Innholdsfortegnelse for Volume 13 i The Mac Book

OS X is the beating heart inside every Mac, whether it’s the extremely portable Macbook Air or the powerhouse of processing that is the Mac Pro. OS X El Capitan builds on the ground-breaking features and luscious design introduced in OS X Yosemite, refining the experience and improving performance. This new volume of The Mac Book will help you navigate all the far-flung functions and processes of OS X. We cover all the standard OS X apps and guide you through the process of customising your user experience. Next, learn about the features that will shape your productivity with Keynote, iMovie, GarageBand and more. Then discover how to enhance your Mac experience with creative programs such as Final Cut and Logic Pro. Once you have soaked up that wealth of…

Whether you’re sitting down with your first ever Mac or you’ve simply spent years managing your email via an online, browser-based inbox, Mail is worth knowing about. Apple’s email app has been around since the beginning of OS X and remains one of the most powerful ways to take control of every email account you own. If you’ve switched from a PC and are used to Microsoft’s Outlook, Mail’s interface may feel at least a little familiar, if a lot more simple and focussed. Don’t let this straightforward look fool you, though; there are plenty of powerful tools and features under the hood designed to make managing your email easier than ever. In this guide, we’ll run you through from the very beginning. You’ll learn how to set up and…

An underrated and overlooked aspect of the Apple TV is the wonderful screensaver. If your telly has been idle for a while, it will default to a stunning sweeping aerial view of the Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco. If you, like us, are a big fan of video, you can now download it onto your Mac so you can enjoy the sight of this beautiful two-storey bridge whenever you’ve been away from your computer for a while. This tutorial will show you how to download the zipped file from GitHub and set it as your default screensaver option. It will also take you through the steps needed to download something from an unverified source if your security preferences have been set to only allow App Store downloads. System Preferences…

The App Store is a great feature of the Mac and it makes it really easy to find software for your work or personal use. Some apps require payment and because money is involved, there are some pretty good security systems in place to protect you. You must sign in to the App Store with your Apple ID. Once signed in, there is an option for the store to remember your password, so if you make another purchase soon after, you do not need to re-enter it. This is a convenient function, but it is also a less secure option than requiring a password every time you make a purchase. You have a choice of saving the password for 15 minutes or not. It is up to you, but we…

Apple has spent a fair bit of time building a Notes app that has a slightly different design but lots of up-to-date features. It is better than ever and certainly much more useful. Among the fantastic features is support for almost every type of file and content you might want to store in a note. For example, you can add photos, videos, audio, maps, web links, sketches, PDFs and so on. When you click the Share button in an app you now have the option to store the content in a note. Many apps have sharing facilities and we look at a couple in the step-by-step guide. There are others and it makes it easy to build notes and store items you need for a work or personal project. A…

We rarely capture perfect compositions when we take photos. It might be that we’re just not born photographers; perhaps distracting elements were out of our control when shooting; or maybe we’re fully aware that a photo isn’t quite right even as we’re capturing it, but we know that thankfully it can be fixed later. Cropping is one of the simplest yet most effective edits to make and shouldn’t be overlooked by any photographer. Whether it’s done to improve framing or add a fun effect, the Crop tool in Photos is better than ever. Those who have used the Photos app on an iOS device will be familiar with the features and functions now found in the OS X equivalent, as many have now crossed platforms. Photos Make creative crops in…

Our eyes do a great job of judging what is white, even under different light sources. Digital cameras, on the other hand, have a tough task of getting it right and this can result in blue, orange or even green colour casts that can ruin otherwise perfect images. The iPhone camera does a really good job of ensuring whites come out white, but high-end manual DSLRs can struggle to get the right colour temperature when you move indoors and outdoors during a shoot. A White Balance tool was previously only found in Aperture, Apple’s prolevel image editor, but you can now find it in the Advanced section of Photos’ Adjust menu. There’s even a brilliant Auto tool that saves you a lot of time. Advanced editing in Photos Fix your…

