System Preferences
One of the great things about Mac OS is the way it can be customized to look and work the way you want it to. Many customization options can be set within the System Preferences application (Figure 1 ). That's where you'll find a variety of preferences panes, each containing settings for a part of Mac OS.
Figure 1. The System Preferences window, with icons for all panes displayed.

- Personal preferences panes enable you to set options to customize various Mac OS X appearance and operation options for personal tastes. This chapter covers Appearance, Dashboard & Exposé, Desktop & Screen Saver, Dock, International, and Spotlight.Hardware preferences panes control settings for various hardware devices. This chapter covers CDs & DVDs, Displays, Energy Saver, Keyboard & Mouse, Print & Fax, and Sound.Internet & Network preferences panes enable you to set options related to Internet and network connections. This chapter covers QuickTime.System preferences panes control various aspects of your computer's operation. This chapter covers Date & Time, Software Update, Speech, Startup Disk, and Universal Access.
Chapter 14 .Accounts and Security, in Chapter 17 .Bluetooth (which only appears if a Bluetooth adapter is installed) and Sharing, in Chapter 16 .Classic (which only appears if Mac OS 9.x is installed), in Chapter 18 .Network, in Chapters 13 and 16 .
To open System Preferences
Choose Apple > System Preferences (Figure 2 ).
Figure 2. To open System Preferences, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu…

Figure 3. …or click the System Preferences icon in the Dock.

To open a preferences pane
Click the icon for the pane you want to display.Or Choose the name of the pane you want to display from the View menu (Figure 4 ).
Figure 4. The View menu lists all of the System Preferences panes.

To show all preferences pane icons
Choose a command from the System Preferences' View menu (Figure 4 ):
- Organize by Categories (

Figure 5. System Preferences pane icons can also be displayed alphabetically.

Or Click the Show All button in the toolbar of the System Preferences window (Figures 1 and 5 ). This displays all icons in the last view usedby category or alphabetically.
To find a preference pane by task or topic
1. | Enter a search word or phrase in the search box in the upper-right corner of the System Preferences window. Three things happen (Figure 6 ):
Figure 6. You can now search system preferences to find the preference pane you need to perform a task.![]() |
2. | Select a topic from the menu.or Click a highlighted icon.The appropriate preference pane opens. |
- The ability to search system preferences is brand new in Mac OS X 10.4.
To quit System Preferences
Use one of the following techniques:
- Choose System Preferences > Quit System Preferences (Figure 7 ).
Figure 7. The System Preferences menu.

