Tips 'n' Tricks | Internet Tips 'n' Tricks | PC Tips 'n' Tricks | MAC TIPS 'N' TRICKS

Rebuilding the desktop
Zapping the PRAM
Contextual menus in Communicator and Explorer
Easy access to parent folders
Pop-up windows in Mac OS 8
Apple Menu tricks
Why does my date keep reverting to 1956? (or 1904?)
Nixing the Empty Trash Confirm
Finder shortcuts
Deleting Finder Preferences
Force-quitting out of a freeze
Hidden finder features
Locked files
Memory versus storage space (what's a megabyte?)
Shutting down and restarting: right and wrong
Speeding up your Mac
Why numbers sort strangely

Rebuilding the desktop

You can solve some common problems by rebuilding your desktop. If a file has a blank generic icon, or if you cannot open a file because the application cannot be found, you should rebuild your desktop. Check your computer's help guide under the Help (?) menu for information on rebuilding the desktop on your computer. On most Mac OS computers, you rebuild the desktop by holding down the Command (Apple) and Option keys at startup.

You can also solve many problems by "zapping the PRAM". If applications start acting strangely or unpredictably, you should zap the PRAM. This procedure erases settings in the computer's parameter RAM, restoring it to a brand new state. Zapping the PRAM will reset the settings in some of your control panels, including:
Memory
Monitors & Sound
Keyboard
AppleTalk
Power Manager
Map
This procedure does not harm your computer or your data in any way.

To zap the PRAM, hold down the four keys Command (Apple), Option, P and R while your computer is starting up. Keep the keys pressed while the computer is chiming. Release the keys after the computer has chimed five times.

Click in your browser window (Netscape Communicator or Microsoft Internet Explorer) and hold the mouse button down. After a second you will get a pop-up menu listing options relevant to the object you are clicking on. For instance, if you click and hold the button over an link, you will get a menu that lets you save the link, open the link in a new window, or copy the link to the clipboard.

You can access the parent folders of any open window easily by holding down the Command (Apple) key and clicking the title bar of the window. A pull-down menu will appear, listing the folders above the current folder. You can open a parent folder by clicking it in the menu.

You can make any Finder window a pop-window that resides at the bottom of your screen as a tab, and pops up when you click it or drag an icon over it. Simply drag a window to the bottom of the screen to make it a pop-up window. This feature only works with Mac OS 8, and does not work if you are using the Simple Finder.