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TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

1 edit

TigerLord

[Beginner] My transition from Windows is brutal

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I find myself getting frustrated with small things in OS X that are probably easy to do if you know how.

1. Where is the equivalent of Windows Explorer?

My finder is not useless, but nearly useless. Where can I see the file structure of my drive? When I open Finder it doesn't list any disks, just some favorites and the plugged in devices. How do I get a comprehensive file tree like Windows Explorer offers? Where is the equivalent of my C: drive?

2. What is the shortcut in Safari to zoom?

Chrome and Firefox have a simple one: ctrl+mousewheel. Can't figure it out in Safari.

3. How do I maximize windows?

In Windows, I can drag a window to the top edge of the screen and the window will automatically adjust to fill out the space. The green + button doesn't seem to do anything but fill the vertical space, and the two arrows in the upper right corner hide the upper task bar when maximizing windows, which I prefer to keep looking at. What trick am I missing?

4. Dock magnification stops working sometimes when I have external monitors plugged in

Earlier today dock magnification stopped working and if I went through the menus and hovered on them, I had to click on the options to open the next contextual menu. Unplugging the thunderbolt cables and replugging fixed the issue. Is this a normal bug?

5. Remote disc
What is this remote disc? I have no internal DVD drive, this is a late october MBP model. Why does the finder list stuff that isn't plugged in anymore?

6. Status window
If I connect to my ZFS NAS over the Samba share, it can take ages for the content to appear, but there is absolutely no loading indicator that lets me know the finder is still looking for content. It just appears eventually. How do I know it hasn't frozen or bugged out?

Any help with one or all of these issues would be appreciated.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

2 recommendations

Thinkdiff

MVM,

All valid questions, but the first thing to realize is that not everything is going to work like it did on Windows. Some things you'll have to adjust to or relearn (especially full-screen). But to address the questions:
said by TigerLord:

1. Where is the equivalent of Windows Explorer?

My finder is not useless, but nearly useless. Where can I see the file structure of my drive? When I open Finder it doesn't list any disks, just some favorites and the plugged in devices. How do I get a comprehensive file tree like Windows Explorer offers? Where is the equivalent of my C: drive?

Finder is the "Windows Explorer" of OS X. From the "Go" Menu, select "Computer" (command+shift+C). That will list all of your drives. You can then go through your file system however you want.

To make this easier, go to Finder menu > Preferences:
* In General, turn on Hard Disks and Connected Servers to show up on the Desktop. Set new Finder windows to open to either your home folder (makes most sense) or your Computer/Harddrive.
* In Sidebar, turn on your Home folder, your computer/harddrive/etc under Devices.
said by TigerLord:

2. What is the shortcut in Safari to zoom?

Chrome and Firefox have a simple one: ctrl+mousewheel. Can't figure it out in Safari.

Command and equal sign (plus key). Make it smaller using Command and minus sign key.

There's also a system-wide zoom feature you can enable in System Preferences > Accessibility > Zoom. Turn on the option to use a scroll gesture and set it to Ctrl + Scrolling
said by TigerLord:

3. How do I maximize windows?

In Windows, I can drag a window to the top edge of the screen and the window will automatically adjust to fill out the space. The green + button doesn't seem to do anything but fill the vertical space, and the two arrows in the upper right corner hide the upper task bar when maximizing windows, which I prefer to keep looking at. What trick am I missing?

This is where things diverge. Mac OS has always been a "windowed" operating system - it's rare for applications to consume the entire screen. Personally, I typically have windows from 3-4 applications visible all at once. Many OS X apps now support Full Screen mode (introduced just a few years ago). There should be an icon with two arrows on the top right of the window. Click it and the window will expand to full screen. (Command+Ctrl+F shortcut).
said by TigerLord:

4. Dock magnification stops working sometimes when I have external monitors plugged in

Earlier today dock magnification stopped working and if I went through the menus and hovered on them, I had to click on the options to open the next contextual menu. Unplugging the thunderbolt cables and replugging fixed the issue. Is this a normal bug?

Never seen this before. What version of OS X are you on? Fully updated?
said by TigerLord:

5. Remote disc
What is this remote disc? I have no internal DVD drive, this is a late october MBP model. Why does the finder list stuff that isn't plugged in anymore?

What is it listing that isn't plugged in?

