Macs All-in-One For Dummies
Description
Macs All-in-One For Dummies truly covers it all. This complete reference guide contains five books in one, so you can learn all your Mac is capable of. You'll get a complete understanding of your computer, so you can use it for pleasure or business, become a multimedia master, surf the web like a pro, troubleshoot problems as they arise, and so much besides. This latest edition is updated for the newest version of macOS, the hottest apps, and the just-released Macs. Running an older Mac? Don't worry, this book won't leave you behind. Everything you need to do on your Mac can be learned with the help of Macs All-in-One For Dummies.
* Learn your way around your Mac and customize all the macOS features
* Discover the newest features (and the returning classics) so you can make the most of your machine
* Beef up your security, stay safe while surfing the web, and figure it out when things go wrong
* Use your computer to work, play, create videos, keep in touch, and everything else
Computer users who are switching to a Mac for the first time, as well as previous Mac users who are upgrading to the newest model, need a guide for getting the most out of their powerful computer. This is that guide.
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Content
Book 1: Getting Started with Your Mac 5
Chapter 1: From Go to Whoa: Getting to Know Your Mac 7
Chapter 2: Touring the Screen 33
Chapter 3: Getting Your Mac Online 53
Chapter 4: Fiddling with Files and Folders 79
Chapter 5: Managing Apps 117
Chapter 6: Changing How Your Mac Looks, Sounds, and Feels 157
Chapter 7: Making Your Mac More Accessible 191
Book 2: Using the Internet 207
Chapter 1: Wandering the Web 209
Chapter 2: Order Out of Chaos: Organizing Web Pages 229
Chapter 3: Exchanging Messages with Mail 255
Chapter 4: Getting More Out of Mail 281
Chapter 5: Chatting with Messages and FaceTime. 299
Chapter 6: Exploring the World with Maps 317
Book 3: Beyond the Basics 329
Chapter 1: Backing Up and Restoring Your Data 331
Chapter 2: Protecting Your Mac against Local and Remote Threats 345
Chapter 3: Sharing Your Mac 363
Chapter 4: Networking Your Mac 387
Chapter 5: Sharing Files and Resources on a Network 407
Chapter 6: Maintenance and Troubleshooting 427
Book 4: Using Your Mac as a Media Center 451
Chapter 1: Tuning In and Listening with Music 453
Chapter 2: Enjoying Podcasts, News, and TV. 481
Chapter 3: Reading and Listening to Books on Your Mac 495
Chapter 4: Picture Perfect: Working with Photos 511
Book 5: Taking Care of Business 539
Chapter 1: Managing Contacts 541
Chapter 2: Tracking Events and Tasks 563
Chapter 3: Crafting Fancy-Schmancy Documents with Pages 593
Chapter 4: Producing Persuasive Presentations with Keynote 639
Chapter 5: Crunching with Numbers 687
Chapter 6: Getting More Out of Pages, Keynote, and Numbers 719
Index 733
Chapter 1
From Go to Whoa: Getting to Know Your Mac
IN THIS CHAPTER
Taking a tour of your Mac's ports and other hardware
Getting the feel of your Mac's mouse or trackpad
Learning the lay of the keyboard land
Starting your Mac
Sleeping, shutting down, and restarting your Mac
The world is divided into two types of people: Those who look before they leap and those who take the plunge without a second thought (or often even a first, for that matter). In the computer world, people who prefer not to look before leaping will fire up their new machine and start banging away: clicking this, pressing that, turning this dial, and twiddling that knob. It's all liberating, I suppose, but for those of us who prefer to give things a good look before leaping, it seems like madness and a recipe for trouble.
This chapter (and the rest of the chapters here in Book 1) is dedicated to members of the look-before-you-leap camp. Sure, it takes a bit more time than just diving in and seeing what happens, but the payoff is a solid grounding in Mac basics that will serve you well throughout your long and illustrious Mac career.
In this chapter, you explore your Mac to get fully acquainted with your new computer. You tour your Mac's hardware doodads, and then you see how to start the machine. From there, you take a close look at controlling your Mac with a mouse or trackpad, and learn the ins and outs of your Mac keyboard. The chapter closes with the details of putting your Mac to sleep, shutting down your Mac, and restarting your Mac.
The Parts Department: Touring Your Mac's Hardware
When you check in to a high-class hotel, the person who carries up your luggage usually gives you a brief tour of your room's amenities. Now, I'm not saying this book is the equivalent of a fancy-schmancy hotel, but I'd like to offer you the same service: a tour of your Mac's amenities.
One problem, though: There are so many different types of Macs that I have no way of knowing what model you have, nor do I have the space to go through every model that's out there. That's not a deal-breaker, however, because I can give you a general tour that will be enough to get you acquainted with your Mac's hardware features. (You can think of the rest of the book as a tour of your Mac's software features.)
The ports report
In computing lingo, a port is a connection point on a computer, meaning that you use it to connect something to the machine. So, when I talk about the features of your Mac, what I'm mostly talking about are the various ports you use to attach other devices to your Mac.
The good news about ports is that things are much simpler now than they were even just a few years ago, particularly in the Mac universe. In the old days, something could be connected to your computer in a dizzyingly large number of ways. Now, connections to current and recent Mac models come in just two main flavors: Thunderbolt and HDMI.
