Category Archives: Lion

Content related to Mac OS X Lion.

Print Edition of “iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook” Approved for Production

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Should be available for order from major online booksellers within a week.

Just a quick note to let folks know that we’ve just approved the print proof for iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook. This 242-page book looks great, especially in the new larger size we’ve set up for the Maria’s Guide series.

Our printer works directly with Ingram to get books listed in bookseller catalogs quickly. I expect the print edition of the book to begin appearing on Amazon.com and BN.com within a week or so. I’m hoping both organizations order the book in sufficient quantities to ensure speedy delivery to customers.

If you can’t wait for print, ebook editions are already available from both resellers. You can learn more about the book and follow links to purchase your copy on the book’s support web page.

How to Create a Front Matter Chapter for your iBooks Author Ebook

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A nicer way to handle it.

One of the things that bugs me about the way iBooks Author handles front matter pages such as the Copyright, Dedication, and Foreword pages is that they kind of hang out there by themselves at the front of the book, without any sort of “wrapper” that can give them identity.

Copyright Page
The first page of the table of contents in Landscape view. The next two pages look just as unattractive.

This became quite apparent in the sample book readers create while following along in iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook. In the final book, in Landscape view — which is how the book is most likely to be read — each front matter page has its own table of contents page with an ugly gray background that’s just … well, ugly.

In playing around with iBooks Author, I soon realized that the only difference between these pages and the rest on the book is that they were not part of any chapter. It followed that if they were part of a chapter, they’d be handled differently. So I created a new chapter at the beginning of the book, added the three pages to it, and was very happy with the results.

Here’s a quick overview of how you can do the same.

  1. In the Book pane, select the very first page of your book. This is likely to be the Copyright page.
  2. Added ChapterUse the Add Pages menu on the toolbar to add a Chapter page. It should appear in the Book pane right beneath the page that was selected.
  3. In the Book pane, drag the new Chapter page above the first page of the book.
  4. Numbering OptionsWith the new Chapter page selected, display the Layout inspector’s Numbering panel and choose None from the Section Numbers pop-up menu. This removes the Chapter number from the new Chapter and restores the Chapter 1 number to the original Chapter 1.
  5. Indented pagesIn the Book pane, drag each of the front matter pages beneath the new Chapter page so they’re indented beneath it. You’ll need to drag each page up a little and to the right. A green line indicates placement as you drag. The indentation indicates that each of these pages is now part of the chapter they’re indented beneath.
  6. In the Book pane, select the new Chapter page. Then make changes as desired to set it up as a first page of your book’s Front Matter. In my example, I removed the chapter number placeholder text, changed the chapter name to Front Matter, removed the intro placeholder text, and replaced the placeholder image to match my book’s cover. (You can find instructions for doing all of these things in my book.)

    Front Matter Page

That’s about all there is to it. When you preview the book, you’ll find a nice table of contents page that gathers all of your front matter pages together.

Front Matter

Learn More!

Want to learn more about using iBooks Author to create ebooks? Check out iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook, available now in iBooks, Kindle, and NOOK formats.

And keep checking in here at Maria’s Guides for more articles like this one.

“iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook” Now Available

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An illustrated guide to creating and publishing multi-touch books with iBooks Author.

iBooks Author Cover

iBooks Author: Publishing Your First Ebook helps you learn how to take advantage of iBooks Author’s amazing feature set to create your own ebooks without a lot of trial and error experimentation. Using an illustrated, step-by-step approach, it guides you through the creation of a sample ebook with features you’re sure to want in your own ebook publications.

Download a Sample Chapter
Buy Kindle Edition
Buy iBooks Edition
Buy NOOK Edition
Buy iBooks Multi-Touch Edition (coming soon)
Buy Print Edition (coming soon)

When iBooks Author was announced and released last month, I knew it was a software package I’d really like. I was right. Just a few days spent with the app and I had all kinds of great ideas for publishing my books. But I also realized that with the surprising depth of this first generation application, new users might need help using it. Since how-to books are my specialty, I didn’t wast any time writing a new Maria’s Guides book about it.

About the Book

I wrote the book as a hands-on guide to creating a sample ebook with iBooks author. Filled with step-by-step instructions and 274 screenshots (!), the book walks you through the process of creating, composing, laying out, and publishing an ebook using iBooks Author. I cover every important feature in the software, from adding and formatting text and images to creating interactive elements with iBooks Author’s Widget feature. I finish up with instructions on how to export and publish your book as a PDF or iBook on the iBookstore.

Inside, you’ll find the following chapters:

Table of Contents
Before We Begin: Introduction
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Starting Your Book
Chapter 3: Adding & Formatting Text
Chapter 4: Adding & Formatting Images
Chapter 5: Working with Objects
Chapter 6: Adding Shapes, Tables, & Charts
Chapter 7: Including Interactive Elements
Chapter 8: Publishing Your Book
Final Word: That’s All for Now

The printed version of the book runs 242 pages, including front matter, table of contents, and index.

The instructions throughout the book step you through the process of creating a sample ebook with iBooks Author. All the files you need are available for download from the book’s support Web page on this site. When you’re finished, you’ll have a pretty sharp looking ebook to show off you skills.

Buy the Book

The book is available now on Amazon.com and the Apple iBookstore in Kindle and Epub formats respectively. A multi-touch iBooks version should be available in about a week. The print edition will be available in about 2 weeks as a direct purchase from Flying M Productions or from booksellers such as Amazon.com and BN.com.

Additional Material, Feedback, and Support

You can find additional material about using iBooks Author and creating ebooks on this site. Just follow the publishing topic link.

You can also post questions and read questions and answers on the book’s support page. That’s also where you can find the sample files used throughout the book.

Tip for Writers on Mac OS: A Stickies Style Guide

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Maintain consistency in your writing with an easy-access style guide.

As I continue work on my 81st book (!), I thought I’d share a tip with other writers working on Macs. This one has to do with creating and maintaining a style guide for your work in progress.

Stickies IconToday, on my blog, An Eclectic Mind, I wrote quite a bit about what a style guide is and why it’s important. I also revealed my personal technique for maintaining a style guide for work in progress — I use Stickies — and explain why it’s a good solution for me.

