993 Switching to the Mac The Missing Manual, Mountain Lion Edition

“Pogue, the New York Times computer columnist, is among the world’s best explainers.”
—KeVIN KeLLY, CO-FOUNDeR OF WIRED

Switching
to the Mac
Mountain
Lion
Edition

David Pogue
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MACINTOSH

Answers found here!
What makes Windows refugees decide to get a Mac?
Enthusiastic friends? The Apple Stores? Great-looking laptops?
A “halo effect” from the popularity of iPhones and iPads? The
absence of viruses and spyware? The freedom to run Windows
on a Mac? In any case, there’s never been a better time to
switch to OS X—and there’s never been a better,

more authoritative book to help you do it.

The important stuff
you need to know

Why I
started
the Missing
Manual
series.
People learn best when

n Transferring

your stuff. Moving files from a PC to a Mac
by cable, network, or disk is the easy part. But how do
you extract your email, address book, calendar, Web
bookmarks, buddy list, desktop pictures, and MP3
files? Now you’ll know.


n Recreating

your software suite. This book identifies the
Mac equivalents of your favorite Windows programs.

n Learning

Mountain Lion. Apple’s latest operating system
is faster, smarter, and more iPaddish—but you still have to
learn it. Dictation. AirPlay. iCloud. Facebook and Twitter integration. Gestures. iMessages. AirDrop. If Apple
wrote it, this book covers it. From the author of OS X
Mountain Lion: The Missing Manual, the #1 bestselling
Mac book on earth.

information is engaging, clearly
written, and funny. Unfortunately,
most computer books read like
dry catalogs. That’s why I created
the Missing Manuals. They’re
entertaining, unafraid to state

when a feature is useless or
doesn’t work right, and—oh, by
the way—written by actual
writers. And on every page, we
answer the simple question:
“What’s this feature for?”
David Pogue is the New York
Times tech columnist, an
Emmy-winning CBS News and
NOVA host, and creator of the
Missing Manual series.

US $29.99

CAN $31.99

ISBN: 978-1-449-33029-3
missingmanuals.com
twitter: @missingmanuals
facebook.com/MissingManuals


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Switching to the Mac
Mountain Lion Edition

The book that should have been in the box

®

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Switching to the Mac
Mountain Lion Edition

The book that should have been in the box

®


David Pogue

Beijing | Cambridge | Farnham | Köln | Sebastopol | Tokyo

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Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Mountain Lion Edition
by David Pogue
Copyright © 2012 David Pogue. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by O’Reilly Media, Inc.,
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472.
O’Reilly Media books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales
promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles: safari@oreilly.
com. For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department:
800-998-9938 or corporate@oreilly.com.
September 2012: First Edition.

The Missing Manual is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The Missing

Manual logo, and “The book that should have been in the box” are trademarks of
O’Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers
to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations
appear in this book, and O’Reilly Media is aware of a trademark claim, the designations are capitalized.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the
publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages
resulting from the use of the information contained in it.

ISBN: 978-1449-33029-3
[LSI]

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[09/12]

Table of Contents
Introduction ..........................................................................................

1


What OS X Gives You .........................................................................................................................
What OS X Takes Away ......................................................................................................................
About This Book .................................................................................................................................
The Very Basics ...................................................................................................................................
The Mountain Lion Difference..........................................................................................................

3
5
6
8
9

Part One: Welcome to Macintosh
Chapter 1: How the Mac Is Different .................................................. 19
Power On, Dude .................................................................................................................................
Right-Clicking and Shortcut Menus .................................................................................................
Logging Out, Shutting Down ............................................................................................................
The Menu Bar .....................................................................................................................................
Finder = Windows Explorer ..............................................................................................................
Dock = Taskbar ...................................................................................................................................

Menulets = Tray ..................................................................................................................................
Keyboard Differences ........................................................................................................................
Disk Differences ..................................................................................................................................
Where Your Stuff Is ............................................................................................................................
Window Controls................................................................................................................................
Terminology Differences ...................................................................................................................

