How to Find out what your Mac’s doing, with Growl
Mac Tip #410, 11 November 2009

Growl.

Growl lets you know when things happen on your Mac.

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Growl tells you what’s up

Upload Complete.

I like to know what’s going on on my Mac — especially if I’ve set it to a task like uploading files that may take a while. I go off and do something else, but like to know once the task has finished.

That’s why I use Growl, a freebie that lets Mac OS X applications unintrusively tell you when things happen.

For example, say I set my Mac to uploading a few hundred or thousand files to my website. That takes quite a while. I let the files upload in the background and switch to reading email, blogging, catching up on newsfeeds or some other activity.

With Growl, once the uploads are finished a special Notification window appears on screen to tell me what just happened.

Growl also alerts me as new emails arrive into my Gmail account. At a glance, and without switching to my email application, I can thee the subject and sender of each message and a few words from the message itself.

Growl has many options

After installing Growl go to the System Preferences and click on the Growl icon. Now you can configure how Growl behaves for each application that supports it.

In my video I show Growl reporting the results of a Replace All operation on a text file in the TextWrangler application.

To configure Growl notifications for a particular Application, select the Application in the Growl System Preference pane, then click the Configure… button. Configuration options appear, offering both Application Settings and Notifications tabs.

Display Style

Growl has many styles for the notification window, and can even speak to you. For the video I downloaded an extra style which had a striking yellow and black theme. Other styles use discreet grey or blue, images or other designs. Try them out to find which ones you prefer.

Growl lets you choose different styles of notification for different events, even within one application. Look under the Application Settings tab.

Notification corners

Notifications from Growl appear in one corner of the screen. Under the Application Settings tab I select which corner each Application should use. For TextWrangler I chose the bottom left corner as that was more convenient for my video. In reality I find the bottom right corner works well for most applications.

Notification settings

Under the Notifications tab select an action from the Notification drop-down menu. In my TextWrangler example I selected the Replace All action.

Then choose specific settings for the Notification: Display Style, how long to Stay On Screen, Priority and whether or not to Play a Sound.

Hazel supports Growl

Last week’s Tip was about using Hazel to help keep your Mac tidy. Hazel is one of the Applications that supports Growl.

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How to keep files organised the easy way
Mac Tip #409, 04 November 2009

Hazel.

Hazel is the housekeeper that can keep your Mac clean and tidy. You don’t need to think about putting away files or emptying the Trash with Hazel around.

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Clear the clutter

I used to always accumulate files in my Downloads folder. Before long I couldn’t find anything without endless scrolling.

One of my favourite small applications, Hazel, now keeps me organised by tidying away files, sorting them into folders, labelling them and even renaming them:

Hazel watches whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according to the rules you create. … Have Hazel move files around based on name, date, type, what site/email address it came from (Safari and Mail only) and much more. Automatically put your music in your Music folder, movies in Movies. Keep your downloads off the desktop and put them where they are supposed to be.

Choose folders to watch

After installing Hazel go to the System Preferences and click on the Hazel icon in the ‘Other’ section. The Hazel Pref Pane opens up.

To add a folder for Hazel to watch:

1. Select the Folders tab in the Hazel Pref Pane.
2. Click the + symbol at the bottom of the Folder column on the left of the Hazel window. A standard file chooser Dialog opens up.
3. Locate the folder to watch and click the Open button. The folder is added to the Folders column.

Handle duplicates and Incomplete downloads

Hazel folder options.

Check the Throw away boxes if you want Hazel to throw away duplicate files or Incomplete downloads.

Manage Rules

1. Select a folder in the Folders column.
2. Add and set up rules for the selected folder as described in the section below.
3. To add a rule click the + symbol at the bottom of the Rules section.
4. To activate a rule check the box beside that rule. Active rules run automatically at regular intervals.
5. To delete a rule select it in the list and click the - symbol below the list of rules.

Create Rules

Hazel is capable of many actions, such as labelling a file, moving files into folders or subfolders, renaming files, adding comments and keywords, compressing files, and even running scripts such as Applescripts and Automator workflows.

Hazel has good Help files that explain all of the options.

My video shows how to set up a rule that labels certain files and move them into a subfolder based on their file extension. For example: Hazel could automatically move all files that end in .txt into a subfolder called txt-files.

