Resources

Using Mac Mail Stationary

How to Use Mac Mail Stationary

Using email stationary is fun and adds a creative and interesting touch to your correspondence. You can absolutely set custom stationary or create your own designs to accompany your emails on your Mac but you will make these changes in your email account, rather than to your computer settings.

Open Mac Mail

If you are using Mac OS X Leopard mail, there are over 30 professionally designed email templates included in your application. To start using your Mac mail stationary, first click Mail in your Applications directory or from your dock if the icon is stored there. On the left column, choose your email account. Next, click New Message on the toolbar, or click the File tab, then New Message to open a blank email.

Customize your Mail Toolbar to Show Stationary

On the top toolbar, choose Show Stationary. If this listing doesn’t appear, you can adjust the toolbar settings by press the Ctrl key and click on the toolbar and choose Customize Toolbar. This will let you configure the toolbar options. Click and drag the Stationary icon over the toolbar and drop it to add it to the list. Click Done when you’re finished.

Choose a Mac Mail Template

Now, once you click Stationary, a new field will appear in the Mail window, right under the address bar. This is the template pane. Click it to open the template options and then click to choose the one you want to use. It will open and automatically fill the email page, displaying the way it will when your contact opens your message.

Create your Own Mail Templates

Using the existing Mac stationary files you can make changes and save your own templates without losing the original design. By opening a copy of the file, you can make adjustments without permanently changing the original file. To create your own template, first select the file that you want to use and click File on the taskbar, then select Get Info. Under the General tab of the Info window, choose the checkbox for Stationary Pad.

Add Photos from your iPhoto Library

You can also click the Photo Browser option from the toolbar to add personalized photos to your templates. The Photo Browser will link to your iPhoto library, allowing you to browse and choose your photos.

Resolving Mac OS X Glitches and Errors

Reset the RAM and System Settings

Sometimes regular wear and tear from long periods of use can cause your operating system to get sluggish and refuse some commands. To reset the RAM and resolve any potential system problems, sometimes a simple restart is enough. Click the apple in the top left corner of your screen then choose Restart.

Force Quit Problem Programs

Another option for stalled programs is a Force Quit. This command will close a program that refuses to respond to the Quit command. From the icons in the dock, place your cursor over the open program, then press the button on your touchpad or mouse. This will open the program menu and display its status. From here, choose Force Quit. If you can’t get a program to quit normally or if it is preventing the operating system from quitting, Force Quit is a good option. Restarting the problematic program usually resolves the issue.

Change Screen Resolution to Resolve Desktop Issues

Another suggestion to resolve desktop icon issues is to change the screen resolution. Click the Finder icon and choose System Preferences. Click to open the Displays Panel, and then select the Display tab. Now, there are a number of resolution settings on the left of the window. Change the resolution then quit and close the window. Repeat the steps to reset the resolution -1024×768 is the recommended setting.

How to Open Stuck Folders

For the seemingly locked folder but not actually locked, try this:

• Open Finder, click Applications then Utilities
• Click to open Terminal
• Type in sudo chflags -R nouchg followed by a space
• Drag the locked folder into the Terminal window
• Press Return
• Put in your password and then Return

Repair Permissions to Resolve File Control Issues

For the file that won’t allow you to drag and drop it in the folder, try this to repair the permissions:

• Click the Finder icon, then choose Applications
• Click to open Utilities, then select Disk Utility by clicking it twice
• Choose the second icon for the hard drive on the left side and then choose the First Aid tab
• Click Repair Permissions
• Let this run then quit Disk Utility
• Reboot the computer and try it out

Run a Disk Repair

If you are still having issues:

• Turn the computer off and put the original mac os x disk in the disk drive
• Boot the computer. Immediately press and hold the ‘c’ key
• Don’t click the Installer Screen, but choose the Installer Menu and choose Disk Utility
• Choose the second icon from the bar on the left of the window, then click Repair Disk on the lower right side
• If the system performs repairs, click Repair Disk again after the first attempt
• Click Repair Disk until it performs no more fixes
• Choose Repair Permissions
• Close and quit Disk Utility and reboot the system

I hope these fixes solve your problems!!!

Troubleshooting a Dead PowerBook

Try to Force a Reset

Some well known Mac reset tips include a three-step process of pressing keys repeatedly to try to force your PowerBook to restart. First, force quit by pressing Option, Command and Escape. Second, restart by pressing Control, Command and Power. Third, force shut down by pressing and holding the Power button down for ten seconds. Repeat these steps until the computer responds, or until you are quite sure that it won’t.

Reset the PRAM

When your Mac won’t turn on Apple suggests that you start by resetting your computer’s PRAM - parameter random access memory - a small amount of RAM that is used to house particular settings. To reset the PRAM you basically need to reset the motherboard battery that powers it.

How to Reset the PRAM on a PowerBook G3

To reset the PRAM, first plug your PowerBook into a wall outlet with a working power cord. Make sure to test the cord with another computer and the socket with another electric device to make sure that the power source and the cord are both good. Double-check that the power cord is securely connected to the computer and remove any external devices that are plugged into your computer, including printers, speakers or your iPod. On your keyboard, locate the command key, the option key, the P and the R. When you turn your computer, press these four buttons at the same time and hold them down right away, before the grey start up screen appears. If this works, you will hear the start up sound again and you should be alright.

Reset the PMU

Since you are troubleshooting a PowerBook, you will reset the PMU - the Power Management Unit - which is a chip built into the motherboard that allows the computer to retain settings after it loses power. If these steps don’t work at first, you can repeat them until they do. Apple offers detailed instructions for different PowerBook G3 models and years that you can access here.

Troubleshoot the Logic Board and Other Hardware

If this doesn’t fix it, you might have a faulty hardware component, most likely the logic board. If this is the case, you will need to replace the logic board and can take it to an Apple shop for replacement and repair.