19
20
22
24
25
25
26
28
33
34
37
46


Chapter 2: Folders, Dock & Windows ................................................. 47
Getting into OS X ................................................................................................................................
The Four Window Views ...................................................................................................................
Icon View .............................................................................................................................................
List View...............................................................................................................................................
Column View.......................................................................................................................................
Cover Flow View .................................................................................................................................
Quick Look ..........................................................................................................................................
The Dock..............................................................................................................................................
Setting Up the Dock ...........................................................................................................................
Using the Dock....................................................................................................................................
The Finder Toolbar .............................................................................................................................
Getting Help in OS X ..........................................................................................................................

47
51
51
62
68
71

73
77
78
85
90
91

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v

Chapter 3: Files, Icons & Spotlight ...................................................... 95
Renaming Icons ..................................................................................................................................
Selecting Icons ....................................................................................................................................
Moving and Copying Icons ...............................................................................................................
Aliases: Icons in Two Places at Once ...............................................................................................
Color Labels ........................................................................................................................................
The Trash .............................................................................................................................................

Get Info ................................................................................................................................................
Shortcut Menus, Action Menus ........................................................................................................
The Spotlight Menu ............................................................................................................................
The Spotlight Window .......................................................................................................................
Customizing Spotlight ........................................................................................................................
Smart Folders ......................................................................................................................................

95
97
100
105
107
109
112
115
118
124
136
139

Chapter 4: Documents, Programs & Mission Control ....................... 141
A Word About Apps ...........................................................................................................................
The Mac App Store.............................................................................................................................
Other Ways to Get Mac Software.....................................................................................................
Opening OS X Programs....................................................................................................................
Launchpad...........................................................................................................................................
Windows that Auto-Reopen ..............................................................................................................
The Application Menu .......................................................................................................................
The “Heads-Up” Program Switcher .................................................................................................
Mission Control: Death to Window Clutter ....................................................................................
Dashboard ...........................................................................................................................................
Exposé ..................................................................................................................................................
Hiding Programs the Old-Fashioned Way ......................................................................................
How Documents Know Their Parents .............................................................................................
Keyboard Control ...............................................................................................................................
The Save and Open Dialog Boxes ....................................................................................................
Auto Save and Versions .....................................................................................................................
Documents in the Cloud ...................................................................................................................

141
142
144
147
147
151
152
154
155
163
169
174
176
180
186
190
195

Chapter 5: Entering, Moving & Backing up Data ............................... 199
Power Typing ......................................................................................................................................
Dictation ..............................................................................................................................................
The Many Languages of OS X Text...................................................................................................
Data Detectors ....................................................................................................................................
Moving Data Between Documents ..................................................................................................
Exchanging Data with Other Macs ...................................................................................................
Exchanging Data with Windows PCs ...............................................................................................
The Mountain Lion Share Button ....................................................................................................
Time Machine .....................................................................................................................................

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199
205
210
215
216
220
225
226
228

Part Two: Making the Move
Chapter 6: Transferring Your Files to the Mac ................................... 243
Transfers by Apple Genius ................................................................................................................
The Windows Migration Assistant....................................................................................................
Manual Network Transfers................................................................................................................
Transfers by Disk ................................................................................................................................
Transfers by File-Sending Web Site..................................................................................................
Transfers by Email ..............................................................................................................................
Where to Put Your Copied Files .......................................................................................................
Document Conversion Issues ...........................................................................................................

244
244
248
248
249
250
250
254

Chapter 7: Special Software, Special Problems ................................. 255
ACDSee ................................................................................................................................................
Acrobat Reader ...................................................................................................................................
ACT .......................................................................................................................................................
Ad Subtract (Pop-Up Stopper)..........................................................................................................
Adobe [your favorite program here] ...............................................................................................
AOL.......................................................................................................................................................
AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) ..........................................................................................................
Children’s Software ............................................................................................................................
Chrome ................................................................................................................................................
Easy CD Creator..................................................................................................................................
Encarta .................................................................................................................................................
Eudora..................................................................................................................................................
Excel .....................................................................................................................................................
Firefox ..................................................................................................................................................
Games ..................................................................................................................................................
Google Desktop Search .....................................................................................................................
Google Earth .......................................................................................................................................
Google Chrome ..................................................................................................................................
ICQ........................................................................................................................................................
Internet Explorer.................................................................................................................................
iTunes ...................................................................................................................................................
McAfee VirusScan...............................................................................................................................
Microsoft Access .................................................................................................................................
Microsoft Money ................................................................................................................................
Microsoft Office ..................................................................................................................................
Microsoft Publisher ............................................................................................................................
Microsoft Visio ....................................................................................................................................
Minesweeper ......................................................................................................................................
MSN Messenger .................................................................................................................................
NaturallySpeaking ..............................................................................................................................
Netscape ..............................................................................................................................................

