Adding US Holidays to iCal

In previous versions of iCal, you had to subscribe to any extra calendars you anted, like US holidays. Now, it’s an easy click.

1. In iCal, click on the Calendar menu
2. Click on Preferences
3. Click on the General icon
4. Put a check mark to show US Holidays
5. If you enter people’s birthdays in your Contacts and also want them to appear in your calendars, click Birthdays also

iPhone and iPad Tip of the Week

iCal–Where’s the Weekly View?

iOS 7 gives you choices for year, month and day, but how do you see an entire week?
Turn your iPhone or iPad sideways!

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Moving a Document from iCloud Back to Your Mac

If you use Pages, Numbers or Keynote, Apple assumes you want to save your documents to iCloud, which is why the SAVE box defaults to iCloud. If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to accidentally save something there.

To move a document from iCloud to your Mac:

1. Open Pages (or Numbers or Keynote, whichever applies)
2. Click on iCloud
3. You should see the document
4. Open it
5. From the file menu, choose MOVE TO
6. Click on Where and click on Desktop
7. Save

iPhone and iPad Tip of the Week

Yet Another iOS 7.1 Has Fixes and Features

Last week Apple released a new version for iPad and iPhone users. iOS 7. In addition to fixing bugs, iOS7 has a few improvements that are actually worth the upgrade.

For those of us who wished for a darker keyboard, Apple listened. Now, in Settings, in Accessibility, if you choose Bold Text, it will also replace the current keyboard with one that has thicker, darker letters.

Also in iOS7, the monthly calendar view has a new icon – a rectangle with two horizontal lines under it. Tap it to see that familiar list of an individual day’s events.

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Zooming in iPhoto

The ZOOM slider in the bottom left of iPhoto does two different things, depending on what screen you are in.

When you are browsing your Library of Photos (as photos, events, Faces) moving the slider will affect the size of the thumbnails and how many pictures you can see at a time.

When you are editing a photo or have double-clicked the photo to be bigger, the ZOOM slider can be used to zoom in on an area of the photo. This is especially helpful if you are using the Retouch tool for fine editing.

iPhone and iPad Tip of the Week

Two Ways to Delete Photos

There is no quick way to delete a lot of photos on your iPad or iPhone. You have to select them individually, then choose to put them in the trash.

Tap Photos
Tap the Albums
Find where the pictures are that you want to delete
Tap Select in the top right corner
Tap as many photos as you want at a time
Tap the Trash icon, top left

If you are wanting to delete all of your photos, connect your mobile device to your Mac and follow the online prompts in iPhoto to delete all.

Be sure you have transferred all of the photos to your Mac first if you want to keep them.

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Customize Your Screen Saver

When your computer is idle for a period of time, you can choose to have your favorite photos appear on the screen.

To set your Screen Saver:

1. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences
2. Click on the Desktop & Screen Saver icon
3. Click on the Screen Saver tab
4. In the left column, choose one of the styles. It will show a preview of what it will do
5. Click next to Source to choose the most recently added photos or, to access a specific album or event in iPhoto, choose Photo Library
6. Click on the desired album or Event
7. choose shen it should start

BONUS TIP:

If you don’t want to wait for the Screen Saver to activate, set a Hot Corner
In the Screen Saver set up, click on Hot Corners in the bottom right
It shows the four corners of a screen
Choose the corner you use least often, probably the bottom left or right
To try it, move your mose/cursor all the way into that chosen corner, off the screen. let go and wait a moment while the screen saver begins!

iPhone and iPad Tip of the Week

Change Your Wallpaper

As fun as it is to have a favorite photo on your iPhone and iPad lock screen, it’s quite refreshing to change the images every once in a while.

1. Tap Settings
2. Tap Wallpapers and Brightness
3. Know whether you are changing the lock screen on the home screen (you might choose a less busy image for the home screen so you can still read the screen)
4. Navigate to find the photo is that you want to use
5. If you choose one of Apple’s wallpapers, know that Dynamic will use more battery power than Still
6. Choose the photo, choose which screen to apply it to
7. Enjoy!

 

New Screen Savers in Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion users no longer have that wonderful Mosaic Screen Saver option. Instead, Apple has introduced more than a dozen new options for displaying your photos when you’re not actively using your Mac.