Rule conditions

There are various combinations of options for each rule. Give the rule a name that helps you to remember what it does.

Hazel rule details.

Then, you must choose between All and Any of the conditions being met. This is a very important choice.

Below here you will specify various conditions — one or more. All says that the file must meet all the conditions to be acted on by Hazel, while Any says that any one of the conditions is enough to cause Hazel to act.

For example, if you set up conditions that a file must be named file.txt and it must be bigger than 20Mb (All), then a 19Mb file called file.txt would not be affected. If you had chosen Any instead then either the file size or the filename would be enough to trigger Hazel.

In my screenshot my rule has only one condition: that the extension should be .txt.

To add more conditions click the + symbol beside a condition. A new condition is added.

Rule actions

The lower part of the Rule window allows you to choose one or more actions to apply to all files that meet the conditions. My screenshot shows two actions:

1. Label the matching files.
2. Move matching files into a subfolder.

The blue ‘capsule’ text in the pattern match area is available when you click the triangle to the left of the word ‘Attributes’. Clicking the triangle expands and collapses the Attributes section. Drag a capsule from the Attributes section into the filename text area.

Once you’ve selected conditions and actions click the OK button to save the rule. The Rule window closes and you can again see the lists of all Folders and Rules.

Test a Rule

Some Rules could take drastic actions, such as moving files around, renaming them or even deleting them. It’s a good idea to test a Rule before you use it for real.

Select a Folder and select a Rule for that folder. Activate the Rule. Click the Gear icon below the list of Rules and choose Preview Rule matches… from the drop-down list. A window appears that shows which files will be affected by the Rule. View the list and click the Done button once you’ve assessed the effects of your Rule.

Deactivate the Rule if you don’t wish it to run automatically.

Summary

Hazel has many features, but it also has good Help files. I find it invaluable for tidying up my downloaded files. I also set it to empty old files from the Trash, while retaining newly-trashed files (look under the Trash tab).

I don’t really use all of its powers, but even those two things are enough for me.

If you like, or need, to keep things tidy, give Hazel a whirl. It costs US$22, but gives you a free 14 day trial.

Disclaimer: I’m just a happy user. I’m not being paid or rewarded in any way for talking about this software.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to change the Wallpaper on an iPod touch
Mac Tip #408, 28 October 2009

iPod touch startup screen.

When you start up your iPod touch or iPhone an image is displayed. You can change that image to one Apple has supplied, or to one of your own choosing. Here’s how.

Note: I can see slight differences between my iPod touch and my iPhone in how this works, but it’s pretty much the same for both.

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Supplied Wallpapers

Apple provide a dozen or so images you can set as the start-up screen Wallpaper:

1. Go to the iPod’s Settings — General — Wallpaper screen, where you will see a folder called Wallpaper. That folder contains a dozen or more images that Apple supplied with your iPod.
2. Tap on an image to select it. A screen appears where you can Move and Scale the image.
3. Move the image around and use pinch gestures to zoom in or out as you wish.
4. Tap the Set button. The images is set as the new startup Wallpaper.

On my iPhone the Wallpaper folder seems to be one level higher: inside Settings, rather than inside General.

Add an image from the ZooBorns App

Baby Rhino.

Some iPod and iPhone apps allow you to save images they contain. You may wish to use a Saved Photo as your Wallpaper.

One example is the nice little ZooBorns iPhone App. It shows pictures of newborn animals from zoos around the world. Another example is the NASA iPhone app, that includes numerous of NASA’s stunning images.

In the video I show how to add an image from ZooBorns:

1. Find an image you like and display it on the iPod screen.
2. Tap the arrow at top right of the screen. A menu appears.
3. Choose Save Image to Photos. The photo is saved in a Saved Photos folder in the Wallpaper section of the Settings.
4. Follow the steps for choosing a new Wallpaper.

Add an image from the NASA App

NASA iPhone app.

Note: I tested this one on my iPhone, so it may be slightly different on the iPod touch.

