New user with questions (copy and paste, getting mail)

[threekids]

Just got a MAC for the first time. Got an imac with 1 g memory and 250 hard drive. I also got Microsoft Office. (and and ipod, which is very cool! )Everything else just the standard equipment. I have never used a mac before, so please go easy on me and explain things in very plain English....no assuming I know ANYTHING!

How in the world do I copy and paste? I am definately used to the highlight and right click thing. This simple task has me confounded.

I love the mail thingy on the bottom that tells me how many messages I have, BUT how do I get them on a routine basis. I checked my mail and Zero new messages. I even clicked get mail, but nothing. Then a couple of minutes later I had 8 messages dated at various times. Why don't they load as they are received? Will I always have to accept the suggested auto filled in email address when sending a message? I'm used to typing one letter and being on my way if the first suggested was the address i wanted.

I LOVED how easy it was to plug in cords and be ready to go. Big difference there! Kids love the photo feature and garage band.

 

[WildCowboy]

Welcome to MacRumors! I'm sure you'll find both your Mac and users here at MacRumors a joy to work with, and helpful to boot!

Copy and Paste...assuming you have a two-button mouse, you should be able to highlight text, right-click, and select "Copy" from the contextual menu that pops up. Same thing for pasting. If you only have a one-button mouse, you can use Control-click to bring up the contextual menus.

You can also copy and paste from the Edit menu in most applications or by using Command-C for cutting and Command-V for pasting.

As for Mail, that sounds like it might be an ISP issue. Mail will happily pull down messages as they appear on the server as long as it's set to check often enough...check your mail-checking frequency in Mail's Preferences to be sure.

Not sure exactly what you mean regarding the auto-complete of e-mail address. As you type letters, it will display matching e-mail addresses. If at any point the one you want is the top highlighted one, hit Tab or Return and be on your way. I don't understand how you could just be on your way with one-letter typing without having to accept the program's suggestion.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Welcome to the forums...

How in the world do I copy and paste?

Copy and paste what? Generally you can copy and paste using the menu (Edit -> Copy and Edit -> Paste) and use shortcuts cmd-C and cmd-V (cmd = command = "the Apple key").

But, this will not work with files in Finder, if you "copy" a file, you really just copy the name. Mac OS X is a drag'n'drop OS, when we're talking file management. Play around with dragging and dropping when you hold down cmd and option (aka the alt key) and you'll find some subtle but useful variant to dragging and dropping.

I love the mail thingy on the bottom that tells me how many messages I have, BUT how do I get them on a routine basis. I checked my mail and Zero new messages. I even clicked get mail, but nothing. Then a couple of minutes later I had 8 messages dated at various times. Why don't they load as they are received? Will I always have to accept the suggested auto filled in email address when sending a message? I'm used to typing one letter and being on my way if the first suggested was the address i wanted.

Not sure why you didn't get all the messages, but I suspect it's an ISP issue and not a Mac thing...

In Mail -> Preferences -> Compusing you can enable Automatically Complete Address which will start suggesting recipients when you start typing, getting names from Address Book and Previous Recipients (can be edited from the Mail menu Window -> Previous Recipients). If you don't want to use the suggested address just continue typing it out...

 

[Queso]

Copy & Paste : Most Mac users use the keyboard shortcut. That's the Apple key + X to cut, Apple + C to copy, and Apple + V to paste.

Although as you have an iMac you also have a Mighty Mouse. Go to the Apple menu (top left corner of the screen) and select System Preferences.... In the Panel select the Keyboard & Mouse icon, then go to the Mouse panel. From here you can set the mouse behaviour. If you set one of the options to secondary click, you will be able to highlight text, then perform your secondary click action to bring up a little menu with cut, copy and paste options on it.

I'll answer the Mail one in a bit. Sorry, I've got Sushi to dress

EDIT : Someone's beat me to it. Best of luck though.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Did you get the MightyMouse with your Mac, or the one-button mouse?

The first thing I do with any Mac I have is to replace the mouse with a Microsoft Optical Wheelmouse. Then I have right click and a stable wheel for scrolling.