Did You Know - Archive 4
Did You Know?
- Lion: Airdrop
- Grab a still from a Quicktime Video.
- Stop programs from automatically opening.
- Lion: Using Mission Control.
- Using accents in Lion (keyboard tips).
- Free Doc to ePub converter.
- 4J Desktop Support.
- iOS 5 Basics and Apps We Like:
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AirDrop is a great way to quickly share files. You can find AirDrop in the sidebar of Finder windows. Just click on it and suddenly you're a working the RADAR station of your Mac. Just drag and drop, and you're sharing a file.
When you're presented with an incoming file you can choose to Decline, Save, or Save and Open the file. All files are saved into the Downloads folder.
Grab a still from a Quicktime Video:
There are two ways of getting a still from a video. The first is to simply play the video in full screen mode, pause it, and use the Mac OS X screen capture utility (Command-Shift-3) to take a screenshot that will appear on your Desktop.
If you have QuickTime 7 Pro, there’s a somewhat better option. Load the video and place the playhead on the frame you want to export. Click File > Export, and then select “Movie to Picture” from the Export drop-down menu. You can select more options by clicking the Options button, and selecting the format from the Use drop-down menu. When you are ready to export the still image, click the Save button.
How do you stop programs from automatically opening when you start your Mac:
If you've ever wondered about how prevent software from automatically starting up with your Mac, or conversely, how to make software spring to life when your computer turns on, this is the tutorial you've been waiting for.
**Open System Preferences: Start by opening up your Mac's System Preferences control panel. You can do so either by clicking on its Dock icon, or by clicking on the Apple icon located at the top left of your menu bar and then selecting--you guessed it--System Preferences. Once the System Preferences control panel is opened, locate and click on the Accounts icon to open the User Account settings pane.
**Switch to Login Items: Once your User Account Preferences pane has opened, make sure that the account is unlocked by clicking on the padlock icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the pane. Now, look for the Login Items tab at the top of the pane. Click it. You User Account pane will give way to the Login pane. This is where today's tutorial magic happens.
**Change It Up: With the Login Items pane open you now have access to a list of all of the programs that are set to open every time you power up your Mac. You can stop any of the programs on your Login Items list from opening at start up, by checking the row they reside in and then clicking the subtract symbol in the lower left-hand corner of the pane. You can also opt to simply check the row of the box and leave it be: This will simply hide the application at start up.
If there's a program that you can't live without and have really wanted to see start as soon as your computer is turned on you can click the addition symbol, conveniently located next to the subtraction symbol, and add it to your Login Items list.
Lion’s Mission Control is perhaps the best reason for desktop Mac users to shell out $69 for the Magic Trackpad. Swipe up with three fingers (mouse users can also click the Mission Control icon in the Dock or set up a keyboard shortcut in System Preferences > Mission Control) to invoke the Mission Control screen, which shows all your open apps and their windows. From there you can also navigate to your Dashboard, or other Desktops -- each app you have running in full-screen mode counts as its own Desktop, or you can hover over the upper-right corner for a plus sign that lets you add more Desktops, which work like Spaces (just drag apps from one Desktop to another). But you don’t even need Mission Control to switch between Desktops; just swipe left or right with three fingers on your trackpad. And if you want certain applications to stay in certain Desktops, just right-click (or tap with two fingers) on the app’s Dock icon to assign it to This Desktop, All Desktops, or None.
In Mac OS X v. 10.7, if you hold down a letter that can be accented it will produce a menu showing different accent options for that letter. You can simply click the one you want, or press the corresponding number key to select it.
2EPUB provides a simple way to convert your text documents into ePub documents for viewing on ereaders. 2EPUB supports the conversion of many file types including Doc, Docx, ODT, PDF, and HTML. To convert your file into an ePub file simply upload your file, set the display parameters, and click convert. When the conversion is complete you can download your file and use it on any device that supports ePub display.
If you or your students create documents that you would like to make available for viewing on ereaders, 2EPUB could be just the tool you need. Take those study guides you created as Doc or RTF files and make them accessible to students on the go through their ereaders.
The Desktop Support section of the 4J Website will assist the district’s Technical Support Staff, as well as other users, with hardware and software issues. The information posted here is the combined work of many talented people and range from simple “How-to’s” to more detailed troubleshooting suggestions. We have created this site with the intention of “spreading” the knowledge and empowering others to perform simple tasks for themselves.
If you have a technical problem you are unable to solve, please send an e-mail to 4jdesktop@4j.lane.edu with a description of your request and\or issue.
How to search for text on web pages:
If you navigate to a site and you're looking for a certain word, you can utilize the search field in mobile Safari. Under Google suggestions on the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch, you'll see "On this Page" with the words you're looking for.
Since the iPad has a more expansive display, Apple has added the ability to use four or five fingers for a few slick gestures: Pinching to the Home screen, swiping up for the multitasking bar or swiping left or right between apps. Turn on the multi-finger fun by heading to Settings > General and toggling “Multitasking Gestures” on.
Grids: Need a little help when it comes to composing your shots? From the Camera app, tap Options and then switch on “Grid” to bring up handy lines you can use to compose your shot using the rule of thirds or other methods the pros would approve of.
Pinch to Zoom: This one makes so much sense, we can’t believe it’s taken Apple five generations of the software to come up with it! While shooting a photo in the Camera app, simply use the now-familiar two-finger pinch to zoom into (or out of) your shot. For those who prefer the old style, the classic zoom slider will pop up once you initiate a pinch to zoom.
Quick Access: One of our favorite new features is the ability to double-click the Home button while the iPhone is locked, which then displays a small camera icon in the lower right corner. Tap the camera icon and without further ado, you’re immediately transported into the Camera app. Better yet, users will only have access to the photos being taken during that session -- the rest of the device remains locked out.
Return to Camera: With previous versions of iOS, switching to the Camera Roll after taking a picture or shooting video meant a return trip to the Camera app afterward. With iOS 5, you can now jump right back into shooting by tapping the blue camera icon in the lower right corner while viewing your photos or video in the Camera app.
With iOS 5, you can easily find deleted apps and download them again. On the iPhone or iPod touch, head to App Store > Updates and tap “Purchased” to see a list of All purchases or only the ones Not On This iDevice (iPad users have a dedicated Purchased tab). Tap the little cloud symbol next to the app in question and it will come flying back onto your device.