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iMac For Dummies, 11th Edition
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iMac For Dummies, 11th Edition
by Mark L. Chambers
iMac For Dummies, 11th Edition
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Part 1: Getting Started with Your iMac
Part 2: Shaking Hands with macOS
Part 3: Connecting and Communicating
Part 4: Living the Digital Life
Part 5: Getting Productive with YouriMac
Part 6: The Necessary Evils: Troubleshooting, Upgrading, and Maintaining
Part 7: The Part of Tens
Index
About the Author
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
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Prev
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Title Page
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Introduction
iMac® For Dummies®
To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to
www.dummies.com
and search for “iMac For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Foolish Assumptions
About This Book
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started with Your iMac
Chapter 1: Okay, This Machine Looks Really, Really Weird
Intel iMac or M1 iMac — That Is the Question
An Introduction to the Beast
Choosing a Home for Your New Pet
Unpacking and Connecting
Discovering All the Cool Things You Can Do
Stuff You Oughta Buy Right Now
Chapter 2: Life! Give My iMac Life!
Throwing the Big Leaf Switch
Mark’s Favorite Signs of a Healthy iMac
Harriet, It’s Already Asking Me Questions!
Importing Documents and Data from Your Old Mac
Manually Importing Documents and Data from Windows
Chapter 3: The Basics Behind macOS Monterey
Your Own Personal Operating System
Wait a Second: Where the Heck Are the Mouse Buttons?
Launching and Quitting Applications with Aplomb
Performing Tricks with Finder Windows
Juggling Folders and Icons
Keystrokes to Fame and Fortune
Speeding Things Up with Shortcuts
Home, Sweet Home Folder
Working with Mission Control
Personalizing Your Desktop
Taking Control of Your iMac
Customizing the Dock
What’s with the Trash?
All You Really Need to Know about Printing
And Just in Case You Need Help …
Part 2: Shaking Hands with macOS
Chapter 4: What’s New in Monterey?
Shortcuts Hit Your iMac
Let’s Get Focused
Putting Tags to Work
Hiding Email the iCloud Way
FaceTime … Over the Web?
Chapter 5: A Nerd’s Guide to System Preferences
An Explanation — without Jargon, No Less
Locating That Certain Special Setting
Popular Preferences Panes Explained
Chapter 6: Searching Amidst iMac Chaos
Doing a Basic Search
How Cool Is That? Discovering What Spotlight Can Do
Expanding Your Search Horizons
Customizing Spotlight to Your Taste
Chapter 7: Putting Common Apps to Work
Remind Me to Use Reminders
Taking Notes the Monterey Way
Staying Current with Notification Center
Introducing the Maps Application
Switching Views in Maps
Getting Directions Over Yonder
Creating and Using Guides
Catching Up on News
Using Favorites and Channels
Part 3: Connecting and Communicating
Chapter 8: Let’s Go on Safari!
Pretend You’ve Never Used This Thing
Visiting Websites
Navigating the Web
Configuring Your Home Page and Start Page
Adding and Using Bookmarks
Working with the Reading List
Downloading Files
Using History
Tabs Are Your Browsing Friends
Printing Web Pages
Protecting Your Privacy
Chapter 9: Expanding Your Horizons with iCloud
So How Does iCloud Work, Anyway?
Moving, Saving, and Opening iCloud Documents
Putting Handoff to Work
Expanding Your Horizons with Sidecar
Configuring iCloud
Managing Your iCloud Storage
Chapter 10: Creating a Multiuser iMac
Once Upon a Time (an Access Fairy Tale)
Big-Shot Administrator Stuff
Tackling Mundane Chores for the Multiuser iMac
Chapter 11: Working Well with Networks
What Exactly Is the Network Advantage?
Should You Go Wired or Wireless?
Be a Pal: Share Your Internet!
What Do I Need to Connect?
Connecting to the Network
Use Your Firewall!
Chapter 12: Hooking Up with Handy Helpers
Connecting Printers
Connecting Scanners
Using Photo Booth
Conversing with FaceTime
Sending Instant Messages Across the Network
Part 4: Living the Digital Life
Chapter 13: The Multimedia Joys of Music and TV
What Can I Play in Music?