In this piece I want to briefly discuss how to set up and use Stickies as a style guide. Keep in mind throughout this piece, however, that you can use Stickies to give you easy access to just about any information you might need to be reminded about as you work.

  1. In the Applications folder in in Launchpad (Mac OS X Lion and later only), open the Stickies icon.
  2. StickiesIf you’ve never opened stickies before, you’ll see some default notes with information on using Stickies. You can read these for more information. Then close them and do not save changes. You want to minimize the number of open windows on your Desktop, don’t you?
  3. Choose File > New Note to create a new sticky note window.
  4. My Style GuideResize it so it’s long and narrow, just wide enough to fit the words you’ll add to it.
  5. Reposition it so it’s on the far right (or left, if you prefer) side of your screen.
  6. As you work on your project, add difficult-to-remember words and phrases to it. Be sure to spell/capitalize the words/phrases exactly as you should be writing them. It’s also a good idea to list them in alphabetical order.
  7. If there’s a word or phrase you should never use, add it to the list but use the Fonts panel to format it with strikethrough formatting.
  8. When you are done writing for the day, quit Stickies. Do not close the note before quitting.
  9. When you start work the next day, open Stickies again. The note should reappear just as you left it, all ready to be consulted and updated as needed.

If you’re using Mac OS X Lion and you don’t quit Stickies, it’ll automatically reopen when you restart your computer. If you’re using an earlier version of Mac OS, you can set up Stickies as a Login item so it automatically opens when you start or log into your computer.

Again, you can use this tip for any kind of information you need to consult as you work at your computer. The one thing I wouldn’t put in Stickies is any kind of information that needs to be kept private. I recommend an application such as 1Password for that kind of data so it can be secured.

How do you use Stickies? Share your tips in the comments for this post.

Learn More!

Lion Book CoverWant to know more about Mac OS X Lion and Stickies? Check out my Mac OS X Lion: Visual QuickStart Guide. This 648-page, fully illustrated guide to Lion is available for a great price in print and Kindle versions from Amazon.com.

Save 35% on My Lion Book!

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Discount applies to either printed book or ebook (or bundle) and includes free shipping!

Mac OS X Lion VQS Book CoverJust a quick note to let readers know that Peachpit Press is offering my Lion book at a 35% off discount with free shipping from now until December 31, 2011.

To take advantage of this offer, visit the book’s page on Peachpit’s site, add the book (or ebook or bundle) to your shopping cart and check out. Be sure to enter discount code LIONVQS during the checkout process.

Makes a great gift for folks new to Mac OS or Lion!

Lion and Rosetta

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One solution if you need to run Rosetta software.

I’m one of the poor idiots who didn’t switch from Quicken 2007 — the most recent full-featured Mac version — to something else before Lion was released. And now I’m one of the many people who can’t access my accounting records from my computer running Mac OS X Lion.

I did, however, find a workaround. That’s what this article is all about.

Unfortunately, I can’t explain how to run Rosetta software under Lion. To my knowledge, that’s not possible — and please do correct me if I’m wrong! Instead, this article explain show to keep running that Rosetta-dependent software under Snow Leopard (or Leopard) while your computer runs Lion.

Curious? Read on.

What You Need

To take advantage of this workaround you need four things:

  • A computer capable of running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or Leopard. That’s basically any recent Mac released before Lion was released in July.
  • A Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard installation disc. The disc (or thumb drive) that came with your computer should do the trick — in fact, it’s your best starting point.
  • A USB 2 or FireWire external hard disk. If your computer has two internal hard disks, you could actually use one of those. You could also partition your internal hard disk and use one of the partitions. But I prefer an external disk. It doesn’t need to have a very high capacity, but it should be blank because you may have to format it. You can buy a suitable portable disk — which makes it possible to use it on any computer capable of running Snow Leopard (or Leopard) — for well under $100 at Costco or Best Buy or on Amazon.com. The kind that draw power from their USB or FireWire connection are best for this use.
  • The installation disks for the Rosetta software you need to run. In my case, it’s just Quicken 2007.

At this point, if you’re not a complete newbie — which I assume is the case because you need to run ancient software — you should have an idea of where I’m going with this.

The Plan

The plan is to install Mac OS X 10.6 (or 10.5) on that external hard disk. You can then boot from that disk and install the ancient software you need to run. Once that’s done, you can boot from that disk any time you need to run that ancient software.

Now stop your whining! I can hear you all the way from here.

The sad truth is, there is no other alternative. If your problem is Quicken — as mine is — lots of Web sites are telling you to switch to the Windows version of Quicken and run it under Parallels or Windows running on Boot Camp. But do you really want to run Windows? I don’t. And do you really need to use that software all the time? I don’t. And isn’t this just temporary until you find replacement software that’ll run on Lion? For me, yes!

So this is the solution that’ll work without costing a fortune. Chances are, you already have an old external hard disk lying around somewhere. I sure do.

About My Emergency Boot Disk

True story. I was about 95% done with my Mac OS X Lion book when the internal hard disk on my iMac died. Fortunately, I had backups of all my files, so I didn’t lose any data. But I was stuck living in my RV in the middle of farmland, 100 miles away from the nearest Mac consultant capable of replacing an internal hard disk on an iMac.

What did I do? I went to Costco and bought a portable USB 2 drive. I then installed Mac OS X and the applications I needed to finish the book on that disk, along with my backed up documents. Although I expected Mac OS to run very sluggishly from that external hard disk, I was pleasantly surprised at how peppy it was. Not as good as running it from the internal disk, but certainly bearable.

And the reason I want to use an external hard disk? So that when I do find a replacement for Quicken (which I hope is soon), I don’t have to worry about getting all traces of an older OS off my second internal hard disk or a partition on my internal hard disk. And I can always use the external hard disk as an emergency boot disk if I need one for any computer capable of running that version of Mac OS. Or I can reformat it and use it for something else.

