Working with Mac OS X Menus

One of the strengths of the Mac OS is that it has always featured certain menus that are very similar in all applications.

The Mac OS X Apple Menu

The Apple menu has long been one of the staples of the Mac desktop. Its main purpose has always been to provide continuous access to specific commands whether you are working on the desktop or within an application. The Mac OS X Apple menu contains the commands listed in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1. Commands on the Mac OS X Apple Menu

Command	What It Does
About This Mac	Opens a window showing the version of Mac OS X installed, the physical RAM installed, the number and type of processors, and the startup disk. You can also open Software Update to get the latest versions of Apple software and the System Profiler from this window to get more information about your Mac.
Software Update	Opens the Software Update tool, which you can use to get the latest versions of the Apple software installed on your Mac.
Mac OS X Software	Opens the default web browser and moves to the Mac OS X software downloads web page.
System Preferences	Opens the System Preferences application.
Dock	Provides control over the Dock's magnification, hiding, and position settings and enables you to open the Dock Preferences pane of the System Preferences application.
Location	Enables you to select a location for your Mac, which changes the network settings you are using.
Recent Items	Provides a menu of applications, documents, and servers that you have recently accessed; you can select an item to move back to it. The menu is organized into separate sections for each type of item. It also has the Clear Menu command, which clears the menu.
Force Quit	Opens the Force Quit Applications window that enables you to kill open applications (for example, when they are hung).
Sleep	Puts the Mac to sleep.
Restart	Restarts the Mac.
Shut Down	Shuts down the Mac.
Log Out username	Logs the current user (whose account name is username) off the Mac and opens the Login window.

To learn more about working with locations, p. 330.

To learn more about Mac OS Xs Force Quit command, see "Controlling Open Applications," p. 241.

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If you use an Apple Cinema Display, you can put your Mac to sleep by pressing the Power button on the display. If you are using a PowerBook or iBook, you can put it to sleep by closing its lid.

Mac OS X Application Menus

Under Mac OS X, every application has its own Application menu. The Application menu provides the commands you use to control the application in which you are working. A standard set of commands is consistent among all Mac OS X applications, however, specific applications can have additional commands on their Application menu (but they must support at least the standard commands on that menu). The name of the Application menu is the name of the application itself. For example, the desktop's Application menu is the Finder menu (because Finder is the name of the application that controls the desktop).

NOTE

If you used Mac OS 9 or earlier versions, don't confuse the Application menu in those versions with Application menus under Mac OS X. In versions previous to Mac OS X, the Application menu was a single menu that showed you all the applications running on the computer; this menu was always located in the upper-right corner of the desktop. You used the Application menu to hide or show applications as well as switch between running applications. Under Mac OS X, this functionality is provided by the Dock and the Application menus. You still see the Mac OS 9 Application menu when you use the Classic environment.

The following commands appear on all Application menus:

• About Application The About Application command, where Application is the name of the active application, displays version information about the application. Some About windows also provide links to support sites, the publisher's website, and so on. The About Finder command displays the version of the Finder you are using.

• Preferences You use the Preferences command to set the preferences for an application. For example, you can use Finder's Preferences command to control specific properties of the desktop.

  To learn about Finder Preferences, see "Changing the Desktops Appearance," p. 136.

  
  

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  The keyboard shortcut for the Preferences command has been standardized (for all Apple applications and most of those from other sources) to be -,. This enables you to open the Preferences dialog box for any application with the same keys. This is a good thing.

  
  

• Hide and Show commands The Hide and Show commands enable you to control which running applications are visible. There are three of these commands on the Application menu. The Hide CurrentApplication command (where CurrentApplication is the name of the running application) hides the current application. The Hide Others command hides all the running applications except the current one, and the Show All command shows all open applications.

NOTE

Hiding an application causes all its windows and its menu bar to disappear. The application continues to run and any processes that are underway continue. You can also minimize application windows, which places the window on the Dock; the application's menu bar continues to appear while the application is active, even if its windows are minimized.

All Application menus, except the Finder menu, also contain the following commands:

• Quit The Quit command does the same thing as it always hasit stops the running application.

• Services The Services command provides commands to enable you to work with other applications from within the current application. For example, if you are using the TextEdit word processing application, you see the Grab command on its Services menu. Selecting this command activates the Grab application that enables you to capture something on the screen. After you capture the image, it is automatically pasted into the current TextEdit document. Many other commands appear on this menu; the commands available depend on the applications installed on your Mac and how those applications support the Services menu.

