Discovering the Help Menus

Are you new to the Macintosh world or to computers in general? Well, take it from me, the mouse takes a little while to get used to, but after a couple of exercises you'll be working it like a pro.

Apple has a Help menu where you can receive tips and information. To get there, just point the mouse to the Help label and hold the mouse switch. Choose Mac OS from the menu to open a list of help topics.

To get from one to the other, just click the underlined link, known as a hyperlink . That click will open an information screen explaining what the function is all about. When you get the basics, choose the section in this book that covers the topic for a complete tutorial.

If you're having a bit of trouble getting to the Help menu, here's a fast tip. Just point the mouse cursor to the item on the menu bar labeled Help and click the mouse button once. The Help menu will sit there until you pick a command (or about 15 seconds if you don't make a selection).

Keyboard Power

Don't feel that using your computer will confine you to the mouse. As you'll see throughout this book, there are many ways to use the keyboard (see Figure 1.3) to help you get around.

If you haven't used a computer before, you'll find a few odd keys surrounding the normal range of letters and numbers .

Here's what they do (from left to right, top to bottom, and so on):

• Esc ” This is similar to the option on a Windows-based computer. It enables you to stop a function for some programs.

• F1 through F15 ” These are function keys. For some programs, you'll find they activate additional features. The manuals or online help for those programs will explain what they do.

• Help ” Opens the Help menu for some (but not all) programs.

• Home ” They say you can't go home again, but the purpose of this is to take you to the top of a document page or directory window.

• Page Up ” This keystroke takes you up a page or single screen in a program (but not all software supports the feature).

• Page Down ” The reverse of Page Up. It takes you down a page or single screen in a program that supports the feature.

• End ” Not available on the compact Mac keyboards, this command moves you right to the end of a document page or window.

• Numeric keypad ” It's similar to a calculator, and you might find it convenient to enter numbers in a program.

• Enter ” Used to activate a function. In many programs, the Return key and the Enter keys each trigger the start of a function, but only the Return key is used to end a paragraph when you write text in a program.

• Control ” This is a modifier key. You press Control along with an alphanumeric character to activate a special function in some programs.

  You can also use the Control key and a mouse click (pressed at the same time) to activate a special feature called Contextual menus . This feature opens a menu of command functions that apply to the item you're working on. If you've used Windows, the result is much the same as a right click.

  
  

• Option ” Another modifier key. It's often used (along with an alphanumeric key) to get you a special character when you're typing a document (such as a foreign accent or symbol). This key is identical to the Alt key on a Windows keyboard.

• Command ” It's sometimes called the Apple key because some keyboards show the Apple symbol there instead of the cloverleaf. It's another modifier key, used along with an alphanumeric key, to activate a command.

• Media Keys ” The four keys at the left control both sound and drive media. The first three do precisely what the icons show, reduce volume, raise volume, or mute your Mac's speakers . The last is used to eject a selected CD or open and close the CD tray on the flat-panel model.