Using hot corners and expose/dashboard/entourage

[d wade]

let me start by saying this is my first post. i just got my macbook pro yesterday. i was a lifelong windows user, and just switched over. i have read through the manual, and done some searching on this forum and some others.

however, i cannot figure out for the life of me what "hot corners" does or how it works. i have it set to where my top left goes to screen saver and bottom left goes to dashboard. i have no idea what to do next. also, i am totally clueless on how to put more things onto my dashboard.

and to cap it all off, i have no idea what entourage or expose are or do. i know these questions must get annoying, but i cant find any info on what to do anywhere else. if you guys could please give me some hints or even show me where to learn i would be extremely grateful.

i also have many more silly questions.. like i cant figure out how to click on an image to be able to set it as a background. stuff like that. i am so lost on here i feel so silly. i was really good with windows computers, but on my mac i feel completely lost. please help!

thanks so much

 

[j26]

I don't use hot corners (I found them a pain), and don't have dashboard, but I can help with some things

Expose is one of the most useful aspects of OSX for laptops. Just open several apps, press F9 and see.
Entourage is the Mac version of Outlook, but I use Mail which I find fine.
You can change the desktop image in System Preferences|Desktop & Screensaver or through iPhoto

 

[WildCowboy]

You've got the hot corners down....they're just a quick way to activate frequently used applications.

As for Dashboard, when it's activated, you'll see a plus sign in the lower left corner of the screen. Click it to see what widgets you can add to Dashboard. But these are just the ones installed on your system. Head over to apple.com and browse their catalog of widgets to find stuff you might like.

Exposé: allows you to quickly see open windows. F9 shows all windows on the desktop, while F10 shows only the windows in the currently-active application.

Entourage is the e-mail program that's a part of Microsoft Office. Haven't used it myself, so I can't speak to its utility. I prefer Mail.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I'll start you off with a couple...

however, i cannot figure out for the life of me what "hot corners" does or how it works. i have it set to where my top left goes to screen saver and bottom left goes to dashboard. i have no idea what to do next.

Once you have them set up, moving your cursor into the relevent corner will active your screensaver or whatever.

hlike i cant figure out how to click on an image to be able to set it as a background.

You can set your desktop images in System Preferences/Desktop & Screensaver.

...and to cap it all off, i have no idea what entourage or expose are or do.

Expose lets you clear your screen, show all open windows or those of a particular app dead quick. F9, F10 and F11 are the keys that activate it as default. More info here.

i am so lost on here i feel so silly. i was really good with windows computers, but on my mac i feel completely lost. please help!

No need to feel silly at all. You're just getting used to doing things in a slightly different way. Stick with it, play around with your Mac, and before you know it you'll be using it like a pro. And of course, if there is anything that you are still really stuck on then this is the place to ask.

Enjoy.

 

[elbirth]

I think everyone else pretty much covered everything else, but let me also say this:

It was said that in Dashboard you click the plus sign to see more widgets. you then either click on one in the bar at the bottom or drag them to the main window and drop them.
To get more widgets, download the widget file and just double click it. It'll ask to install, and automatically open Dashboard and ask if you want to keep or delete it.

 

[d wade]

well, i got the hang of everything i was unsure about. its alot of trial and error. for the hot corners thing.. i just wasnt going far enough into the corner. the widget thing is simply amazing. it is one of the coolest features ive figured out so far. thanks for all the help guys!