How to set a printer as default in Mac OS X.
1. Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
2. Click on the Print & Fax icon.
3. Click on the Selected Printer in the Print pop-up menu toward the bottom of the window.
4. Choose the printer you want as your default and close the window.
From now on, your Mac will print to that printer by default.
It seems that my Mac wants to update itself at the most inopportune times. Prevent the Apple updates from automatically getting software updates.
1. Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Click on the Software Update icon.
3. Under the Update Software tab, uncheck the Check for Updates checkbox to disable the automatic updates.
Does your screen saver turn on whenever you put your mouse in a certain corner of the screen? This is because you have a hot corner enabled. Here’s how to prevent this from happening.
1. Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Click the Desktop & Screen Saver icon.
3. Click on the Screen Saver tab.
4. Click on the Hot Corners button.
5. 4 boxes appear for each corner of the screen. If any of these pop-up menus says Start Screen Saver, that indicates a hot corner. To turn off a hot corner, click on the drop-down menu and choose - to disable the screensaver from loading when your mouse is in that corner of the screen.
How to make an open application a permanent icon on the dock bar in Mac OS X.
I just thought this was a cool trick. It’s very simple but I didn’t know about it for the longest time.
1. While the program is open, click and hold on the program dock icon until a popup menu appears.
2. Click Keep in Dock.
If you ever decide that you don’t want the icon in the dock at all times anymore, you can just drag and drop it out of the dock.
Can’t login to an account anymore on your Mac because you have forgotten your password? There is hope.
1. Insert the Mac OS X Installation CD that includes the latest version you are running. Start the computer while holding down the C key until you see the Apple logo appear.
2. When the install screen appears, click Utilities > Reset Password?
3. Enter your new password two times and click OK.
4. Quit the installer from the Installer menu. The Mac will restart and you should be able to login now with the new password.
If you use a keychain password, see the article:
Mac OS X 10.4: Keychain Access asks for keychain “login” after changing login password.
How to enable file sharing in Mac OS X.
1. Click the Apple menu then System Preferences.
2. Under Internet & Network click Sharing.
3. Select Services.
4. Check the option for Personal File Sharing to enable sharing with other Macs.
You can also check Windows Sharing to enable sharing for Windows computers.
How to enable System Administrator or Root access in Mac OS X.
1. Open the Utilities folder and open NetInfo Manager.
2. Choose Domain > Security > Authenticate
3. Enter the name and password of an administrator.
4. Choose Domain > Security > Enable Root User.
At this point you may need to enter a password for the System Administrator account if the System Administrator account has never been setup. To proceed, click OK on this message.
Enter a password and click OK. Enter it again for verification and click Verify. Now you will need to repeat steps 2 and 3 again.
Make your Mac shut down or wake up automatically at certain times.
1. Click the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
2. Under the Hardware area, double-click the Energy Saver icon.
3. Click the Schedule… button in the lower right corner.
4. If you want to set when your Mac starts up, check the Start up or wake checkbox and set when you would like it to start or wake up automatically.
If you would like it to shut down automatically, check the box for Shut Down and set a time for it to shut down.
Please note that if you leave unsaved documents open, the Mac will not shut down. It will instead go to sleep.
How to use the Grab utility to perform screen captures.
Go to Applications > Utilities and click Grab.
With this utility, you will be able to capture the screen with these options:
Capture full screen - Select Screen or press 
+Z
Capture a window - Select Window or press Shift++W and click Choose Window
Capture full screen with 10 second delay - Select Timed Screen or press Shift++Z then click Start Timer
Capture a selection of the screen - Select Selection or Shift+cmd+A. Then use the mouse to highlight the area of the screen you wish to capture.
How to convert an EPS file to PDF format under Mac OS X.
1. Drag the EPS file onto the Apple?s Preview application icon in your dock (or in the Applications folder)
2. The file is converted automatically to PDF format. You can then Click File > Save and save the file in the PDF format.
How to map network drive in Mac OS X.
1. In the Finder, click on the Go menu, select Connect to Server.
2. Enter the address to where the resource is you wish to map. (i.e. smb://www.domain.com/foldername)
3. Enter your network password when prompted.
4. A new icon should appear on the desktop. That is your mapped network drive.
How to view hidden files within Macintosh OS X.
OS X 10.3.x
1. With the Finder active, click File–>Find... .
2. Select “Search for items whose:”, click the Name pull-down menu and select Visibility. The options in the next pull-down menu to the right will change accordingly; select either invisible items or visible and invisible items.
To add additional search criteria, such as a filename, file size, or creation date, click the + (plus sign) on the right side. Each time you click it, you will add another row to the search criteria.
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