255
256
256
257
258
258
258
258
258
258
259
259
259
259
260
260
260
260
260
261
261
261
261
262
264
264
265
266
266
266
266

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Newsgroup Readers...........................................................................................................................
Norton AntiVirus.................................................................................................................................
Norton Utilities....................................................................................................................................
Notepad ...............................................................................................................................................
Outlook/Outlook Express/Windows Mail .......................................................................................
Paint Shop Pro ....................................................................................................................................
Palm Desktop ......................................................................................................................................
Picasa ...................................................................................................................................................
PowerPoint ..........................................................................................................................................
QuickBooks .........................................................................................................................................
Quicken................................................................................................................................................
RealPlayer ............................................................................................................................................
RssReader ............................................................................................................................................
Skype....................................................................................................................................................
SnagIt (Screenshots) ..........................................................................................................................
Solitaire ................................................................................................................................................
Street Atlas USA ..................................................................................................................................
TaxCut, TurboTax ................................................................................................................................
WinAmp, MusicMatch .......................................................................................................................
Windows Media Player......................................................................................................................
WinZip ..................................................................................................................................................
Word ....................................................................................................................................................
WordPerfect ........................................................................................................................................
Yahoo Messenger ...............................................................................................................................

266
267
267
267
267
267
268
268
268
268
269
269
269
269
270
271
271
271
271
271
272
272
272
272

Chapter 8: Windows on Macintosh..................................................... 273
Boot Camp .......................................................................................................................................... 275
Windows in a Window ...................................................................................................................... 281
Life with Microsoft Exchange ............................................................................................................ 283

Chapter 9: Hardware on the Mac ........................................................ 287
Mac Meets Printer ..............................................................................................................................
Making the Printout ...........................................................................................................................
Managing Printouts ............................................................................................................................
Printer Sharing ....................................................................................................................................
Faxing ...................................................................................................................................................
PDF Files ..............................................................................................................................................
Fonts—and Font Book ........................................................................................................................
Digital Cameras ..................................................................................................................................
Disks .....................................................................................................................................................
Startup Disks .......................................................................................................................................
Erasing a Disk......................................................................................................................................
Burning CDs and DVDs......................................................................................................................
iTunes: The Digital Jukebox...............................................................................................................
DVD Movies.........................................................................................................................................

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287
290
293
295
296
296
298
306
306
307
308
309
312
323

AirPlay ..................................................................................................................................................
Keyboards ...........................................................................................................................................
Mouse ..................................................................................................................................................
Monitors ..............................................................................................................................................
Scanners ..............................................................................................................................................

325
327
328
328
329

Part Three: Making Connections
Chapter 10: Internet Setup & iCloud ................................................... 335
Network Central and Multihoming ..................................................................................................
Broadband Connections....................................................................................................................
Cellular Modems ................................................................................................................................
Tethering ..............................................................................................................................................
Dial-Up Modem Connections ...........................................................................................................
Switching Locations ...........................................................................................................................
Internet Sharing ..................................................................................................................................
iCloud ...................................................................................................................................................
Internet Location Files .......................................................................................................................

336
338
344
345
345
346
348
350
360

Chapter 11: Mail & Contacts ................................................................ 361
Checking Your Mail ............................................................................................................................
Writing Messages ...............................................................................................................................
Stationery ............................................................................................................................................
Reading Email .....................................................................................................................................
VIPs .......................................................................................................................................................
The Anti-Spam Toolkit........................................................................................................................
Contacts ...............................................................................................................................................

