ATMac

These articles contain detailed step by step instructions with screen pictures that anybody can generally follow, no matter how little they know of Mac OS X.

Mac OS X has a simple type of automatic word completion built right into it! It’s available in nearly every program you use, and nearly every text box you need to type in.

Did you know that there is a very simple way to get your Mac to speak pretty much any piece of text?

An application “needing attention”, in Apple’s language, is one that’s waiting for you to tell it something before it can keep going and isn’t the app you’re currently working with. Here’s how to set things up so the computer will use the system voice to tell you that an alert is being displayed.

When you use the zoom function Mac OS X automatically smoothes the zoomed image - this isn’t always what’s wanted.

If an application displays an alert, Mac OS X will bounce its dock icon a few times - easy to miss. Here’s how to set things up so the computer will also use the system voice to tell you what’s going on.

If you have a MacBook with a trackpad or a mouse with a scroll wheel, there’s a very simple way to zoom in to see something small on the screen.

Did you know that the open dialog and save dialog boxes can show you files as icons just like the Finder can? If you are using Leopard, it even shows the icon previews like Finder. If you have trouble finding the right file with the usual list display, this can be very helpful.

I have noticed in several places now that some people are confused about what’s “VoiceOver” and what’s “Text to Speech” in terms of Mac OS X. This post is to attempt to clarify what each one is and why it’s important to know which one you’re talking about if you’re asking for help.

It’s easy for anybody to loose track of time when they’re using a computer, and if you have a neurological or attention problem then you may get even more lost than most. Here’s how to get your computer to regularly announce the time.

Mac OS X makes an alert “beep” sound if you try to press a key that’s not recognised or do various other things that confuse it. Here’s how to set it up so you will get a visual screen flash instead of the audio beep.