Configuring Sound Preferences

You can adjust the alert sound and other sound settings for Mac OS X applications in the Sound pane of System Preferences. The Sound Preferences pane consists of three panels to access its settings: Sound Effects, Output, and Input. No matter which panel you’re in, you can adjust the main system volume or mute it altogether. You can also turn on an option to adjust the volume from a volume menu in the Finder’s menu bar. After the volume slider in the menu bar has been enabled, click on its menu bar icon and use it to raise and lower the overall system sound output volume, as shown in Figure 13-37.

Figure 13-37: Use the Sound icon to adjust the main volume level.

Tip

You can move the Sound icon by pressing the z key and dragging the icon. Drag the icon left or right to change its position relative to other icons on the right side of the menu bar. Drag the icon off the menu bar to make it vanish.

Sound Effects panel

Use the Sound Effects panel to select an alert sound and set its volume to be as loud as or quieter than other sounds. You can also enable and disable interface sound effects and audio feedback when the volume keys are pressed. If an additional sound output is available other than the one that shipped with you Macintosh, you will also be provided the option to select that audio output device to play alerts and sound effects through. The alert sound settings affect only Mac OS X applications. Figure 13-38 shows the sound effects panel.

Figure 13-38: Adjust volume and balance controls and select an alert using this Sound Effects panel.

You can add more alert sounds by placing sound files of the AIFF format in the Sounds folder inside your home folder’s Library folder. If System Preferences is open when you add or remove sounds from your Sounds folder, you must quit System Preferences and open it again to see the effect of your changes.

Output panel

The Output panel, shown in Figure 13-39, controls audio out. Use this panel, to select and control the audio hardware for sound output. Within this panel, you can also set the stereo channel balance if your output hardware supports it.

Figure 13-39: Choose an audio output device and set its stereo balance by using the Output panel.

Input panel

Use the Input panel as seen in Figure 13-40, to select the audio device you want used for sound input and set the input volume for the device.

Figure 13-40: Choose an audio input device and set its input volume using the Input panel.