Install Adobe Flash Player for Mac OSX

About Adobe Flash Player

Adobe launched the latest release of Flash Player - version 10 - in October, 2008. Adobe Flash Player 10 is compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems, with talk of a program for Solaris available within the year. To determine which version of Adobe Flash Player you have on your system you can follow this link to the Adobe test page.

System Requirements

There aren’t specific drivers that you need to run Adobe Flash Player and the program should contain everything that it needs to run on your computer providing your system meets some requirements. To run Flash Player 10 your Mac needs to meet the following levels.

• Processor: PowerPC G3 500MHz/1.8GHz or Intel Core Duo 1.33GHz or faster

• 128 MB - 256 MB RAM

Flash Player on Older Operating Systems

There is a note on the Flash Player Troubleshooting site that says “starting with the Adobe Flash Player 10 release, new versions of Flash Player are no longer available for Macintosh OSX 10.1-10.3 operating systems” because the developments of the Flash program are no longer supportable by older operating systems. If this is your situation, there is a technical note issued by Adobe available here that details how you can run Flash Player 9 on an unsupported machine.

Troubleshooting Flash Player OSX Installation

If you are running an OSX operating system later than 10.3, you can follow the steps below to troubleshoot your installation. Between each step you should visit the Adobe test page to check if the changes have taken effect and Flash Player has successfully installed.

1. Make sure that you have the most recent Flash Player - 10.0.12.36. If you are working with an older version, you can get the latest download from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center.
2. The next step is to remove any Flash Player installations. Flash Player doesn’t work well if there are existing versions or unnecessary files on your computer. To remove Flash Player download and run the Adobe Uninstaller. Once you are finished with the uninstall you can get a fresh download of the latest release from the link in step 1.
3. If a clean installation doesn’t get Flash Player up and running, you might need to update your web browser. It is a good idea to keep all your software up to date so that your system runs at its optimal level but sometimes we don’t notice that there are updates available until something stops working. Visit the website for your browser - such as Firefox or Internet Explorer - and download the latest version.

A number of issues could be the cause of this problem. Let’s go through a few of them and see if any of them relate to your situation.

Basic Data Recovery for Macintosh

In order to transfer files that have been taken from a Macintosh without investing in any type of software, you should be able to transfer them to a compatible Macintosh computer. If you are attempting to transfer them to a PC or computer with a Windows -based operating system, you need to use the same type of software program that you created the files in so that the computer will recognize the files and be able to open them properly. If you don’t have the program that you used, then you need to obtain software that will allow you to do so. You can either get a type of emulator that will convert the files or the same software that you originally used, but for the type of operating system that exists on the new machine.

The PC Formatted Memory Stick

If the memory stick has been used after the files were saved to it, it is possible that either the files or the memory stick itself have become damaged. If this is the case, then you might need to use a data recovery application in order to retrieve the files. To check for this, insert the memory stick into the Mac and check to see if the files are visible. If they are, then the problem is not the memory stick.

Data Recovery for Macintosh

If you have been attempting to transfer the data onto a Macintosh, then the problem is most likely with the memory stick itself. If this is the case, you can obtain a data recovery tool to retrieve the files.

Cross-Platform Compatibility for Mac and Windows

Fortunately, software does exist that will allow you to access your Macintosh data on your PC or Windows based machine. The problem with trying to read Mac files on a PC is that the file extensions that are used by the Windows operating system are not used by Mac. What you need is a software utility that will allow you to rename the files so that they can be read. I’ll offer a couple of programs here with pertinent details, but I cannot vouch for any of them since I haven’t used them.

MacNames is one such application, but it is on the pricier side at a cost of approximately $170. It can be used with Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2003 server, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

Gemulator Explorer is a free utility for reading Macintosh formatted discs on a Windows computer. You can check it out here: Gemulator Explorer.

About Entourage

Entourage is Microsoft’s answer to a Mac-based email client, similar to the Windows version, Outlook. Entourage aims to coordinate Mac users with their Windows-based colleagues and counterparts, but there are some known issues that exist with the program that make it difficult to run, and result in incompatibilities with your Mac.

About Kernel Protection Errors

A kernel protection error, also referred to as “kernel panic” by Apple, is an error that happens when the center, or kernel, of the operating system gets and instruction that is can’t read or issue. If the operating system can’t recover from the error, then you might need to force quit and re-start either a program or your computer. Sometimes kernel errors are caused by corrupt or flawed software.

Uninstall and Reinstall Entourage

In this case, to troubleshoot the problem as a software issue, you can uninstall and reinstall Entourage.

1. To uninstall Entourage, first open your Applications folder and look for the application. If you find it, drag it to the trash. Do the same for the Utility folder.
2. Open your User folder, and select documents. If you use Microsoft Office, open this folder, select Entourage, and drag to trash. If you don’t use Office, you should see an Entourage folder, drag this to trash.
3. Next, open your User folder, then Library, and then Preferences. Look for a file called com.microsoft.Entourage.prefs.plist and trash it. Then find the file called Entourage Preferences and trash that.

Now you can reinstall Entourage. There are detailed instructions for different operating systems and situations available here

Use Disk Utility to Repair Errors

Mac operating system disks, since the launch of Tiger, include some maintenance tools that allow users to easily troubleshoot hard disk drive errors. By starting your computer from the Mac OS X disk, you allow your hard drive to remain idle, therefore making it available for changes. Disk Utility, the catch-all name for the tools offered on the Mac OS X disk, can analyze your hard drive, find and repair errors, and might be helpful. To run Disk Utility open Applications, select Utilities and then choose Help and Disk Utility Help for advice on how to run the disk repair program.