To learn more about using the Services command with Mac OS X applications, p. 184.

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The keyboard shortcut for the Quit command hasn't changed. It is still -Q. When you are working on the desktop, -Q doesn't do anything because you can't quit the Finder. However, you can relaunch the Finder using the Force Quit command.

The Finder's Application menu (the Finder menu) also has the Empty Trash and Secure Empty Trash commands, which are unique to its Application menu. The Empty Trash command does what it always has, which is to delete any files located in the Trash. The Secure Empty Trash deletes files located in the Trash and overwrites the disk space on which those files were stored so they can't be recovered. Because the Secure Empty Trash command overwrites the disk space on which the files where written, it takes much longer to execute than does the Empty Trash command (of course, because it works in the background, that shouldn't slow down your work any).

Mac OS X File Menus

The Mac has always had a File menu; under Mac OS X, this menu is purer than it was in previous versions of the OS. For example, in previous versions, the File menu contained commands for working with files as well as controlling the application. Under Mac OS X, the File menu contains only commands for working with files or folders.

The specific commands you see on an application's File menu depend on the application. Most applications' File menus have the New, Open, Save, Save As, Print, and Page Setup commands. Many other commands might appear on the File menu as well.

The Finder's File menu contains the commands listed in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2. Commands on the Finder's File Menu

Command	What It Does
New Finder Window	Opens a new Finder window
New Folder	Creates a new folder
New Smart Folder	Creates a new smart folder
New Burn Folder	Creates a new folder intended to be burned onto a disc
Open	Opens the selected item
Open With	Enables you to open a selected file with a specific application
Print	Enables you to print a selected file
Close Window	Closes the active window
Get Info	Opens the Info window
Duplicate	Creates a duplicate of the selected item
Make Alias	Creates an alias of the selected item
Show Original	Exposes the original item for which an alias was created
Add to Sidebar	Adds an alias of the selected item to the Places Sidebar
Create Archive	Compresses the selected folders and files into a Zip file
Move to Trash	Moves the selected item to the Trash
Eject	Ejects the selected item (disc, disk image, server volume, and so on)
Burn Disc	Burns the selected CD or DVD
Find	Opens the Finder's Find tool so you can locate files and folders
Color Label	Applies the label you choose to the selected items

NOTE

The Mac OS X Archive command is one of the most useful Finder commands. This command enables you to create compressed files from any folders and files on your Mac. Even better, Mac OS X now supports the ZIP compression format, which is the standard, native compression format on Windows computers. You no longer need a separate application to compress files. You can also expand any Zip file from the desktop by simply opening it.

Mac OS X Edit Menus

Under Mac OS X, the Edit menu is much as it has always been. The Edit menu contains commands for editing data. When you are working with most applications other than the Finder, the commands that appear on the Edit menu are Cut, Copy, and Paste. Applications can provide many more commands on this menu, such as Undo, Redo, Select All, and so on.

The Finder's Edit menu is somewhat different than this menu under most applications because you don't use the Finder to edit documents. Its commands apply to files and folders instead. For example, when you select a file and choose Edit, Copy, the file is copied. You can move to a different location and choose Edit, Paste to place a copy of the selected item in the new location. The Finder's Edit menu also has the Select All command, which selects everything in the active window; the Show Clipboard command, which shows what has been copied to the Clipboard; and the Special Characters command, which opens the Character palette.

The Finder View Menu

The Finder's View menu contains the commands you use to view Finder windows.

To learn about using the Finders View commands, see Chapter 3, "Viewing and Navigating Mac OS X Finder Windows," p. 55.

The Finder Go Menu

The Finder's Go menu, as you might guess from its name, contains commands you use to go places. The Go menu enables you to move to the following locations:

• Back or Forward You can move among the windows in a chain of open Finder windows by using the Back and Forward commands.

• Enclosing Folder You can move into the folder that contains the currently selected item by choosing this command.

• Directories You can move to any of the directories listed on the Go menu by selecting the directory into which you want to move.

• Recent Folders This command lists the most recent folders you have used; select a folder to return to it. You can clear the Recent Folders menu by selecting Clear Menu.

• Folders Use the Go To Folder command to enter the path to a specific folder to open it.

• Servers Use the Connect To Server command to open a server on your network.

To learn how to use the Go menu to navigate directories, p. 73.

To learn how to connect to servers, p. 948.