361
368
374
377
392
393
395

Chapter 12: Safari & Messages ............................................................ 407
Browsing Basics ..................................................................................................................................
The Unified Address/Search Bar ......................................................................................................
Bookmarks ..........................................................................................................................................
14 Tips for Better Surfing...................................................................................................................
Tabbed Browsing ................................................................................................................................
Privacy and Security Features ..........................................................................................................
Messages .............................................................................................................................................
iMessages ............................................................................................................................................
The Traditional Chat Networks .........................................................................................................
Let the Chat Begin ..............................................................................................................................
Text Chatting........................................................................................................................................
Audio Chats .........................................................................................................................................
Video Chats .........................................................................................................................................
Juggling Chats and Windows............................................................................................................
Sharing Your Screen...........................................................................................................................
Messages Theater...............................................................................................................................

407
407
415
417
426
428
431
433
436
440
441
444
445
449
450
452

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Part Four: Putting Down Roots
Chapter 13: Accounts, Parental Controls & Security ......................... 457
Introducing Accounts .........................................................................................................................
Creating an Account ..........................................................................................................................
Parental Controls ................................................................................................................................
Editing Accounts .................................................................................................................................
Setting Up the Login Process ............................................................................................................
Signing In, Logging Out .....................................................................................................................
Sharing Across Accounts ...................................................................................................................
Fast User Switching ............................................................................................................................
Six OS X Security Shields ...................................................................................................................
And Four Privacy Shields...................................................................................................................

457
459
468
475
477
479
481
481
484
499

Chapter 14: Networking, File Sharing & Screen Sharing .................. 501
Wiring the Network............................................................................................................................ 501
File Sharing: Three Ways................................................................................................................... 505
Accessing Shared Files....................................................................................................................... 515
Networking with Windows................................................................................................................ 523
Screen Sharing .................................................................................................................................... 530

Chapter 15: System Preferences.......................................................... 539
The System Preferences Window.....................................................................................................
Accessibility .........................................................................................................................................
Bluetooth .............................................................................................................................................
CDs & DVDs .........................................................................................................................................
Date & Time ........................................................................................................................................
Desktop & Screen Saver ....................................................................................................................
Dictation & Speech .............................................................................................................................
Displays................................................................................................................................................
Dock .....................................................................................................................................................
Energy Saver .......................................................................................................................................
General ................................................................................................................................................
iCloud ...................................................................................................................................................
Keyboard .............................................................................................................................................
Language & Text .................................................................................................................................
Mail, Contacts & Calendars ...............................................................................................................
Mission Control ..................................................................................................................................
Mouse ..................................................................................................................................................
Network ...............................................................................................................................................
Notifications ........................................................................................................................................
Parental Controls ................................................................................................................................
Print & Scan .........................................................................................................................................
Security & Privacy...............................................................................................................................

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539
541
547
549
550
553
557
557
560
560
564
566
566
568
568
568
568
569
570
570
570
570

Sharing .................................................................................................................................................
Software Update.................................................................................................................................
Sound ...................................................................................................................................................
Spotlight...............................................................................................................................................
Startup Disk .........................................................................................................................................
Time Machine .....................................................................................................................................
Trackpad ..............................................................................................................................................
Users & Groups...................................................................................................................................

570
571
571
574
574
574
574
577

Chapter 16: The Freebie Programs ..................................................... 579
Your Free OS X Programs ..................................................................................................................
App Store .............................................................................................................................................
Automator ...........................................................................................................................................
Calculator ............................................................................................................................................
Calendar ..............................................................................................................................................
Chess ....................................................................................................................................................
Contacts ...............................................................................................................................................
Dashboard ...........................................................................................................................................
Dictionary ............................................................................................................................................
DVD Player ..........................................................................................................................................
FaceTime..............................................................................................................................................
Font Book ............................................................................................................................................
Game Center .......................................................................................................................................
GarageBand ........................................................................................................................................
Image Capture ....................................................................................................................................
iMovie, iPhoto .....................................................................................................................................
iTunes ...................................................................................................................................................
Launchpad...........................................................................................................................................
Mail.......................................................................................................................................................
Messages .............................................................................................................................................
Mission Control ..................................................................................................................................
Notes ....................................................................................................................................................
Notification Center ............................................................................................................................
Photo Booth ........................................................................................................................................
Preview ................................................................................................................................................
QuickTime Player ...............................................................................................................................
Reminders ...........................................................................................................................................
Safari ....................................................................................................................................................
Stickies .................................................................................................................................................
System Preferences ............................................................................................................................
TextEdit .................................................................................................................................................
Time Machine .....................................................................................................................................
Utilities: Your OS X Toolbox...............................................................................................................