After adding part of a longer video clip to iMovie’s timeline, you can fine-tune where the clip starts and ends using tools such as the Clip Trimmer and the Precision Editor. This ability to edit with frame accuracy enables you to make separate shots cut together seamlessly. One way to make your programme flow more smoothly is to cut on movement. For this tutorial we’ve filmed our feet walking through different locations to create a montage. Thanks to the Precision Editor we can cut the start and end points of consecutive shots so that the movement of the feet flows smoothly over different surfaces. Check out our ‘Precision Edit. mp4’ file to see the results of iMovie’s accurate editing tools. iMovie Make movement flow between clips 1. Trim the clip…

Discover how the useful Master Track can provide a final effects layer for compositions As your creativity and compositions develop within GarageBand, it’s inevitable that certain features become more relevant. Some of these aren’t as immediately obvious as others for beginners, often because they aren’t shown by default. One such feature is the Master Track, sitting in the background of every project you create. Viewable at any time via Track>Show Master Track, it effectively enables you to make changes project-wide and on every track collectively. So you might add Automation on the Master Track to create fades or pans, or use it to apply universal effects. Usually performed within the final stages of mixing, working with the Master Track is essential for finalising a desired sound on your project. Understand…

Pages, which is part of the Mac’s iWork suite of apps, is a featurepacked desktop publishing app that you can use to create any style of document you want. The app comes loaded with a wide variety of document templates that you can use as a basis for your own flyers, posters, business cards, reports, resumes and newsletters and the interface is very accessible so you can get to grips with the app in a very short space of time. If you are still unsure, you can even use the in-app tips to help get you started; to do so simply click on the Tips button at the top of the interface. But here we will provide you with a little further insight into the app to help showcase some…

Whether you want to wow your work colleagues with an eyecatching, interactive report, or you just want a new and imaginative way of showing off your holidays snaps, Keynote has it covered. This app makes piecing together stunning slideshows quick and easy. What’s more, because the app is linked to the Pages and Numbers apps, this means that the interface is universal, which means that you can easily import or cut and paste aspects from the other apps to include, such as charts and tables. Here we show you some of the more intricate functions of the app, which will allow you to make the most out of the Keynote app and take your presentations to a whole new level of intrigue. “This app makes piecing together stunning slide shows…

Spreadsheets have always been used in all walks of life, whether its using them to help you present work related performance figures or helping you manage and keep track of a household budget. The Numbers app has been specifically created to be incredibly versatile and is extremely useful at helping you compile and present key data both easily and effectively to your audience. Although the basic interface is almost identical to Apple’s other iWork apps, Pages and Keynote, there is plenty of power under the hood to tailor and calculate the information presented in your spreadsheets to suit your needs. Here we take a look at some of the app’s key features and learn how to apply them to your own work. “The Numbers app is incredibly versatile at helping…

Logic Pro X 10.1 delivered a few tweaks to the Retro Synth software instrument, including the ability to use any audio file as the basis for generating custom wavetables for the synth’s Table mode. Based on the legendary PPG Wave synthesizer of the early Eighties, this uses wavetable synthesis, a process ideal for creating evolving textures and glassy, clinical sounds. When you create a custom wavetable, the synth analyses the source audio and generates a number of waveforms from it. These are inserted into a wavetable that can then be swept through using the synth’s Shape knobs to select the source waveform for each of the synth’s two oscillators. It’s easy to set up and fun to experiment with. Remember to download the tutorial files from FileSilo.co.uk/bks-947. Making waves Create…

The inclusion of Alchemy in the Logic Pro update is something of a double bonus for synth fans. Its innovative Transform Pad, which enables users to smoothly morph between eight different snapshot versions of the same preset, has been added to Logic’s list of Smart Controls layouts, providing a faster alternative to opening the synth’s plug-in window and tweaking individual parameters. What’s really cool, though, is that you don’t have to be using Alchemy to take advantage of this amazing feature – the Transform Pad layout can be used with any synth you have at your disposal, as long as you don’t mind a little initial tinkering to set it up t Transformation Explore brave new soundscapes with the Transform Pad Stay with me When you make an assignment, or…

If you are familiar with Photoshop, then you may have used layer masks to mix sections of one shot with parts of another picture to create a photo montage. Thanks to Final Cut Pro’s Shape Mask option, you can perform a similar task with two separate video clips. By placing the two clips on parallel layers you can play both clips at the same time; a shape mask pokes a hole in the top layer to combine sections of that clip with details on the layer below. Shape masks provide ways to produce customised montage sequences that can enhance your videos in creative ways. We’ll show you how to customise shape masks to mix the content of two video layers together with precision. Final Cut Pro X Combine clips using…