Mac OS X Window Menus

Another standard Mac OS X menu is the Window menu. This menu provides commands you use to work with windows that are currently open. Common choices on the Window menu include the following:

• Minimize This does the same thing as clicking the Minimize button in a windowit moves a window onto the Dock.

• Zoom This does the same thing as the Maximize button: It makes the active window as large as it needs to be to display all the window's contents or to fill the desktop, whichever comes first. Choosing it again toggles the window back to its previous size.

• Cycle Through Open Windows This moves you among the open windows, one at a time.

• Bring All to Front This command brings all open windows to the front. For example, if you have a lot of open Finder windows and then switch to an application and then back to the Finder, you might not see all your open Finder windows. If you use this command, they all come to the foreground so you can see them.

• List of Open Windows The Window menu always displays a list of the windows open for the application providing that menu. You can switch to an open window by selecting it on the menu.

• Close Window This closes the active window. (You won't see this command on the Finder's Window menu.)

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A great way to manage all open windows (not just those open in the current application) is by using the Exposé feature. More on that later in this chapter.

On the Window menu, the active window in the application you are currently using is marked with some sort of icon. The active Finder window is marked with a check mark; other applications might use a different indicator (for example, a diamond). Be aware that a window can be both active and minimized, in which case the active icon on the Window menu can help you identify the active window even if you can't see that window (because it is on the Dock).

If you hold the Option key down while you open the Window menu, you'll see two additional commands that replace default commands. Minimize becomes Minimize All, which causes all open windows in the application, such as the Finder, to be minimized and moved to the Dock. The "Bring All to Front" command becomes the Arrange in Front command, which causes all open windows in the current application to be brought to the front and arranged neatly on the desktop.

You might see more or fewer commands on the Window menu when you are working in specific applications.

Mac OS X Help Menus

Most applications provide a Help menu that enables you to open their help system. Most applications provide help through the standard Mac OS X Help application.

The Finder's Help menu contains one commandMac Help. This command opens the Mac Help application, which provides extensive help for many areas of the OS (see Figure 4.2). Even better, many applications you install integrate their help systems into the OS help system. This enables you to access plenty of help using the same tool.

Figure 4.2. You can get a lot of Mac OS help by using the Help application.

The Help application is based on HTML, so it works the same way web pages do. You can search for help and click links and buttons to access information and move around. Fortunately, the Help engine works much more quickly in Mac OS X version 10.4 than it did under previous versions.

The Home button in the Help Center's toolbar takes you back to the current help's home page. If you click the Home button, you will see a list of all areas in which you can access help, such as AirPort Help, Mail Help, and so on. You can also view and choose these areas on the Help application's Library command.

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When you search for help, you frequently see the Tell Me More link. This link opens other pages that contain topics related to the one for which you searched.

You can search the Help application using the Search tool located in the toolbar. This tool works just like the Search tool in other areas. Select the help area you want to search (either Mac Help, which limits your search to the Mac's help data, or all help, which searches all help modules) using the Magnifying Glass icon and then type the text for which you want to search. Press Return to perform the search; the results appear in the Search Results window (see Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3. You can search the Help application to find specific topics.

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You can also browse most help systems from their home pages. This is often an even better way to find a specific topic because you don't have to be concerned about using specific words as you do when you search for help.

The results window is organized into two areas: Help Topics and Support Articles.

Help Topics lists each help topic within the Help system that matches your search. By default, this area is sorted by the Relevance column, which is the Help system's judgment of how well a topic addresses your search criterion. You can open a topic by double-clicking it or selecting it and clicking Show. The topic appears in the window for viewing. If you select a topic by single-clicking it, a summary of the topic appears in the bottom pane of the Help window.

In the Support Articles section, you will see articles on the Web that the Help application has found for youof course, your Mac must be able to connect to the Internet to be able to search for information. Just like topics, you can access an article by double-clicking it or by selecting it and clicking Show. The article will be downloaded from the Web and will appear within the Help window.

NOTE

Articles on the Web are marked with the plus icon (+) while topics within the Help system are marked with the application's icon. For example, Mac OS X help topics are marked with the OS X icon (the "X").

The Help Viewer's Go menu tracks the recent topics you have visited; you can return to a topic by selecting it on the menu. You can use the Library menu to view a list of all help resources served through the Mac OS X Help application; to move into another help resource such as iMovie Help, click it in the list.

NOTE

Need help with Help? Select Help, Help Viewer Help. (Try to use the word help more times in the same sentence than that!)

