Switched to an iMac - having a few problems

I made the big switch from a desktop PC to a 24" 2.4 gig iMac about 2 weeks ago and have been slowly sorting everything out and getting used to it.

There are just a few things that I can't work out that remain:

Problem 1
I have a big stack of blank CD-R's that just don't appear to read in my iMac. I put one in the slot, and the following window comes up:



I am assuming from this that there is nothing I can do with the CD, it won't read (doesn't show up on the desktop at all) and it won't format. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this might be? Do I need special CD-R discs for the Mac? They are regular Vertabim Inkjet Printable CD-R's, 1-52X, 700MB.

Problem 2
This might seem like a trivial one, but it annoys me a lot! In windows when a dialog box comes up that asks if you want to Cancel or OK, you can use the arrow keys on the keyboard to switch between the options. On the Mac, this doesn't work, so you actually have to use the mouse to click the non-default selected option. I like my keyboard shortcuts and this is killing me having to use the mouse!

So, is there a keyboard shortcut to switch between options? Please tell me there is!

(I can provide a screenshot if my explanation isn't clear)

Problem 3
Cutting and pasting. Why, oh why, can I not cut files in the Finder to paste elsewhere, say, into another folder?? All I can do is copy! I have tried it with keyboard shortcuts, and with the File menu, and the option to Cut is always greyed out.

Is there any way of moving files through cutting and pasting that I don't know about?

I think that is about it for now! I did have a larger list but I solved most of my other issues and narrowed it down to just these three.

I hope someone can help!! Thanks in advance..

Are you saying your CD-R is not mounted? I see in the above picture that it's mounted. You can check it from Finder.

MAC doesn't offer cut and paste. I find it safer one way. You dont loose the file during copy operation though there is a overhead of deleting it from source.

I didnt quite understand your second problem.

I can help with Problem 2. A recent switcher myself I had the same problem.

You need to enable full keyboard access.

It's in the System Preferences - Keyboard & Mouse - Keyboard Shortcuts tab - change the radio button at the bottom of the dialogue to 'All controls'

I think keyboard shortcut Control + F1 will toggle this too

HTH
mrplow

Try this:
1) Go up to the Apple icon, down to System Preferences, CD/DVD. You will get a dialog box that lets you choose what happens when you pop in a blank CD.
2) The tab key and the arrow keys work very differently on Macs and PCs.
3) Ditto the concept of Copy/Paste in the Finder. On the Mac you drag and drop files to make aliases and duplicate them.
As in all things, the Mac way is correct, the PeeCee way is just wrong.

smartyMAC said:

Are you saying your CD-R is not mounted? I see in the above picture that it's mounted. You can check it from Finder.

MAC doesn't offer cut and paste. I find it safer one way. You dont loose the file during copy operation though there is a overhead of deleting it from source.

I didnt quite understand your second problem.

Click to expand...

Thats not true. I use Command+C and V all the time.

brian67 said:

Thats not true. I use Command+C and V all the time.

Click to expand...

I believe they are talking about copy and pasting files not text.

Cool! Problems solved, thanks people.

Thats not true. I use Command+C and V all the time.

Click to expand...

You're copying, not cutting. Cut is command+x.

right. sorry. still...not true.

Sherman Homan said:

2) The tab key and the arrow keys work very differently on Macs and PCs.
3) Ditto the concept of Copy/Paste in the Finder. On the Mac you drag and drop files to make aliases and duplicate them.
As in all things, the Mac way is correct, the PeeCee way is just wrong.

Click to expand...

Being able to do more things does not make it wrong. Some people prefer to cut and paste files so they dont fill their HD with needless copies of existing files, or have to spend the time going back and deleting the original every time.

Hope this helps.

Here are ways to move files to folders:

■ To put an item in a folder, drag its icon to the new folder.

■ To keep an item at its original location and put a copy in a new folder, hold down the Option key while you drag the item.

■ To keep an item at its original location and put an alias for it in a new folder, hold down the Command and Option keys while you drag the item.

■ To make a copy of an item within the same folder, select the item and choose File > Duplicate.

■ To copy files to a different disk, drag the icons to the disk.

■ To move files to a different disk without copying them, hold down the Command key while you drag the icons.

Quick question from a soon to be switcher... whats an alias? May be dumb but its always good to know these things. I've been researching making the switch heavily and every bit helps!

dirtylopez said:

Quick question from a soon to be switcher... whats an alias? May be dumb but its always good to know these things. I've been researching making the switch heavily and every bit helps!

Click to expand...

It's like a Shortcut to a file like in Windows.