To set an image from the NASA App as your Wallpaper:

1. Find an image you like and display it on the iPod screen.
2. Tap the arrow at bottom left of the screen. A menu appears.
3. Choose Save to Camera Roll. The photo is saved in a Camera Roll folder in the Wallpaper section of the Settings.
4. Select a photo, Move and Scale it as you wish and tap the Set button. The selected photos is set as the startup Wallpaper.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to Trim a Movie with Quicktime Player 10
Mac Tip #407, 21 October 2009

Many people use cellphones or other small devices to take quick, casual movies. Quicktime Player can quickly trim away rubbish shots. Here’s how.

This Tip was written with Mac OS X 10.6.1 and Quicktime Player 10. Older versions of the software will work differently or not allow you to Trim at all.

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Quicktime Player 10 is part of Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6. These days many people shoot quick videos of the dogs or kids or random things they see. Often they upload those clips to YouTube. It’s handy to be able to clean the movie up a bit before sharing it, so Quicktime Player 10 makes trimming junk away from either end very easy.

Flip mino.

Open the movie clip in Quicktime Player 10

Locate your video clip in the Finder and open it with Quicktime Player 10.

I used a Flip mino (Amazon affiliate link) to make this tiny movie of my dogs running in Wellington’s Town Belt, then dragged the movie straight from the video camera to my Demo folder.

How you get a movie from your cellphone or other camera depends on the device and software available to you.

Trim the clip

When you Trim a video clip you remove parts from the beginning and or the end of the clip. You select one portion that you’ll keep and when you Trim, the rest is removed.

Trim the video.

1. Choose Trim from the Edit menu in Quicktime Player 10. A heads-up display appears at the bottom of the video. A yellow box outlines the whole video in a section of thumbnails in the heads-up display.
2. To trim away the beginning of the video drag the left end of the yellow selection box towards the right. Place it where you want your video to begin.
3. To trim away the end of the video drag the right end of the yellow selection box towards the leftt. Place it where you want your video to end.
4. Click the yellow Trim button in the heads-up display. Anything that is not selected is trimmed away.

Now you can save the video, perhaps share it on YouTube, or just keep it for personal viewing.

My very brief video of my dogs running was filmed in Wellington’s Town Belt. This was only a few metres away from where Peter Jackson filmed one scene in Lord of the Rings. It was the scene where Frodo and friends hid from the horsemen. Of course, his video cost millions and looks a whole lot better than mine. :-)

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Use iTunes to arrange apps on your iPhone screen
Mac Tip #406, 14 October 2009

Arrange the apps on your iPhone or iPod from within iTunes. The instructions are the same for both the iPod touch and the iPhone.

This Tip was written with Mac OS X 10.6.1, iTunes 9.0.1, and iPod software 3.1.2. Older versions of the software may not allow you to arrange iPod applications within iTunes.

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Plug in your iPod

1. Plug your iPod in to your Mac and start up iTunes.
2. Select the iPod in the Source list on the left of the iTunes window. The Summary tab is displayed in the main part of the window.
3. Click on the Applications tab in the list of tabs across the main part of the iTunes window. iTunes displays a list of Applications so you can select which apps to sync with the iPod. It also displays a mock-up of the iPod’s screen and thumbnails representing the pages of apps.

Select applications to sync

In the Sync Applications list check the box beside any applications you wish to sync with the currently plugged in device. When you next sync that device any changes will take effect.

If you have more than one iPod or iPhone you can choose applications for each device: the list changes when a specific device is attached.

The Springboard

Springboard is the formal name of the home screen on the iPhone/iPod Touch. Like the Mac Finder or the Windows Desktop, Springboard enables you to find the particular app you need.

Thanks to Bruce Tognazzini for this terminology. See below for the credit.

Arrange apps.

Add and remove apps from the iPod Toolbar

A representation of the currently attached iPod or iPhone Springboard is displayed on the right-hand side of the main Applications window in iTunes. You can drag icons around and in and out of that representation just as though you were working directly on the iPod itself.

Drag icons out of or into the Toolbar to remove or add them, just as you would on the iPod.

Drag icons from one page to another

To move applications from one page to another in the Springboard:

1. Go to the page with the icon you wish to move and select the relevant icon. In my video I selected the MyTrades app from Page 1.
2. Drag the icon out of that page and drop it onto the thumbnail of the destination page. The destination page is now displayed at full size and the app is added at the end. In my movie I dragged the icon on top of the thumbnail for Page 4.

