The Appearance Preferences pane enables you to choose between Blue and Graphite for a general color scheme for menus, buttons, and windows on your desktop. You can also pick the highlight color for selected items. Other settings are the placement of arrows in the scrollbars, the number of listings for recent applications and documents, and activation of font smoothing for optimal font appearance on different screens.

The Desktop Preference pane, shown in Figure 5.2, allows you to choose the background on which all the items on your desktop will be displayed.

Figure 5.2. Choose a desktop background to brighten your day—or to minimize distraction.

You can choose from among the images in the Nature, Abstract, or Desktop folders provided by Apple, or use your own images stored in your Pictures folder or elsewhere on your system. You can also choose a solid color. To set a new background, simply select a folder from the left-hand column and click a thumbnail image that appears at the right.

If you like variety, select a folder, check the Change Picture box, and set a frequency for the change. Your desktop background will phase between all the images in that folder. You can also check the Random Order box if you want.

Under Screen Saver Preferences, you can choose among several preinstalled screensavers. The preview window shown in Figure 5.3 enables you to view your selection before applying it.

Figure 5.3. Choose a screensaver and how it activates.

You can also choose how the screensaver activates by setting the time until activation and whether to require a password to return to the desktop. The Hot Corners button enables you to pick corners of the screen that activate or prevent activation of the screensaver when your mouse enters a given corner. We’ll talk more about using your own photos for desktop backgrounds and screensavers in Chapter 23, “Using iPhoto.”

The setting under Dock enable users to customize the appearance of the Dock by resizing it or positioning it on the left, bottom, or right edge of the screen. Other options include graphic effects that occur when documents are minimized into the Dock or when applications are launched. The Dock is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3, “Exploring the Dock.”

Exposé allows you to configure the feature that temporarily shifts the windows on your desktop so that you can view them all at one time. You can set Active Screen Corners or keyboard and mouse combinations to trigger different modes of Exposé. Exposé is covered in Chapter 2, “Using the Finder.”

The International settings control the language displayed, as well as date, time, and number conventions. You can also choose keyboard layouts to support different languages from the Input Menu section.

Under Security preferences, shown in Figure 5.4, you can choose to activate a feature called FileVault to encrypt your entire Home folder to ensure that no one will be able to read your files. This feature operates in the background, so you can use your files a usual. However, if someone steals your computer or connects to your computer remotely and doens’t know your passwords, , your files will be undecipherable. To turn on this feature, click the Turn On FileVault button. Note that you will need spare room on your hard drive for the encryption to take place.

Figure 5.4. Security features range from encrypting your entire account to requiring a password to wake your computer from sleep.

Under the Security preferences, you can also set whether a password is required to wake your computer from sleep or from screensaver, to log in to user accounts, or to unlock secure system preferences.

Secure system preferences, such as the Security settings shown in Figure 5.4, are marked by a lock icon in the lower left of the pane. If the lock is “locked,” you must type the username and password of an “administrator” to make changes to the preferences. An administrator is a user with special privileges—the account you created the first time your computer ran OS X is automatically an administrator. Other accounts can be set up to be administrators as well, which we’ll discuss in Chapter 33, “Sharing Your Computer with Multiple Users.”

You can also choose to have the computer log out any user after a specific period of inactivity to prevent passersby from using an unattended workstation.

The CDs & DVDs pane enables you to direct your computer in what to do when CDs and DVDs are inserted in your drive. The default configuration, shown in Figure 5.5, launches the appropriate application included with Mac OS X when you insert a music CD, photo CD, or DVD. When you insert blank media, the Finder prompts you to choose an application to suit your purpose.

Figure 5.5. Choose which application is activated when you insert a CD or DVD.

The Display section of the Displays preferences allows you to set your monitor’s resolution, brightness, and the number of colors displayed. You can also choose to show Displays in the menu bar as a menu extra for convenient access to resolution settings. In the Color pane, you can choose a display profile, which is a specific color balance setting, or recalibrate your display. Both the Displays and Color panes are examined further in Chapter 18, “Working with Monitors and ColorSync.”

The Energy Saver pane, shown in Figure 5.6, enables you to set Sleep and Wake options for your machine. Laptop users also have the option to show the battery status in the menu bar. Notice that separate settings exist for the display and the hard disk.

Figure 5.6. Energy Saver lets your system conserve power in response to monitor and hard drive inactivity.

