I'm pretty sure this is the dumbest question here.

Hello all,

Let me just preface this a little bit, I was a loyal PC user for 23 years of my life up until yesterday afternoon. I have been thinking of making the switch for quite some time and finally took the plunge the other day.

So I've been having a few little issues that I"m sure are easy enough to resolve, most are rather trivial (which is really just the most polite word I can think of rather than saying "dumb"). For instance, how do you use all the shortcuts in OS X? The whole up arrow just does not seem to work for me, and I can't even find that "other" symbol on the keyboard. the one that kind of looks like half of a flipped around pi symbol. Anyways, how do these work?

The right click was a very dear friend of mine for many many years. OS X seems to have much more limited right click features. It seems like I've gotten stuck in the routine of first, finding a file, and then having to go all the way in the upper left hand corner to click the program to open it. I'm just not putting all the pieces together yet.

There are so many different ways to create your work stations and manage your workflow that I have to admit, I feel overwhelmed at times (and I grew up on a computer, albeit a pc).

And lastly, why are the side buttons on the mouse placed where they are? I used the thing for about 3 hours before I discovered they were there. And that's only because I kept messing up my programs.

Thank you for reading,

Take care.

1st - you need to tell us what equipment you're using. Yes, some answers are machine specific. This can be done:
In the post itself - not too good because then you'll have to type it in every time you ask a question.
In your Profile under Edit Profile and entering your Mac specs in the box at the bottom.
In your Profile under Edit Signature.

Would guess you're looking for this:

Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch

Finding a file ... where? In Finder? If that's the case you can simply press the space bar to get a preview of a whole lot of file types. Or, simply double click to open the file in it's appropriate application.

Side buttons on the mouse? What mouse? I will assume you're talking about the Mighty Mouse. In the overall scheme of things, there really are not that big a percentage of Mac users that stick with that thing, although there are some that like it. For more info, check this article about it and then go into your system preferences and set it up the way you would like the buttons to function.

(System preferences is located by clicking on the little apple at the top left side of the Menu Bar, then selecting System Preferences.)

Are you saying that when you double click a file, it sometimes doesn't open with a particular application? If so...

Highlight the file. Right click. Select 'Get Info'. (Similar to right clicking and selecting Properties in Windows.) 2/3 of the way down, is a section titled 'Open With'. Here you can associate an application with a certain file type. The button immediately below will allow you to change the selected application to the default.

Incidentally, Command-I is the keyboard shortcut for 'Get Info'.

My top three others are:

Command-Tab--toggle between open applications.
Command-`--toggle between multiple windows within the same application.
Command-Space--the Spotlight. Search for any file or email on your HD.

If you have a MightyMouse I'm guessing that you have iMac lucky you.
the MM is set to default one button when delivered lol. System Prefs > Mouse and set up your secondary button etc.

I also have a MM, bought for my previous Mac. Personally I like it, just clean it regularly upside down on a damp microfiber cloth. 360º scrolling is great.

If you can get a copy of David Pogue's Missing Manual it's worth it's weight in gold.

Apple's support sites are great too:
Apple - Support - Switch 101
Apple - Support - Mac 101 - All Work and Play

Index of all Macs and Apps:
Apple - Support - Discussions - Forum Home
Welcome and have fun.