Tips and Tricks

System Tips

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Operating System

A computer's operating system (OS) sits behind the scenes, being available to individual applications to utilise. Consequentially, altering the settings the OS uses will affect how other applications will appear and behave.

While the computer user technically doesn't interact with the OS directly, there are many accompanying applications that come with the OS to customise the user experience.

Here, we will concentrate on these applications to alter how our machine's applications present themselves to us.

Beginner

  • In OS X (version 10 of the operating system) the name of the currently active application (otherwise know as the front-most one) sits at the top left of the screen on the menu bar just next to the Apple menu

  • This menu (with the application name) is called the Application Menu. This provides feedback to which is the currently active application.

  • The normal means of altering the OS settings is through an application called System Preferences. You normally access this application from your dock, or from the Apple menu.

Intermediate

  • In OS X 10.3+ the function keys F9 - F11 mobilise the windows on the screen to help you navigate through a maze of documents etc. Open a few windows (in different applications) and see what happens with the press of each key. This is a feature of the OS called Exposé.

  • In OS X 10.4+ the function key F12 brings up Dashboard. This latest feature of Exposé gives quick access to small applications called widgets.

Advanced

  • You can assign corners of the window to the Exposé functions, as well as screen saver ones. Change these settings in the Exposé pane of the System Preferences.