Thunderbolt connections
Most Macs come with two or four Thunderbolt ports, which are usually marked with a lightning bolt icon, as shown in Figure 1-1.
FIGURE 1-1: Thunderbolt ports and cable.
Thunderbolt ports are the main reason why connecting devices to your Mac is much simpler than it used to be. Why? Because Thunderbolt ports are compatible with several different device types:
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Thunderbolt devices: External monitors, TVs, or external hard drives that also have Thunderbolt ports. These devices can connect to your Mac directly by using a Thunderbolt cable such as the one shown in Figure 1-1, right.
Thunderbolt devices support daisy-chaining, which means you connect Thunderbolt device A to your Mac, Thunderbolt device B to device A, Thunderbolt device C to device B, and so on. You can daisy-chain up to six devices in this way. Sweet!
- USB 4 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 devices: Hard drives, cameras, smartphones, tablets, and printers that have a USB 4 or USB 3.1 Gen 2 port. (USB is short for Universal Serial Bus.) These devices can connect to your Mac's Thunderbolt port by using a USB cable - specifically, a cable that has USB-C connectors, as shown in Figure 1-2, right. Note that each USB-C connector in Figure 1-1, left, has the same shape as each Thunderbolt connector in Figure 1-2, left, which means this cable will connect to your Mac's Thunderbolt port, no questions asked.
- DisplayPort devices: Displays that have a DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort port. These devices can connect to your Mac's Thunderbolt port using a USB-C-to-DisplayPort (or USB-C-to-Mini-DisplayPort) adaptor or cable.
HDMI connections
Available on the Mac Studio, Mac Pro, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro, the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) port (see Figure 1-3, left) is used to connect devices such as external monitors, TVs, and cameras that also have an HDMI port. To make the connection, you use an HDMI cable such as the one shown in Figure 1-3, right.
FIGURE 1-2: USB-C connectors and a USB cable.
FIGURE 1-3: An HDMI port and a typical HDMI cable.
What if you have an iMac, MacBook Air, or other Mac that doesn't come with an HDMI port? You can still connect HDMI devices to your Mac, but you'll need a Thunderbolt-to-HDMI adaptor (a device that has a Thunderbolt connector on one end and an HDMI port on the other). A USB-C-to-HDMI adaptor will also get the job done.
Locating your Mac's ports
Before you can connect anything to your Mac, you need to know where to find your Mac's ports:
- Desktop Mac: If you have an iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, or Mac Studio, you'll find the ports on the back of the computer. Some Mac models have a few extra ports you can access:
- Mac Studio: Offers a few extra ports on the front of the device.
- Mac Pro: Provides some extra ports on top of the computer.
- Notebook Mac: If you have a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air, the ports are on the sides of the computer.
Figure 1-4 points out the relevant ports and buttons on the back of a Mac Studio. Most Macs come with some combination of these features.
FIGURE 1-4: The ports and buttons that festoon the back of a Mac Studio.
Note in Figure 1-4 that the Mac Studio, like most Macs, comes with a few other features besides the Thunderbolt and HDMI ports:
- Ethernet: This port (available on the Mac Studio, Mac mini, and Mac Pro) enables you to use an Ethernet cable to connect to a network device, such as a router or broadband modem.
- USB-A: These ports enable you to connect devices such as a hard drive, camera, smartphone, tablet, and printer that have USB-A ports. (USB-A is an older version of USB.)
- Headphone jack: This port enables you to connect a pair of headphones or a set of speakers to your Mac. The headphones or speakers must also have a 3.5mm output jack, and you need a 3.5mm audio cable to connect the device to your Mac.
- Power: You use this button to turn on your Mac, as I describe a bit later in this chapter (see "Cranking Up Your Mac").
Connecting stuff to your Mac
First off, let me note that you actually have two ways to connect a device to your Mac:
- With cables: You connect the device by running a compatible cable from the device to your Mac.
- Without cables: You connect the device wirelessly by using a technology called Bluetooth. See Book 3, Chapter 4 to learn all about Bluetooth devices and connections.
When it comes to making a connection with a cable, it's worth noting that all the ports on your Mac have a particular size and shape that's unique to each type of connection. Fortunately for you, the jack on the corresponding cable that plugs into each type of port has the same size and shape. For example, look at the HDMI port and HDMI cable, shown earlier in Figure 1-3. As you can see, the shape of the port mirrors the shape of both cable connectors. This means two things for you:
- There's only one way to plug an HDMI connector into an HDMI port, so it's not possible to insert the cable into the port the wrong way.
- No other cable has the same shape of connector, so it's also not possible to insert the wrong cable into the port.
With these two pieces of good news in mind, connecting anything to your Mac involves the following general steps:
- If you're using an adaptor, insert one end of the adaptor into the compatible port on your Mac.
- Connect one end of the cable to your Mac:
- If you're using an adaptor: Plug one end of the cable into the compatible port on the adaptor.
- If you're not using an adaptor: Plug one end of the cable into the compatible port on your Mac.
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Connect the other end of the cable to the compatible port on the device.
When your Mac recognizes that a new device is attempting to connect, you see the Allow Accessory to Connect? dialog shown in...
