Chapter 5 - Preferences

Chapter 5 - Preferences

System Preferences can be opend under the Apple Menu, the Dock, or from the Utilities folder. System Preferences change the settings for your computer. Some settings, like Network settings, are only set by your School Tech Rep. Others, like the Desktop & Screen Saver, can be set by the user unless the user account is limited and locked out of System Preferences. To find out more about specific preferences, see below. To make changes in System Preferences, click the icon for those settings. Once you are changing the settings, you can return to all of the System Preferences by clicking on the Show All button in the upper left corner. Only user modifiable System Preferences will be dealt with here.

Appearance

Appearance alters the overall look and feel of windows. Colors can be changed for buttons, as well as highlights. Scroll arrows can also be changed. The number of recent items can also be set. If text seems blurry, font smoothing can be customized.

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Dashboard & Exposé

Dashboard and Exposé brings new flexability to the desktop. See Chapter 9, Dashboard for more information. Preferences set here control when Dashboard widgets are brought to the front, or what options are applied to open application windows. Both keyboard shortcuts and 'hot corners' (places you can set the mouse to activate an event) can be used with Dashboard and Exposé. Exposé allows for managing multiple windows. You can set either a corner to activate Exposé or a key board command. When activating all windows, every open window in open applications is presented in a smaller format, arranged so all are visible. Clicking on a window takes you to that window. Application windows only arranges the open windows for the current application. Desktop hides all windows and reveals the desktop. The picture below shows options for each corner.

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Desktop & Screensaver

Desktop preferences allow users to set up the basic look and feel of their computer. For example, a picture file dropped in the image preview area marked Aqua Blue in the image to the left, makes that picture the background image. Pictures or colors can also be selected under the menu of folders in the left column. Users can even set the desktop picture to change at a pre-set interval by clicking on the Change picture: check box and selecting how often to change a picture in the drop down menu next to it.

Screen Saver allows a user to select a screen saver that comes up after a set amount of time. While monitor technology has improved to the point where this isn't a necessary feature, people have come to expect a screen saver.

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Dock

Dock preferences are used to set the size and location of the Dock. The size may also be determined by the number of objects in the Dock. The Dock will not extend beyond the edge of the screen. Magnification allows Dock items to appear larger when the cursor is above them. This is helpful for those who keep large numbers of items in the Dock. If you do not like the bouncing icon effect when opening applications, deselect the Animate opening applications check box. If you want the Dock to move off of the screen when not in use, you can select the Automatically hide and show the Dock check box. Dock preferences can also be set by holding down the control key and clicking on the dividing line between applications and folders or files on the Dock itself. For more information about the Dock, see Chapter 4.

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Security

Security allows you to set a master password for encrypting home directories with FileVault, and for setting other security settings such as requiring the user password to deactivate the screen saver, or to set an automatic log out time. FileVault is not recommended at this time and may render some applications unusable.

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Spotlight

Spotlight allows you to prioritize your search results by application file type. You can even exclude specific file types by unchecking the associated application. Under the Privacy tab you can designate specific folders to exclude from searching.

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CDs & DVDs

The CDs and DVDs preference panel allows you to set what application is activated when inserting optical media.

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Displays

	Display preferences set the monitor resolution and the number of colors displayed. Quick access to display options can also be added to the menu bar by selecting the Show displays in menu bar checkbox. Small adjustments to the positioning of the screen on the monitor may be made under the Geometry tab. Advanced color controls are found under the Color tab.

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Energy Saver

Energy Saver preferences determine how soon the screen or system power down to a low power mode. When sleeping, the system uses very little energy. You will receive a warning, shown in the picture to the left, if you set the screen to sleep sooner than the screen saver starts up. Also, deselect the option to Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible if the computer is using Outlook or other Classic applications that require frequent communication to network resources.

The Options tab provides access to advanced features like waking from sleep for administrator access over the network, and restarting after a power failure. Different options will be available depending on the type of computer you are using.

Under the Schedule button you can set a time for computers to automatically start and shut down each day. The settings in the image to the left will start the computer Monday through Friday at 7:00 AM, and sleep the computers at 4:30 PM.

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Keyboard & Mouse

Keyboard and Mouse preferences determine the keyboard repeat rate and the mouse speed.

Keyboard Shortcuts allows you to review existing keyboard shortcuts, and also to change them to another keyboard combination. If your keyboard combinations are not functioning correctly, try clicking the Restore Defaults button.

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Print & Fax

Print and Fax provides quick access to setting up printers. Clicking the Printer Setup... button, or clicking the '+' sign below the list of printers, brings up the Printer Setup Utility which lets you add or remove printers. Faxing and Sharing are not supported over our network. DPS uses a digital phone system which is incompatible with the built-in modem.

When adding a printer, select Internet Printing Protocol - IPP under the Protocol drop-down menu. Type in the IP number for the printer in the Address: line, and click the Add button at the bottom of the screen.

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Sound

Sound preferences set the default system beep, the sound heard when the computer is trying to get your attention. The volume is also set here. If you want a short cut to change the volume of your computer, it can be added to the menu by selecting the Show volume in menu bar checkbox. Newer keyboards come with dedicated keys above the number pad to also set the volume of your computer. Sound levels for headphones or external microphones are set under the Output and Input tabs.

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