One of the best things about making use of your Mac’s menu bar is that it offers a simple way to not only access some core settings, but also to explore shortcuts and extra features from some of the most popular OS X apps. However, if you’re an avid app installer, chances are your menu bar is going to start looking fairly cluttered in no time at all, leaving a mess of icons littering the top of your display. By downloading the Bartender app, you can add a new and discrete menu bar that sits underneath your current bar, and best of all, the app is completely free to download (bit.ly/QNPVWK). Use the following steps to get your Mac’s menu bar back on track and looking great again. Set up…

Hands up all those who know what font management means. Nobody? Well on the Mac and within OS X, good font management should extend beyond dropping new typefaces into the Library>Fonts folder. There’s also little excuse for failing to take greater care of these licensed assets thanks to OS X’s Font Book app. This handy system utility is found within your Applications folder and automatically lists all installed typefaces, itemising families between Computer and Users. From here you can easily preview styles and crucially enable or disable fonts to control access. New collections and libraries can also be created, fonts exported, validated and any detected duplicates turned off. Font Book explained Pick out, identify and recognise the core areas of the Font Book app interface Resolve duplicates Font Book scans…

Some people need Windows to run software that is not available for OS X and others just like to explore new operating systems and software. Whatever the reason for wanting to run it on your Mac, you can be assured that it runs well. Windows applications can run in OS X using Parallels Desktop (parallels.com), which enables you to install Microsoft’s OS in a window like an app. Parallels lets you download a free trial of Windows 10, but in this tutorial we look at the full OS, which is available as a download from microsoftstore.com. Click the Software menu and select Windows. Click Windows 10 Home and then Buy Windows 10 (download). Save the .iso file to the Downloads folder and you are ready to install it. Customise the…

We all know that Apple is super-serious about privacy and security when it come to their products, so much so that it’s willing to take on the US Government in order to keep your info under lock and key. Macs are also incredibly virus-resistant but that doesn’t mean you can just relax. Goldfinger, Mission Impossible and Ocean’s Eleven have all shown us that even the most secure locations aren’t completely impenetrable, so we’ve gathered together over 101 expert tips, tricks, secrets and apps to make sure that your Mac is locked up tighter than Harry Houdini’s piggy bank. When you think about computer safety your mind probably heads directly to viruses and rightly so, because they are certainly the most frustrating things to deal with. But there are many other…

One of the many new features in OS X is Split View, a subtle tweak useful for streamlining your app workflow. Until now, any apps maximised to full screen dominated the desktop space, making it impossible to work across two side-by-side. Split View rectifies this, enabling you to choose a pair of supporting apps to share the current desktop space. Working hand-in-hand with a revamped Mission Control, Split View can be easily initiated using each app’s green maximise button in the top-left corner. Hold this down and a blue overlay toggles the left and right sides of the screen, snapping current and neighbouring apps to the desired areas. It’s a neat trick and one to take for granted once mastered. Split View in action We take a quick look at…

The Maps app in OS X does more than just display maps – it can also provide directions to help you get from one place to another. At one time this just meant driving directions, but with the latest version of Maps there is an option to get public transport directions, which is a brilliant feature. Don’t expect Maps to know bus routes in a tiny village in the middle of the countryside, but major cities are well covered. In our example on these pages, we are planning a trip to London and will arrive at Euston Station by train. We then want to get to Trafalgar Square using public transport. It is the sort of trip that lots of people might want to take and the Maps app is…

When you migrated from iPhoto to Photos earlier this year, everything should’ve copied across perfectly. Admittedly, some users have reported problems, but for the vast majority, all their albums, faces, projects and metadata was present and correct. But you’ve been snapping away ever since with your iPhone, and because iCloud Photo Library is enabled, you’ve now got a library that’s frankly a mess, packed with failed selfies and useless screenshots. In this tutorial we’ll look to show you the best ways to keep on top of your library going forward. You can start by deleting unwanted pictures straight away, but we’ll also guide you through Smart Albums, Faces and tweaking the metadata. Vital library management Master Photos’ organisational tools to get a trim library Back-up options It’s very important to…

