apple.com: iMac (Early 2006), iMac (Mid 2006), Mac mini (Early 2006): How to reset the System Management Controller
No more logic board resets. Just power-cycling the machine, including unplugging the input devices, will supposedly do the job now.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Monday, July 10, 2006
TIPS & TRICKS: Combining PDFs using Automator in OS X
The more I use Automator the more I appreciate the power of OS X.
Using Adobe Acrobat, there's a built-in feature that allows for the inserting of PDF pages from other files. However, on my Mac I want to avoid installing Acrobat (personal preference). But, I'd still like the feature of being able to combine PDF files. Enter Automator. I was able to create a workflow that allows me to just highlight specific PDF files (without them being even open), and choose the Automator action to combine them. Here's a Macworld article with simple instructions:
http://www.macworld.com/2005/09/features/tigertips3/index1.php
Or the text here:
- In Automator’s Library column, click on Finder
- Drag Get Specified Finder Items from the Action column into the Workflow area on the right of the Automator window
- Next, drag the Sort Finder Items action into the Workflow area, below the already-placed action. If you don’t want to sort by name, click on the pop-up menus to choose another criterion and sort order
- Click on PDF in the Library column, and then drag Combine PDF Pages from the Action column and place it at the bottom of the Workflow area
- Select the Finder in the Library column again, and drag the Open Finder Items from the Action column to the bottom of the Workflow area
- To turn this Automator action into something you can use directly from the Finder, choose File: Save As Plug-In
- Give your action a meaningful name (Combine PDFs, for instance). Leave the Plug-in For pop-up menu set to Finder, and click on Save
- To put it to use, quit Automator and switch to the Finder.
- Select each of your PDFs, using the shift and/or Command keys as necessary to select them all, and then control-click on one of the selected files
- Choose Automator: Combine PDFs (or whatever you called it) from the pop-up menu; then just sit back and wait a bit
- Depending on the size of the PDFs, and how many PDFs you chose, the process will take from a few seconds to a few minutes
- Select File: Save to save it to the location of your choice
Using Adobe Acrobat, there's a built-in feature that allows for the inserting of PDF pages from other files. However, on my Mac I want to avoid installing Acrobat (personal preference). But, I'd still like the feature of being able to combine PDF files. Enter Automator. I was able to create a workflow that allows me to just highlight specific PDF files (without them being even open), and choose the Automator action to combine them. Here's a Macworld article with simple instructions:
http://www.macworld.com/2005/09/features/tigertips3/index1.php
Or the text here:
- In Automator’s Library column, click on Finder
- Drag Get Specified Finder Items from the Action column into the Workflow area on the right of the Automator window
- Next, drag the Sort Finder Items action into the Workflow area, below the already-placed action. If you don’t want to sort by name, click on the pop-up menus to choose another criterion and sort order
- Click on PDF in the Library column, and then drag Combine PDF Pages from the Action column and place it at the bottom of the Workflow area
- Select the Finder in the Library column again, and drag the Open Finder Items from the Action column to the bottom of the Workflow area
- To turn this Automator action into something you can use directly from the Finder, choose File: Save As Plug-In
- Give your action a meaningful name (Combine PDFs, for instance). Leave the Plug-in For pop-up menu set to Finder, and click on Save
- To put it to use, quit Automator and switch to the Finder.
- Select each of your PDFs, using the shift and/or Command keys as necessary to select them all, and then control-click on one of the selected files
- Choose Automator: Combine PDFs (or whatever you called it) from the pop-up menu; then just sit back and wait a bit
- Depending on the size of the PDFs, and how many PDFs you chose, the process will take from a few seconds to a few minutes
- Select File: Save to save it to the location of your choice
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
TIPS & TRICKS: Screen Capture using built-in tools
Have you ever wanted to take a picture of what's on your screen to show someone what you're talking about? A basic feature of modern OS's is to be able to do just that.
In Windows XP:
1. Find the Print Screen or Prt Scn button usually located on the upper left side fo the keyboard.
2. Hit the key once.
3. Find and open Paint, usually found in Start>All Programs>Accessories.
4. Paste into Paint, either with CTRL V or go up to Edit and select the Paste option.
5. Finally save the file as a JPG by going up to File>Save As, making sure to change the file format to JPG before saving.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: You can also do a capture of just the current window, instead of the entire screen. In step 2, hit the ALT before hitting the Print Screen button. Then follow the rest of the directions as indicated.
In OS X (taken from OS X Help):
- To take a picture of the whole screen, press Command-Shift-3. (Command a.k.a. Apple Key)
- To take a picture of part of the screen, press Command-Shift-4, then drag to select the area you want in the picture.
- To take a picture of a window, the menu bar, the Dock, or other area, press Command-Shift-4, then press the Space bar. Move the pointer over the area you want so that it's highlighted, then click. If you decide you want to drag to select the area, press the Space bar again.
- If you press Command-Shift-4 and decide you don't want to take the screen shot, press the Escape key.
- Screen shots are saved as files on the desktop. If you want to put the screen shot in the Clipboard, rather than create a file, hold down the Control key when you press the other keys. You can then paste the picture into a document.
- You can also take pictures of the screen using the Grab application (in the Utilities folder).
In Windows XP:
1. Find the Print Screen or Prt Scn button usually located on the upper left side fo the keyboard.
2. Hit the key once.
3. Find and open Paint, usually found in Start>All Programs>Accessories.
4. Paste into Paint, either with CTRL V or go up to Edit and select the Paste option.
5. Finally save the file as a JPG by going up to File>Save As, making sure to change the file format to JPG before saving.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: You can also do a capture of just the current window, instead of the entire screen. In step 2, hit the ALT before hitting the Print Screen button. Then follow the rest of the directions as indicated.
In OS X (taken from OS X Help):
- To take a picture of the whole screen, press Command-Shift-3. (Command a.k.a. Apple Key)
- To take a picture of part of the screen, press Command-Shift-4, then drag to select the area you want in the picture.
- To take a picture of a window, the menu bar, the Dock, or other area, press Command-Shift-4, then press the Space bar. Move the pointer over the area you want so that it's highlighted, then click. If you decide you want to drag to select the area, press the Space bar again.
- If you press Command-Shift-4 and decide you don't want to take the screen shot, press the Escape key.
- Screen shots are saved as files on the desktop. If you want to put the screen shot in the Clipboard, rather than create a file, hold down the Control key when you press the other keys. You can then paste the picture into a document.
- You can also take pictures of the screen using the Grab application (in the Utilities folder).
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