Rearrange apps within one page

If you don’t like the order in which apps are displayed on a page drag them into new positions.

Apply the changes

After rearranging apps click the Apply button at the bottom of the iTunes window. The iPod or iPhone is synced and the changes are applied to the handheld device.

Auto-positioning

Are you irritated by the way the icons move themselves around to fill gaps you’ve created? You’re not the only one. Here’s how Bruce Tognazzini describes it:

Instead of copying the highly-flexible Mac Desktop, Springboard inadvertently ended up copying the Windows 95 Desktop, with icons auto-positioning themselves ever-upward, ever-leftward.

Tognazzini has a very interesting article about all of this at Restoring Spring to iPhone Springboard. I strongly suggest you read it if you’re at all interested in iPhone and iPod apps and how they display on your handheld device.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to Move and Resize the Mac OS X Dock
Mac Tip #405, 07 October 2009

The Mac OS X Dock can be very handy, but you may like to resize or move it. Here’s how.

The Dock is a strip of icons that is placed by default at the bottom of the screen. The Dock is a good place to store icons for applications you use frequently, and it gives quick access to certain folders and files.

If you prefer, make it smaller or larger, or move it to the left or right side. It cannot be moved to the top, though.

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Dock Magnification.

Change the Dock’s location

To move the Dock use the Dock Preferences:

• Go to the Dock preference pane in System Preferences.
• Go to the Dock menu item under the Apple menu.
• Control (⌃) Click on the Dock itself.

Then choose a Position at bottom, left or right.

Change the Dock’s size

To make the Dock smaller or larger:

• Go to the Dock preference pane in System Preferences.
• Go to the Dock menu item under the Apple menu.

Then slide the Size slider.

Or Command (⌘) Click on the Dock and move your mouse. Move towards the centre of the screen to make the Dock larger and towards the edge to make the Dock smaller.

There’s plenty more you can do to customise the Dock, but that will be the subject of further Tips.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to validate fonts
Mac Tip #404, 30 September 2009

When fonts go bad they can cause all kinds of problems. Font Book helps you locate and delete bad fonts.

I had some problems recently with Photoshop. Every time I selected a particular font the application would crash. I figured the font was the problem, so turned to Font Book.

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Font Book.

Font Book

The Font Book application comes with every new Mac. Find it in the Applications folder, and double click to open it.

The Font Book window lists all the fonts installed on your Mac. To validate one or more fonts:

1. Select the fonts to validate in the list of fonts.
2. Choose Validate Fonts from the File menu. A Font Validation window opens and shows the results of validation. A green check mark indicates that font passed validation. A red x beside a font tells you there is a problem.

Delete fonts

If the Font Validation found any problems and you’d like to delete those problem fonts:

1. Check the box beside the problem font in the Font Validation window.
2. Click on the Remove Checked button at the bottom of the Font Validation window. An alert appears. Click to confirm, and the fonts are deleted.

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How to Set Finder Advanced Preferences
Mac Tip #403, 23 September 2009

The Finder’s Advanced Preferences display or hide some filename extensions, control warnings and security when emptying the Trash and set which folders to search by default.

The Snow Leopard Finder has several Tabs in the Preferences. Here’s a look at the How to Set the Advanced settings.

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Finder Advanced preferences.

The Finder Preferences Advanced tab

To use the Finder Preferences Advanced tab:

1. Switch to the Finder on your Mac and then choose Preferences… from the Finder menu.
2. Once the Preferences window opens make sure you’re viewing the Advanced tab.
3. Check or uncheck the boxes beside:
   • Show all filename extensions
   • Show warning before changing an extension
   • Show warning before emptying the Trash
   • Empty Trash securely
4. Make a choice for When performing a search from the drop-down menu:
   • Search This Mac
   • Search the Current Folder
   • Use the Previous Search Scope

Show all filename extensions

Filename extensions are the .jpg (photos), .doc (MS Word files), .txt (text files) that show what type of file you’re dealing with.

Some Windows malware uses two extensions, such as file.png.exe and relies on users hiding the final extension. The user then thinks the file is a perfectly normal image, rather than a dangerous program.