When recording interviews with a range of people, some will talk loudly, while others may have softer, quieter voices. This can lead to inconsistent sound levels in your video. When playing back your video on YouTube, viewers may have to continually adjust their volume to compensate for the inconsistency. Fortunately iMovie has tools to help you produce consistent sound levels. Audio waveforms provide a visual indication of the strength or weakness of a clip’s sound levels. Clips with a healthy sound level will feature the occasional yellow peak, while loud distorted sections will appear as red tips. You can alter your clips’ audio waveforms to produce healthier and more consistent sound levels. iMovie Use colour-coded audio waveforms 1. Import your clips Choose File>New Event. Label the event. Click the Import…

Due to the high quality of video that can now be recorded on iPads, iPhones as well as digital cameras, it’s now possible to work with green/blue-screen effects in the iMovie app. A green/blue screen can be used to superimpose a subject or object onto a new background. This is done by shooting a subject with a green or blue backdrop behind them – often something as simple as a green sheet – and throwing light on it. iMovie can then remove all the green from the shot leaving just the subject. You can then add whatever background you want, whether it is moving footage or a still image. In this tutorial we will demonstrate how you can use iMovie’s intuitive green/blue screen effect on your shots to give them…

In the grand scheme of music production, there are a few staple techniques worth mastering. GarageBand, thankfully, makes many incredibly simple for newbies, but something like fading tracks can still be tricky for the uninitiated. What we’re really referring to here is raising and lowering volume levels to fade-in or fade-out individual tracks, or indeed the whole project. This is useful for ‘ducking’ passages to perhaps emphasise lead instruments, or more commonly, creating professionalsounding beginning and end points. Typically sections or songs introduce and exit using slow gradual fades to avoid being jarring to the ear, something we often take for granted as listeners. Here’s how to achieve that effect. Find your feet with fades The key interface areas for recognising what track fades should look like Move track automation…

You will be surprised just how easy it is to create professionallooking documents in the Pages app. Obviously you can create very formulaic documents with everything arranged like a grid, but if you want to get more creative then all the tools you need are within easy reach. One example is by wrapping text around images to make the pages look more dynamic. Go to the Arrange tab within the Format column and you will see the Text Wrap menu, If the image itself is rectangular then the process is as easy as choosing the Text Wrap option, choosing how the text fits around it and then adjusting the spacing, if the image is a different shape then there are other tools you can use to get the text wrapping…

Keynote is packed with features to help you produce professional looking slides for captivating an audience. You can get creative with shapes to add flair to your presentation. By clicking on the Shape button at the top of the Keynote interface, you can access a range of predefined shapes that you can add and fill with words or pictures. Alternatively, you have the option to draw your own shapes freehand. This is made surprisingly easy, you just plot the points, join them up and then fine-tune the angles and curves to suit your needs. You can then go to town tweaking the colour scheme or importing you own photos to fill the shapes. The tools available in Keynote indulge your creativity and you’ll be surprised by what you can create…

The Numbers app is highly versatile at helping you create your own spreadsheets to record and calculate data. Once you have done so, and you decide you want to display this data in an attractive chart then this is also very easy to do. Once you have entered the data that you wish to display into a table, you can then select this table and choose a chart to reflect it from a wide array of 2D, 3D and interactive examples. As soon as you choose a chart, your data will be automatically processed and then displayed within it. However, the chances are that it won’t be a perfect representation straight off the bat, but don’t worry, we’ll show you have to go in and tweak various aspects so that…

The main component of Logic’s recent 10.2 update was the inclusion of the powerful sample-manipulation synth known as Alchemy. Originally developed by Camel Audio, Alchemy represents a significant addition to Logic’s instrument lineup. Not only does the 10.2 update add the synth itself and an accompanying library of more than 3,000 presets, you can also use Logic’s extensive EXS24 library as a basis for your own custom Alchemy patches. The sheer potential is mind-blowing, since Alchemy enables you to morph sounds between four layers, each based on one of a selection of six different synthesis types. Here’s a very brief introduction to what’s achievable with this synth beast. Logic Pro X Get to grips with Alchemy 1. Download Additional Content To get the full set of 3,100 presets, first go…