To set your Screen Saver:

1. From the Apple menu choose System Preferences

2. Click on the Desktop & Screen Saver icon

3. Click on the Screen Saver tab

4. In the left column, choose one of the styles. It will show a preview of what it will do

5. Next to Source, you can choose the most recently added photos or, to access a specific album or event in iPhoto, choose iPhoto Library

6. Click on the desired album or Event

There are also 43 stunning photographs of nature, the cosmos and others from National Geographic that you can choose as your Screen Saver from the source list.

BONUS TIP:

You can access these 43 additional photos in the Collections to use elsewhere.

1. From the Desktop click on the GO menu

2. Choose Go To Folder

3. Copy and paste this link:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.Framework/Versions/A/Resources/Default Collections/

4. Scroll through the different folders

5. If you View by Column or Coverflow you can see a preview of each image

6. If you find one you like, drag it to the Desktop so you can easily move it to another folder for safe keeping or choose it for your Desktop Picture

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Numbers and Punctuation

If you press the 123 key, the keyboard layout switches to numbers and punctuation. Then you have to press ABC again to get back to the letter keyboard.

Here’s a shortcut:

Tap and HOLD the 123 key and slide to the number you need. When you release, the keyboard will automatically switch back to the letters.

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Back to Basics: Creating Folders

A reader who’s been using his Mac for years recently wrote and asked how to create a simple folder and place existing documents into it.

As with all things Mac, there are several ways to accomplish this task.

If you are using Snow Leopard or earlier versions of the Mac OS:

1. First click on the Desktop (or be in the folder where you want this new folder to go)

2. From the File menu choose New Folder or Right Click on the Desktop and choose New Folder

3. An Untitled Folder will appear with the words highlighted

4. Without clicking or moving the mouse, type a name for this new folder and press the Return key when you’re done

5. Now you can drag files and documents on top of this folder to put them in it

If you are using Lion or Mountain Lion, you could do it this way or,

1. Highlight the documents you want to put into a new folder

2. From the File menu choose New Folder With Selection or Right Click on one of the selected files and choose New Folder With Selection

3. Title the folder and press the REturn key when you’re done

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Format Text in Email

Did you know that you can bold, italicize and even underline text in Mail? And you can indent paragraphs too.

1. Select the text you want to change

2. Tap the right arrow at the far right of the Cut, Copy, Paste menu

3. Tap BIU to change the format or Quote Level if you want to indent

4. Tap your desired format choice

5. Tap on the page to get out of the menu

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Setting Reminders in iCal

iCal is great for keeping track of appointments, birthdays, and other important dates. One of the features in iCal is that you can set a reminder so that you are alerted minutes or even days before the event.

To set an alert:

1. Double-click on the event

2. Choose Edit

3. Next to the word Alert click on the menu choice

4. Choose whether you want to be reminded with an onscreen message, email, etc.

5. If you’ve chosen Message, choose when and at what time

6. You can change the number of days by clicking on the number showing and typing

7. If you’ve chosen to receive an email notification, choose which email address to receive it (if you have more than one) and when

8. Be sure to click DONE for your settings to take effect

Learn more about iCal with The Virtual Classroom video lessons. Check them out at
http://www.mac2school.com/virtual-ical-lion/ for Lion and Mountain Lion
or http://www.mac2school.com/virtual-ical-snow/ for Snow Leopard.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Add a Web Page to the Home Screen

If you have a few favorite websites that you always go to on Safari, why not make them be icons on your home page for faster, easier access?

This is especially helpful if you are a Kindle reader, since the Kindle app no longer includes a button to go the the Kindle Store.

1. Open Safari
2. Go to the desired website
3. Click the “+” to Add a Bookmark but instead of choosing Add a Bookmark
4. Tap Add to Home Screen

Now that site is just a tap away.

To Add the Kindle store:

1. Go to Amazon.com
2. Search for Kindle ebooks
3. Click the “+” to Add a Bookmark
4. Instead of choosing Add a Bookmark, tap Add to Home Screen

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Claim More Desk Space: Move The Deck

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 may 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 ALL ABOUT THE FINDER video lessons in the Virtual Classroom.

iPad and iPhone Tip of the Week

Selecting More Than One Photo

It’s pretty simple to email one photo:

1. Tap the Photos icon on the Home screen

2. Tap the Photo

3. Tap the arrow icon in the top right corner

4. Select Email Photo

To select more than one photo at a time to email (or delete):

1. Tap the Photos icon on the Home screen

2. Tap the arrow icon in the top right corner

3. Now tap the photos you want to send and a check mark will appear on the photos

4. Tap Share in the top left corner

5. Choose Email