Playing Digital Audio Files
Keeping Slim Whitman and Slim Shady Apart: Organizing with Playlists
Know Your Songs
Ripping Audio Files
Tweaking the Audio for Your Ears
A New Kind of Radio Station
iSending iStuff to iPhone and iPad
Burning Music to Shiny Plastic Circles
Feasting on Music Visuals
Exercising Parental Authority
Watching Video with TV
Buying Digital Media the Apple Way
Chapter 14: Focusing on Photos
Delving into Photos
Working with Images in Photos
Exploring iCloud Photos
Putting My Photo Stream and iCloud Shared Albums to Work
Chapter 15: Making Film History with iMovie
Shaking Hands with the iMovie Window
A Bird’s-Eye View of Moviemaking
Importing the Building Blocks
Building the Cinematic Basics
Creating an Honest-to-Goodness Movie Trailer
Browsing Your Video Library
Sharing Your Finished Classic
Chapter 16: Recording Your Hits with GarageBand
Shaking Hands with Your Band
Composing Made Easy
Sharing Your Songs
Part 5: Getting Productive with YouriMac
Chapter 17: Desktop Publishing with Pages
Creating a New Pages Document
Opening an Existing Pages Document
Saving Your Work
Touring the Pages Window
Entering and Editing Text
Using Text, Shapes, and Graphics Boxes
The Three Amigos: Cut, Copy, and Paste
Formatting Text the Easy Way
Adding a Spiffy Table
Adding Alluring Photos
Adding a Background Shape
Are You Sure about That Spelling?
Setting Your Font Defaults to Speed Things Up
Printing Your Pages Documents
Sharing That Poster with Others
Chapter 18: Creating Spreadsheets with Numbers
Before You Launch Numbers …
Creating a New Numbers Document
Opening an Existing Spreadsheet File
Save Those Spreadsheets!
Exploring the Numbers Window
Navigating and Selecting Cells in a Spreadsheet
Entering and Editing Data in a Spreadsheet
Selecting the Correct Number Format
Aligning Cell Text Just So
Formatting with Shading
Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns
The Formula Is Your Friend
Adding Visual Punch with a Chart
Printing Your Spreadsheet
Chapter 19: Building Presentations with Keynote
Creating a New Keynote Project
Opening a Keynote Presentation
Saving Your Presentation
Putting Keynote to Work
Adding Slides
Working with Text, Shapes, and Graphics Boxes
Adding and Editing Slide Text
Formatting Slide Text for the Perfect Look
Using Presenter’s Notes in Your Project
Every Good Presentation Needs Media
Adding a Background Shape
Creating Your Keynote Slideshow
Printing Your Slides and Notes
Part 6: The Necessary Evils: Troubleshooting, Upgrading, and Maintaining
Chapter 20: It Just … Sits … There
Repeat after Me: Yes, I Am a Tech!
Step-by-Step iMac Troubleshooting
Okay, I Kicked It, and It Still Won’t Work
Chapter 21: I Want to Add Stuff
More Memory Will Help
Can I Upgrade My Internal Drive?
Weighing Attractive Add-Ons
Chapter 22: Tackling the Housekeeping
Cleaning Unseemly Data Deposits
Backing Up Your Treasure
Saving Files
Putting Things Right with Time Machine
Maintaining Drive Health
Automating Those Mundane Chores
Updating macOS Automatically
Part 7: The Part of Tens
Chapter 23: Ten Ways to Speed Up Your iMac
Nothing Works Like a Shot of Memory
Hold a Conversation with Your iMac
What’s Up, Siri?
Keep Your Desktop Background Simple
Column Mode Is for Power Users
Make the Dock Do Your Bidding
It All Started with Keyboard Shortcuts
Hey, You Tweaked Your Finder!
Keep in Touch with Your Recent Past
Go Where the Going Is Good
Chapter 24: Ten Things to Avoid Like the Plague
Keep Things Cool
Phishing Is No Phun
Don’t Rely on a Single Password
Do You Really Want a Submerged Keyboard?
