Tips

Macintosh Tips

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR COMPUTER FREEZES.
When your computer appears to have frozen, but not crashed, try the following techniques — they may let you save some or all of your work.

Hold the "Command" key (the one with the clover-like symbol on it) while pressing the period key. This is a widely-used Macintosh key combination for halting program execution. If the program was stuck in a loop, this may free it.
Alternatively, try pressing the "Esc" key.
If these don’t help, try pressing the "Esc" key while holding both the "Option" and "Command" keys. This combination forces the currently active program to quit. You will loose unsaved work in that program, but be able to save work in other programs.

Immediately after using any of these techniques, save all work and restart the computer.

Sometimes the Option-Command-Esc combination is confused with Command-Control-Power Key. The former terminates the active program but keeps others running, enabling you to save your work; the latter restarts the computer, destroying all unsaved work in the process.

USING ALIASES TO MOUNT NETWORK DISKS.
To use files on another networked computer you must first connect your system to that computer. Usually you do this by selecting that computer through the Chooser. Once it appears on your system’s desktop, you must then navigate through its folders until you locate your file.

You can bypass these steps by placing an alias of the file or folder on your computer. To do so --

Select the file or folder.
Choose the "Make Alias" command from the File menu (command-M is the keyboard shortcut in System 7.5). An alias file will be created called "filename alias." Its name will appear in italic text.
Copy the alias onto your hard disk through the network. You will now have two aliases-- one on your system and another on the remote system.
Delete the ALIAS (not the original file) on the remote system.

Now you can access the remote file simply by double clicking on the alias on your system. If necessary your system will mount the remote volume automatically, although you may be asked to enter a password if required by your network’s security settings.

CREATE A SCREEN CAPTURE.
Executing a screen capture is a great way to preserve an image on your screen. You can then e-mail or fax a print out of the image to someone who doesn’t have the originating software for proofing or review. With the image on the screen, press Command-Shift-3 to take a snapshot of the image. A file will be generated which will consist of the image. Additional methods for taking a screen shot are given at MacRumors.

Macintosh Training Class · Macintosh Tech Support