how to open a file in preview

[cmeffa]

i put in the command and it says searching computer. It has been going like this for 20/ 25 minutes. Not sure what that means.

 

[vansmith]

That shouldn't be happening. To clarify:

1) Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
2) Copy and paste the following command:

/Applications/Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/Preview

That should open up Preview if nothing is wrong and if something is, something should be output to the Terminal window. If something is wrong, what does it say?

 

[cmeffa]

Maybe I was'nt doing it right. Is that under file, edit, view,etc.?

 

[Pomeroy]

Maybe I was'nt doing it right. Is that under file, edit, view,etc.?

I may be wrong, but I think you dropped the command that vansmith gave you onto Spotlight, if so let's start over.

On the bottom of your screen in the Dock you will see "Finder" on the Left end. Yours may be a blue smiley face, but it should be the 1st on the left.

 

[Pomeroy]

OOPS I clicked on the wrong button

1: when finder opens make sure it is in Column view, like #1
2: click on Applications, like #2
3: scroll down to "Utilities" like #3
4: Scroll down to "Terminal.app" and double click on it, like #4
5: When Terminal opens paste in the command vansmith gave you and hit enter.

 

[cmeffa]

I clickd on the finder icon nothing happened. Is their another way to open?

 

[vansmith]

Does anything open for you? It sounds like this problem may not be limited to Preview. What happens (if any) when you click on the Finder icon?

 

[cmeffa]

When i click button on left nothing happens. When I click with button on the right of mouse it says Mac g4 pwer mac agp graphics

 

[Pomeroy]

Finder may need to be Relaunched.
At the top left hand corner of your screen click on the  Apple icon.Next click on Force Quit. A dialog box will open, click on Finder and then click on the Relaunch button. If that doesn't fix Finder it may be time to repair permissions.

 

[cmeffa]

I tried that and let it sit awhile nothing happened then I tried relaunch/ force quit again. Still nothing.

 

[Pomeroy]

This is starting to look like you may need to do a reinstall of OS X.
But first lets try to Zap the pRam, this is done by turning off the computer, then holding down "option, command, p, and r", during start up. Hold these keys down and wait for 3 start up chimes and then let go. The computer will boot like normal, the pRAM will be clear. Hopefully this will fix Finder, if not we'll try setting up a new account see how that works.

 

[cwa107]

This is starting to look like you may need to do a reinstall of OS X.
But first lets try to Zap the pRam, this is done by turning off the computer, then holding down "option, command, p, and r", during start up. Hold these keys down and wait for 3 start up chimes and then let go. The computer will boot like normal, the pRAM will be clear. Hopefully this will fix Finder, if not we'll try setting up a new account see how that works.

I would sooner recommend creating a new account and testing the same functionality with that new account.

UNIX-based operating systems like OS X almost never require a reinstall. This is a bad habit carried over from the Windows world. OS X is simply not susceptible to "Windows rot", which is mainly caused by corrupted registries.

 

[Pomeroy]

I would sooner recommend creating a new account and testing the same functionality with that new account.

UNIX-based operating systems like OS X almost never require a reinstall. This is a bad habit carried over from the Windows world. OS X is simply not susceptible to "Windows rot", which is mainly caused by corrupted registries.

I agree, but after 3 days and still no Finder I don't know where to go if a new account doesn't work. Maybe try to repair permissions from the install disk, but I have never done that, so maybe you or someone else can walk him through that first.

 

[cmeffa]

How does one create a new account? Not sure what that even means to be honest with you.

 

[Pomeroy]

Here is a link to the Apple Help site that will help explain it.
Mac OS X 10.5 Help: Creating a new user account

 

[cmeffa]

So does this mean I will lose everthing on this account? I don't understand how this would fix Finder. If someone could please explain .

 

[Pomeroy]

No, you can have as many accounts as you need and switch back and forth anytime you want. Just don't delete your account.

 

[vansmith]

What have you done with your Mac recently? Have you installed anything? It seems odd that things just stopped working for no apparent reason.

 

[cmeffa]

I have another account on this computer and finder does'nt do anything when I click it. So I guess I don't understand how a new account is going to help open Finder. I admit i don't know very much about this stuff but i just don't understand how that would work. Not sure if it can be explained or not?

 

[cmeffa]

I installed software for an HP deskjet D1520 printer back in Feburary. I have two icons on my dock on my right hand side one says Hp Device Manager and other says HP PHOTOSMART Studio. Not suree if this would effect anything or not?