Don’t Use Antiquated Utility Software
Don’t Endorse Software Piracy
Call It the Forbidden Account
Don’t Settle for a Surge Suppressor
Refurbished Hardware Is No Deal at All
iMacs Appreciate iCleanliness
Index
About the Author
Advertisement Page
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 2
TABLE 2-1 Moving Media and Documents betwixt Computers
Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 Too-Cool Function Keys
TABLE 3-2 Monterey Keyboard Sequences of Distinction
Chapter 11
TABLE 11-1 Wireless versus Wired Networks
Chapter 13
TABLE 13-1 Common Music Keyboard Shortcuts
Chapter 15
TABLE 15-1 Video Formats Supported by iMovie
Chapter 18
TABLE 18-1 Movement Shortcut Keys in Numbers
Chapter 19
TABLE 19-1 Keynote Slideshow Shortcut Keys
Chapter 20
TABLE 20-1 Intel iMac Start-Up Keys and Their Tricks
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: The charismatic form of your aluminum iMac.
FIGURE 1-2: Only slightly less sexy — it’s the back end of a standard Intel iMa...
FIGURE 1-3: Pages is a great tool for home and office.
FIGURE 1-4: Hey, isn’t that Calendar running on your iMac? You are iTogether!
Chapter 3
FIGURE 3-1: Everything Monterey starts here — the macOS Desktop.
FIGURE 3-2: The Dock can contain all sorts of exotic icons.
FIGURE 3-3: Clicking a menu displays a list of menu commands.
FIGURE 3-4: Welcome to your right-click menu!
FIGURE 3-5: Click a Dock icon to launch that application.
FIGURE 3-6: A plethora of helpful window controls.
FIGURE 3-7: Drag a box around icons to select them.
FIGURE 3-8: Mission Control is the desktop manager in Monterey.
FIGURE 3-9: Choose a Desktop background of more interest.
FIGURE 3-10: The Control Center makes it easy to quickly change global settings...
FIGURE 3-11: Stacks make it easy to access your stuff from the Dock or Desktop.
FIGURE 3-12: The Print sheet is available from any application with any real gu...
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: Creating a new Shortcut using the Edit window.
FIGURE 4-2: I’m focused on uninterrupted productivity.
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: The powerhouse of settings and switches: System Preferences.
FIGURE 5-2: The Sound pane, proudly showing off the Sound Effects section.
FIGURE 5-3: Searching for specific settings is a breeze with the Spotlight Sear...
FIGURE 5-4: The Display pane makes it easy to change your screen resolution.
FIGURE 5-5: Pick your own Desktop background.
FIGURE 5-6: Set your Mission Control preferences here.
FIGURE 5-7: Appearances might not be everything, but they’re easy to find here.
FIGURE 5-8: Reduce your iMac’s power consumption from the Energy Saver pane.
FIGURE 5-9: Customize your Dock and Menu Bar with these controls.
FIGURE 5-10: Use controls on the Sharing pane to share your toys.
FIGURE 5-11: Put Time Machine to work, and your data is always backed up.
FIGURE 5-12: Control and configure your iCloud activity with these settings.
FIGURE 5-13: Each application that uses notifications can be individually confi...
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Lots of power purrs behind this single Spotlight Search box.
FIGURE 6-2: The spacious borders of the Finder Search window.
FIGURE 6-3: Fine-tune your Spotlight settings from System Preferences.
FIGURE 6-4: When certain folders and disks
must
remain private (even from you!)...
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: The main Reminders window in action.
FIGURE 7-2: Editing a reminder.
FIGURE 7-3: The notable Notes application window.
FIGURE 7-4: Notification Center muscles your desktop to the side.
FIGURE 7-5: The Statue of Liberty shines in the Maps application.
FIGURE 7-6: Looks like this pizza joint is highly rated.
FIGURE 7-7: Standard view reminds me of an auto GPS unit.
FIGURE 7-8: The Directions panel is ready to provide directions to your next cr...
FIGURE 7-9: Here’s a Guide for pumpkin lovers in the Big Apple.
FIGURE 7-10: All the news that fits, News displays!
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: Safari at a glance.
FIGURE 8-2: The Share button makes it easy to spread goodness and light!
FIGURE 8-3: Adding your own home page is an easy change you can make.
FIGURE 8-4: The Sidebar's Bookmarks tab puts all your bookmarks in easy reach.
FIGURE 8-5: Hang on, Martha; we’ve struck tabs!
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: iCloud works by pushing data among all your iOS devices.
FIGURE 9-2: Each of these iCloud folders can joyously store documents.
FIGURE 9-3: The iCloud pane appears in System Preferences.