579
579
580
580
582
596
598
598
598
600
601
604
604
607
607
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610
610
610
610
610
610
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633
633
637
637
639
639
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Part Six: Appendixes
Appendix A: Installing OS X Mountain Lion ...................................... 667
Hardware Requirements ................................................................................................................... 668
Psychological Requirements ............................................................................................................. 669
The Standard Installation .................................................................................................................. 669
The Setup Assistant ............................................................................................................................ 672
The Homemade Installer Disk .......................................................................................................... 674

Appendix B: Troubleshooting .............................................................. 677
Minor Eccentric Behavior ..................................................................................................................
Frozen Programs (Force Quitting) ...................................................................................................
Recovery Mode: Three Emergency Disks .......................................................................................
Application Won’t Open ....................................................................................................................
Startup Problems ................................................................................................................................
Fixing the Disk.....................................................................................................................................
Where to Get Troubleshooting Help................................................................................................

677
679
680
684
684
687
690

Appendix C: The Windows-to-Mac Dictionary .................................. 691
Appendix D: The Master OS X Secret Keystroke List ........................ 705
Index ...................................................................................................... 713

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The Missing Credits
About the Author
David Pogue (author) is the weekly tech columnist for The New York
Times, an Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, the host of “NOVA Science Now” on PBS, and the creator of the
Missing Manual series. He’s the author or coauthor of 62 books, including 25 in this series, six in the “For Dummies” line (including Macs, Magic, Opera, and Classical Music), two novels, and The World According to
Twitter. In his other life, David is a former Broadway show conductor, a piano player, and a
magician. He lives in Connecticut with his three awesome children.
Links to his columns and weekly videos await at www.davidpogue.com. He welcomes
feedback about his books by email at david@pogueman.com.

About the Creative Team
Julie Van Keuren (copy editor) quit her newspaper job in 2006 to move to Montana
and live the freelancing dream. She and her husband, M.H. (who is living the novelwriting dream), have two sons, Dexter and Michael. Email: little_media@yahoo.com.
Kirill Voronin (technical editor) is the head of an IT consulting company, aptly called
Shortcut, based in Moscow, Russia. He has worked with Macs since the ’90s, and he’s
an Apple Certified System Administrator and Apple Certified Trainer for IT courses.
He lives with his wife, Maria, and son, Nil. In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking.
Email: kirill.voronin@shortcut.ru.
Phil Simpson (design and layout) runs his graphic design business from Southbury,
Connecticut. His work includes corporate branding, publication design, communications support, and advertising. In his free time he is a homebrewer, ice cream maker,
wannabe woodworker, and is on a few tasting panels. He lives with his wife and three
great felines. Email: phil.simpson@pmsgraphics.com.

Acknowledgments
Over the years, over the eight editions of this book, many friends and colleagues
have contributed enthusiasm, expertise, and even prose to this book’s editions. They
include Zachary Brass, Dan Pourhadi, Rich Koster, J.D. Biersdorfer, Teresa Noelle
Roberts, and Lesa Snider.
In addition to the dream team members identified above, I owe debts of thanks to
O’Reilly’s Missing Manuals editor-in-chief, Brian Sawyer; Apple’s Monica Sarkar for
going beyond the call of duty to chase down tweaky tech answers; Ben Waldie, who
did a beautiful job updating the Automator/AppleScript material in Chapter 7; Philip
Michaels, who wrote about Game Center for this book; my crack team of elevenththe missing credits

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xiii

hour proofreaders, Diana D’Abruzzo, Kellee Katagi, and Judy Le; the PBS NOVA
crew, who gracefully accommodated my nutty book schedule during our shoots; my
assistant Jan Carpenter, who fixed hundreds of captions and generally helped me
survive; Brian Jepson, who wrote up OS X Server; and