September 29, 2006 Meeting

Aoraki Macintosh User Group Home Page

Snippets from Previous Meetings





Web design

SOFTWARE

Sheryl had on sale a number of Eureka educational software packages, mainly for pre-school- and primary school-aged children. These language/maths applications are notable for several reasons:

  • they are Australian-made, and therefore the spoken accents (critical in phonics programs) are mainly closer to New Zealand speech than similar American programs.
  • each package contains two separate applications and their respective handbooks, and an interactive 'mini-computer' touch-pad device for children to use.
  • most have MacOS X drivers, as well as Windows drivers.
  • good value at =NZ29.95 (inc.GST). Contact Sheryl if interested:

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Some computing queries discussed, and suggested solutions, included:

Can I use mini-CDs and credit-card-shaped CDs in my Mac?

You can, but ONLY if you have a tray-loading type of CD drive; do NOT put mini-CDs into a slot-loading CD drive unless you want to incur a considerable expense!

When I make an entry in Address Book, it doesn't always show up when I need it in Mail.

After you've made an entry in Address Book, make sure that you quit the application before trying to find addresses for other purposes - it's only after you've quit that the Address Book information becomes available.

SESSIONS

BROADBAND SHARING


Sheryl has received information regarding a system which uses wireless to relay a broadband signal so that it can be shared with more than one computer over a distance, seemingly working on a line-of-sight signal. It is designed for use in rural locations, or where a signal needs to be shared between buildings, for example between school classroom blocks. However, this setup is quite expensive, and is therefore not suitable for the average computer user unless there is no other option. If interested, further details are available on Rural LinkÕs website: http://www.rurallink.co.nz/

MacBASICS: TEXT FORMATTING OPTIONS


Tony described a variety of ways of adjusting the format of text in word processing files. Plain text can be formatted in a number of ways, such as changing the font or size, and adjusting the colour or style, which includes making the text bold, italic or underlined.

The ways of making these adjustments (called formatting) are relatively standard, but vary according to the application being used. Remember to highlight (by dragging the cursor across the test) before doing any formatting.

In most instances users have a choice of methods, including:

1. Standard Application Menu

These are the drop-down menus which appear at the top of the screen when using an application. To adjust text, use the following menus:

  • in AppleWorks word processing, use the Text menu,
  • in Word, use the Font or Format menus,
  • in Mail or Entourage, use the Format menu.

2. Button Bar (Toolbar)

Applications such as AppleWorks and Word provide a Button Bar (usually near the top of the screen, but also moveable) with buttons which perform a variety of tasks, including those for text formatting. The button labels are fairly standard, including B for Bold, I for Italic and U for Underline.

If the AppleWorks Button Bar does not show when word processing, go to the Window Menu and select Show Button Bar. Customize the button bar by going to AppleWorks/Preferences/Button Bar menu and dragging desired buttons to the actual Button Bar. Note that you can also adjust the text's colour from the Tools panel, by clicking the T button then the Color button.

If the Word Toolbar is not visible, go to the View/Toolbars menu and check Standard and Formatting. Also in the View Menu is the Formatting Palette - turning this on provides another very convenient means of formatting.

3. Document Ruler (in AppleWorks)

At the top of a word processing document window, AppleWorks provides a Ruler which contains some buttons and menus to enable instant formatting, including setting tabs and alignment: If the Ruler does not show, turn it on by going to the Format/Rulers menu and selecting Show Rulers.

4. Keyboard Shortcuts

Holding the Apple (Command) Key while typing another key provides a keyboard shortcut which enables you to format while you type. As with the buttons, the shortcuts are fairly standard, such as Apple+B (bold), Apple+I (italic) and Apple+U (underline).

AppleWorks helpfully labels the keyboard shortcuts on the right-hand side of its menus, eg. in the Format/Style menu: For a list of AppleWorks shortcuts, go to the AppleWorks Help and search for Shortcuts, then select Word-Processing Keyboard Shortcuts.

Word also provides keyboard shortcuts, but doesn't label them in its menus. Many of the same ones apply as forAppleWorks. Find a full list in Word Help by searching for Keyboard Shortcuts.



Tony also gave a brief outline of menus/buttons/keyboard shortcuts for adjustment of font sizes and text alignment, and explained the basics of text wrapping around graphic objects which have been inserted into text. Several questions relating to AppleWorks asked by members:

How can I insert a picture (graphic object) into text so that it keeps its place in relation to the text?

By default, when you are typing and insert a graphic (by pasting or dragging), AppleWords adds it at the insert point as an inline graphic, which means that it keeps its place in relation to the text around it.

How do I place a picture in a document so that it appears behind the text?

  • Firstly, do not insert the picture as an inline object (as above), for if the picture is to appear behind the text you need to work with layers - the text being the front layer, and the picture being in a layer behind the text.
  • Insert the picture as a floating object instead. Do this by clicking the arrow () in the Tools panel (if the Tools panel does not show, click on the Toolbox button ()at the bottom of the document window, or choose Show Tools from the Window menu). Insert the picture by dragging or pasting, and then drag it to the place you want it to be. As it has been inserted as a floating object, it is independent of the text, being in a separate layer in front of the text.
  • Now move the picture behind the text by clicking on it (to select it) and go to Arrange/Move to Back menu. You can also use the button in the Button Bar, if it's there.

