Tips for a new Switcher?

13

Comments

  • Reply 41 of 79
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Hm, I thought I could scroll through a mail message with the arrow keys. I'll have to check later (on work PC right now).



    There are also options to copy a URL to the clipboard, and of course, the status bar at the bottom of the Safari window. You might have to turn that last feature on from the View menu. OmniWeb and other browsers do a better job at what you're asking than Safari.
  • Reply 42 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BuonRotto

    Hm, I thought I could scroll through a mail message with the arrow keys. I'll have to check later (on work PC right now).





    On Powerbook with "FN" Key

    Arrow keys = scrolling through messages

    FN+Arrows = scrolling through messagetext





    On Keyboard without FN Key

    Arrow keys = scrolling through messages

    in order to scroll through the message, select message field first (click into the message) than use the arrow keys.



    OR



    Hit the spacebar, like in browsers
  • Reply 43 of 79
    Yeah, I think that is fine. It's about the same thing... Thanks!
  • Reply 44 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nickhuober

    Yeah, I think that is fine. It's about the same thing... Thanks!



    welcome
  • Reply 45 of 79
    Awesome! Thanks so much for the advice and tips, there are so many things to discover!



    Here is my continuing list of what's better on...



    Better on MAC:

    -Searching is MUCH faster. Searching through music in iTunes, mail messages in Mail and the computer with the finder are all much faster

    -iTunes and Expose! I don't know how I loved without these before!!

    -The sound on my Powerbook seems to be better... although I'm sure that varies from computer to computer. Also, I said it before, but i would always hear a "crackling" sound when i was listening to music and doing some processor-intensive task on PC. This does not happen on MAC and is a huge improvement.

    -You can just drag and drop CD cover images onto iTunes. I never knew how to associated CD covers with songs on Windows Media Player.

    -I really like how the programs are on the dock, instead of on the desktop. This way the desktop can be used to store temprorary items and other documents, etc. It works better for me.

    -The System Preferences seems to be much more useful and easily accessible than the PC Control Panel.

    -I live in NYC and being able to go down to SoHo and sit in the Mac store and listen to seminars and so on is just amazing! Never knew such service on PC.

    -The default address book that comes with OS10 is much better than the default address book program that comes with XP.

    -Mail is much better than Outlook Express. It has a Junk mail filter, which Outlook Express deson't and so much more...



    Better on PC:

    -You can hit the "delete" key and the selected item will be deleted. In MAC, you have to hit "apple+delete." Hitting just one key is much easier than having to take your hand off of the trackpad (or mouse) and hitting two keys.

    -Windows Media Player automatically downloads the CD cover image as well as the track names when you import songs onto your computer and you are online. iTunes only imports the track names.

    -In Windows Media Player and also Real Media Player you can double click a movie you are watching to have it go full-screen. I have not figured out a way to watch things full-screen in Quicktime. Someimes I like to watch MPGs or AVIs full screen. This is not such a big drawback, but it struck me as odd.

    -I don't quite understand the toolbar when composing new e-mail messages in Mail. Changing entire lines of text from one font to the other seems to have been easier in Outlook Express, plus I can't figure out how to make bullet point-lists. Having been used to the standard word processor-style toolbar on every e-mail program I have ever operated (AOL, Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora -if I remember correctly-), the toolbar when composing new messages in Mail seems to be thinking almost "too" different. I'm sure if you have been using MAC your whole computer life, it's no big deal, but for a switcher it's a bit odd and more dificult.



    EDIT: One more thing that's better on the PC is that when a dialog box pops up (For example, "Do you want to save the changes you made to this document?") on PC you can use the right and left arrow keys to switch between the option (for example: Yes, No, Cancel) and never have to use your mouse if you want to use a choice other than the one that is highlighted (for example if "Yes" is highlighted, you could just press the left arrow once and then hit the enter key to select "No," this is faster than having to pick up your mouse and move it to the correct choice, if it is not the one highlighted).



    Thanks!
  • Reply 46 of 79
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nickhuober

    -You can hit the "delete" key and the selected item will be deleted. In MAC, you have to hit "apple+delete." Hitting just one key is much easier than having to take your hand off of the trackpad (or mouse) and hitting two keys.



    Well, in many applications, delete alone works, as does forward delete, but it is a confused situation. Since the delete key is close to regular typing keys, the decision was made back when the Mac was introduced that holding down the command key while hitting delete would be better because it meant you were sure you wanted to delete the item (or rather, put it in the Trash), that is, fewer accidental deletions. The Finder keep this legacy behavior, while many other apps now allow you to use just the delete key. So, in a nutshell, it's one of those legacy things that gets muddy over the years.



    As an aside, if you're annoyed by the Trash warning when you try to empty it, you can turn off that warning in the Finder's preferences. That's another oddity that is just a legacy thing from the old versions of the OS. (And another is the ability to eject media by dragging the media's icon to the trash.)



