Need tips: User going from PC to Mac

[cmyk]

@Ellen Cherry

Ooo I squeezed the mouse and all the windows shrunk down and arranged themselves in an orderly fashion on the desktop. Fun!

A couple more questions … I mentioned all my data has been brought over from my PC. Several folders had folders within them as well as individual documents. These are now all mixed in together, and alphabetized. I would like all the folders at the top, followed by the documents, because I’ve arranged things by subject and I don’t necessarily remember exactly what each thing is called. So, can I do this?

I think I will customize my toolbar. However, I’m still having the problem that Paste Special is not, in fact, pasting special. :mad:

cmyk, I got the mac because I work with graphic artists, and they’re the only ones with the Macs. One of them has this enormous 24-inch screen <swoon> Monitor envy, the affliction of the new millenium. However, I’m not a designer, but a writer and they’re letting me use ID. I may try your virtual desktop idea. It sounds orderly. And HEY I get your name!

Per the folder/sorting thing, aside from using Smart Folders (which are really great to use, but let’s not overwhelm you)… you can click into List View (from the set of four icons at the top of every finer window). It’s the second one from the right, and looks like 4 horizontal lines. It’ll change the way you view your docs and folders… but this view allows you to sort by Name, Date, Size, Kind, etc. Click on Kind at the top of that column, and that might get you closer to what you want.

Also, when you Paste Special, are you selecting Unformatted Text from the popup?

And yes, I’m an unabashed graphic designer (slash CG artist) – but I’ve got your co-worker beat – I have two 24" monitors.

[Ellen_Cherry]

Ooo now I really envy you! But until recently I worked in Production here and the Avids have big old monitors all arrayed in spectacular fashion!

Thanks, regarding List View; I think that’s what I need. Maybe I’ll arrange things differently when I figure out where everything is.

Yes, duh, I was not checking that box, regarding the formatting. I’ve got it figured out now, but I do think I need to make myself a special button. AHunter, the option-command V doesn’t paste unformatted for me.

Cmyk, is your IM name kevsnyde? I don’t see you on.

[filmyak]

@Ellen Cherry

Ooo now I really envy you! But until recently I worked in Production here and the Avids have big old monitors all arrayed in spectacular fashion!

I’m writing this on my Mac Avid system now (shhh… don’t tell the boss I’m not editing!).

Definitely play around with expose and all that fun stuff… F10-F12 I think, I have the functions tied to my mouse buttons. They’ll go a long way toward helping you organize your workspace.

And as for Boot Camp, works great… but look into VM Ware Fusion… lets you run PC software without having to reboot your system.

[Amblydoper]

Just a thought, but when I paste in Word (2004) I get a little box below the text that I can click on for some options. One option is “Match destination formatting.” That strips the formatting away from whatever I copied, and applies the font and size used in the rest of the page. Give that a shot next time. Not sure if that option box pops up in Word 2008, but it is sure useful for me.

[Ellen_Cherry]

You guys are the best! Aren’t Mac users the smartest, prettiest people on the Dope?

[Myglaren]

@Ellen Cherry

You guys are the best! Aren’t Mac users the smartest, prettiest people on the Dope?

This thread alone would appear to confirm that theory.
I have been enthralled.
Keep up the good work.

(not a Mac user)

[cmyk]

@Myglaren

This thread alone would appear to confirm that theory.
I have been enthralled.
Keep up the good work.

(not a Mac user)

Then come on over to the dark side! Or, the light side? The etched aluminum side?

Which side are we on, again?

[Myglaren]

Often tempted but the arcane wizardry of Li-nux is too strong.
Not to mention the amount of doubloons and pieces of eight needed.

I did use a Mac in college many years ago and it was far better than the much newer and snazzy Windows machines.

[Sunspace]

@Myglaren

Often tempted but the arcane wizardry of Li-nux is too strong.
Not to mention the amount of doubloons and pieces of eight needed.

I did use a Mac in college many years ago and it was far better than the much newer and snazzy Windows machines.

Using virtualisation software like Parallels or Fusion, I can run Linux, Windows and Mac OS X at the same time on my Lappy. Macs really are the most flexible computers out there these days.

[Sunspace]

@filmyak

And as for Boot Camp, works great… but look into VM Ware Fusion… lets you run PC software without having to reboot your system.

