Chapter 6 Part I

     The Finder is the application that controls the OS X desktop, how files and folders are managed, and many other aspects of the way your MacBook Air operates. Like most applications, the Finder has a set of preferences you can configure to change the way it looks and works. You change Finder preferences using its Preferences command. The Preferences window has several tabs that you use to configure specific aspects of how the Finder looks and behaves.

6.2 Explore the System Preferences Application

     The System Preferences application enables you to configure many different aspects of how your MacBook Air looks and works. By using System Preferences, you can make OS X look and work the way you prefer. System Preferences is one application organized in many different panes, with each pane used to configure a specific aspect of your MacBook Air. You open the pane you want to use to configure a specific area. For example, you use the Dock pane to configure the Dock, and the Network pane to specify how the MacBook Air connects to a network.

6.3 Change General Preferences

     Using the General pane, you can configure the color of buttons, menus, and windows along with the color used when something is highlighted to show that it is selected. You can also configure how scrolling in windows works. You also use the Appearance pane to determine how many items are stored on Recent menus. You can also control how font smoothing works. Font smoothing makes the edges of large letters and numbers look smoother on the screen — they sometimes can look pixelated or “jaggy.”

6.4 Set a Desktop Picture

     As you use your MacBook Air, you look at the desktop quite often. So why not look at something you want to see? To change what your desktop shows, you set the desktop picture. This picture fills the background on the desktop and you see it behind any open windows. Although it is called a desktop picture, you are not limited to pictures. You can use just about any kind of graphic file as a desktop picture.

6.5 Choose a Screen Saver

     Your MacBook Air can display various screen savers when you are not using the screen. While screen savers can provide entertainment, they are most useful for preventing other people from seeing what is displayed on-screen. You can require a password to stop the screen saver, which is a good security measure.

6.6 Set and Configure the Clock

     OS X displays the current time at the right end of the menu bar for your reference; it also stamps all the files and folders you use with the time and date they were created, when they were changed, and when they were last opened. So it is important to make sure your MacBook Air has the correct time set. You can set the time and date either manually or automatically using a time server.