Installing Mac OS

First, try to install Snow Leopard (or Leopard) on the external hard disk without reformatting. If you prefer to reformat first, skip ahead to the section titled “If You Have to Reformat” and come back here when you’re done. I’m assuming you don’t want to reformat the hard disk because it contains data you need to use.

  1. Disks on DesktopConnect the external hard disk to your Mac. Depending on how you configured Finder preferences, its icon may appear on the Desktop or in a Finder window’s sidebar.
  2. Insert the Snow Leopard (or Leopard) installation disc or thumb drive. Remember, you must install a version of Mac OS that your computer can run. That’s why its always a good idea to install from the installation disc or thumb drive that came with your computer. In this illustration, icons for my external hard disk (Mobile Backup) and MacBook Air installation thumb drive appear on the Desktop.
  3. Mac OS X InstallIf necessary, open the installation disc/thumb drive icon. Then double-click the Install Mac OS X icon in the Mac OS X Install window. In this illustration, I’ve opened the icon for my MacBook Air’s thumb drive to install Snow Leopard. This launches the Installer.
  4. Follow the prompts to restart your computer. It will boot from the installation disc/thumbdrive. (That’s why its important to use an installer that your computer can run.) It may take a while to start up.
  5. Follow the prompts to choose your language, start the installation process, and agree to the license terms.
  6. In the window that asks which hard disk to install on, be sure to select the external hard disk. Your internal hard disk should not be selectable because it already has a later version of Mac OS X. If your external hard disk cannot be selected either, it likely needs to be formatted; if this happens, Quit the installer, restart from your internal hard disk, and skip ahead to the section titled “If You Have to Reformat.”
  7. After selecting your external hard disk, click the Customize button.
  8. In the window that appears, turn off the check boxes for Additional Fonts, Language Translations, and X11 (unless you need any of them). Turning these items off makes the installation smaller and may speed up running Mac OS X from an external hard disk. Be sure to turn on the check box beside Rosetta. Then click OK.
  9. Back in the main installer window, confirm again that the correct hard disk is selected. Then click Install.
  10. Wait while Mac OS X is installed on the external hard disk. It could take a while. Go get a cup of coffee or take your dog for a walk. When the installation is complete, your computer will automatically restart.
  11. Follow the onscreen prompts to complete the Mac OS setup on the external hard disk. I recommend not transferring your information from another source. (I’m one of those people who like a clean install of everything.) Eventually, you’ll be dumped into the Finder so you can start using your computer with the new OS on the external drive.
  12. Optional: Run Software Update to update Mac OS and its components to the most recent version.

You can eject the Mac OS installer disc/thumbdrive.

If You Have to Reformat

If you have to reformat your external hard disk — or if you want to, just to start with a clean slate — you can use Disk Utility to get the job done. Just remember that following these instructions will completely erase the hard disk, so don’t do this if the disk contains files you need.

With the external hard disk connected, follow these instructions:

  1. If necessary, start your computer from its internal hard disk and Lion installation.
  2. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder.
  3. Disk UtilityOn the left side of the window, select the name of the hard disk you inserted.
  4. On the right side of the window, click the Erase button near the top of the window.
  5. Make sure Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is selected form the Format pop-up menu.
  6. If desired, enter a new name in the Name field.
  7. Click the Erase button near the bottom of the window.
  8. In the dialog that appears, click Erase.
  9. Wait while the disk is erased. It shouldn’t take very long.
  10. Quit Disk Utility.

Once this is done, you can follow the instructions in the section titled “Installing Mac OS” above.

Installing Your Rosetta-Dependent Software

Once Snow Leopard (or Leopard) is installed on the external hard disk, you can install your ancient, Rosetta-dependent software on it.

  1. If necessary, restart the computer from the external hard disk. One way to do this is to hold down the Option key while the computer is starting up and then choose the disk you want from the options that appear onscreen.
  2. Insert the original installation disc for the software you want to install.
  3. Open the installer.
  4. Follow the prompts to install the software.

Note that you might be prompted to install Rosetta. While I realize that if you followed the instructions in the section titled “Installing Mac OS” above Rosetta should already be installed, for some reason, it wasn’t installed for me. No big deal. Your computer can use its connection to the Internet to download and install Rosetta on demand.

When the installation is complete, you can open the software. You’ll find it in the Applications folder on the startup disk — your external hard disk.

Running that Old Software

From that point forward, any time you need to run that old Rosetta-dependent software, you’ll need to restart your computer and make sure it starts from the external hard disk. Yes, this is a pain in the butt. But hopefully, you won’t need to do this often — or forever.

You should be able to keep the data for the application on your internal hard disk — for example, my Quicken data files reside in my Documents folder in my usual Home folder. Quicken, when launched from my external hard disk, can still access them. In fact, I normally launch Quicken by opening one of its data files.

If you expect to need to use the application and its documents on multiple computers, save the files to the external hard disk’s Home folder. The data becomes just as portable as the hard disk. Just don’t forget to back it up periodically if the disk is not backed up with your other data.

When you’re not accessing that other software, you can unmount and disconnect the external hard disk. Just remember to restart your computer from its internal hard disk before you try to pull the plug.

That’s about all there is to it. What do you think? Will this solution work for you? Please share your comments. Just try to refrain from bashing Apple for dropping Rosetta or Intuit for not updating Quicken for Lion. Those two horses have been beaten to death so there’s no need to beat them here.

2Do

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Better than Apple’s Reminder app.

I’m one of those people who can’t remember anything unless it’s written down somewhere. (Indeed, I often consult my books to remember how to do something I actually wrote about!) So it should come as no surprise that I lean heavily on my Mac and iOS devices for a to do list or reminders.

Until recently, Apple did not provide any app that synchronized reminder items between iCal on a Mac and the iOS calendar apps. Not content to wait until they added such functionality, I tried two different reminder applications. The one I settled on — and still use daily today — is called 2Do by Guided Ways Technologies Ltd.

2Do App IconRight from the get-go, 2Do enabled me to synchronize reminder items between iCal and the 2Do app on my iPad and iPhone. It did this through MobileMe, which was very convenient. (2Do now supports iCloud, too.) I could create reminder items on any device, synchronize, and see the items on every device. I could also change or mark an item as complete on one device, synchronize, and have the item change or be marked complete on all devices.

