Last month we talked about the difference between RAM when talking about hard drives and memory. This month, let's talk about ways you can set up your computer in a way which will make it easier to use.
First, did you know that you don't have to use the Launcher? I hate it myself, and find it takes way too much desktop space to be worthwhile. It was a cool addition to the Mac OS before system 8 came out. With the Launcher, all you had to do to launch a program was to click one button. Now, however, you can do the same thing in any folder. Here is what I do when setting up a new Mac user (I'm a consultant in my spare time).
First, you should identify which programs you use a lot. AppleWorks? (aka ClarisWorks) Netscape? Or perhaps you find yourself going to the Chooser all the time? Why go to the Apple menu or access the Launcher all the time? This very simple solution is available to anyone running Mac OS 8 or above.
First, create an empty folder. Let's call it "Start". Place this folder somewhere you won't be likely to toss it out, somewhere in the System Folder, although it doesn't really matter where the folder is located. Now, go through your system finding all the applications you want to have quick access to. When you find one, make an "Alias" of it. Remember, make an Alias of the program itself, not the folder it sits in. Otherwise, you are defeating the whole purpose!
Once you make an Alias, drag that Alias to the "Start" folder. Try to keep the items here under, say, twelve items. I can’t imagine many of you constantly use more than that many programs on a daily basis anyway. Once you have all the Aliases in the Start folder, open the Start folder. Once it's open, it's time to have some fun!
Do you know what a program is just by looking at its icon or do you need to see its name? If you need to see the name, skip the next paragraph. If you can quickly identify your programs by the icon alone, I think you will like this trick.
Let's strip all the names from the icons! This way, all you see is an icon, rather than all the names. First, select the first icon, and delete the name. Now, rename this icon one press of the space bar. That’s right, change the name to a space bar stroke. Now, select the next icon, and change its name to two spaces. The third, three spaces, and so on until you're done. None of the icons should have a name now. It should look like an icon sitting all alone with no name.
Now, go to your "View" menu and select "view as buttons" Next, go back to the Views menu and click "View Options" Set the icon size to the smaller size. All your icons should still be easily seen, and you should be able to identify them at a glance.
To complete this quick launch folder, leave the window open and go back to the Views menu and select "as Popup Window" Forevermore, anytime you want to launch any of these programs, click the tab at the bottom of your screen and click the button for that program. Easy, quick, and you can always add or remove programs from this window as needed! Neat, eh?
•Tim Robertson• <publisher@mymac.com>
 
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