Macintosh Learning Center
by Shell Weinberg

  June 2005    For Beginners and New Users...

Macintosh Learning Center--- Shell Weinberg

Third Floor, Southeast corner
Leisure World Community Center
Laguna Woods Town Centre
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday thru Friday

It may be helpful to understand some of the areas of extreme confusion related to learning the operation of your Mac computer. As I think back to the days when I first started the learning process, I can recall how I wished someone would have explained this kind of information early on... it would have saved me from considerable frustration and confusion.

Here is my list of 10 of the most difficult items... we will call this the “Ten Command Commandments”.

1. There is almost always more than one way to do something on the computer. For example, an instructor may demonstrate how to open a file by double-clicking on the icon... and the next day you read a book that suggests you single click on an icon, then press command key and O key on your keyboard, to open that file. You decide which way works best for you and use it.

2. Many words used in computer activities are interchangeable and pretty much mean the same thing. Examples: Finder and Desktop; Start and boot; Program and Application; select and highlight; choose and select; delete and clear; font and typeface; preferences and settings; cursor and arrow; arrow and pointer; File can mean a Document, a Folder, or an Application.

3. The cursor keeps changing its shape, according to the mode you’re working in. Examples: arrow appears most of the time, however, when in Word Processing mode it appears as an I-beam; in Spreadsheet mode as a cross; in Painting mode as a pencil, etc. All this happens automatically and is intended to give you a clue as to what mode you are working in.

4. The Menu Bar will always (with very few exceptions) be on your screen... and the Menu Bar words keep changing according to what is active on your screen. Each word gets the word “menu” attached to it when referenced. Examples are: File menu, Edit menu, View menu, etc.

5. There are many on/off type actions in computer operation, sometimes referred to as a toggle. Examples: activate or deactivate; select or deselect; Hide or Show; using the green zoom button to make the window larger or smaller.

6. Save and Save As are two different functions. The very first time a new document is saved either command will produce a dialog asking for you to give the new document a Title, and decide where you will store it. The next time you do work on the document you must use Save to keep the changes or additions. If you use Save As you will be creating a duplicate of the original document. You will have to give it a different Title and decide where to store it.

7. There are many 2-step actions. Examples: To change text from regular to bold... Step1 is to select the text to be changed. Step 2 is do something to it, such as press the keys command and B to make it bold. Another example would be to drag an icon into the Trash as Step 1, and then Empty Trash as Step 2.

8. You Close a window; you Quit an Application; you Shut Down the computer. Putting the computer into Sleep mode does not Shut Down the computer.

9. There are two kinds of window. A Finder window... will show icons only, no work can be done in this window. An Application window... is where you do your work, such as in Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Drawing, Painting, etc.

10. When checking a document for spelling errors, don’t always trust your spellchecker program. It may overlook a word such as ?week? when what you really wanted to say was ?weak?. Another example would be ?red? when you wanted ?read?.