Remote Disc is a feature that lets you use the DVD drive of another OS X/Windows computer on your network and mount the disc on your laptop:
»support.apple.com/kb/HT5287
said by TigerLord:

6. Status window
If I connect to my ZFS NAS over the Samba share, it can take ages for the content to appear, but there is absolutely no loading indicator that lets me know the finder is still looking for content. It just appears eventually. How do I know it hasn't frozen or bugged out?

There should be a small spinning icon on the status bar while it's refreshing the content. You can turn on the status bar in the View menu: View > Show Status bar (shortcut is command+/)

TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

TigerLord

Finder

Okidokie, now we're talking. With the finder options all enabled and the status window on I feel like I am getting all the info I need. I shouldn't be surprised though, Window's default config is even worse since it hides file extensions by default... that always boggled my mind.

Remote Disc

I plugged in an external bluray drive earlier and even after I had it disconnected it seemed to ghost its way in the sidebar of the finder. A system reboot fixed this. I thought Remote Disc was that again. So it was never a problem.

Windows Maximization

I had already figured out the two arrows in the upper right corner maximize windows fully but it also hides the title bar which I don't like. The reason I got a MBP is mostly to do photography related tasks, such as use Lightroom, which definitely benefits from using the entire screen (Id say its even necessary). I found Window > Zoom did what I want, but it does't seem to have default shortcuts attached to this function, which is really weird for me, but I suppose it's part of the mac culture The closing X on the left side is just so annoying lol.

The dock magnification bug is indeed weird, but it does't happen often. I am fully updated, yes.


Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

The green button in the "stoplight" is supposed to be the equivalent of selecting Window > Zoom, but it doesn't work very reliably. It seems every app has a different interpretation of what the green button should do - so I almost never use it.

I agree on Lightroom - I typically see people just stretch the window out to cover the entire screen. Not as quick as the Windows shortcut of dragging to the top, but it gets the job done.

Ctrl Alt Del
Premium Member
join:2002-02-18

Ctrl Alt Del

Premium Member

said by Thinkdiff:

the green button should do - so I almost never use it.

Not only that, but the green traffic light button is going to become full screen in the next Mac OS X. So the old green button behavior will only be accessible through the Window menu.

haroldo
join:2004-01-16
USA

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The Apple store has classes for new users. They're an excellent resource but mainly because you can get nearly one on one instruction, etc.
Riamen
Premium Member
join:2002-11-04
Calgary

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said by Ctrl Alt Del:

said by Thinkdiff:

the green button should do - so I almost never use it.

Not only that, but the green traffic light button is going to become full screen in the next Mac OS X. So the old green button behavior will only be accessible through the Window menu.

You can also press the Option key while clicking on the green button to get the old behaviour.

donoreo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
North York, ON

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Once you drag a window to full screen it will remember that for next time. I still find it annoying that I have to do this but once done it opens in the last state (full in my case).

Reminder: red X does not close the prgram, Cmd Q or Menu - Quit

Teasip
join:2001-05-14
Plano, TX

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FWIW, between 5-10 years ago, or however long it has been that I tried to make the transition, it took me two returns of Macs to Apple before I finally bit the bullet and decided with the third one that I was going to learn to use it regardless. I must confess that even after all this time I never bothered with the green plus button in the stoplight and didn't even realize that it expanded the open window until I read it here! I wouldn't go back now if someone paid me.

JohnInSJ
Premium Member
join:2003-09-22
Aptos, CA

1 recommendation

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said by TigerLord:

I find myself getting frustrated with small things in OS X that are probably easy to do if you know how.

Congrats on branching out. I flip between OSX, Linux/Mate/Gnome, and Windows 8.1 daily. Oh, and Android. And iOS. Fun fun fun.

The "ghost drive" may be because you didn't "eject" the drive in the Desktop. You can see your drives in the Finder under "Devices" - that funky icon next to the NIKON D800 in your screenshot above is the eject button, click it to "safely remove device" in window-ese

haroldo
join:2004-01-16
USA

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»www.apple.com/support/macbasics/

Switch Basics: On Windows, I used to...
»support.apple.com/kb/HT2514

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
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join:2002-02-21
London, ON

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if you are interested, you can get 1 year of one-on-one lessons from an Apple store for $99...also, as Haroldo mentioned, they have "group classes" which you can also take and those ones are free.

