Mac Tips and Tricks Jan 1996

Many of you have written in asking me to print more tips and trick, so I will try to do just that. If you have a tip or trick, and wish to share it with other mac users, send it in! I will print as many as you send in, and try to test them all beforehand to verify that they do work.
America Online Software Tips.

Do you have a document or picture you have been unable to open? Simply use the “open” command from the AOL software, select the file, and viola! AOL software is very good at opening the strangest things. I have had a few picture files that Graphic Converter, my favorite stand by, has been unable to open, but AOL did with ease!

Do you have a file you want to stuff, but do not have Stuffit? Once again, AOL comes to the rescue! First, select “Compose Mail”, then choose “Attach file”. Next you will be asked to select the file you wish to attached to you email. After you have done so, select “compress file”, at which time AOL will ask you to save the stuffed file, with .sit at the end. AOL will now stuff that file. After this is done, simply close the letter, and do not save. You now have a stuffed file! Also, the reverse is true. If you have a compressed file, and do not have the correct software (like a .zip file) , you can use the “Open” command to select that file. AOL will expand it for you!

You do not need to be online to do use any of these tricks.
Startup Tip.

What is the first thing you do when you start up your mac? Well, if you are like me, you never turn the darn thing off! But when I do start up, I always check my email. So I put a alias of AOL in my startup folder, located inside the System folder. Now, every time I start up, AOL jumps to action without me having to touch anything. For you Performa and 7.5 users, your Launcher also opens when you start up. This will be a problem, as you mac will launch items in the startup folder in alphabetical order, thus AOL will launch before the Launcher. This will make you go back to the Finder, and you will have to manually go back to AOL after the launcher opens. To avoid this, simply put a space before the “L” in the launcher, so it will open before AOL starts up.
Font Trick.

Did you just download a font, and want to see what it looks like before you drop it into your system folder, then open a word processing program to type? Simply double click on the font file while holding down the Option key! A window will appear, displaying that font in 9,12,and 18 point. Go try it! It will save you from dumping it out of your system folder if it is not what you hoped for.

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