When working in Final Cut Pro X, you can add multiple layers of sound, video, titles and transitions to the Timeline to create part of your programme. But this can cause the Timeline to become cluttered with various icons and thumbnails on multiple layers. If you then decide that you want to move a multi-layered section to a new location, you’ll need to select all of that section’s layered components. It’s quite possible that you might fail to select an audio file or a caption. By converting multiple layers into a single flattened compound clip, however, you can drag and drop (or copy and paste) the clip into a new Timeline location (or even a different project) without losing any important components. Final Cut Pro X Create and use a…

Although much of the latest Star Wars movie was shot on physically constructed sets, there were scenes that required actors to be composited into sci-filocations using the classic blue-screen technique. By shooting your Star Wars action figures against a blue card, you can indulge in some home studio compositing without a Hollywood budget. Using Final Cut Pro’s Keyer effects, you can add your Star Wars figures to a range of locations. As well as the blue screen assets for this project, we’ve also supplied an alien planet we created in Photoshop, to demonstrate how you can augment a clip with computer generated elements. We’ll also show you how to add keyframes that help add movement. Composite clips Use Keyer effects to mix footage as layers Shooting blue screen We shot…

In a world where storage space costs plenty more than it should and the urge for thinner, lighter and faster Macs shows no sign of stopping, finding a cheap way to save space on your Mac is more important than ever. Utility apps are therefore among the most popular entries on the Mac App Store, all of them shouting about being the best and most thorough. Now in its fourth generation, DaisyDisk is a stalwart of the Utility section, providing a cost-effective way of analysing disk usage and freeing up crucial space on your hard drive and peripheral disks. We’ll walk you through the way the DaisyDisk app works, from the initial scanning process to its visual results and even how to delete the unwanted files and folders the app…

CleanMyMac 3 is a great disk clean-up tool that finds junk and unnecessary files. It is a general tool that cleans all parts of the system, but this tutorial focuses on its ability to optimise the Photos library containing digital camera and phone photos. Whenever a photo is edited, the Photos app keeps the original image, makes a copy and performs the action on the copy, such as rotating it, adjusting the brightness, contrast and so on. This means that multiple copies of the photo are stored on disk, which wastes space. CleanMyMac scans the Photos library, finds these duplicates and lets you delete them to free up disk space. It does not delete anything you need, but it is wise to have a backup in place. CleanMyMac 3 Find…

To access FileSilo, please visit filesilo.co.uk/bks-947 01 Follow the on-screen instructions to create an account with our secure FileSilo system, log in and unlock the bookazine by answering a simple question about it. You can then access the content for free at any time, and download it to your desktop. 02 Once you have logged in, you are free to explore the wealth of content available on FileSilo, from great video tutorials and exclusive online guides to superb downloadable resources. And the more bookazines you purchase, the more your instantly accessible collection of digital content will grow. 03 You can access FileSilo on any desktop, tablet or smartphone device using any popular browser (such as Safari, Firefox or Google Chrome). However, we recommend that you use a desktop to download…

El Capitan might not be new now, but there’s still plenty left to explore. With Apple’s Keynotes getting increasingly busy, there is less and less time devoted to OS X, which means that there are still hidden features to find and tips and tricks to master, long after the dust has settled on the App Store. With so many headline features like Split View and Metal dedicated to the power users, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this update is designed to make your Mac more powerful than ever. Unfortunately, there are plenty of cases where the opposite is true. System Integrity Protection, a new security feature, is putting a stop to a number of hacks and customisation apps and even simple things like securely emptying the Trash are now…

If there’s one thing that defines Mac computing, it’s digital creativity. As the platform of choice for designers, publishers, and photographers, Macs are founded on a proud integrity for visual apps. Critical to this is accurately interpreting colour data and translating that into an output for your display. The idea is that whatever you view on one Mac should look the same on another, while also avoiding surprises when it comes to printing. Thankfully OS X lets users select standardised colour profiles or generate new ones, specific to the machine. El Capitan continues to offer a Display Calibrator Assistant under System Preferences, so in this guide we’ll walk through the various options. System Preferences Achieve perfect calibration 1. Display Calibrate Open System Preferences and choose the second icon, second row…