2Do on iPad
In this example, I’m viewing 2Do’s reminder items in my “Air” calendar on my iPad. The grouping is customizable.

What I like a lot about 2Do is that it offers a wide range of fields that you can use to enter information about a reminder item. So not only can I add an item title, description, calendar, and other iCal-supported information, but I can also add fields for a start date, location, recurrence, tags, audio note, and pictures. I can customize the item entry form to include only the fields I use most in the order in which I want them to appear; I can access other fields with a tap. With the location features, you don’t need Siri on an iPhone 4S to take advantage of location-based reminders.

2Do supports three kinds of reminder items: ToDo, Checklist, and Project. A ToDo is a standard reminder. A Checklist is a reminder that includes individual checkable items. A Project is a reminder that includes individual ToDo items. Although I mostly use simple ToDos, Checklists and Projects are especially handy for grouping related tasks that you might need to focus on without creating a separate calendar for them.

2Do’s interface is completely customizable to display specific calendars in the order you want to see them in. You can view reminder items by calendar, tags, or location. If you specify a start date for an item in the future, it will not clutter up your current reminder list.

Reminders App
My “Air” calendar’s reminder list in the Reminder app on my iPhone.

2Do plays nice with Apple’s new Reminders app. When you sync 2Do to iCloud, that data is automatically pushed to Reminders. Likewise, when you make a change in Reminders, that’s automatically pushed to iCloud so it’s updated when you sync 2Do. While it’s true that syncing is not automatic — at least not right now — it is quick and does not require WiFi (as other iOS reminder apps do).

Although folks with very basic reminder needs may find Apple’s Reminders app good enough to meet their needs, I think the power and flexibility of 2Do makes it worth the nominal purchase price. Its additional features and fields help keep me organized, whether I’m planning my next 1200-mile helicopter trip or just trying to remember what to pick up at the grocery store.

How To Determine What Formats Your Optical Drive Can Write To

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Use the System Information app.

Wondering which optical media formats your computer’s optical drive can write to? You can quickly find this information in the System Information app.

  1. Hold down the Option key and choose Apple > System Information. The System Information application launches and displays the Hardware Overview screen.
    Apple - System Info
  2. In the left column of the window, select Disc Burning. The right side of the window displays detailed information about your optical drive.
    Disk Burning
  3. To learn the burn speed of the optical drive, insert a CD or DVD and choose File > Refresh Information, or press Command-R. The display in the right side of the window changes to show this information.
    Burn Speed

Note that the System Information application was called System Profiler in previous versions of Mac OS.

Ten Lion Tips for Snow Leopard Users: Introduction

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What to expect when you step up to Snow Leopard.

Mac OS X Lion Visual QuickStart GuideI’ve just finished work on my latest book, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Visual QuickStart Guide, for Peachpit Press. This new edition of my best-selling OS X book is a complete ground-up revision that reorganizes and adds lots of material. I’m very pleased with the way it turned out and I hope you’ll check it out in print, as a Kindle book, or in Apple’s iBookstore.

To help spread the word about the book, Peachpit and I put together a video tentatively titled “Ten Lion Tips for Snow Leopard Users.” (The video will be online soon; when it is, I’ll link to it here.) The idea is to show Snow Leopard users some of the things that have changed from Snow Leopard to Lion. I’m not necessarily talking about new features — I cover the big new features like Mission Control, Launchpad, and Full-Screen Apps in individual videos available from Peachpit Press, where I can really dig in and show how they work. Instead, the “Ten Lion Tips” video concentrates on ten changes that Snow Leopard users may notice right away — the changes that might have them wondering what’s going on.

You can learn more about how Lion will rock Snow Leopard users’ worlds on Peachpit’s Web site in an article I wrote titled “Ten Lion Tips for Snow Leopard Users.” Of course, the ten things covered in the article (and video) aren’t everything you need to know about Lion. It’s just a start.

Lion is a great new version of Mac OS, one with plenty of new features and interface changes to help make you more productive. I dug deeply into Lion while working on my book and was very happy with what I found. I’m excited about Lion and thrilled to be using it on my Macs. I think you’ll feel the same way!

Mac OS X Lion: Visual QuickStart Guide

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Latest Mac OS X Visual QuickStart Guide now available.

Visual QuickStart Guides, designed in an attractive tutorial and reference format, are the quickest, easiest, and most thorough way to learn applications, tasks, and technologies. The Visual QuickStart Guides are a smart choice and guide the learner in a friendly and respectful tone. Visually presented with copious screenshots, the focused discussions by topic and tasks make learning a breeze and quickly take you to exactly what you want to learn.

The latest update of this best-selling Visual QuickStart Guide will have you up and running in no time with Mac OS X Lion. Respected, best-selling author Maria Langer will take you through all of Mac OS X Lion’s groundbreaking capabilities and new features including Multi-Touch Gestures, Launchpad, Mission Control, the App Store, Mail, and much more. With plenty of screenshots to clearly illustrate techniques, this effective tutorial and reference is packed with practical information for people who want to jump in and start working and playing with OS X Lion.

Table of Contents

Introduction
PART I: Getting Started with Mac OS X
Chapter 1: Setting Up Mac OS X Lion
Chapter 2: Finder Basics
Chapter 3: File Management Basics
Chapter 4: Window Views
Chapter 5: Getting Help
PART II: Managing Files
Chapter 6: Advanced Finder Techniques
Chapter 7: Searching for Files
Chapter 8: Storage Devices & Media
Chapter 9: Backup & Recovery Features
Chapter 10: Multiple Users
PART III: Using Applications
Chapter 11: Application Basics
Chapter 12: Standard Application Menus
Chapter 13: The App Store
Chapter 14: TextEdit
Chapter 15: Address Book
Chapter 16: iCal
Chapter 17: Music & Video Applications
Chapter 18: Other Mac OS X Applications
Chapter 19: Dashboard
Chapter 20: Desktop Management
PART IV: Mac OS Utilities
Chapter 21: Fonts
Chapter 22: Printing
Chapter 23: Disk Utility
Chapter 24: Mac OS Utility Applications
PART V: Network & Internet Connectivity
Chapter 25: Networking
Chapter 26: Connecting to the Internet
Chapter 27: Internet Applications
PART VI: Customizing Your Mac
Chapter 28: Customizing the Finder
Chapter 29: Customizing Finder Windows
Chapter 30: System Preferences Basics
Chapter 31: Personal Preferences
Chapter 32: Hardware Preferences
Chapter 33: Internet & Wireless Preferences
Chapter 34: System Preferences
PART VII: Reference
Appendix A: Menus & Keyboard Shortcuts
Index

Related Posts

For more content related to Lion, be sure to check out the Mac OS topic link.