See the AppleWorks Help section on Incorporating Graphics into Text for further details.

MAC MAINTENANCE

Hugh explained several points and procedures for keeping Macs running in optimal condition:
  • Fonts: make sure that you do not have too many, as they tend to slow down the running of some applications.
  • Desktop: every file or document that you have sitting on the Desktop takes up some operating power, even if it isn't open, so it's not good practice to have your Desktop too cluttered.
  • Resetting PRAM: occasionally it can be helpful to rest the computer's Parameter RAM (PRAM), which resets the Desktop's preferences - this is known as 'zapping the PRAM'. Do this at startup by simultaneously holding down the Option+Apple+R+P keys while starting, and holding them until the startup sound has played twice, then releasing them. Defaults which are affected by the PRAM include:
    • Status of AppleTalk, Serial Port Configuration and Port definition
    • Alarm clock setting, Application font
    • Serial printer location, Autokey rate and delay
    • Speaker volume, Attention (beep) sound
    • Double-click time, Caret blink time (insertion point rate)
    • Mouse scaling (mouse speed), Startup disk
    • Menu blink count, Monitor depth
    • 32-bit addressing, Virtual memory
    • RAM disk, Disk cache
Hugh and Sheryl also presented a brief look at the recently-released iTunes 7, which incorporates several new features. More on this at a future meeting.

TRIVIA

For the musically inclined, the Apple company describes the Macintosh startup sound as a C Major chord with a dropped second, and with some added effects!

iMOVIE HD v.6


Tony gave members a look at how iMovie HD (v.6) can be used, and demonstrated the basics of movie importing and editing. Some of the features which are new in this version, and their descriptions from iMovie HD's Help pages, are:

Themes (centre illustration, above) which Apples describes as 'subsets of titles and visual effects to get incredible-looking results. Themes use advanced motioning and compositing that even combine your video and photos with stunning backgrounds and animated graphics.'

Enhanced user interface: 'The enhanced editing panes and controls in iMovie HD make building and editing your movie easier than ever. You can even preview transitions, titles, and effects live and in the large iMovie monitor to see exactly how they'll look in your movie.'

Multiple Open Projects (right illustration), which enable 'more than one iMovie HD project at a time to copy individual video and audio clips, or even a whole movie or a portion of a movie, from one project to another. You can even open multiple versions of a project to compare different 'cuts.'

Magic Movie Enhancements: you can automatically 'have iMovie HD import your video and make a great-looking movie for you.'

Tighter iLife integration: This is a really useful features, as it enables fast access to 'all your digital media - your songs and music, photos and video clips - work together to create video slideshows and movies. From iMovie HD 6, you can even compose a soundtrack for your movie project right in GarageBand.'

MacOS 10.5 - LEOPARD


Members viewed QuickTime movies from the Apple website which gave a preview of the main new features which will be introduced in the next upgrade of the Macintosh Operating System (MacOS 10.5), codenamed Leopard. Some features, such as Spotlight and iCal, give increased functionality to existing aspects of MacOS X, whereas others are completely new: Spaces enables multiple windows to be arranged in specified screen locations, and Time Machine gives access to previously-used files, including those which have been trashed! See AppeÕs website for details of each of these features: http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/index.htm


MAKING PHOTO PANORAMAS

Tony & Les showed some of the software that is available for assembling series of landscape photos into panorama images (as above). These programs often come as bundled applications included with cameras and scanners, but may also be downloaded from the Internet.

PhotoStitch

Canon include PhotoStitch with their cameras, and it is now available in MacOS X format. Tony demonstrated how to load images - arrange them in a left-to-right sequence (even if you've taken them from right to left) - and then tell Photostitch to merge the images into a single panoramic picture.

Various merge settings are available, including camera shooting technique options: panning (turning the camera, as in photographing scenery) and parallel camera movement (as in moving sideways across documents). The application also includes a panorama viewer which makes it easier to view them onscreen, and of course they can be printed out. Besides saving and printing, Photostitch also allows you to save panoramas as QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) files, which may be viewed using QT Player.

Photosmart Stitch

A similar application is Photosmart Stitch, distributed by Hewlett-Packard as part of their Photosmart Studio suite of image-handling applications. Les showed how this can be used, and illustrated his demonstration with several high-quality panorama prints which he produced using Photosmart Stitch. Several points Les and others made concerning taking images for panoramas:
  • It is important to keep the camera level, particularly when the sea forms the horizon - use a tripod (preferably equipped with a spirit level) to do this.
  • Allow sufficient overlap between images to allow the software to merge suitable seams.
  • If possible, take the camera off Automatic setting, and lock both the exposure and white balance before starting to take the sequence of images - this ensures a uniform exposure throughout the sequence.
[Note that if you have a digital camera which has a panorama setting, it may both display the correct overlap and lock the exposure settings for you.]

Photosmart Stitch is a 1.9 MB download, available from the Hewlett-Packard website, or from Sheryl/Tony.

Regards to all....

Secretary: Tony Climo, Aoraki MacIntosh Users Group