Posted by Mitch on Feb 03, 2009 under Mac Tips |
Disable the annoying dialog box message that appears when you try to open a file you downloaded from the Internet.
“Program name” is a script application which was downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it?
1. Navigate to Library/Preferences.
2. Create a file called com.apple.DownloadAssessment.plist
3. Use a text editor to put the following text in the file:
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC “-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN”
“http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd”>
<plist version=”1.0″>
<dict>
<key>LSRiskCategoryNeutral</key>
<dict>
<key>LSRiskCategoryContentTypes</key>
<array>
<string>public.item</string>
</array>
</dict>
</dict>
</plist>
4. Log out, then log back in. You’re done!
See also: Disabling Leopard’s ridiculous “Are you sure you want to open it?” dialogues
Posted by Mitch on Oct 04, 2008 under Mac Tips |
The list of compters in the Screen Sharing application can become mighty cluttered. It’s common for the list to contain computers that don’t even exist anymore. You can remove computer names or IP addresses from this list.
The file that controls this list is located at /Users/yourusername/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.plist. You can trash this file if you wish to clear the list out entirely. If you wish to just remove items from it, download and install the Property List Editor so that you can double-click this file to edit it.
Posted by Mitch on Oct 04, 2008 under Mac Tips |
If you find that your Dashboard doesn’t come up properly, has frozen or doesn’t do anything when you try to open it, you may have to reset it. Here’s how:
1. Navigate to ~/Library/Preferences/
2. Delete 2 files:
- com.apple.dashboard
- com.apple.dashboard.client
3. Log out then log back in.
Give the Dashboard a try. Hopefully it works now.
Posted by Mitch on Oct 03, 2008 under Mac Tips |
In Mac OSX, you may encounter a problem where the Special Characters option crashes, disappears, freezes or doesn’t appear at all.
To solve this problem, try trashing the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.CharPaletteServer.plist file. The file should recreate itself and should fix the issue.
Posted by Mitch on Jul 22, 2008 under Mac Tips |
If you live in a house with a family, starting up your Mac can be a problem late at night. That startup chime can really wake people from their slumber. You can disable the sound though through the use of third party software.
1. Download and install StartupSound.prefPane.
2. Open System Preferences.
3. Click Startup Sound.
4. Click the Mute checkbox to turn off the startup sound completely. You can also just lower the volume if you wish.
See also: Control the startup chime’s volume
Posted by Mitch on Jul 10, 2008 under Mac Tips |
You might be bored of the typical colors on your Mac OS X Leopard computer. Many people like to invert the colors because it may be easier on your eyes. Here’s how:
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Locate the row labeled System.
3. In the System area, open Universal Access.
4. Under Display area, press the White on Black button.
Posted by Mitch on May 27, 2008 under Mac Tips |
Mac OS X Leopard users have been looking for a way to make the Leopard sidebar icons larger. We’ve seen quite a few emails asking us if there is a way. However, there is no current way to make the Sidebar icons bigger. We urge you to let your Leopard desires be known to Apple.
Posted by Mitch on Apr 14, 2008 under Mac Tips |
Enable or disable Mac OS X: Leopard from prompting for a password after waking up from a screen saver or sleep.
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Open Security under the Personal section.
3. Click the System button.
4. To disable the password prompt, uncheck the box for Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver. To enable it, place a check in the box.
Posted by Mitch on Apr 14, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to enable or disable the built in Mac OS X: Leopard firewall.
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Open Security under the Personal section.
3. Click the Firewall button.
4. Do one of the following:
- Select Block all incoming connections to enable the firewall to block all incoming connections. Certain programs may not function with this setting though.
- Select Limit incoming connections to specific services and applications, then click the arrow next to Services to expand the list of services and then use the menu to the right of each service to allow ir disallow connections. You can do the same with Applications.
- Select Allow all incoming connections to disable the firewall.
5. Close System Preferences when you’re finished.
Posted by Mitch on Apr 12, 2008 under Mac Tips |
Make RSS feed headlines into a screen saver in Mac OS X: Leopard.
1. Open System Preferences…
2. Open Desktop & Screen Saver.
3. Click the Screen Saver tab.
4. In the left-hand pane, choose RSS Visualizer.
5. Click the Options… button to choose your a feed. Close the pane when you are finished.
Posted by Mitch on Apr 03, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to add a BlueTooth device in Mac OS X: Leopard.