After you’ve set Sleep options, use the Options tab of the Energy Saver pane to set Wake options.

The Schedule pane allows you to set your computer to start up and shut down at a given time on weekdays, weekends, everyday, or a specific day.

In the Keyboard pane, you can set the repeat rate of the keyboard and the delay before keys start to repeat when you hold them down. The Keyboard Shortcuts pane, shown in Figure 5.7, can be used to customize keyboard shortcut settings that enable users to control menus, windows, and other interface elements from the keyboard.

Figure 5.7. Use keyboard controls in addition to your mouse in changing system focus and navigation.

Just as the Keyboard pane enables you to control keyboard sensitivity, the Mouse pane enables you to control tracking and double-click speeds. You might need to test the options a bit to find the most comfortable settings for your system.

Laptop users will be delighted to find an Ignore Trackpad While Typing option. This disables the trackpad temporarily while the keyboard is being used. No more messed-up sentences because you accidentally hit the trackpad with your thumb while typing.

The Bluetooth section of the Keyboard & Mouse preferences relates to a standard for wireless connection that is now being used in some devices, including keyboard and mice. The Bluetooth preferences allow you to set up this kind of keyboard and mouse to work with your computer and also show the battery levels of these devices after they’ve been set up.

The Printing pane gives you access to an application called Printer Setup Utility where you can set up printers. You can also choose the selected printer that will appear in the Print dialog box and a default paper size. Finally, you can choose whether to share your printer with other computers over the network.

Under Faxing, you can check the box to receive faxes on your computer and enter the phone number of the phone line connected to your computer. You can also choose how received faxes will be handled. Finally, you can allow others on your network to send faxes through your computer.

Printing and Faxing are discussed further in Chapter 20, “Printing, Faxing, and Working with Fonts.”

The Sound pane, shown in Figure 5.8, contains Sound Effects options and volume controls for alerts and the main system, as well as the option to choose your sound output and input devices. You can also change the overall volume levels from the keyboard sound controls.

Figure 5.8. The Sound Preferences pane enables you to pick error alerts and select from which audio output they emanate.

If you have multiple sound input and output devices (such as an iSub speaker) connected to your computer, you can choose between them in the Output and Input panes. For output devices, set the balance between left and right speakers. For Input devices, set the Input volume. In addition, you can use the Show Volume in Menu Bar check box to add a volume control menu extra to your menu bar.

Pronounced “dot Mac,” the .Mac preferences allow you to set up a for-pay account with Apple that offers an email account and storage space referred to as iDisk. We’ll discuss the .Mac services and these preferences in detail in Chapter 14, “Exploring the .Mac Membership.”

The Network preferences are used to set up your computer’s Internet connection. This is explained in Chapter 11, “Connecting to the Internet.”

QuickTime, which is often used as a browser plug-in, requires information about your Internet connection. We will cover the QuickTime preferences in Chapter 7, “Using QuickTime and DVD Player.”

Sharing refers to giving other users access to resources and files on your system. Chapter 33, “Sharing Your Computer with Multiple Users,” Chapter 34, “Sharing Files and Running Network Services,” and Chapter 35, “Securing Your Computer,” explain various aspects of the Sharing preferences.

The Accounts pane allows you to create additional user accounts so that others can have their own place to store files and keep their own desktop preferences without interfering with yours. You can also edit a user’s information, including login picture. We’ll discuss options for setting up additional user accounts in Chapter 33.

The Startup Items section of the Accounts Preferences, shown in Figure 5.9, allows you to choose applications or files to open automatically whenever your account is active. To add an item, simply click the “+” button and navigate to it in the window that appears.

Figure 5.9. You can choose to have Mail automatically start up whenever you log in.

In Chapter 4, “Working with Windows Folders, Files, and Applications,” we talked about running Classic applications, which were written for the previous Mac operating system. The Classic preferences allow you to start Classic for use with those applications and to restart or force-quit Classic if it misbehaves. The Advanced pane of the Classic preferences allows you to fine-tune some aspects of Classic if you are a frequent user, whereas the Memory/Versions pane displays applications running in Classic and the memory used by them.

Not surprisingly, you set the system date and time in the Date & Time section of the Date & Time Preferences. If your computer remains connected to the Internet, you can choose Set Date & Time automatically and select a network time server to control your system clock. You can also set your time zone in the Time Zone pane. Finally, in the Clock pane you can choose whether to show the date and time in the menu bar or as a window on your desktop, as shown in Figure 5.10. You also can choose what form it should take—digital like a stop watch or analog like a pocket watch.

