MacBook Pro Portable Genius, 4th Edition

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction xviii

chapter 1 How Can I Use My Desktop Space Efficiently? 2

Setting the Finder Desktop Icon Preferences 4

Utilizing the Sidebar and Toolbar 4

Using and configuring the sidebar 5

Using and configuring the toolbar 7

Working with the Dock 9

Configuring and using Dock icons 12

Changing the Dock’s appearance and behavior 15

Using the Launchpad 16

Configuring the Dashboard 19

Setting the Dashboard keyboard shortcut and hot corner 20

Customizing the Dashboard 21

Configuring widgets 22

Installing more widgets 23

Creating your own web widgets 24

Managing Your Desktop with Mission Control 26

Managing windows on a Desktop 27

Hiding all open windows 28

Showing application windows 29

Showing all windows 30

Using Desktops 30

Configuring Mission Control 31

Managing your Desktop 34

Using Applications in Full Screen Mode 35

Configuring Notifications 36

Working with the Notification Center 36

Configuring notifications 38

Working with Displays 39

Configuring the MacBook Pro display 39

Connecting and configuring an external display with a cable 41

Connecting and configuring an external display with AirPlay 44

Using a projector 45

Setting a Desktop picture 47

chapter 2 How Do I Manage User Accounts? 50

Working with User Accounts 52

Creating Administrator or Standard user accounts 53

Setting Login Items for a user account 58

Configuring e-mail, contacts, and calendar accounts 59

Creating Sharing Only user accounts 60

Creating Group user accounts 60

Changing accounts 61

Deleting accounts 62

Limiting access with Parental Controls 62

Restricting system resources 63

Restricting content 65

Limiting people 66

Setting time limits 68

Setting other limits 69

Using Automatic Login 70

Configuring the Login Window 71

Working with Fast User Switching 72

Working with the Root User Account 73

chapter 3 What Are My Internet Connection Options? 76

Setting Up a Local Network 78

Installing an AirPort Extreme

Base Station or Time Capsule 78

Building a local network 87

Connecting via Wi-Fi 87

Connecting via Ethernet 91

Connecting via Cellular Modem 92

Connecting via iPhone or iPad Tethering 95

Managing Multiple Network Connections 96

Configuring network connections 96

Managing network connections with locations 97

Troubleshooting an Internet Connection 100

Solving a network connection problem 101

Solving a MacBook Pro connection problem 103

Finding help for Internet connection problems 104

chapter 4 What Can I Do on a Local Network? 106

Sharing Files 108

Sharing files with AirDrop 108

Sharing your files with others 110

Configuring sharing user accounts 110

Configuring file sharing 111

Setting sharing permissions from the Finder 115

Accessing shared files 116

Using the sidebar to access shared files 116

Accessing shared files using a URL 118

Sharing files with Windows PCs 119

Sharing files on a MacBook Pro with a Windows PC 119

Accessing files from a Windows PC 120

Sharing files from a Windows PC 122

Accessing shared files from a Windows PC using a Mac 123

Sharing Screens 124

Sharing your MacBook Pro screen with other Macs 125

Sharing another Mac’s screen on a local network 126

Sharing Printers 130

Sharing USB printers connected to a base station 130

Sharing printers connected to a Mac 130

Sharing an Internet Connection 131

chapter 5 How Can I Control My MacBook Pro and Maintain Battery Power? 134

Using the Trackpad Effectively 136

Configuring the trackpad 136

Using gestures to control your MacBook Pro 138

Using the Keyboard Effectively 139

Configuring the keyboard 139

Configuring language settings and the Input menu 141

Using keyboard tricks 145

Controlling the keyboard backlight 145

Controlling your MacBook Pro with function keys 145

Controlling your MacBook Pro with default keyboard shortcuts 146

Configuring keyboard shortcuts 147

Creating your own keyboard shortcuts 147

Navigating with the keyboard 148

Using the Input menu 150

Using the Character Viewer 151

Using the Keyboard Viewer 152

Configuring Bluetooth 153

Adding a Bluetooth Mouse 155

Adding a Bluetooth Keyboard 155

Sharing Files with Bluetooth 156

Maintaining the Battery 159

Monitoring battery status 159

Extending battery life 160

Using the Energy Saver 160

Adopting low-energy habits 163

Powering your MacBook Pro while traveling 164

chapter 6 How Do I Take Advantage of iCloud? 166

Getting Started with iCloud 168

Synchronizing Data on Multiple Devices 169

Configuring iCloud on a MacBook Pro 170

Configuring iCloud syncing on an iOS device 174

Managing your iCloud account 176

Working with iCloud web applications 177

Using Find My Mac 178

Using iCloud with Documents 182

chapter 7 How Do I Manage Contacts and E-mail? 186

Adding Contact Information to Contacts 188

Configuring the card template 188

Creating a contact manually 189

Importing vCards 192

Adding contact information from e-mail 192

Editing cards 193

Working with Cards in Contacts 194

Browsing contact information 194

Setting format and sort preferences 194

Browsing for cards 195

Browsing for cards in Card Only view 195

Searching for cards 196

Organizing Cards with Groups in Contacts 197

Creating groups manually 197

Creating Smart Groups 198

Changing groups 199

Synchronizing Contact Information with iPhones, iPod touches, or iPads 200

Synchronizing via iTunes 200

Synchronizing via iCloud 202

