Use the Apple Menu

---

The menu provides instant access to system-wide commands for Mac OS X. These are the key items on the menu:

• Software Update runs the Software Update application, which checks automatically for updates to Mac OS X and major applications.

• System Preferences displays the System Preferences window, which contains icons for configuring most aspects of Mac OS X.

• The Dock submenu contains commands for quickly configuring the Dock’s position and behavior.

• The Location submenu lets you switch quickly between sets of settings for different network locations. For example, you might switch between settings for your office and settings for home.

• The Recent Items submenu (see Figure 1-4) contains entries for the last ten applications and the last ten documents you’ve used.

  
  Figure 1-4: The Recent Items submenu on the . menu lets you quickly open any of the last ten applications or the last ten documents you’ve worked with.

• Force Quit displays the Force Quit Applications window, which you can use to close an application that has stopped responding. See “Quit an Application When It Goes Wrong” in Chapter 5 for instructions on using Force Quit.

• Sleep, Restart, Shut Down, and Log Out provide you with ways to leave your Mac. See “Leave Mac OS X,” later in this chapter, for details.

---