Quick Look

How much time do you waste opening up a document just to see if it’s the one you’re looking for?

Here’s a fast and easy trick:

1. Instead of double-clicking to open the document, click once on it to select it.
2. Press the space bar.
3. A window will appear, showing you a QUICK LOOK at the contents of the document.
4. Press the space bar again to close it.

This works with jpgs, too. If you need to scroll through a list of photos to find the one you’re looking for:

1. Click on the first photo.
2. Press the space bar to see what it is.
3. Press the DOWN arrow on the keyboard to move to the next one.
4. Continue pressing the DOWN arrow to see all the photos.
5. Press the space bar when you’re done.

Saving These Tips (Or any email that contains formatting)

Many of my clients ask me how they can save these tips for future reference. So today, I’m sharing not one but TWO ways to do it.

The easiest way to save any email is:

1. Select the email
2. From the File menu, choose Save As
3. Title it with a name that describes what it is so you can find it later
4. Navigate to the folder in your Documents folder where you want to keep it

(maybe you have already created a folder for Mac to School Tips. If not, in the bottom left of this window, click on New Folder and create one)

5. Click Save.

The only problem with this method is that it converts the email to Plain Text, which means all of the letters and words are there, but you lose all of the formatting: the bold, the pretty boxes, the easy-to-read appearance.

To save an email with all of its formatting, save it as a PDF.

Here’s how:

1. Select the email
2. From the File menu, Choose Print
3. Do not click the Print button. Instead, in the bottom left of the window, click PDF
4. Choose SAVE AS PDF
5. Title it with a name that describes what it is so you can find it later
6. Navigate to the folder in your Documents folder where you want to keep it
7. Click Save.

Now, when you open the saved tip, it will look exactly like it did when you received it in your email.

Seeing More Printing Options

Sometimes you don’t even know you’re missing choices until you see them.

Today’s tip addresses a question many of my clients ask me: Where are all of my printing options?

If you don’t see choices for printing, like how many copies and which pages to print, just click the triangle next to the name of your printer to reveal all of your options

Change What You Look At Everyday:

The beginning of the year is a great time to look at things with a fresh perspective.

In my creativity classes I encourage my students to change their visual environments becausewhen you see different things, you begin to see things differently.

Today’s tip offers ways to do this with your computer.

- Try typing in a new font
- Move your Dock to the left or right side of the screen
- Rearrange the things you look at on and around your working space
- Change your profile picture on Facebook
- Rearrange the icons on your Dock
- Change your desktop picture

Click here to watch a free video on how to change your desktop picture

Click here to watch a free video on how to change your Dock

Backing Up:

If something happens to your computer (loss, theft, crash, dead hard drive), you could lose everything on it: your addresses, your documents, your photos—EVERYTHING.

So why not be safe instead of sorry and start backing up your computer regularly.

I believe there are three levels of backing up, depending on what kind of user you are.

Click here to download my free HOW AND WHY TO BACK UP instruction sheet to determine which user you are and how to start backing up all of your important information.

The downloaded document “backingup.pdf” will open automatically in Preview. To save it, click on the File menu, chose Save As, and navigate to the folder you’d like to save it into.

Clear Out Your Inbox, One Email At A Time:

These days we get so many emails that it’s hard, if not impossible to keep up. We tend to leave things in our INBOX for that “someday” when we’ll have time to decide what to do with them.

Sure, there are many you need to keep.

But I’m guessing that there are just as many that you really don’t need. Or at least don’t need to keep in your INBOX.

Here are step by step instructions to SAVE AN EMAIL into your Documents folder, where you can easily find it.

1. Click on the email.

2. From the File menu, choose SAVE AS

3. The box next to SAVE AS is highlighted in blue with the current name of that email. Without clicking type a title that actually means something and identifies what the email is about.

4. Now decide where you want to save it. If you don’t see a lot of choices, click on the triangle next to the title you just typed. It will reveal the Sidebar where you can click on the Documents folder.

5. Consider creating a folder for all of these kinds of emails, liked SAVED JOKES, or NOTES FROM MOM. You can create a folder by clicking New Folder in this window.

6. Click SAVE when you have navigated to the folder where you will later find this saved email.

Now you can delete the email from your Inbox and save or delete another one.

If you have hundreds of emails in your Inbox, try doing just 20 minutes a day. You’ll be surprised how quickly you will get through it all.

Claim More Desk Space — Move Your Dock:

The Dock is that strip on the bottom of your Desktop with all of the icons on it. It’s a handy tool for quickly opening all of your favorite programs.

Most computer screens are wider than they are tall, and the Dock takes up precious screen space. Some people solve this issue by Hiding the Dock.

If you like to see your Dock, but still want more screen space, consider moving it to the side. Under the Apple menu, choose Dock, slide the mouse over and choose Position on Right or Left. It’ll take a day or two to get used to the new location, but I think you’ll really appreciate the full screen space.

FOR MORE GREAT TIPS ABOUT THE DOCK, the Desktop and more efficient ways to use the Finder, check out the video tutorials ALL ABOUT THE FINDER.

Stickies:

A lot of us use Post It! Notes to jot down notes and remind us of things to do.

Did you know the Mac has a free application called STICKIES that does the same thing on your computer’s Desktop?

Stickies lets you create as may notes as you want. You can color-code them, move them to different places on your Desktop, even arrange them by color, date, and content.

To use Stickies, click on the GO menu in the Finder. Choose Applications. Scroll down until you see STICKIES. Open it.

To create a New Note, choose New Note from the File menu. Under the Note menu, you can make the notes transparent so that you can still see what’s behind them. You can change the color of the note with the Color menu.

And to sort them, from the Window menu, choose Arrange.

Play with the different choices and see what works best for you. Or, if it feels to cluttered, just stick to the real Post It Notes.

Working With Many Windows: Exposé

Expose:
Exposé is one of the coolest tools for people who work with many open windows on their computer. Instead of rearranging windows on your screen, closing files and then re-opening them, Exposé exposes everything that’s open and then you can quickly click on the window you want to work with.

To set up Exposé:
Under the Apple menu, choose System Preferences
Click on Expose and Spaces
Click on the Expose tab

here you can choose what keystroke will activate Expose.

Next to “All Windows” choose a key (I use Right Option)
While you’re here, do the same for Show Desktop (I use Right Shift)

I don’t bother setting a keystroke for the Applications window since all the programs I use are in the Dock.

Now, try it–
Close the System Preferences and press the key you set for All Windows.

AMAZING!!!

Now you can quickly see everything that’s open. Just click on the window you want to work in.

Press the key you set for Desktop and see what happens. Press it again to return to normal.