Mike
Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA

Mike

Mod

the internets is free

dirtyjeffer0
Posers don't use avatars.
Premium Member
join:2002-02-21
London, ON

dirtyjeffer0

Premium Member

said by Mike:

the internets is free

true, and i use the internets all the time as well (for quick things).

just pointing out that group classes at the Apple Store are also free, or you can get a year of one-on-one classes for $99...could be beneficial if you prefer more in depth training.

TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

TigerLord

$100 is a small price to pay to get private coaching and avoid all these hassles. I'll look into it.
TigerLord

1 edit

TigerLord

Here is another one for ya'll.

Is there a way to set different color profiles for each individual external monitor? You can do this easily in Windows, but I can't seem to find a way to bring out the color management options for individual monitors in OS X. Display options seem to encompass everything?

I have colorimeters I use to profile both my displays and printers so they're perfectly calibrated. Since I am moving over to the MBP for production and post processing now, it's important that both the U3014 and U3011 I use be calibrated. I doubt I'll be printing in the field but I would calibrate the MBP's screen as well.

And another one!

My iPad Air 32GB is paired with the MBP via Bluetooth. If I click the bluetooth icon in the taskbar of thre MBP, I can see my iPad is bolded and the contextual menu offers the option to disconnect it, which means it must be connected.

How do I share files between the MBP and iPad now? The iPad doesn't appear in Finder.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

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I've been using macs for 5 years and I still hate Finder with a purple passion. Hit Apple-C (or go to the "Go" menu and pick "Computer") to get "my computer" equivalent which takes you to the root of the file system.

The big problem for is that I like to see, and be able to readily manipulate, the full path. Windows explorer always shows this to you, so you know exactly where you are, and if you want to modify it it helps you type in a new path with "auto complete". Finder has a "path bar" but it doesn't just show the raw path from the root. In Finder you can "Go to folder" to input a path, but you're flying completely blind, and the path that's pre-populated is not your current path. I also hate that folders aren't the first thing shown in the file listing. If I'm traversing a file system I want to navigate to the location first, then look for the file in that destination. Sorting things purely alphabetically means I have to sift through files to identify folders. Ugh.

There are finder substitutes but I'm still stubbornly trying to force myself to do things the Apple way, since I don't want to become dependent on third party software. I used to not be able to function without Norton Commander back in the DOS days which was a problem when I worked on other people's computers.

When you go to calibrate the color for your multi-displays there should be separate calibration windows for each monitor. Just do it on the desired monitor and it should "just work". Make sure you save your new calibration under a different name though. You don't want both monitors sharing the same profile.
modelamac7
join:2002-04-13
Waterford, MI

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A great learning experience will be had just by going through each and every System Preference pane. Also, almost every app has preferences. With the app frontmost, Command(Apple) + comma will bring that up.

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff to TigerLord

MVM,

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said by TigerLord:

Is there a way to set different color profiles for each individual external monitor? You can do this easily in Windows, but I can't seem to find a way to bring out the color management options for individual monitors in OS X. Display options seem to encompass everything?

When you have two monitors connected and go to System Preferences > Displays, two windows will pop up. Each will have its own Color tab and you can select or create individual profiles in each window. This might not work in Mirrored mode (don't use it much), so make sure you're in Extended Desktop mode.
said by TigerLord:

My iPad Air 32GB is paired with the MBP via Bluetooth. If I click the bluetooth icon in the taskbar of thre MBP, I can see my iPad is bolded and the contextual menu offers the option to disconnect it, which means it must be connected.

How do I share files between the MBP and iPad now? The iPad doesn't appear in Finder.

Menubar

You cannot share files with an iPad over Bluetooth - there really isn't much of a reason to have your iPad paired with your computer except for Tethering, so you can just remove it if you don't use that.

To get files onto the iPad, you can use iTunes or a cloud service (Dropbox, Box.net, iCloud, etc). With Yosemite and iOS 8, you'll be able to use AirDrop to send documents to the iPad or iCloud Drive.

TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

TigerLord

I already use Dropbox to transfer things from my PC or MBP to the iPad but I find it somewhat ridiculous I still have to use Internet to transfer stuff wirelessly between devices on my desk in 2014. I thought that's what Air Drop was for. I still rely on USB for large data transfer through iTunes, which I really hate by the way. I hate I can't just create folders to organize my files the way I want it. But the great apps I need for work make up for it.

