G-Rated Tips for OS X

By Ralph Tolbert, Educational Technology Consultant ()

Arrrgh!

Stuck with a file or folder that just won't go away when dragged to the Trash? Replace the file on the desktop, and then you should be able to delete it. To do this, find a file elsewhere on your HD that is the same type as the file you want to delete (such as jpg, dmg, mp3, sit, bin, etc). Duplicate that file in the folder where it is right now. Now, name the new copy the EXACT same name as the file on your desktop. Drag the file to the desktop, and click YES when it asks it you want to replace the existing file. Once replaced, you should be able to delete the file! Or boot up in OS 9, find mystery file and delete it.

Picture Perfect

Want to create a PowerPoint presentation that includes screen shots of the Mac Desktop? Use the following FREE screen capture method. Apple-Shift-3 captures the whole screen as a TIFF file in Mac OS X 10.0.0 through 10.1.5, and in 10.2.x as a PDF. The file will appear on the desktop of the computer, or Users->yourname->Desktop folder on the boot hard drive. By default the Preview application will open these documents and offers an Export function in its File menu and make it able to export into several possible image formats.

Apple-Shift-4 will give you a crosshair, which you can click and drag to the opposite corner of a rectangle and let go to capture the rectangle. If you want to capture a specific window, menu, menu bar, dock, instead of clicking, click on the spacebar and move the mouse pointer over the area you wish to capture. It will highlight and with another click capture it. The Applications-> Utilities-> Grab offers the ability to capture timed capture screen shots. These files may be inserted as a graphic from file in PowerPoint. Better yet, go to http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com and purchase Snapz Pro for $29 for basic program or $69 for video screen capture possibilities.

Windows on the Mac

For the new or frustrated users who want to see both the present window and the previous window in OS X: Hold down the command key when moving from window to window. You can also change this setting under the Finder Preferences by selecting Always open folder in new window.

Insert Those Characters

There is a very simple program available for OS 9,OS X and Windows called PopChar that can insert any special character from a hot corner pull-down screen with a simple click. Go to http://www.ergonis.com/products/popcharx.