1. Open System Preferences > Bluetooth.
2. Ensure Bluetooth Power and Discoverable is turned on.
3. Click the + button.
4. Click the kind of device you have, and click Continue.
5. Click the name of the device you are adding, and click Continue.
6. You may get a prompt to enter a password. Enter the password for the device you are adding. The password should be either on the BlueTooth device or in the manual. Follow prompts on the device if necessary.
Posted by Mitch on Apr 02, 2008 under Mac Tips |
By default, Time Machine performs a backup every 3600 seconds. You can change this setting with Terminal commands. This example sets it to 9600 seconds.
1. Launch Terminal from the Utilities folder.
2. Type the following and press Return or Enter on your keyboard.
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 9600
Now Time Machine will backup your items every 9600 seconds. You can change the 9600 value to whatever you like.
Posted by Mitch on Mar 20, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to change the workgroup name in Mac OS X: Leopard.
1. Open System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Open the Network icon in the Internet & Network area.
3. Select the network connection you use to connect to the Windows network.
4. Click Advanced.
5. Click WINS.
6. Type the name of the Windows workgroup in the Workgroup field.
7. Click OK and then click Apply.
Posted by Mitch on Mar 18, 2008 under Mac Tips |
In Mac OS X: Leopard, the System Profiler can be used to find technical specs on your mac such as the processor type and speed, type of cache, and the file system. For you Windows users, it’s basically the same as the System Information application. There are many ways to open the System Profiler:
- Launch it from the /Applications/Utilites folder.
- Hold down the Option key while choosing Apple > About This Mac, and the menu item will change to System Profiler.
- Choose Apple > About This Mac and click More Info…
Posted by Mitch on Mar 05, 2008 under Mac Tips |
A problem can sometimes occur where iCal doesn’t open. The screen flashes briefly, but never opens. Try the following steps to fix this problem.
1. Navigate to Home/Library/Calendars/Calendar Cache.
2. Trash all of the files in the Calendar Cache directory.
Now try iCal, it should work fine.
Posted by Mitch on Mar 05, 2008 under Mac Tips |
You have a problem opening the Keyboard & Mouse Preferences. It just stays at Loading Keyboard & Mouse.
To fix this problem, try the following:
1. Navigate to User/Library/Preferences.
2. Delete the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file.
Now you should be able to access the Keyboard & Mouse Preferences. This will also fix any problems you may experience with function keys on your keyboard such as F1 through F12 not working.
Posted by Mitch on Feb 23, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to make Leopard show or don’t show desktop icons for CD’s, DVD’s or iPod.
1. While in the Finder windows, select Finder > Preferences.
2. Select General at the top.
3. Under Show these items on the Desktop, check or uncheck the box next to CDs, DVDs, and iPod
Posted by Mitch on Feb 18, 2008 under Mac Tips |
When you start Max OS X Leopard, the Setup Assistant appears. After filling it out and clicking Done, it still remains on your screen and won’t go away. Attempts to Force Quit the application doesn’t work either.
To solve this issue, you will need to restart your Mac in Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key while it starts. Once you are in under Safe Mode, go to the Setup Assistant menu and quit.
Restart the computer and it shouldn’t bother you anymore.
Posted by Mitch on Feb 13, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to enable FTP file sharing in Max OS X Leopard.
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Open Sharing under Internet & Network.
3. Click once on File Sharing on the left pane.
4. Click the Options button.
5. Click the check box next to Share files and folders using FTP.
6. Click Done.
7. Check the box next to File Sharing. File Sharing services will then start. You can use the Shared Folders and Users areas on the Sharing pane to set which users have access to which resources.
Now people can connect to your Mac using FTP by using ftp://youripaddress
Posted by Mitch on Feb 13, 2008 under Mac Tips |
How to set the IP address manualy in Mac OS X Leopard.
1. Open System Preferences.
2. Open Network under the Internet & Network section.
3. Select Ethernet on the left pane.
4. Select Manually in the Configure drop-down menu.
5. Enter the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Router, DNS, and Search Domains information.
6. Click Apply, and you’re done.
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