Thanks for the calibration window tip, I thought the window showing up on the other monitor was simply a mirror of the other one. I was in extended desktop for sure, so that was just user error.

I got this keyboard to use at the workstation and I really love it.
»matias.ca/laptoppro/mac/

Btw, what is the equivalent to F5 in Safari (reload/refresh?)

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff

MVM,

AirDrop will start working in October when Yosemite is released, so you'll get some help there. But there still won't be a "file system" on iOS, probably ever. iCloud Drive is the closest thing, but still uses the Internet.

To reload in Safari, Command+R
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

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Id love to know where OSX keeps the mixer, In windows I can adjust the volume of programs in the mixer which means even things like browsers which do not have their own I can adjust and I do not see this... Windows has had it since Vista, So I am figuring Apple must have it hidden away somewhere.

HiVolt
Premium Member
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON

HiVolt

Premium Member

said by Kearnstd:

Id love to know where OSX keeps the mixer, In windows I can adjust the volume of programs in the mixer which means even things like browsers which do not have their own I can adjust and I do not see this... Windows has had it since Vista, So I am figuring Apple must have it hidden away somewhere.

Nope. No way to adjust volume per application.

Uncle Paul
join:2003-02-04
USA

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I run both Windows and OSX systems. The biggest things for me moving back and forth between the tools is the lack of easy 'Home' and 'End' keys on OSX. And, having to switch between Cntrl+ to Command+.

Once I got a normal two button mouse with a wheel and an app called 'Steer Mouse' things got better easier too. I don't think I've hated a mouse more than the Apple Magic Mouse.

TigerLord

join:2002-06-09
Canada

TigerLord

The lack of right click is just so annoying that I use a "regular" gaming mouse with this keyboard now: »www.matias.ca/quietpro/mac/

Mac keyboards look good but ewww membranes!

bjf123
We Want... A Shrubbery
Premium Member
join:2000-02-11
Hamilton, OH

bjf123

Premium Member

You can set up the Apple Magic Mouse to allow right clicks, but it's turned off by default. It's under System Preferences > Mouse. You can also get the functionality of the right click by holding down the Control key and clicking.

buckingham
Doylstown Pa
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join:2005-07-17
Buckingham, PA

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The only time I have any issues with my Magic Mouse is...with a few Windows programs I use for work. It's too sensitive for them for some reason. Otherwise, I have right-click turned on and reversed the 'finger scroll' so it's more intuitive for "me". I love having the combination of a rodent and a track-pad all in one, small, simple device.

-----
OP, when I bought my first MacOS machine (iMac) a few years ago, it did take me a little bit of time to get used to the Finder, etc., but in the end, I lost all discomfort. Some things are different for sure, but different isn't a bad thing. I regularly switch back and forth between MacOS and Windows on my work machine (MBPr 13") and honestly reach more for Finder than I do Windows Explorer when I'm working in Windows. (under Parallels)

Uncle Paul
join:2003-02-04
USA

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said by bjf123:

You can set up the Apple Magic Mouse to allow right clicks, but it's turned off by default. It's under System Preferences > Mouse. You can also get the functionality of the right click by holding down the Control key and clicking.

Tried this.. still hated the thing. Love my steer mouse. I can transition to my Macbook pad easily and love that too. But just never could get into the Magic Mouse. Most people I talk to either fall into one of two camps.. love it or hate it.

The whole holding down the command button plus a mouse click seemed.. counter intuitive. But so much of it is muscle memory too.

bjf123
We Want... A Shrubbery
Premium Member
join:2000-02-11
Hamilton, OH

bjf123

Premium Member

I'm actually rather ambivalent about the Magic Mouse. It's what came with my office iMac, so that's what I use. I did turn off some of the multi touch gestures, finding that I kept unintentionally moving away from where I wanted to be on the screen. My home iMac is pre Magic Mouse, so it's got just a one button mouse. I don't even think about needing to hold the Ctrl key when needing to right click. I just do it.

One thing I do wish OS X would do like Windows is put all folders at the top of the Finder window. I have a number of folders inside the Documents folder and don't like how OS X treats them like a file and has them interspersed with the files. I got around that by starting all folder names with a space. That puts them all at the top.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
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Mullica Hill, NJ

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aahh okay wonder why they would leave such a nice feature out of the OS.