Fusion (and its competitor Parallels) can also use your pre-existing Boot Camp partition.

[Myglaren]

Thing is, I already have the hardware and run Ubuntu native so why jump through virtualisation hoops.

[Sunspace]

@Myglaren

Thing is, I already have the hardware and run Ubuntu native so why jump through virtualisation hoops.

True… but if you have only one computer and it’s a Mac, it’s nice to know that you still can.

[Alex_Dubinsky]

@Balthisar

Also, honestly the alt sequence I mentioned (Windows only) is much, much faster than pasting and copying and switching into other applications. I do it so often, I’ve developed the muscle memory. In fact Windows’ direct ability to totally not require a mouse is about the only thing I envy from the platform.

Have you tried Vista? You know the “hide underlined letters” option in Appearance. In win2k they turned it on by default. Fair enough. In Vista, they’ve completely removed the option! Some retard thought that no one should be navigating that way and accelerator keys are “for accessibility only.” Accelerator keys are like the GUI version of keyboard shortcuts. They’re brilliant. Sigh.

[Myglaren]

Vista is an abomination - I have it on this laptop but not for much longer.

[Balthisar]

@CoG888

Just a thought, but when I paste in Word (2004) I get a little box below the text that I can click on for some options. One option is “Match destination formatting.” That strips the formatting away from whatever I copied, and applies the font and size used in the rest of the page. Give that a shot next time. Not sure if that option box pops up in Word 2008, but it is sure useful for me.

Man, that’s worse. Putting non-WYSIWYG into a WYSIWYG document serves nothing but to irritate me. Often I don’t want to do anything with the pasted text, and that stupid little box just floats around for no good reason. Same with the grammar and spell check lines (which I like in web forms, though). Luckily all of those are options that can be turned off. Man, I wish I could run Word from 1991.

[Ellen_Cherry]

Hi! Me again.

One thing I really liked with the PC was the URL mouse-over function. I could mouse over a link and at the bottom of the screen it would show the URL string. Helpful in email, too; I could mouse over a questionable link in a spammy looking email and if it just had numbers for the link, I could rest assured it was a fake.

Is this a solely PC thing? Or browser program thing? I am currently using Safari for the browser, but I do intend to go to Firefox. I already have Thunderbird for email running.

Thanks again!

[Myglaren]

I’m using Safari alongside Firefox 3 and that is something I am also missing. I presume it is a Safari thing as it is there in all the browsers in Linux, as far as I am aware.
In comparison to Firefox, Safari is excessively slow. I only use it for two sites usually so it isn’t a problem but Ff3 is far and away superior.

[beowulff]

@Ellen Cherry

Hi! Me again.

One thing I really liked with the PC was the URL mouse-over function. I could mouse over a link and at the bottom of the screen it would show the URL string. Helpful in email, too; I could mouse over a questionable link in a spammy looking email and if it just had numbers for the link, I could rest assured it was a fake.

Is this a solely PC thing? Or browser program thing? I am currently using Safari for the browser, but I do intend to go to Firefox. I already have Thunderbird for email running.

Thanks again!

If you are using Safari 3.1, you can go to View->Show Status Bar, and URLs will appear at the bottom of the window when the mouse is over them.

[Caractacus_Pott]

Another option is to try another browser. I’ll pimp Opera. I brought it along when I got my iMac in a few months ago. I’d also brought along VideoLan for playing multimedia. It’s great not having to worry about codecs. Why am I suggesting these? Well, at some point you may end up with another PC, so you can switch between them without having to learn new software.

Slightly off topic, but I must comment that I love that computer. I’ve had nowhere nearly as much drama as with the Windows machines. It just works.

[Hunter_Hawk]

@Alex_Dubinsky

Have you tried Vista? You know the “hide underlined letters” option in Appearance. In win2k they turned it on by default. Fair enough. In Vista, they’ve completely removed the option! Some retard thought that no one should be navigating that way and accelerator keys are “for accessibility only.” Accelerator keys are like the GUI version of keyboard shortcuts. They’re brilliant. Sigh.

Try looking in Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Make the Keyboard Easier to Use. There’s a checkbox for “Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys”.

Granted, if you’re using Office 2007 (i.e., an app with a ribbon), it looks like you still need to hit Alt to see the shortcuts…but for non-ribbon apps this will show the underlines.