Configuring E-mail Accounts in Mail 203

Configuring iCloud accounts 205

Configuring POP accounts 208

Configuring IMAP accounts 210

Configuring Exchange accounts 210

Testing e-mail accounts 212

Working with File Attachments in Mail 212

Sending compressed files through e-mail 213

Preparing attachments for Windows users 214

Working with received files 214

Organizing E-mail in Mail 216

Using mailboxes 216

Using Smart Mailboxes 218

chapter 8 How Do I Communicate and Share in Real Time? 220

Conversing with FaceTime 222

Configuring FaceTime 222

Starting a call 223

Receiving a call 224

Conducting a call 225

Messaging with Messages 225

Configuring Messages 226

Creating and configuring chat accounts 226

Setting General preferences 230

Setting Messages preferences 231

Setting Alerts preferences 232

Setting Audio/Video preferences 232

Using Messages to text chat 233

Using Messages to audio or video chat 236

Sharing Desktops during a chat 240

Sharing Your Content 242

chapter 9 How Can I Manage My Calendars? 244

Managing Calendars 246

Configuring Calendar preferences 246

Creating calendars 251

Managing calendars 252

Adding events to calendars 253

Working with event invitations and availability 256

Managing events 256

Printing Calendars 258

Sharing Calendars 259

Publishing calendars via iCloud 259

Sharing calendars via iCloud 261

Working with Published and Shared Calendars 262

Subscribing to published calendars 262

Working with shared calendars 263

Subscribing to public calendars 263

Moving Calendars to iPhones, iPods, and iPads 264

chapter 10 How Can I Make Better Use of the MacBook Pro Audio Features? 266

Getting Sound Out of a MacBook Pro 268

Understanding sound output options 268

Using external speakers 269

Connecting an analog system 269

Connecting a digital system 269

Controlling sound output 270

Creating and Using Sound Effects 272

Configuring sound effects 273

Creating and using custom sound alerts 274

Creating a sound alert 274

Adding a custom sound alert 276

Recording and Working with Sound 277

Recording sound with the internal microphone 277

Configuring the internal microphone 278

Recording sound with the internal microphone in iMovie 279

Recording sound with a USB headset 279

Recording sound with a video camera 280

Recording sound from external microphones and musical instruments 281

Recording sound with an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad 281

Dictating to Your MacBook Pro 282

chapter 11 How Do I Add and Manage Storage Space? 284

Using External Hard Drives 286

Installing an external hard drive 287

Preparing an external hard drive with Disk Utility 288

Working with external hard drives 292

Managing free space on a hard drive 293

Maintaining Hard Drives 293

Checking the available space on a drive with Activity Monitor 295

Checking or repairing an external drive with Disk Utility 296

Checking or repairing the internal drive with Disk Utility 297

Erasing an external hard drive with Disk Utility 298

Working with SD Cards and Flash Drives 300

chapter 12 How Can I Run Windows Applications? 304

Choosing a Windows Option 306

Running Windows with Boot Camp 307

Configuring Boot Camp and installing Windows 307

Running Windows using Boot Camp 311

Running Windows Virtually with VMware Fusion 313

Installing VMware Fusion 314

Running Windows under VMware Fusion 314

chapter 13 How Can I Protect My MacBook Pro? 318

Keeping Software Current 320

Keeping App Store software current 320

Updating App Store software manually 320

Updating App Store software automatically 322

Keeping other software current 323

Manually updating Microsoft Office applications 324

Automatically updating Snapz Pro X 325

Preventing Internet Attacks 325

Shielding your MacBook Pro with a base station 325

Shielding your MacBook Pro with the Mac OS X firewall 326

Protecting MacBook Pro with General Security 328

Protecting Data with Time Machine 330

Preparing a backup drive 331

Backing up with Time Machine 332

Restoring files with Time Machine 336

Restoring files in the Finder 336

Restoring files in applications 338

Using the Mac OS X Document Protection Features 339

Using Auto Save 339

Restoring documents with Versioning 340

Protecting Data with Online Backup Services 341

Protecting Data with Encryption 342

Protecting Information with Keychains 344

Viewing and configuring keychains 345

Adding items to a keychain 347

Working with keychains 348

chapter 14 How Do I Solve MacBook Pro Problems? 350

Looking for Trouble 352

Understanding and Describing Problems 355

Recognizing user errors 355

Recognizing software problems 356

Recognizing hardware problems 357

Describing problems 358

Trying Fast and Easy Solutions 359

Forcing applications to quit 359

Forcing the Finder to relaunch 360

Restarting or restoring 361

Shutting down soft 361

Shutting down hard 362

Using a troubleshooting user account and deleting preferences 362

Repairing external hard drives 365

Repairing the internal hard drive 365

Repairing permissions 366

Reinstalling applications 366

Starting up from the Recovery partition 368

Starting up from an alternate external drive 369

Getting Help with MacBook Pro Problems 370

Using the Mac Help system 370

Describing a problem in detail 371

Profiling a MacBook Pro 371

Monitoring MacBook Pro activity 372

Capturing screenshots 373

Getting help from others 375

Starting Over 375

Reinstalling Mac OS X 376

Melting and repouring 377