How to Search Your Mac’s Configuration Files

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It’s easier than you might think.

As you work with your Mac, installing and using software, it creates a bunch of configuration files that it stores in various places throughout your computer. Most of these files can be found in the various Library folders, tucked inside their own folders. There are hundreds of these files and every time you install and use some software — even trial software that you later delete — these files are created and hidden away in your system.

These unused files bit me this week when, for some reason, my BlackBerrry refused to sync with iCal and Address Book. The week before, I’d downgraded from Mac OS X 10.6.3 to 10.6.2. (Long story why; I don’t recommend doing this.) To make another long story short, it turns out that the BlackBerry Desktop software had lost track of some of its components. Making the matter worse was that I’d used both the Missing Sync and Pocket Mac in the past and their configuration files and extensions were still lurking about in my system, causing BlackBerry Desktop to choke.

While you can use an application like AppZapper (which I recommend) to uninstall software you no longer use, I’ve discovered that even uninstallers leave files behind. The best way to make sure a software program is completely gone is to search for and manually delete any remaining configuration files.

The trouble is, when you use the Finder’s search box to search for a file, it automatically excludes system files. This is actually a good thing for two reasons (that I can think of):

  • It minimizes search results to match what you’re most likely trying to find (which isn’t usually system files).
  • It prevents novice users from stumbling upon and possibly deleting or modifying system files that are better left alone.

So what do you do? Easy. You tell Mac OS to search the library folder where you expect to find the files.

Here’s an example. I use the program Fission by Rogue Amoeba to edit audio files. I like it; it’s good. But suppose I decided I wanted to stop using it and remove every trace of it from my computer.

I could search my hard disk for files named Fission. The results might look like this:

Search for Fission

But is that all there is? I don’t think so. I’ll open the Library folder in my Home folder and do the same search, but with the Library folder selected. Here are the results:

Fission Search

See the difference? The second search displayed two configuration files and a folder likely containing more related data. (The fourth file in the list is a data file for Yojimbo which I’d likely not want to remove.)

If I were serious about removing all traces of this program from my computer, I’d search not only by the name of the program but all or part of the name of the developer. (Rogue Amoeba is a great example because either word is likely to find just files related to software by that developer.)

You might want to repeat this process for all Library folders — the one on your hard disk’s root directory, the one in the System folder on your hard disk, and the one in any user’s Home folder (if you have access to it).

Performing this exercise for Missing Sync and Pocket Mac files this morning uncovered literally dozens of configuration files scattered all over my hard disk. Deleting them freed up space and prevented the possibility of these files interfering with incompatible software that I currently use.

Need More Information?

Snow Leopard Book CoverYou can find more information about searching your Mac in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. Chapter 5 covers the Spotlight search feature in a great deal of detail.

Beware of Smith Micro Mac Software

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A quick warning to Snow Leopard users.

I just spent the past day and a half working on a 4,000-word article for one of my publishers about ways you can reduce hard disk clutter. (I’ll share the link when the article goes online in about a month.) As part of the article, I checked out two Smith Micro software products: Spring Cleaning 10 and Internet Cleanup 5. I don’t think I’ve ever regretted installing any software as much as I regret installing these two products.

First, I should mention that the process of obtaining a 30-day demo copy of Spring Cleaning 10 requires you to provide a credit card number up front. Although the Web site offers a PayPal option, it simply does not work — and customer service is clueless about the problem. It took me three tries to get the software. In the end, after two hours of frustration, download instructions finally arrived. Even those weren’t clear; I still had to hunt around for the download link.

While I’m not sure which of the two products caused the problems I encountered, I suspect it may have been Internet Cleanup. This software purports to help protect you from malware and spyware. It installs files all over your computer, including files that interact directly with your system files. After installing either it or Spring Cleaning, my Mac began suffering kernel panic crashes every time I shut down.

If you’re not familiar with a kernel panic, it appears as a sweep of darkness over the face of your computer screen, from the top to the bottom. The computer becomes completely unresponsive. A message in four or five languages appears, instructing you to shut down your computer by holding down the power button until the computer stops running. You can then restart. When I restarted, a dialog asked if I wanted to report the problem to Apple. Clicking the Show Details button in that screen displays some gibberish that helps Apple’s tech people understand what went wrong. In every case, the name SmithMicro appeared among the gibberish — proof that the software was causing the problem.

I uninstalled both programs. For Internet Cleanup, I used AppZapper, which appeared to delete all the files. For Spring Cleaning, I used the uninstaller that came with the program. Unfortunately, the kernel panic errors continued to plague my system.

Even a “genius” at the Apple Store was baffled. In the end, he reinstalled Snow Leopard from scratch for me. The problem went away. Two files appeared in an Incompatible Software folder after the reinstallation. Both referred to Smith Micro software.

I’m writing this post to warn users of potential problems. No one wants their computer screwed up so badly that a system software reinstallation is necessary.

I’ve written to the folks at Smith Micro to advise them of my experience. I have not received a response. Customer service did tell me that my credit card would not be charged for the software, which I have since fully deleted. There is no mention of Snow Leopard compatibility — or incompatibility — for either of these products on the Smith Micro Web site.

Mac OS X: Using Your Laptop in “Clamshell Mode”

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Using your MacBook or MacBook Pro with the lid closed. Really.

