|
Uncluttered Organization
Low End Mac Reader SpecialsMemory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core Memory 4GB kit $192 / 2GB kit $109. MacBook Pro / MacMini / iMac Intel Core2 DUO 2GB $44 1GB $23--Free shipping available. Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video
Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free
Tryout: www.typestyler.com LA Computer Company: LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, Apple Displays, MacBooks, iMac's, MacBook Pros, Laptop and iPod accessories and more. Apple A/C Adapters for laptops starting at $25.00 Call 1-800-941-7654 or Click Here. Other World Computing: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FW400/800/USB2/eSATA Solutions: High Performance A/V Rated, **Bus Powered** Hard Disk Storage - **Now 40GB and up to ***250GB*** in the palm of your hand. Macworld Magazine Editor's Choice - from $87.99! Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.  Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.  NEW MacPro Memory 800Mhz With Apple Spec Heat Sink 2GB Kit $104 / 4GB Kit $184 / 8GB Kit $362 Click to Maximize your Macs...
- 2001.08.29
- Description: Setting up a one-stop launcher
Difficulty level: Easy
System version: Mac OS 8.1 to 9.2 for popup windows
Required: Organizational skills
Nothing is more annoying that a cluttered desktop. It is nice to
create aliases to your favorite applications and files, but it is
not very nice to have them all over your desktop. Just like for a
real desk, a cluttered computer desktop can be less functional and
can distract you from your work.
The solution? Regroup everything in one location. There are
various ways to do this, and I will recommend two of them.
Apple Menu
The Apple menu is part of the Mac OS. It is entirely free, and,
if you know how to use it, it can be a very good launcher. Before
you start, make sure to set the Apple menu's options to allow
submenus in folders. Go to the Apple menu, scroll down to Control
Panels, and select Apple Menu Options. Once there, turn the
submenus on. If they are already active, leave them on and close
the control panel.
The Apple menu is easy to turn into a launcher, as long as you
place files in the right folders. What you see when you pull down
the menu does not magically appear. The files are stored in a
specific place on your hard disk, and you can do whatever you want
with the menu. Open your startup disk's System Folder and open the
Apple Menu Items folder.
|
|
|
What shows up in the folder shows up in the menu itself.
|
As you can see in the above comparison of my Apple Menu Items
folder and the Apple menu itself, what I placed in my folder is
exactly what shows up in the Apple menu. Whatever I put in the
folder will be available in the menu. Everything that I select from
there will be opened in the same fashion as if I double-clicked an
icon.
- Tip: if some software installer dumps an alias in your
Apple menu, go to the Apple Menu folder and remove the unwanted
alias. This will clean up your Apple menu and make sure that no
programmer decides how you customize it.
The smartest way to build a launcher is to have a hierarchy and
place aliases into folders with logical and helpful names. For
example, you should create a folder called Internet for your
Internet-related applications such as your browser, email client,
instant messenger, etc. Use the same principle for everything. Put
work files in a "Work Files" folder, multimedia software in a
Multimedia folder, and so on.
In your Apple Menu Items folder, create all the folders you
need, regrouping them in the way I explained above. You can
definitely use my setup as a good way to sort your very own
aliases. To start filling up the folders, find the files and
applications that you wish to make available from your Apple menu.
For each application/file, click on it and hold the mouse button
down. Then press the Command (or Apple) and Option key at the same
time, and drag the icon to the folder where you want the alias to
be. Release the mouse button and then release the keys you were
pressing. When you do this, you create an alias to the file or
application that you wish to launch from the Apple menu. Do this
for all your files, applications, and folders that you will use as
submenus to launch stuff.
Doing this creates a great (and free!) launcher that unclutters
your desktop. You can add and remove aliases at will.
Popup Windows
The Apple menu's best use can be to launch applications. It is
sometimes better to have files in folders that are easily available
instead of including them in a launcher. How do you make a folder
easily available without adding yet another icon to your desktop?
Use popup windows.
A popup window
Create a folder and place it wherever you want on your hard
disk. Put all the files you want - again, you can regroup them by
themes such as QuickTime movies, Word files, etc. - and leave the
window open in the Finder. Press the Control key, hold it down, and
click in an empty area in the middle of the window. In the
contextual menu, go to View and select "as Popup Window". After
that, the open window will stick to the bottom of your screen, and
it will have a tab on top of it. Click on the tab to minimize the
window to its tab. Click on the tab again for the window's content
to show up.
When reduced to the tab...
You can also create a popup window by taking am open window and
dragging it to the bottom of the screen until you see the shape of
a tab. When you do, release the mouse button and you will have a
small tab available. This is much nicer since you can select the
window's location instead of watching the Mac OS putting it in the
lower-left part of your screen.
You can make any of folder a popup window, and you can create
lots of popup windows. Put anything you want in them, whether it is
a bunch of movie files or a bunch of folders that regroup crucial
files. You can drag the windows around and resize them if you use
the resize buttons carefully. When they are set up, you do whatever
you want with them. It's your Mac, right?
- Tip: Nothing is better than a popup window to make a
folder easily available for a limited period of time. Sometimes I
write a document that requires images and other files to be
available for insertion or consultation. I put them all in a folder
and make the window a popup window. Whenever I need to use one of
the files, I open the popup window and access the files. When I am
finished, I close the window for good. This prevents the window
from covering a part of my screen and keeps it available.