    Quote:

    -In Windows Media Player and also Real Media Player you can double click a movie you are watching to have it go full-screen. I have not figured out a way to watch things full-screen in Quicktime. Someimes I like to watch MPGs or AVIs full screen. This is not such a big drawback, but it struck me as odd.



    It is odd, and a lot of people have complained about this. You need to buy a Quicktime Pro license to get fullscreen playback, and that's annoying, as is the QT Pro ad that pops up when you don't have it. So, yeah, that sucks. \



    Quote:

    -I don't quite understand the toolbar when composing new e-mail messages in Mail. Changing entire lines of text from one font to the other seems to have been easier in Outlook Express, plus I can't figure out how to make bullet point-lists. Having been used to the standard word processor-style toolbar on every e-mail program I have ever operated?[snip]



    I'm having a bit of trouble understanding what you mean, so please correct me if I'm off-base. Mail's toolbar is the standard Mac toolbar in that it holds often-used tools and some commands, but because it's generic to all types of applications, it doesn't contain formatting info or more dynamic tools (though this looks to be changing a bit in Tiger).



    Font and formatting tools are usually contained in palettes or inspectors (palettes with info and options about your selection). The Mail toolbar gives you access to those palettes like the Fonts and Color icons. So if you click on the Fonts icon while composing a Mail message, it will bring up the fonts panel which has info on the selected text's typeface, style, color, size, etc. as well as special characters and other special options. So there is no font info directly in the toolbar, but it does contain the link to more font info when you want it.



    Now, what's weird to me is that the text toolbar that you see in TextEdit isn't at least available in Mail. That's a special toolbar that's available to any app, not just Textedit, and while it doesn't contain fonts pop-ups and all the stuff you're looking for, it does show some basic formatting options. I can only guess that Apple decided that having two stacked toolbars was a huge waste of space.



    As far as bulleted lists and such, Mail and other Apple-provided tools don't have auto-formatting options for this. You basically do it manually here, and unfortunately the text toolbar from TextEdit that can help with its rulers and indents isn't available in Mail. One thing that can help at least is getting familiar with the option-key special text characters in the Mac OS. For example, a bullet is created by typing in option-8 since the bullet is similar to the asterisk on that key. You can either experiment by going around the keyboard while holding down the option key, or you can use the keyboard viewer. (I'll tell you the stupid, labyrinthian way to find the keyboard viewer if you want to know.)
  • Reply 47 of 79
    Hmmm... good to know. On the PC when you hit delete it doesn't automatically delete the file, but moves it to the Recycle Bin (Trash Can) -if I remember correctly-, so you can always go there and un-delete it. I use the "delete" key all the time and never accidentally deleted something on my PC.



    Or, how about letting the user change this in the "keyboard" tab of the "Mouse and Keyboard" system prefferences.
  • Reply 48 of 79
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    [note: added to post above]



    Yeah, the delete key on the Mac does the same thing usually, if there is a trash to put stuff in and empty later.
  • Reply 49 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BuonRotto

    ...(I'll tell you the stupid, labyrinthian way to find the keyboard viewer if you want to know.)







    Make me know it...

    (Elvis Presley)
  • Reply 50 of 79
    ic1maleic1male Posts: 121member
    On the PC, if you hold Shift + Delete, the item misses the Recycle Bin and gets deleted straight from disk. Is there a way to do this on X?
  • Reply 51 of 79
    I switched a while ago but have not yet discovered whether or not I can disable the function keys on my powerbook - particlarly F8 to F10 which are supposed to control the screen contrast but dont seem to do anything and Id like to assign them to expose or konspose.



    Any ideas? I have tried using preferences panel but contrast over rules expose.
  • Reply 52 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nickhuober

    EDIT: One more thing that's better on the PC is that when a dialog box pops up (For example, "Do you want to save the changes you made to this document?") on PC you can use the right and left arrow keys to switch between the option (for example: Yes, No, Cancel) and never have to use your mouse if you want to use a choice other than the one that is highlighted (for example if "Yes" is highlighted, you could just press the left arrow once and then hit the enter key to select "No," this is faster than having to pick up your mouse and move it to the correct choice, if it is not the one highlighted).



    Thanks!




    First off, forget WMP... Quicktime is 100% better... I have WMP just incase QT won't cover what I need.



    Secondly... Try (TAB) instead of the arrow keys... TAB will switch you between buttons...



    Also, get used to using the Apple key and TAB together, very useful feature.



    Glad you're having fun.
  • Reply 53 of 79
    ic1maleic1male Posts: 121member
    One thing I like about the Apple+TAB feature is that you can go through and select applications to quit. When you've got to the app you want to quit, keep holding down Apple and press Q. Great stuff.
  • Reply 54 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ic1male and others

    ...



    Try drag and drop everywhere. You won't believe, what is possible, ... blowing...



    Copy paste via Exposé, pure lust...
  • Reply 55 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Vox Barbara

    Try drag and drop everywhere. You won't believe, what is possible, ... blowing...