With the release of OS X El Capitan, Apple has consciously placed more emphasis on improving performance over obvious updates. So while revamps to certain features are not wholesale, this general streamlining does apply to aspects like app workflow. Mission Control remains central here, by providing rapid access to organising apps across multiple ‘spaces’ or desktops. The latest iteration of Mission Control makes fairly subtle but useful tweaks, such as placing app windows more relatively and arranging them within a single layer. Integration with new features such as Split View, plus the ability to spawn new spaces by dragging apps upwards all help to maximise the usability experience. Mission Control Improve your app workflow 1. Ready for launch Enter Mission Control in a number of ways. Use the third from…

Disk Utility is an app that enables you to repair disk faults and prepare new disks for use with your Mac. It can perform a variety of functions; some are straightforward and anyone can use them, while others are for experienced Mac users only. Knowing how to check that the Mac’s disk is okay and to repair faults is something that everyone should know and we cover this first in the tutorial. Some of the later functions like partitioning are easy to perform, but should not be attempted on the Mac’s internal boot disk unless you are an expert. Experiment with a USB flash memory drive (thumb drive) and try out all of Disk Utility’s functions on it. It is a safe way to learn how to master Disk Utility.…

When you need to find an app, document or other file, Spotlight has been the go-to tool for Mac users. An updated version is in OS X El Capitan, boasting some great new features and even better searches. For example, Spotlight can be resized and moved around the screen almost like a regular window, which prevents it getting in the way of other apps on the screen and shows more search results. The range of Spotlight’s searches is wider than before and it can find even more content on the web than ever. There is no need to fire up Safari when performing a web search when you can hit Cmd+Space and enter a Spotlight search. It also has a better understanding of search queries, too. Intelligent Spotlight searches Get…

If you’re anything like us then you’ll absolutely love taking, editing and sharing photos on your Mac. And thanks to devices like the iPhone, iPad, and powerful modern digital cameras, taking great photos is easier than it ever has been before. Fifty years ago, though, it was a completely different story – you may only have a select few photos from your younger days, making them all incredibly precious. Over the years these images can become creased, lost, or just damaged by light, which can be devastating if there isn’t another copy. But don’t worry, because Photos gives you a few handy tools to help you restore these shots back to their former glory so you can keep them safe – and looking great – for years to come. Fix…

There are plenty of reasons why you’d want to sync audio in iMovie. One being that you have a separate audio recording from an external device that you’ve shot (such as an audio recording of a band performing live) that you want to sync with your video footage. Another common reason is that the audio in your video clip is out of sync with the visuals. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as a recording error when shooting footage. Luckily with the iMovie app, audio can be synced up in just a few quick minutes. Syncing audio can be a trial and error approach since there isn’t a ‘sync audio’ button or tool within the software, but here we show you how to manually sync up audio…

As part of GarageBand’s 10.1 update, Apple has kindly added a raft of new loops, Drummers and synth sounds to the app. The latter is particularly alluring to fans for the powerful capabilities across House and beat-heavy compositions, termed as EDM or Electronic Dance Music. In fact the additions incorporate 100 EDM and Hip-Hop flavoured synths. The Transform Pad Smart Control introduces a more fluid mode of operation, facilitating a variety of performance states on the fly. From Sweeping Arp to Pumping Synth Waves, GarageBand now makes it much easier to emulate those trademark audio tricks. Over the next few steps we’ll identify how these new synths can be used most effectively. GarageBand Use the new EDM/Hip-Hop synth sounds 1. Short-start synths A great way to discover the new synths…

For guitarists in GarageBand, we know that there is almost limitless choice of amp selections and effects. From choosing preconfigured stack patches, tweaking Smart Controls and chaining stompboxes, players can achieve some awesome tones. However, many musicians don’t realise that the output of this sound doesn’t go straight into the input of GarageBand’s ‘mixing desk’ directly. Instead, guitars output through virtual amp cabinets before being monitored and recorded by virtual microphones. These default microphone setups can be changed to affect significant sonic adjustments. Just like in a real live studio environment, mic types and crucially placement can all be intuitively rearranged. GarageBand Improve amp sounds by configuring microphones 1. A guitar track To begin, you need a track within your project with an electric guitar patch selected. It can be…

As you will now be aware, it is easy to create professional looking documents in the Pages app thanks to its intuitive interface and control system. But if you want to go beyond mere images and text and include eye-catching tables and charts to display key data in your documents then the process is just as straightforward. By clicking on the Table and Chart buttons at the top of the interface you can choose from a wide array of styles and colours and, once you have selected one, go to work editing the data displayed to suit your needs. Here we will guide you through the process of editing the data, adding functions to the cells of your tables and ensuring that your charts contain all of the relevant information…

