Selecting Items

One of the fastest ways to work more efficiently is to learn how to select more than one item at a time.

For example, instead of selecting and deleting one email at a time, you can select some, or all and then delete them all at the same time.

These steps will work for selecting items on the Desktop, in a folder, as well as in Mail, iPhoto, iTunes.

To Select All:

From the Edit menu, choose Select All, or hold down the Command key and type the letter A for All.

To cherry pick, meaning selecting this one and this one, not this one and this one:

1, Click on the first item

2. Hold down the Command key

3. Click on the next and the next and the next

If you accidentally click on one by accident, keep the Command key down and click on it again and it will un-select it.

To Select a Series, meaning many in a row:

1. Click on the first item in the series

2. Hold down the Shift key

3. Click on the last item in the series and all will be highlighted.

Bonus: You can combine these tricks to select MOST:

Select All or Select a Series Hold down the Command key and click on the items you DON’T want to include.

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Creating Page Breaks in Word Processing Documents

Many of my clients create word processing documents that are longer than one page. They press the Return key to create enough blank lines to have certain text begin on the next page. The only problem with this is that, when you add, delete or change anything, your pages are messed up.

Whether you use Microsoft Word or Pages, there is a simple way to create the desired breaks in your pages.

1. Click your cursor where you want the new page to begin.

2. In Pages, click on the Insert menu and choose Page Break.

In Word, click on the Insert menu, choose Break and slide over to select Page Break.

3. A new page will appear.

To delete the page break, click the cursor beyond the page break and press the Delete key.

Now your pages will always be perfect, no matter how you edit.

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Seeing Fonts in the Font Window

We all know that you can change the fonts of text in Mail as well as most other Apple programs by highlighting the text and then clicking on the Fonts tool.

The Fonts window shows a list of grouped fonts (Collections), the family of typefaces, the possible styles of each typeface and a size to choose.

To see what the font actually looks like, you can reveal the Font Preview Pane. There is a barely noticeable circle below the word “Fonts” and above the “T” tool. If you move your mouse onto this circle, it becomes a tool with arrows.

Drag the tool down to reveal the Font Preview Pane.

You can make the entire window bigger by dragging on the the diagonal lines in the bottom right corner of the window.

Now you can see your font choice and decide if it’s the one you want to use.

Too many steps to read and follow?

The ALL ABOUT MAIL Video Training Series SHOWS you how to work with fonts and so much more. Instead of READING the steps, you can WATCH and PRACTICE on your own. Click here for more info.

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Add Your Signature to Emails

A signature automatically appears at the bottom of your email. It can be your name, your contact information, even a favorite quote. You can create several different signatures and choose which one you want for a particular email.

To create a signature:

1. First, create a new email message so you have a place to type
2. Type everything you want to appear, including choosing the font, size, color
3. Highlight it all
4. From the Edit menu, choose Copy
5. Then, under the Mail menu, choose Preferences
6. Click on the Signatures icon
7. Click the “+” sign at the bottom of the middle column to create a new signature
8. Title it in the middle column where it is highlighted in blue
9. In the right column, delete the text that appears there
10. From the Edit menu, choose Paste

Your typed text will appear.

To actually USE the signature, you have to now assign it to an email account.

1. Drag that named signature from the middle column to on top of the email address in the left column that you want to use it with.

2. Click on that email address and, at the bottom, under Choose Signature, decide whether you always want that signature to appear or, if you choose None, then you can select the signature when you want to use it in a particular email.

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Open at Login

If you turn on your computer and always open the same programs when you start, consider having the Mac open them for you.

In the Dock, click and hold down on the icon of the program, click and hold on Options and choose Open at Login.

If you have programs that mysteriously open when you turn on the computer, you probably have accidentally chosen this option.

To turn it off, click and hold on the icon in the Dock click on Options and reselect Open at Login to remove the checkmark.