Some help topics assist you in performing the action about which you are asking by providing hyperlinks that open the related application or resource.

The Spotlight Menu

The Spotlight menu, which is always located at the far right end of the menu bar, enables you to search for information on your Mac.

To learn how to use the Spotlight, p. 118.

Optional Finder Menus

As you work with various parts of the system, you can add menus to the Mac OS X menu bar to make those tools available at all times. For example, you can add the Displays menu, which has a display as its icon, to the menu bar so that you can jump immediately to the Displays pane of the System Preferences application. There are many possibilities as you will learn throughout this book.

Mac OS X Contextual Menus

Mac OS X supports contextual menus. Contextual menus are pop-up menus that appear in various locations and contain commands specifically related to the context in which you are working. You can access contextual menus by pointing to an object that provides a contextual menu, holding down the Control key, and clicking the mouse button. The contextual menu appears and you can select a command on it.

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Mac OS X supports a two-button mouse by default. You can open an item's contextual menu by right-clicking it. You can also program most multibutton input devices to perform a right-click. This is one area where Windows has been ahead of the Mac for some time; all Windows mouse devices have at least two buttons. I strongly recommend that you use a mouse or trackball that has at least two buttons, if for no other reason than the convenience of opening contextual menus with one hand.

The desktop and Finder provide contextual menus, as do many applications, including those not provided by Apple. For example, the Microsoft Office application provides excellent support for contextual menus.

A summary of some of the more useful Finder contextual menu commands is provided in Table 4.3.

Table 4.3. Useful Finder Contextual Menu Commands

Object	Command	What It Does
All	Automator	Opens the Automator so you can create a workflow.
Desktop	Change Desktop Background	Opens the Desktop & Screen Saver pane of the System Preferences application.
Desktop, Finder window	New Burn Folder	Creates a new burn folder on the desktop or within the current folder. (You'll learn more about these folders later in this chapter.)
Desktop, Finder window	New Folder	Creates a new folder.
Desktop, Finder window, folder,file	Folder Actions commands	Folder actions are AppleScripts you can attach to folders so those actions are performed automatically. You use the Enable Folder Actions command to select the actions associated with the selected item. You use the Configure Folder Actions command to configure how actions for an item work. You use the Disable Folder Actions command to disable an item's folder actions.
Desktop, Finder window, folder,file, mounted volume	Automator	Enables you to create a workflow with the selected items or to create a new workflow. You can also choose workflows that you have already created to work with them. (You'll learn all about the Automator in Chapter 10.)
Desktop, Finder window, folder,file, volume	Get Info	Opens the Info window (this is covered in more detail later in this chapter).
Desktop, folder with not items selected	Show View Options	Opens the View options window for the desktop or the current folder.
File	Open With	Enables you to choose the application to use to open the selected file.
File	Print	Prints the selected files.
Folder	Paste item	Pastes the previously created copy of files or folders in the current location.
Folder, file	Color Label	Applies a label to the selected items.
Folder, file	Copy	Copies selected items.
Folder, file	Create Archive	Creates a Zip file containing the selected items.
Folder, file	Duplicate	Duplicates the selected items.
Folder, file	Make Alias	Creates an alias of the selected items.
Folder, file	Move to Trash	Moves the selected items to the Trash.
Folder, file	Open	Opens the selected item.
Mac OS X window toolbars	Customize Toolbar	Enables you to customize the current toolbar.
Mac OS X window toolbars	Toolbar Format commands	Use these to change the format of the toolbar, such as Text Only to hide the icons and display only text.
Mounted volume	Open Enclosing Folder	Opens the folder in which the selected item is stored.
Mounted volume	Rename	Enables you to rename the selected volume.
Sidebar item	Remove From Sidebar	Removes the selected item from the Places sidebar.
Sidebar items	Rename	Enables you to rename the select Sidebar item.

The Finder Action Pop-up Menu

The Action pop-up menu, represented by a gear located on all Finder windows' toolbar by default. This pop-up menu provides contextual commands that work similarly to those on contextual menus. When you select an item or view a folder, commands appropriate to that object appear on the menu (see Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4. The Action pop-up menu provides contextual commands, this case, the commands are for the selected folder.

The commands that appear on this menu are the same as those that appear on contextual menus (refer to Table 4.3).

NOTE

Some applications, especially Apple applications, also provide an Action menu that is marked with the same gear icon.