It is incredibly quick and easy to create professional-looking presentations in the Keynote app, and if you want to take your slides to the next level then you should consider embedding movies into them to really wow your audience. You can add any kind of media – photos, music and movies – by clicking on the Media button at the top of the interface and then navigating to the piece of media that you wish to use. You can position and resize your imported movies anywhere on your slide and tinker around with the various options to ensure that they are effective. In this tutorial we will guide you through the process of embedding a movie and explore the various options available to ensure it enhances your slide. Keynote Adding…

We have discovered how the numerous formatting and style options available in the Numbers app allow you to create some eye-catching charts and tables. But if you want to go that extra mile and add media to your sheets then don’t worry because this is made incredibly easy thanks to some simple options. By clicking on the Media button at the top of the interface, you can import images, sound files and movies into your spreadsheets, all of which add more flair and personality, which may be the difference between losing an audience midway through your presentation or keeping them enthralled to the very end. In this tutorial we will show you how to import and use media to enhance your Numbers spreadsheets. Numbers Adding media charts in Numbers 1.…

As we’ve now seen, Apple’s acquisition of Camel Audio back in January of this year has borne fruit with the addition, in Logic Pro X 10.2, of the incredible Alchemy sample-manipulating wondersynth. Yet one bonus of this that may have been overlooked by some is the fact that the newer, improved Alchemy is now able to load EXS24 sampler instruments. This means that your entire EXS24 factory library, any third-party .exs format instruments, plus any custom instruments that you may have created yourself, are now fair game for a thorough mangling with Alchemy’s very powerful set of tools. If this sounds like music to your ears, here’s how to breathe new life into your old EXS24 sounds. Logic Pro X Resurrect EXS24 instruments with Alchemy 1. Load up Alchemy In…

High Definition (HD) video clips are recorded at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Thanks to affordable gadgets like the GoPro you can now shoot video clips at 3840 x 2160, which is much larger than HD. Although Ultra High Definition (or 4K) resolution clips are too large to play at full size on your HD TV or Mac display, you can still work with them in Final Cut Pro to produce very useful HD compatible results. 4K footage gives you many more editing choices. As it’s effectively double the size of HD footage you can crop the 4K footage to re-frame it and it will still be large enough to fill your HD screen. You can then zoom into parts of the frame and then zoom out again without…

The OS X user interface is already excellent and there are settings in System Preferences that enable you to customise it to perfection. However, there are even more settings that are hidden. TinkerTool (bit.ly/1MCIHzd) is a free utility that exposes them and enables you to alter the interface beyond what is normally possible on your machine. For example, there are two window animation settings in Dock in System Preferences, but TinkerTool exposes a third one. This is just one of dozens of secret settings that change how OS X works for you. Some of these secret settings can even make your Mac run faster. Turning off the eye candy like animations and effects can make OS X feel snappier and helps old hardware. TinkerTool Access secret settings and options 1.…

Disk drives were getting larger and larger, but along came SSDs and they shrank to tiny proportions. If you are now struggling with disk space on your Mac and have a nearly full drive, GrandPerspective (grandperspectiv.sourceforge.net) can help you see what is using the most space. It shows the disk usage as a tree map, which displays files as coloured rectangles. The size is proportional to the size of the file, and so you can instantly spot the biggest files. There are some useful configuration options and the colours used can represent many different things, from the folders files are stored in to the creation date. It is very flexible and by experimenting, you can view the disk usage in different ways. GrandPerspective Analyse disk usage 1. Select a folder…

Finder is a fine tool for exploring your Mac’s disk drive, running applications and opening files of all types. However, it is not the only tool available and there are others, such as Commander One (mac.eltima.com/file-manager.html). This free utility does everything in Finder and it has extra features, too. The most obvious of these is the dual pane display. Two drives or folders are shown side by side and files can easily be copied or moved from one to the other. For people that like to keep their hands firmly on the keyboard, key strokes perform file and folder tasks in a flash. Another great feature is that zip files can be opened like folders, the contents viewed and files copied out without unzipping the archive. Use Commander One features…

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