In conclusion, these two methods - the Apple menu and popup
windows - should allow you to launch anything you want from
specific locations on your Mac. This way you can keep everything
available, be productive, and keep your desktop squeaky clean.
The Apple menu and popup windows are some of the simplest
features to use and render great services for free. They ship with
every Mac; put them to good use!
Recent Content on Low End Mac- Beyond the Mac mini, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 05.16.
What if Apple were to think different and eliminate the built-in optical drive, cut $100 from the price, and offer an expansion chassis?
- BlackBerry's bold challenge to iPhone, Zune sales still flat, 3G iPhone launch nigh, and more, iNews Review, 05.16.
Also a new Google Reader for the iPhone, an iPod-based supercomputer, remote Mac access from iPhone and iPod touch, new cases, and much more.
- Open source virtualization for Macs, iMac shutdowns, Psystar reviews, and more, Mac News Review, 05.16.
Also aluminum iMac USB power concerns, Penryn iMac twice as powerful as fastest G5 iMac, Radeon vs. GeForce in top-end iMac, Odysseus email client in beta, and more.
- Limited USB bus power in Santa Rosa Macs, 1 TB in your 'Book, MacBook cooler, and more, The 'Book Review, 05.16.
Hitachi first to market with 320 GB 7200 rpm notebook drive, Apple to refund for sparking power adapters, 10 hour external MacBook Air battery, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
- Mac Pro beats HP and Dell at their own game: Price, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 05.16.
Whether comparing the top-end or low-end of Mac Pro options, comparable models from Dell and HP cost more.
- Best 15" PowerBook G4 deals, 05.16.
Used 1 GHz Combo, $550; 1.25 SD, $575; 1.33, $625; 1.5, $675; 1.67, $725; hi-res, $800.
- Best Mac mini deals, 05.16.
Used 1.25 GHz G4 Combo, $449;; refurb 1.5 Core Solo, $450; 1.66 Duo SD, $489; 1.83, $599; ; new 1.83 Core2, $569 after rebate; 2.0 SD, $769 a/r.
- Best classic iPod deals, 05.16.
Used 20 GB, $120; 30, $140; 40, $160; 60 color, $189; 30 video, $180; 60, $200; refurb 80 classic, $209; new, $230; refurb 160, $299; new, $330.
- Best iPhone deals, 05.16.
New 8 GB iPhone, $399; 16 GB, $499.
- Best iBook G4 deals, 05.16.
Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo w/AP, $350; 1.33 GHz w/o AP, $400; 14" 933 MHz w/AP, $400; 1.07 GHz, $425; 1.33 SuperDrive, $450; 1.42, $500.
- Best Mac Pro deals, 05.16.
Refurb 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,888; 2.8, $1,999; 3.0, $2,299; 8-core '07, $2,499; new 2.8 4-core, $2,199; 8-core, $2,598 after rebate; 3.0 '08 $3,399 a/r; 3.2, $4,169 a/r.
- Mac of the Day: PowerBook 500 Series, May 1994 - 25-33 MHz 68040 powered PowerBooks with smart batteries, grayscale and color displays.
- List of the Day: G-Books is for G3 PowerBooks and iBooks.
- May 16 in LEM history: 98: iMac: A second look - 00: Raised in a 6-color world - 01: The exclusivist Mac - Troubleshooting your Mac - 02: MP3 and the Mac - SE/30 catharsis - 03: Don't confuse a pretty interface for an easy OS - SCSI and OS X on a beige G3 - 05: The Apple III and Lisa era - Bigger, faster, more: Enough! - G4 upgrade for iMac A-D - 06: MacBook - PowerBook 3400: Surprisingly useful and spry - 07: MacBook value equation - 3 GB in a MacBook
- Leopard is the way to go, even on most old G4 Macs, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 05.14.
The useful and just cool features in Mac OS X 10.5 make this the biggest step forward in the history of the Mac OS.
- Windows on Macs: Three paths for integration, Jason Packer, Macs in the Enterprise, 05.14.
Mac users have three routes for running Windows apps: Run Windows using Boot Camp or virtualization, or use a compatibility layer such as WINE.
- Mac OS 9 still nice, anticipating Odysseus, PowerBook 1400 upgrades, and more, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 05.14.
Also rebuilding PowerBook batteries, FastMac vs. NuPower replacement batteries, and only one G4 upgrade left for WallStreet PowerBooks.
- Up-to-date or low-end, we need technology in our schools, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 05.14.
Modern computers are great educational tools, but sometimes less distracting options (like no Internet) make more sense.
- Best iMac G4 deals, 05.14.
Used 15" 800 MHz Combo, $320; SuperDrive, $380; 1 GHz Combo, $400; SD, $485; 17" 1.25 GHz, $459; 20", $750.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 deals, 05.14.
Mac OS X 10.0.3, $40; 10.1, $49; 10.2, $60; 10.3 DVD, $50; CD, $100; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $109; 10.3 Server, $130.
- Best MacBook Air deals, 05.14.
1.6 GHz, 80 GB, $1,694 after rebate; 1.8 GHz, $1,994 a/r; 1.6 GHz, 64 GB SSD, $2,689 a/r; 1.8 GHz, $2,950 a/r; SuperDrive, $99.
- More links in our archive.
Go to the iBasics index.
|