FIGURE 9-4: Checking on your iCloud storage.
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Fill out these fields, and you have a new user.
FIGURE 10-2: Choose the image that best represents a user.
FIGURE 10-3: This is your last chance to save the stuff from a deleted user acc...
FIGURE 10-4: Add apps to your Login Items list.
FIGURE 10-5: You can schedule downtime for restricted accounts.
FIGURE 10-6: Monterey keeps track of content to protect your kids.
FIGURE 10-7: The Fast User Switching menu, unfurled for all to see.
FIGURE 10-8: Configure your login settings from the Login Options pane.
Chapter 11
FIGURE 11-1: All hail DHCP, the magic networking fairy!
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: The main playback controls: Play, Previous, and Next.
FIGURE 13-2: The Music library keeps track of all your audio files.
FIGURE 13-3: View and edit song information here.
FIGURE 13-4: Protect your kids from explicit content.
FIGURE 13-5: My collection of movies appears in TV.
FIGURE 13-6: The iTunes Store offers a world of music for purchase.
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: Photos greets you with an attractive window.
FIGURE 14-2: Adding a new album in Photos.
FIGURE 14-3: Adding another mug to my collection of Faces. (That doesn’t sound ...
FIGURE 14-4: Add keywords to these selected images.
FIGURE 14-5: Photos is now in edit mode. Watch out, image problems!
FIGURE 14-6: Select the stuff you want to keep in your photo.
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: Applying a theme to your movie.
FIGURE 15-2: iMovie is a lean, mean, video-producing machine.
FIGURE 15-3: Pulling still images from Photos is child’s play.
FIGURE 15-4: Calling on my Music library to add Ol’ Blue Eyes to my iMovie.
FIGURE 15-5: Add transitions for flow between clips in iMovie.
FIGURE 15-6: Add titles for your next silent film.
FIGURE 15-7: Build your movie trailer from the Trailer pane.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: The GarageBand window.
FIGURE 16-2: Start creating your new song here.
FIGURE 16-3: The new track appears, ready to rock.
FIGURE 16-4: The Loop Browser is a great hangout for any musician.
FIGURE 16-5: A track with a loop added.
FIGURE 16-6: By repeating a loop, you can keep the notes flowing.
FIGURE 16-7: I just added a new marker in my song’s Arrangement track.
FIGURE 16-8: Finesse your tune by tweaking the sound of a specific track.
Chapter 17
FIGURE 17-1: Select a template from the Choose a Template window.
FIGURE 17-2: The major points of interest in the Pages window.
FIGURE 17-3: Use Table controls to tweak your table.
FIGURE 17-4: Hey, isn’t that the Pages Media Browser?
Chapter 18
FIGURE 18-1: Hey, these templates aren’t frightening at all!
FIGURE 18-2: The Numbers window struts its stuff.
FIGURE 18-3: In the Inspector, you can format the data you’ve entered.
FIGURE 18-4: Set text alignment within a cell.
FIGURE 18-5: Adding shading and colors to cells, rows, and columns is easy in N...
FIGURE 18-6: If you have to use formulas, at least Numbers can enter them for y...
FIGURE 18-7: Numbers displays the range of chart styles you can use.
Chapter 19
FIGURE 19-1: Select a presentation theme from the Choose a Theme window.
FIGURE 19-2: The Keynote window is dominated by the Layout pane.
FIGURE 19-3: It’s not just photos. You can add audio and movie clips to a slide...
FIGURE 19-4: Keynote offers a wide range of printing options for your slides an...
Chapter 20
FIGURE 20-1: Force a recalcitrant application to take off.
FIGURE 20-2: The physician of drives: the Monterey Disk Utility.
FIGURE 20-3: First Aid reports that this drive is error-free.
Chapter 21
FIGURE 21-1: Remove a memory module like a pro.
FIGURE 21-2: Installing the new module is a snap (pun intended)!
Chapter 22
FIGURE 22-1: Manage your storage to reclaim drive space.
FIGURE 22-2: Mine your internal drive for additional files to delete.
FIGURE 22-3: Piriform’s CCleaner for Mac is a great tool for cleaning your iMac...
FIGURE 22-4: Yes, Time Machine really
does
look like this!
FIGURE 22-5: Automator is a dream come true for those who hate repetitive tasks...
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
About the Author
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