The Mac isn’t so vulnerable at the moment

Hiding filename extensions can lead to confusion, and even security problems. It’s a good idea to always show them.

In Snow Leopard the Show all filename extensions checkbox seems to control only some types of extensions. In my testing I’ve found I can hide or show .app and sometimes .template.

Show warning before changing an extension

Changing a file’s extension can be potentially confusing or even dangerous. The Mac can warn you when you change an extension.

Show warning before emptying the Trash

It can be very easy to accidentally trash a file and then empty the Trash. I prefer to keep the warning before emptying the Trash.

Files emptied from the Trash in the normal way have a good chance of being recovered if you realise your mistake immediately and then take no further action before seeking help.

Even if you do further work on the machine a file mistakenly emptied from the Trash may be recovered.

Empty Trash securely

If you Empty Trash securely any files that were in the Trash when you emptied it cannot be recovered. The Mac ’shreds’ the files.

Search scope

When you perform a Search this parameter determines where the search takes place by default.

Open a Finder window and enter a search term in the search box at top right of the window. That search term may search just the Current Folder. To broaden the search choose Search This Mac.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to Set Finder Labels and Sidebar Preferences
Mac Tip #402, 16 September 2009

The Finder Preferences let you rename Labels from Red, Green and so on to names you choose. The Sidebar in a Finder window gives you quick access to folders and files. Choose which items are displayed.

The Snow Leopard Finder has several Tabs in the Preferences. Here’s a look at the How to Set Finder Labels and Sidebar settings.

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Apply Labels

To apply a label:

1. Select a file or folder in the Finder.
2. Click on the Gear menu in the window’s Toolbar and select a label color. The color will be applied as a background to the file in the Finder window.

Rename Labels

Rename the labels.

To rename Finder labels switch to the Finder on your Mac and then choose Preferences… from the Finder menu.

Once the Preferences window opens make sure you’re viewing the Labels tab.

Enter a new name for any of the labels. The new name will be displayed in the Labels column of the Finder window.

Other related Tips

You may like to read these other MacTips:

1. Show Information in Finder List View (May 2008)
2. Using Labels (July 2001)

Edit the standard Sidebar

Finder windows show a Sidebar, unless you hide it, see Show the Finder Toolbar, Sidebar and Status Bar (February 2009).

Choose Sidebar items.

Certain items are displayed by default in the Sidebar. You control which items are displayed in the Sidebar tab of the Finder Preferences.

To set which items are displayed by default:

1. Switch to the Finder on your Mac and then choose Preferences… from the Finder menu.
2. Once the Preferences window opens make sure you’re viewing the Sidebar tab.
3. Check the box beside any items that should be displayed in the Finder Sidebar. Uncheck the box beside items you don’t wish to see.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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How to Set Finder General Preferences
Mac Tip #401, 09 September 2009

The Finder has Preferences, just like any other application. The General Preferences let you show and hide discs and devices, and set which folder appears when you open a New Finder Window.

The Snow Leopard Finder has several Tabs in the Preferences. Here’s a look at the General settings.

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Disks and Servers on the Desktop

Finder General Preferences

I like to keep my Mac’s desktop totally clean and tidy. I don’t even want to see an icon for my computer’s Hard Drive (HD) or icons for any DVDs, servers or iPods I may use.

Luckily the General tab of Finder Preferences allows me to make all of those things invisible.

To set the Finder Preferences switch to the Finder on your Mac and then choose Preferences… from the Finder menu.

Once the Preferences window opens make sure you’re viewing the General tab.

Check or uncheck the items you want to be displayed on your Desktop:

• Hard disks
• External disks
• CDs, DVDs and iPods
• Connected servers

New Finder windows

Any time you open a new Finder window it lists the contents of one of your folders. Which folder do you use most? It may be good to have a new Finder window always list that one.

For example, if I always refer to my demo folder then it’s a nuisance to have to wait while the Documents folder opens and then navigate to demo.

To set the folder that is displayed when you open a new Finder window choose a folder from the drop-down menu in the General tab of Finder Preferences.

As for the Spring-loaded folders item: I’ll explain that in a future Tip.

Do you have any comments on this Tip? Add them below.

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