently released OS X 10.9.2 updates. The common symptom is that the
system takes lot of time in reconnecting to WiFi while recovering
from sleep or idle mode. Listed below are the instructions for resolving this issue.
Step 1: Launch System Preferences using the menu selection or Spotlight search.
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Step 2: Click Network option under System Preferences.
Step 3: Click on the Settings icon available at the bottom of Network Screen. Select Set
Service Order from the drop down list.
Step 4: Drag Wi-Fi in the Service Order list and move it top of the list. Then click OK to
confirm the changes.
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Step 5: The click Apply button in Network screen to reflect the changes done to Service
Order.
How to change the default folder for new finder window
In this Mac tutorial, we are going to the see the steps for changing the default folder
content which get displayed when opening a new finder window. In the below
screenshot of a new finder window, All My Files is set as the default option.
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But if you are frequently accessing files from your Mac’s Downloads section then you
can change this option using Finder Preferences.
Click Finder menu and select Preferences from the menu list.
Then navigate to New Finder windows show drop down list and select Other from the
list.
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Now select Downloads from the Sidebar and click Choose button.
This should set Downloads for New Finder windows show option.
Now whenever you launch a new finder window, the contents will be displayed from
Downloads.
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How to get trash icon on Mac toolbar
Mac users can normally delete a file using keyboard shortcut Command + Option. Mac
also provides users with the option to customize the toolbar to get trash icon. Listed
below are step by step instructions to add trash icon to toolbar.
Step 1: Launch Finder window.
Step 2: Click View menu and select Customize Toolbar.
Step 3: Now drag and drop delete icon on to the Toolbar as shown in the below
screenshot.
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Step 4: Click done to confirm your changes.
Now you should be able to use the trash icon on Mac toolbar to delete the files.
Quickly see the occupied space of folders and files on Mac
Mac OS X users can quickly find out the total space occupied by folders and files
using the status bar. For example, in the below screenshot the home folder contains 15
items and the total size of all the items is 172.18 GB.
Show status bar on Mac
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If the status bar is not shown on the Finder window then you can turn on the status bar
using View option. Click View menu on Finder window and select Show Status Bar
from the list.
If the finder window does not show toolbar then the status bar would be displayed at the
top of the finder window.
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Save Rich Text document as Word document on Mac using TextEdit
In this short tutorial, we will see the steps for saving a document in TextEdit as Word
Document (.docx or .doc) on Mac OS X. This is quite useful when you want share the
document with Windows user having Microsoft Office installed on their system.
Launch TextEdit and type the required document. Navigate to File menu and select
Save from the menu list.
In the File Format drop down select Word 2007 (.docx) Document or Word 97 (.doc)
Document
Depending upon the File Format drop down list selection the extension should change.
Click Save button to covert Rich Text Document to Microsoft Word Document on
Mac.
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How to assign Keyboard shortcut for App menus on Mac
Mac users can assign keyboard shortcut for App menus using the shortcuts option
available as part of System Preferences.
Let us say you want to assign a keyboard shortcut for Task Manager menu option in
Google Chrome app.
Step 1: Click Apple icon and select System Preferences from the menu list.
Step 2: In the System Preferences window, select Keyboard option.
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Step 3: Navigate to Shortcuts tab in Keyboard screen.
Step 4: Select App Shortcuts then click + sign.
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Step 5: Select Google Chome.app in Application drop down and enter the name of
menu title as Task Manager. Then assign a suitable keyboard shortcut to access the
menu. Click Add button to save this shortcut.
Now you should notice the keyboard shortcut next to the menu and can quickly launch
Task Manager using keyboard shortcut.
Freeze desktop on Mac – Prank
This is the same old trick which is done on Windows system and can be done on Mac
system as well. You can prank your colleagues that your Mac desktop has frozen.
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Step 1: Minimize all the application and take the screenshot of the desktop with all the
standard icons.
Step 2: Take a screenshot of your desktop and save the picture.
Step 3: Right click on the desktop and select Change Desktop Background from the
context menu.
Step 4: Set the desktop screenshot as background for your desktop.
Step 5: Navigate Finder window, select Preferences from the menu.
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Step 6: Navigate to General tab and make sure to un mark the checkboxes under the
section “Show these items on the desktop”
Now your system will display the desktop background but none of the items will be
clickable.
How to create a drop shadow effect using TextEdit on Mac
Mac users can use TextEdit app to create drop shadow effect for any text. Listed
below are the steps for adding drop shadow effect to the text “Digital Answers”.
Step 1: Launch TextEdit and enter the text (Digital Answers) for which you want to add
drop shadow effect.
Step 2: Set the text size to larger font size and align it to centre.
Step 3: Click the Format menu then select Font followed by Show Fonts. You can also
use the Keyboard shortcut to launch Show Fonts window.
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Step 4: Resize Show Fonts window to show the shadow controls.
Step 5: Now click button with Shadow option to add shadow effect to the text.
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You can use the sliders to adjust the opacity, blur and offset for shadow effect. And
use the angle option to specify the angle of light source.