    Copy paste via Exposé, pure lust...




    I love how you can drag a file (say a text file, pdf) directly into the terminal it will give you it's location in the unix file structure.
  • Reply 56 of 79
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Vox Barbara

    On Powerbook with "FN" Key

    Arrow keys = scrolling through messages

    FN+Arrows = scrolling through messagetext





    On Keyboard without FN Key

    Arrow keys = scrolling through messages

    in order to scroll through the message, select message field first (click into the message) than use the arrow keys.



    OR



    Hit the spacebar, like in browsers




    The arrow keys will either switch the message or scroll down thru a given message depending on which pane of that window the focus is on.



    So if you click a message. Then use arrows your focus is still on the message list pane. So you will switch messages.



    Click on a message then click on the text pane below and then use the arrow. Wolla you are scrolling thru that message.
  • Reply 57 of 79
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nickhuober

    -I really like how the programs are on the dock, instead of on the desktop. This way the desktop can be used to store temprorary items and other documents, etc. It works better for me.

    -Mail is much better than Outlook Express. It has a Junk mail filter, which Outlook Express deson't and so much more...



    Better on PC:

    -You can hit the "delete" key and the selected item will be deleted. In MAC, you have to hit "apple+delete." Hitting just one key is much easier than having to take your hand off of the trackpad (or mouse) and hitting two keys.

    -I don't quite understand the toolbar when composing new e-mail messages in Mail. Changing entire lines of text from one font to the other seems to have been easier in Outlook Express, plus I can't figure out how to make bullet point-lists. Having been used to the standard word processor-style toolbar on every e-mail program I have ever operated (AOL, Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora -if I remember correctly-), the toolbar when composing new messages in Mail seems to be thinking almost "too" different. I'm sure if you have been using MAC your whole computer life, it's no big deal, but for a switcher it's a bit odd and more dificult.




    When I used Windows, I had the desktop just as empty as I keep OS X. Since Windows98 they have had this thing called Quick Launch bar, so you wouldn't have to keep program launchers on the desktop. The rarely used programs are in the Start menu - which everyone hates, however with a properly decked out ten- or six-icon Launch Bar you have to use Start menu only rarely.



    Outlook Express sucks - Thunderbird is the better comparison if you are going to compare mail programs. I actually stuck with TB from the beginning on OS X so I don't know if it's better or worse than Mail.



    Agreed about the Finder delete. I, too, have never deleted anything by accident. It would be more reasonable to move to trash on backspace/delete.



    Shouldn't it be as difficult as possible to use rich text in e-mail? Honestly, *everyone* should set their e-mail client to make plaintext by default, and show plaintext by default. The first setting is polite, the second makes you more secure (spam imagetraps don't work, etc). If you still create rich text saying "Hi, how are you", at least you get a notification before sending it to a Pine-using buddy and getting flamed or ignored in return.
  • Reply 58 of 79
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    AFAIK, I don't think there's way to bypass the Trash can in the GUI when you delete things. You can probably do this in the Terminal, but, y'know, it's the Terminal.



    You might try remapping keys and key combos in the Keyboard system preference panel to change the F keys? I'm almost sure there's a way, but I can't recall.



    By default, you have to click in the message pane in Mail in order to scroll through it. Apple for whatever reason leaves full keyboard access off by default. If you want to use the keyboard only for this, you have to turn it on in the Keyboard System Prefs panel (third tab). The default, keyboard command to toggle though all the controls in a window is control-F7. Which is sort of weird. You can easily change this in the same tab where you turned on full keyboard access, near the bottom of the shortcuts list.



    Boy, going through these tips really points out how hard it can be to find and change stuff in the System Prefs. Spotlight can't come soon enough!
  • Reply 59 of 79
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    A couple of hints.



    1) You can use one hand to do most command keys. If you notice, there's a command button on the right side of the space bar and you should be able to do a command-delete with one hand.



    2) If you go into the System Preferences and look in the Keyboard and Mouse preferences you'll find a little known and hidden check box for "Turn on Full Keyboard Access". I think if you check this your experience with the OS will improve. (Just noticed that this was already mentioned)
  • Reply 60 of 79
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BuonRotto

    By default, you have to click in the message pane in Mail in order to scroll through it. Apple for whatever reason leaves full keyboard access off by default. If you want to use the keyboard only for this, you have to turn it on in the Keyboard System Prefs panel (third tab). The default, keyboard command to toggle though all the controls in a window is control-F7. Which is sort of weird. You can easily change this in the same tab where you turned on full keyboard access, near the bottom of the shortcuts list.



    Tab seems to do almost the same thing, it just doesn't select all the controls.. and neither does ctrl-F7. In, say, Textedit Save As dialog, only about half of the interface is reachable using ctrl-F7. I don't get it. In this, and many other keyboard related issues Windows is better than OS X. Are there patent issues or some such that prevent Apple from using the same kinds of shortcuts than Microsoft?
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