Getting Around with Short Cuts: Meet Your Apple Key
Hi Mom!
Even though you sent me to school in first grade with a coke bottle, when the instructions were explicitly requiring me to bring a jar (the difference in mouth size prevented me from participating in the Christmas snowman project of Holy Family 1976), I have decieded to forgive you and help you learn all the secret tricks of your new Mac. I am happy to see how excited you are to learn, and since you taught me so much over my lifetime, here's my chance to give a little something back.
Today, we will start off with an easy one. Here are some steps on jumping between things on your Mac. They will help you get a little more comfortable with your multi-talented COMMAND KEY (also known as the key with the little picture of the apple on it).
Ready...?
To switch between the different ways you can view icons in an open window, you hold down your COMMAND KEY with other keys. For example, you can hold down the COMMAND KEY on your keyboard and touch the 1 KEY, to go directly to ICON VIEW, as seen below:
if you hold down the COMMAND KEY and touch the 2 KEY, you will go directly to LIST VIEW:
And, if you hold down the COMMAND KEY and touch the 3 KEY, you go directly to COLUMN VIEW:
You may not ever decide to use these key combinations, but knowing them can make you seem super Mac-savvy, even as you're just beginning your uphill climb. Also, you'll look a lot smarter if you refer to the COMMAND KEY by its proper name, instead of calling it the "Apple Key," which does get the point across, but with far less panache.
I know, I know. I can already hear you, "Oh, I already KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!" Yes, yes, you are quite exceptional, mom (except when it comes to knowing the difference between a jar and a bottle). But did you know this....
If you hold down the COMMAND KEY and the SHIFT KEY at the same time and then hit the A KEY, you will be taken directly to your APPLICATIONS MENU, where you can find all your applcations, including the always-exciting CALCULATOR and the never-endingly dramatic DICTIONARY!!!
That's all for today. Try these out once and you'll never forget them. How's the dog?
Love,
Gary
Even though you sent me to school in first grade with a coke bottle, when the instructions were explicitly requiring me to bring a jar (the difference in mouth size prevented me from participating in the Christmas snowman project of Holy Family 1976), I have decieded to forgive you and help you learn all the secret tricks of your new Mac. I am happy to see how excited you are to learn, and since you taught me so much over my lifetime, here's my chance to give a little something back.
Today, we will start off with an easy one. Here are some steps on jumping between things on your Mac. They will help you get a little more comfortable with your multi-talented COMMAND KEY (also known as the key with the little picture of the apple on it).
Ready...?
To switch between the different ways you can view icons in an open window, you hold down your COMMAND KEY with other keys. For example, you can hold down the COMMAND KEY on your keyboard and touch the 1 KEY, to go directly to ICON VIEW, as seen below:
if you hold down the COMMAND KEY and touch the 2 KEY, you will go directly to LIST VIEW:
And, if you hold down the COMMAND KEY and touch the 3 KEY, you go directly to COLUMN VIEW:
You may not ever decide to use these key combinations, but knowing them can make you seem super Mac-savvy, even as you're just beginning your uphill climb. Also, you'll look a lot smarter if you refer to the COMMAND KEY by its proper name, instead of calling it the "Apple Key," which does get the point across, but with far less panache.
I know, I know. I can already hear you, "Oh, I already KNOW HOW TO DO THAT!" Yes, yes, you are quite exceptional, mom (except when it comes to knowing the difference between a jar and a bottle). But did you know this....
If you hold down the COMMAND KEY and the SHIFT KEY at the same time and then hit the A KEY, you will be taken directly to your APPLICATIONS MENU, where you can find all your applcations, including the always-exciting CALCULATOR and the never-endingly dramatic DICTIONARY!!!
That's all for today. Try these out once and you'll never forget them. How's the dog?
Love,
Gary