Figure 5.10. Put a clock on your desktop—and even give it a second hand.

As software updates become available, use the settings in the Software Update preferences to install them. You can also view what updates have been installed. We’ll talk about this further in Chapter 36, “Maintaining Your System.”

The Speech pane controls two separate, but related, elements: speech recognition and text-to-speech conversion.

Speech Recognition

In the Speech Recognition pane, shown in Figure 5.11, the primary option is to turn the Speakable Items feature on or off. As the name suggests, Speakable Items is a group of commands; when you speak one of these commands, your computer reacts to it. You can specify whether you want this option enabled at login. You can also open a panel of helpful speech-recognition tips and choose a feedback sound to inform you when your commands have been recognized.

Figure 5.11. Use Apple’s speech recognition application to perform elementary system functions.

The Listening section of the Speech Recognition pane, visible in Figure 5.12, enables you to choose how you interact with the computer when speaking commands to it. The first option is whether you must press the Esc key before voicing your command or whether you can address the computer without using the listening key.

Figure 5.12. The Speech Commands window shows a record of the functions carried out.

If you choose not to interact with the keyboard before your commands, you have the option to give the computer a name so that it knows when you’re directing it, or you can simply hope that it recognizes the commands without warning by setting the Name Is pop-up menu to Optional Before Commands.

Watch Out!

Keep in mind that addressing your computer by a name means that it is always listening unless you manually toggle listening with the chosen key. No, this statement isn’t meant to stir up paranoia. But it does mean that your computer has to determine which sounds are directed toward it and which ones are environmental or incidental. Depending on the circumstances, this might be difficult, and your computer is simply unable to obey. To avoid undue frustration, we recommend using Speakable Items with the Listening Key option enabled.

The final option on the Listening section gives you information on which microphone, if more than one is available, is receiving your spoken input.

In the Commands section of the Speech Recognition pane, you can choose which system features will be accessible by spoken commands.

If you turn on speech recognition, the circular Speech Feedback window appears on your screen, as shown in Figure 5.12.

This unusual windoid shows the level of sounds detected by the microphone by filling in the lines in the lower portion of the window. The Speech pane of System Preferences and the Speech Commands window are accessible by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the window. The Speech Commands window shows the commands that you may speak to the computer. It also displays a log of all recognized commands and the system response enacted.

Some computers have multiple operating systems available on them, which are installed on a different section of the hard drive or attached via external drives. In the Startup Disk preferences pane, you can choose which system to use when you next start up your computer.

Now, let’s look at the accessibility features built into Mac OS X under the Universal Access Preferences.

The options under the Seeing preferences, shown in Figure 5.13, affect the size or contrast of the elements onscreen.

Figure 5.13. The Seeing settings control zoom and contrast options.

Turn Zoom On activates a feature that enlarges the area of the display near the mouse cursor. Using key commands, you can zoom in (Command-Option-=) several levels to examine text or detail in any application, and then zoom back out (Command-Option—). To toggle zoom on or off, use the key command Command-Option-8. In Zoom Options, features such as degree of magnification can be configured.

Switch to White on Black (Command-Option-Control-8) displays white detail on a dark background. You can also toggle the display between color and grayscale, which shows only white, black, and shades of gray. A slider control allows you to vary the contrast between light and dark areas on your screen from a normal level to a maximum. (Key commands Command-Option-Control-, and Command-Option-Control-. decrease and increase contrast, respectively.)

The Hearing pane enables you to have your computer notify you of alert sounds by flashing the screen. You can also open the Sounds Preferences pane to adjust volume.

The Keyboard pane is shown in Figure 5.14. The Sticky Keys option helps with typing key combinations, such as Command-C, so that you can press only one key at a time. After Sticky Keys is set, you can turn the feature on or off by pressing the Shift key five times in succession. You can also use the Set Key Repeat button to open the Keyboard pane settings to minimize accidental multiple key presses.

Figure 5.14. Change keyboard and mouse sensitivity in Universal Access.

For those who would rather use the numeric keypad than the mouse to direct the cursor, you can turn on Mouse Keys under the Mouse pane. Like Sticky Keys, Mouse Keys can be turned on or off by pressing the Option key (instead of Sticky Keys’ Shift key) five times. The Mouse pane also contains settings to control the speed and delay of mouse cursor movement.