Apple Cinema DisplayAs the prices for large, flat-screen displays continue to fall, many folks are buying one as a second display. About a year ago, I wound up with a 23″ Apple Cinema Display that I’d bought used from a friend who was moving. I installed it in my Phoenix office, with the idea that I’d use it with my laptop — then a 15″ MacBook Pro; now a 13″ MacBook Pro. I connected the display to my Mac and began using it with the laptop’s built-in display, very much as I discuss here.

I soon realized that I really didn’t use the second display because of the awkwardness of “driving” the mouse from one screen to the other. But, at the same time, It made no sense to use the smaller monitor when I could be using the larger one. When I started using a wireless keyboard and mouse with my laptop in my Phoenix office, I realized that I was ready for clamshell mode.

Clamshell mode enables you to use a PowerBook G4, MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro with the computer’s lid closed. All you need to have is an external monitor and input devices. The input devices can be wired or wireless. The computer sends all display output to the external monitor and accepts all input from those external input devices. The computer itself just does the CPU stuff.

Clamshell ModeYou can even put the computer aside, out of the way. The photo here gives you an idea of how my office desktop looks with my 13″ MacBook Pro running in clamshell mode, standing in a special stand I bought to keep it out of the way on my rather shallow desk.

There are two ways to enter and exit clamshell mode, depending on whether your input devices are wired or wireless. Let’s take a look at each method.

Wired Input Devices

If you have a wired keyboard and mouse, getting set up with clamshell mode is pretty easy.

  1. Connect the computer to a power adapter — this won’t work on battery power — and, if necessary, turn your computer on.
  2. Plug in your keyboard and mouse.
  3. Connect your external display to your computer and turn it on.
  4. When the desktop appear on the external display, close the computer’s lid.
  5. If the computer goes to sleep — which is likely — wake it by touching any key on the keyboard.

You can now use the computer with the external keyboard, mouse, and display.

Wireless Input Devices

In my particular setup, I have a Bluetooth Apple keyboard and a wireless (but not Bluetooth) Logitech mouse. The instructions I follow are similar to the wired input devices instructions. The key is to pair any Bluetooth devices before starting clamshell mode.

  1. Connect the computer to a power adapter — this won’t work on battery power — and, if necessary, turn your computer on.
  2. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
  3. Pair and connect your computer with your keyboard and mouse and confirm that they work.
  4. Advanced Bluetooth OptionsIn the Advanced settings of the Bluetooth System Preferences pane, make sure the Allow Bluetooth Devices to Wake this Computer.
  5. Connect your external display to your computer and turn it on.
  6. When the desktop appear on the external display, close the computer’s lid.
  7. If the computer goes to sleep — which is likely — wake it by touching any key on the keyboard.

In my case, because my mouse is not Bluetooth, I had to connect the mouse’s USB wireless adapter to my monitor (which has USB ports) or computer and turn the mouse on.

Watch the Video

If you’re a visual kind of person and want to see the process in action, watch this video, which I shot with my Flip camera. We’re not talking Academy Award material here, folks, but it does show you how it works — at least for me.

When You’re Finished with Clamshell Mode

Eventually, you’ll want to start using your computer the usual way, with its own built-in display. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Put the computer to sleep. (This step might not be necessary; it depends on the computer model and display. Experiment with your system.)
  2. Disconnect the display.
  3. Wake your computer to use it.

Need More Information?

Snow Leopard Book CoverYou can find more information about using monitors and Bluetooth devices with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide.

You can find Apple’s instructions for using clamshell mode here. That document will be revised as procedures change.

Repair Your Hard Disk with Disk First Aid

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How to launch Disk Utility so you can use its First Aid features on your internal hard disk.

Note: This article is an update of one I wrote way back when Mac OS X 10.3 Panther was released. The instructions here apply to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and will likely apply to most future versions of Mac OS.

Disk Utility IconMac OS X includes a utility called Disk Utility, which can be found in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder. This program offers features for verifying and repairing permissions and disks, erasing and partitioning volumes, creating and working with disk images, and using RAID.

Disk First Aid

Of this bunch, the First Aid features of Disk Utility are something you might want to check out if you haven’t already. I like to use this feature to clean up file permissions and repair minor directory damage on my hard disks on a regular basis. The trouble is, to use the disk repair features on your startup disk, you can’t start up from that disk or run the software from that disk.

And therein lies the problem: how do you repair your hard disk with Disk Utility if you can’t access the repair feature when you start it from your hard disk?

The answer is on your Mac OS X installation DVD. That disc, which includes the Disk Utility software, can be used to start your computer.

Those of you who have above average knowledge of the installation discs may be scratching your heads. You know that when you start a computer with a Mac OS X installation disc, the Installer application automatically runs. When you use the Installer’s Quit Installer command, the Finder does not appear. Instead, the installer tells you it will restart your computer. So how do you launch Disk Utility?

I’ll tell you.

First of all, you know how to restart your computer from a bootable DVD, right? Insert the DVD and then do one of the following:

  • Use the Startup Disk pane of the System Preferences application to identify the disc as your startup disk.
  • Restart your computer with the Option key held down, select the DVD when the startup disk icons appear, and press Return.
  • Restart your computer with the C key held down.

Wait for your computer to restart from the DVD. Then:

  1. In the first dialog that appears, select your language and click the forward arrow button.
  2. Wait while the installer prepares the installation. Don’t worry; it’s not changing anything on your hard disk.
  3. When the menu bar appears, choose Utilities > Disk Utility.

Disk Utility opens. You can then use its First Air features on your internal hard disk.

When you’re finished:

  1. Choose Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility or press Command-Q to quit.
  2. When the installer appears, choose Utilities > Startup Disk.
  3. When Startup Disk appears, select your hard disk icon and click Restart.
  4. Click Restart in the confirmation dialog that appears.

Your computer restarts from your hard disk.

It’s in the Book!

Snow Leopard Book CoverYou can find more information about hard disks and using Disk Utility with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide.:

  • Storage Media is covered in Chapter 6, pages 97-126.
  • Mac OS Utilities is covered in Chapter 24, pages 569-594.

Mac OS: Ejecting a Disc So You Can Start from Another

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Eject a disc so you can insert the disc you want to start from.

