This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Icons
Mac OS uses icons to graphically represent files and other items on the desktop, in the Dock, or within Finder windows:
Applications (Figure 19) are programs you use to get work done. Chapters 5 through 7 discuss working with applications.
Figure 19 Application icons.Documents (Figure 20) are the files created by applications. Chapter 5 covers working with documents.
Figure 20 Document icons, including a TextEdit document, a Preview
document, and a Word document.Folders (Figure 21) are used to organize files. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss using folders.
Figure 21 Folder icons.Disks (Figure 22), including removable media, are used to store files. Chapter 3 covers working with disks.
Figure 22 Three different disk icons: hard disk, CD-ROM, and networked
disk.The Trash (Figure 23), which is in the Dock, is for discarding items you no longer want and for ejecting removable media. The Trash is covered in Chapter 3.
Figure 23 The three faces of the Trash icon in the Dock: empty, full, and
while dragging removable media.
)
Figure 19)
Figure 20)
Figure 21)
Figure 22)
Figure 23Tip
Icons can appear a number of different ways, depending on the view and view options chosen for a window. Windows are discussed later in this chapter; views are discussed in Chapter 3.
To select an icon
Click the icon that you want to select. The icon darkens, and its name be comes high-lighted (Figure 24).
)
Figure 24 To select an icon, click it.
Tip
You can also select an icon in an active window by pressing the keyboard
key for the first letter of the icon's name or by pressing 
,
,
, 
,
, or 
until
the icon is selected.
To deselect an icon
Click anywhere in the window or on the Desktop other than on the selected icon.
Tips
If you select one icon and then click an oth er icon, the orig i nal ly se lect ed icon is de se lect ed and the icon you clicked be comes selected instead.
Windows are discussed later in this chapter.
To select multiple icons by clicking
-
Click the first icon that you want to select.
-
Hold down
and click
another icon that you want to select (Figure 25). 
Figure 25 Hold down
or while clicking
other icons to add them to a multiple selection. -
Repeat step 2 until all icons that you want to select have been selected.
Tip
Icons that are part of a multiple selection must be in the same window.
)
Figure 25To select multiple icons by dragging
Position the mouse pointer slightly above and to the left of the first icon in the group that you want to select (Figure 26).
Figure 26 Position the mouse pointer above and to the left of the first
icon that you want to select.Press the mouse button, and drag diagonally across the icons you want to select. A shaded box appears to indicate the selection area, and the items within it become selected Figure 27).
Figure 27 Drag to draw a shaded selection box around the icons that you
want to select.When all the icons that you want to select are included in the selection area, release the mouse button (Figure 28).
Figure 28 Release the mouse button to complete the selection.Tip
To select multiple icons by dragging, the icons must be adjacent.
To select all icons in a window
Choose Edit > Select All (Figure 29), or press
.
All icons in the active window are selected.
Figure 29 Choose Select All from the Edit menu to select all
items.Tip
Activating windows is covered later in this chapter.
To deselect one icon in a multiple selection
Hold down
or
while clicking the icon that you want to deselect. That icon is deselected while
the others remain selected.To move an icon
Position the mouse pointer on the icon that you want to move (Figure 30).
Figure 30 Point to the icon that you want to move.Press the mouse button, and drag the icon to the new location. As you drag, a shadowy image of the icon moves with the mouse pointer (Figure 31).
Figure 31 Drag the icon to the new location.Release the mouse button when the icon is in the desired position (Figure 32).
Figure 32 Release the mouse button to complete the move.Tips
You cannot drag to reposition icons within windows set to list or column view. Views are discussed in Chapter 3.
You move icons to rearrange them in a window or on the Desktop, or to copy or move the items they represent to an other folder or disk. Copying and moving items is discussed in Chapter 3.
You can also move multiple icons at once. Simply select the icons first, then position the mouse pointer on one of the selected icons and follow steps 2 and 3 above. All selected icons move together.
To force an icon to snap to a window's invisible grid, hold down $% while dragging it. The grid, which I tell you more about in Chapter 4, ensures consistent spacing between icons, so your window looks neat. move.
To open an icon
-
Select the icon you want to open (Figure 33).
Figure 33 Select the icon. -
Choose File > Open (Figure 34), or press
.
Figure 34 Choose Open from the File menu.
or
Double-click the icon that you want to open.
Tips
-
Only one click is necessary when opening an item in a Finder window toolbar or the Dock. The toolbar and Dock are covered in detail later in this chapter.
-
What happens when you open an icon depends on the type of icon you open. For example:
-
Opening a disk or folder icon displays the contents of the disk or folder in the same Finder window (Figure 35). Windows are discussed next.
Figure 35 Here's the window from Figure 33 with the Applications folder's contents displayed. -
Opening an application icon launches the application so that you can work with it. Working with applications is covered in Chapter 5 and elsewhere in this book.
-
Opening a document icon launches the application that created that document and displays the document so you can view or edit it. Working with documents is covered in Chapter 5.
-
Opening the Trash displays items that will be deleted when you empty the Trash. Using and emptying the Trash is discussed in Chapter 3.
-
To open a folder or disk in a new Finder window, hold down
while opening it. while opening it. The File menu's Open With submenu, which is discussed in Chapter 5, enables you to open a document with a specific application.
)
Figure 26)
Figure 27)
Figure 28)
Figure 29)
Figure 30)
Figure 31)
Figure 32)
Figure 33)
Figure 34)
Figure 35