Peachpit Learning Series Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Use the Common Tools You'll Find in Every Mac App

In the Mac os x applications, you'll find a number of common tools that operate in the same manner in all the programs.

Spell Checker

The spell checker is at the bottom of the Edit menu in Mac os x applications. You have several options, as shown in the menu below:

Spelling …
This brings up a dialog box. The spell checker runs through your entire document, giving you options for each word it thinks is misspelled. It provides possible alternatives for words it's not sure of.

To replace a misspelled word with an alternative , just double-click the alternative you think is correct. Or you can type the correct spelling in the edit box, then click "Correct."

Learn
Spell checkers typically don't recognize most people's names, as shown above. If you often use a particular word this is not in the spell checker's dictionary, click the "Learn" button while the word is selected.The spell checker will add that word to its dictionary and not whine about it being misspelled again.

Check Spelling
Use this keyboard shortcut (Command ;) to skim through the spelling in your document without opening the dialog box.

Check Spelling as You Type
This marks words that are misspelled as you type them

little red dots appears beneath words it thinks are misspelled. Any words not in its dictionary are considered misspelled, such as all names of people, most towns, and most specialized jargon.

To change a misspelled word quickly without bringing up a dialog box, Control-click (or right-click) on a misspelled word (you don't need to highlight the word first). A contextual menu appears, as shown below. At the top of this menu is a short list of alternative spellings for the word you clicked on. Just single-click on the correct spelling in the menuthe word is instantly corrected and the menu automatically disappears. (If the correct word is not offered, you can either type the correction yourself, or choose "Spelling" from this same menu to run a spell check.)

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Font Panel

Press Command T in any Mac OS X application and the Font Panel appears, as shown below. If yours doesn't look like the one below, it might be because the Preview or the Effects are not showing.

• To display the Preview and/or the Effects, single-click on the Action button (circled, below). Choose "Show Preview." Click again on the menu and choose "Show Effects."

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In any Mac OS X application, open this Font Panel to choose the typeface family, the particular style (called "Typeface," above, hidden beneath the tool tip), and the size of type. Whatever you choose here will change the

selected characters in your document. Note that you must

first select the text you want to change,

then choose the font and size.

Or select the font and size right

before you start typing.

Preview

Preview your own words
Double-click the preview words shown at the top, and type your own. Then choose a different family, typeface, and size to see how your text looks in a different font.

Effects

You can apply

shadow effects to selected text with these five controls, as shown below. Select text on the page, click the "Text Shadow" button (the button with the T), then experiment with the sliders on the other four tools.

Collections

The Font Panel has a number of

collections , which are simply sub-groups of fonts from the main list. Making a collection doesn't disable or enable any fonts, it just makes it easier for you to choose a typefaceyou don't have to scroll through a long list of fonts you don't care for.

To create a Collection , single-click the plus sign at the bottom of the Collections pane. Rename the collection. Drag font families from the "Family" pane into the new collectiondrop the family name directly on the collection name.

Favorites

If you find you often use a particular family, typeface, point size, and color, turn that combination into a Favorite and keep it in the Favorites collection for easy access. Just select the text on the page that is formatted as you like it, or choose your favorite combination in the Font Panel. Then go to the Action button and choose "Add to Favorites."

When you want to use that typeface, single-click on the Favorites collection to display the combination. Select your text, then choose your favorite.

Action button options

Color option :
See the following page.

Characters option :
This displays the Character Palette; see pages 8081.

Typography option :
Choose sophisticated options for certain typefaces.

Manage Fonts option :
This opens the Font Book; see pages 112115.

Colors Panel

When you click on one of the color buttons (as shown below) in the Font Panel or the "Colors" icon in a toolbar, you get a deceptively powerful Colors Panel. Select text in Mail, TextEdit, and other applications, then choose a color.

Experiment with the Colors Panel to discover the possibilities

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Speech




In applications where there is typically a lot of text,

your Mac can read selected text to you. You'll find a command for "Speech…" towards the bottom of the Edit menu in applications such as Mail and TextEdit, and you can use the Services menu option for "Speech" in iChat and Safari. (The Services options are in the application's menu.)

Have your email read out loud





1.	Open an email message in Mail.
2.	Click in the main body of text.
3.	Go to the Edit menu, slide down to "Speech…," and choose "Start Speaking."402 ).




To use the Services menu, first

select the text in iChat or on a web page in Safari, then go to the application menu and choose the Speech option.

Character Palette




Many fonts have a lot of characters you don't know about but might like to use if you did. And different fonts have different sorts of

extra characters.

For instance, these are the ampersands available in the font Zapfino:



How do you know which characters are available? Use the

Character Palette.

At the bottom of most Edit menus is an option called "Special Characters…." This displays the Character Palette, as shown below.

Add special characters to your document





1.	Open TextEdit (it's in the Applications folder). A new, blank document appears on your screen. You'll see the insertion point flashingthat's where new characters will appear.
2.	From the "View" menu on the palette (circled on the opposite page), choose "Glyph."
3.	From the two "Font" menus, choose the typeface family and the individual style that you want to look at. In the example on the opposite page, you see the font "Skia." (Later, experiment with Zapfino!)
4.	Scroll through the character pane to find the glyph you want. ("Glyph" refers to any individual variation of any character. For instance, above you see seven different glyphs for the ampersand character .)
5.	Double-click the glyph you want to see on your page.




TIP

To reduce the Character Palette to a tiny box that is out of the way, but accessible, click its green Zoom button.




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