Here’s the scenario:

You want to install Snow Leopard on your Mac but, for whatever reason, there’s a bootable CD or DVD in your computer’s optical drive. If you hold down C while starting up, it’ll boot from that disc. If you don’t hold down anything while starting up, it’ll boot from whatever disk it last started from or the disk set in the Startup Disk preferences pane. If you repeatedly press the Eject Media key while starting up, it may or may not eject the disc you don’t want to start from — in any case, it’ll likely start before you can insert the correct disc.

Sound far-fetched? It isn’t. It happened to me the other day.

My iMac’s hard disk was feeling ill and simply wouldn’t boot. I’d last started it with my old Leopard install disc inserted. When I got my Snow Leopard Install disc, I decided to run its Disk Utility First Aid routine on the sickly hard disk. Trouble was, I’d shut down the computer with the Leopard disc inserted.

Here’s how to eject a disc so you can insert another disc for startup. (The “screenshots” here were created with my digital camera, since it’s impossible to create a screenshot from within Mac OS X before the computer has completed its startup process.)

  1. Hold down the Option key while starting your Mac. Keep the key held down until a screen with startup disk icons appears.
    Fig1
  2. Click the icon for the disc you want to eject to select it.
  3. Press the Eject Media button on the keyboard. The disk comes out and its icon disappears from the screen.
    Fig2
  4. Insert the disc you want to start from. Its icon appears onscreen.
    Fig3
  5. Click the disc icon to select it.
  6. Press Return. The computer completes the startup process, using the disc you selected.

As you may already know (or should have realized after reading this), if you hold down the Option key at startup, you can choose your startup disk on the fly. You might find this useful if, for some reason, you have multiple bootable disks on your computer.

It’s in the Book!

Snow Leopard Book CoverYou can find more information about hard disks and using Disk Utility with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide.:

  • Storage Media is covered in Chapter 6, pages 97-126.
  • Mac OS Utilities is covered in Chapter 24, pages 569-594.

Back it Up or Lose It

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What’s your backup strategy?

This morning, on Twitter, I read a tweet from one of the folks I follow, @SeeTTL :

RT @JCDean: PSA: Please back up your computer! My wife just went to console a friend who may have lost EVERY pic of her kids.

This sad story really hit home with me. No, not because I have kids. And not because I’ve lost the contents of a hard drive forever — despite the fact that I’ve suffered three total hard disk crashes since 1989. But because I could imagine how badly I’d feel if I’d trusted my hard disk to hold the only copies of all my photos.

As a computer user, the data you create is the only thing that can’t be replaced when lost. I’m talking about photos, diaries, accounting records, address books, original manuscripts, and more. Sure, a lot of this stuff can be recreated with some effort, but some of it can’t. Like all those photos.

The only way to protect this data from loss is to create reliable backups and, whenever possible, store them offsite, away from the computer.

Mac users have a few options for automated backups:

  • Time Machine is truly transparent. It goes to work in the background to faithfully duplicate what it finds on your hard disk. You can use it with its default settings or customize settings to limit what’s backed up. All you need is an attached hard disk or Time Machine-compatible network disk. Time Machine does the rest. Best of all, it will even keep copies of stuff you deleted by accident — at least for a while — so you can get it back. With external hard disk prices so low right now and Time Machine free with Leopard, why not take advantage of it?
  • Backup is backup software that comes with Mac OS X. It’s highly configurable and can be used to back up to a hard disk, optical media such as CDs or DVDs, and a MobileMe account. This last option is probably the best because it automates off-site storage. I wrote about using Backup in “Save Yourself (and Your Data) with .Mac Backup,” which I wrote for Peachpit.com in 2006. It might be dated, but I’m sure you’ll find some good tidbits of information there.
  • iDisk SynciDisk is part of a MobileMe account. You might not think of it as a backup solution, but it can be. First, you can simply drag and drop the things you want to back up to your iDisk to copy it to your MobileMe storage space. That’s an offline storage solution for you. But what you might find easier is to enable iDisk syncing so a copy of your iDisk space is available on your computer’s desktop. Then simply store data in it. The data is automatically copied to your iDisk space on MobileMe when synced. Not only that, but if you more than one Mac, all of them can share the same iDisk. That means the documents you copy there are available with you on all of your computers.
  • Third party backup solutions are also available to you. There are quite a few out there and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not up to speed on them. I haven’t needed them. I have a very good backup strategy without them.
  • Fetch and iCal can also be used together to create an automated offsite backup solution. I wrote about that in ““Creating an Automated Backup Plan with Fetch and iCal”,” in 2007.

CDs and DVDs can always be used to back up data to. This is what some people seem to forget. And it’s what probably could have saved the woman referenced above a lot of grief.

Last week, I wrote a blog post for my personal blog that outlined my workflow for geotagging images. In it, I included Step 4: Backup. That’s the step where I copy all of my images from my hard disk to a CD or DVD before erasing the camera’s data card. I have dozens of these discs, nicely labeled, in my office. I’d be smarter to have them offsite. But at least I have them. Anyone who makes a lot of digital images and does not perform this step is looking for trouble. Don’t say a hard disk crash won’t happen to you. It will. It’s just a matter of time.

Heck, it happened to me three times already.

My Geotagging Workflow

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How I add GPS coordinates to my photos.

A while back, I decided I wanted to include the GPS coordinates in the EXIF data for my photos. Because my cameras (a Nikon D80 and a Nikon CoolPix something-or-other) don’t have built-in GPS features or communicate via bluetooth (or any other method) with a GPS, I have to manually attach the GPS coordinates to the photos.

I say manually, but I do this with software that automates the process. (I’m not a complete idiot.) Still, there’s a slightly convoluted workflow to get this all together. I thought I’d outline it here for two reasons:

  • Some blog readers might be genuinely interested. I’m not the only photo-snapping geek around.
  • By documenting this, I can look back, years from now, and see yet another example of how technology changes to make things easier and how I solved a “problem.”

So here’s the workflow rundown. I skipped the nitty gritty details to keep it short. (I read somewhere that people don’t like to read long blog posts.)

Step 1: Acquire the Photos

GlobalSat BT-335Bluetooth GPS w/ ChargersWhen I go out to do photography, I take minimal equipment. I don’t like to carry a bunch of stuff. But one of the things I do take with me (other than my camera) is a GPS data logger. I bought a GlobalSat BT-335 Bluetooth GPS Data Logger. I made my choice after lots of research, including this excellent review on bioneural.net. Three things sold me:

  • Price. It’s $69.95 on Amazon.com.
  • Size. It’s small and lightweight.
  • Connectivity. It’s Bluetooth, so I don’t have to deal with cables. (I hate cables.)

As an added bonus, when paired with my MacBook Pro, it puts live GPS data on my computer. Which is kind of cool, even though I currently have no use for this capability.

I’m not saying you should go out and buy this. I’m just saying that I did and I’m very satisfied. And while I certainly welcome comments that suggest other models, my choice has been made, so please don’t try to sell me on your solution.

A GPS data logger like the BT-335 does one thing, and it does it well. It keeps track of where you’ve been by recording GPS coordinates and corresponding times. It stores all this data inside itself with virtually no user interface. I attach it with a wrist strap I bought at a camera store to my camera’s shoulder strap. Before I start shooting photos, I turn it on and it does its thing. I basically forget all about it.

So when I go out to do photography, I turn on my GPS data logger and use my camera to take pictures. Pretty simply stuff, no?

It’s important to note here that the time on my camera must be right — at least within 10-20 seconds (if I’m on the move) or 1 to 2 minutes (if I’m moving more slowly). I check it against my computer’s clock (which is set by atomic clock) and adjust it a few times a year. The GPS data logger gets its date/time information from the GPS satellites.

Step 2: Get the Data and Photos on the Computer

The next step is to get all of the GPS data and the photos onto my computer.

LoadMyTracksAlthough GlobalSat has a perfectly fine utility for getting the data off its unit and onto a Mac, I use the freeware application, Load My Tracks. I tell it I’m using a GlobalSat DG-100 and because the unit is paired to my computer, it finds it. I can then download tracks into either GPX (which I need) or KML format. I download both — heck, why not? — into the folder where I’ll soon be downloading the photos. I then erase the data logger so I don’t have extra track points in it the next time I use it.

Next, I use a card reader with Image Capture, which comes with Mac OS X, to download all photos from my camera into the folder where I saved the track logs. They don’t have to be in the same folder, but I like it that way. Nice and neat. And it makes it easy to back up the logs with the photos.

Now I’ve got the GPS data and photos on my computer.

Step 3: Match GPS Coordinates to Photos

Next, I launch GPSPhotoLinker, another freeware application. I use the Load Tracks button to load up the GPX data file for the photo shoot. Then I use the Load Photos button to load all the photos I took during the shoot. I go into batch mode, which has my settings saved from the last session, and click Batch Save to Photos.

GPSPhotoLinker uses my settings and the data to write the GPS coordinates, including altitude, to each photo. It displays a progress bar as it works. When it’s done, the Latitude and Longitude for each photo appears in the appropriate columns in the list of photos. Here’s what it looks like while it’s working. (Yes, I took pictures of very big, red rocks.)

GPSPhotoLinker In Action

As for the big, red rocks, you can find them here. (But it seems to be off by a 10-20 feet; maybe it’s time to adjust the camera time again.)

Step 4: Backup

After losing a hard disk for the third time two years ago, I have become fanatical about backing up my data. After importing photos and linking the GPS data to them, I burn them onto a CD or DVD (depending on the capacity needed). When the burn is done, I check the CD or DVD to make sure it functions properly. Then I apply a label with the date and some descriptive information and file the CD or DVD in a box with a bunch of others.

I format the memory card for my camera in my camera to clear it out completely.

I then feel good about deleting photos off my hard disk, adding them to iPhoto, or modifying them in Photoshop or some other image editing too.

Sounds Like a Lot of Work?

It really isn’t a lot of work. It’s a whole workflow thing. Do it enough times and you can do it quickly. Steps 2 through 4 take about 15 minutes from start to finish.

That’s my flow for geotagging. What’s yours? Got a camera with a GPS or GPS connectivity built in? Please do brag about it by adding a comment here. I’d love to learn more.

Welcome to Macintosh

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A movie review.

Welcome to MacintoshThe other night, I watched Welcome to Macintosh, a new documentary by filmmakers Robert Baca and Josh RIzzo.

Here’s the review I just entered on Netflix, where I gave it 3 out of 5 stars:

I’m one of the “Mac faithful” and have been for years. I found this documentary mildly interesting — especially parts discussing trivia, such as how startup tones came about. In general, however, I found it to be a rather amateurish production, with far too much time spent on various collections of old Macs. The cutaway scenes with Mac models decorating the landscape was reminiscent of the “How It’s Made” television series and rather silly. I would like to have seen more interviews with Mac users, movers, and shakers, as well as some of those old Macs running some of the software from the early days.

This movie will appeal to any Mac fan interested in Apple’s history. But Apple haters will hate this movie; it comes across as real Apple “fanboy” material.

You can read another take on the movie from its premier on the Unofficial Apple Weblog: “TUAW On Scene: from the premiere of Welcome to Macintosh.”

MobileMe

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A replacement for .Mac.

This week, Apple released its new online service, MobileMe. At the same time, it discontinued its old service, .Mac.

My Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard book provides some coverage of the features of .Mac. I have not yet had time to work with and develop new material covering MobileMe. I expect to be writing new articles and creating new videos about MobileMe soon. You’ll find them here as I release them.

In the meantime, if you’re a .Mac user, I highly recommend that you read Apple’s support document, “.Mac to MobileMe transition FAQ.” It will provide you the basic information you need to make the transition from the old service to the new one.

If you have specific questions about using MobileMe features, please use the comments link or form for this article. Although I can’t guarantee an answer, I will use the questions I receive here to write new articles about MobileMe for this site. Just keep in mind that I can’t provide technical support for connection and compatibility problems. For that kind of help, please turn to Apple Support.