Macs at MB
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What do I do now that I have updated to Big Sur?
Updating to a new OS brings changes in the functionality of the OS and of Apps. This help article will be updated as we discover new features and bugs to address. Control Center (or where did my screen sharing icon go?) One thing that may jump out at you is that your screen sharing or airplay icon is no longer in the menu bar. Don't worry; it's not gone. Open the control center by clicking on the small icon in the upper right corner of the menu bar. Drag the Screen Mirroring icon from the Control Center to your menu bar. Zoom isn't working!! Update your Zoom app (along with any other app that is not working). Click on zoom.us in the upper left corner of your screen when the Zoom App is running. Click on Check for Updates
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How do I update to the latest version of MacOS?
These upgrades can take a LONG time to download AND INSTALL. For larger updates, give yourself at least two hours to complete all the steps. Check the Version of your Computer's MacOS Go to the Apple menu, select About this Mac, and then select Software Update... If you haven't updated in a long time you may need to do a couple rounds of updates. You can skip straight to the next section if the "Update Now" button says "Upgrade Now" instead. Click Update Now and you will see it begin to download. This can take quite awhile depending on the size of the update: Download the Installer When the previous upgrade completes, the computer will restart. You should see the following window appear. If you didn't do a previous upgrade go to the Apple Menu and select About this Mac and then select Software Upgrade. Once it finished downloading, it will ask you where to install it. Click Continue: You will need the administrator privileges on your laptop. Contact the help desk by emailing help@meadowbrook-ma.org if you need help with this. This will take some time. When it finishes, your Mac will reboot. Login and check the version of your system software. If it is not yet Up to Date, go ahead and do the next update. When finished, it should tell you that your Mac is up to date:
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What do I do if I see Low Disk Space ("Startup disk is almost full")?
What to do when you get the warning that "Your startup disk is almost full." What is a startup disk? A startup disk is a volume or partition of a drive that contains a usable operating system. Simply put, it's your computer's hard drive. Why is your startup disk full? The typical amount of free space that should usually be on a hard drive should not get below 15% of the hard drive's capacity. Anything less than that and you will experience slowness and errors the further you get below that mark. If your startup disk is full and you get a message of warning from your Mac, this is an indication that you need to free up space. What to do when your startup disk is full? To make more space on your startup disk you will need to: Delete files from your Mac. Or move files to an external hard drive or some other form of external storage. What is taking up all of my startup disk space? Using "About This Mac" Click the Apple Icon in the menu at the top-left corner of your screen. Choose “About This Mac.” Click Storage. Note: If you are running an older version of OS X you may have to first click “More Info…” and then “Storage”. Using a tool to scan your hard drive For Mac users, we recommend using JDiskReport Download the program and double-click to open it Select "Scan file tree..." and choose your hard drive that should be marked with a "/" #BBD0E0 »
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Installing a Font
Many fonts you will want to use are already installed in whatever word-processing program you use. But sometimes, you want another font. Windows First, go to dafont.com. If you have a specific font in mind, enter it into the search box. Otherwise, click on one of the fonts categories in the red box under the search box. There is also a selection of new fonts underneath the red box. Once you have searched or selected a font category, find the font you want and click "Download". You will get a zipped folder in your downloads location. Extract it and it should have some font files. (They end in .ttf) The different files are simply variations on the font. You can preview each one by double-clicking it. For each font you want (no rhyme intended), install it. When you open your word-processing program, the font should appear in the fonts drop-down menu. That's it. You're done! Mac 1. Go to dafont.comand download a font. Either search for one in the search box or pick one from the categories.
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How to download MalwareBytes
How to download MalwareBytes onto a Mac to removing Malware. Go to malwarebytes.com/ in your browser of choice. Hit "Free Download" and the download should start automatically and bring you to the following page (below). Once downloaded, open the installer and follow the prompts until last step is completed. MalwareBytes should open automatically where the only option is to Get Started. Select Use MalwareBytes Free on the left, and you'll get a screen asking for you to allow Full Disk Access. To do so, click on the padlock on the bottom left corner to allow changes. Enter in your admin username and password. Then check off the box next to MalwareBytes Protection to allow Full Disk Access. Click the padlock again to save changes. Now you should be able to run your scans by simply hitting the Scan button in the middle.
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Turning Your Computer Off & On
Turning Your Computer Off & On Keeping a computer, phone, or other device on for a long period of time can cause a variety of issues to pop up. Often times, the easiest way to fix these issues is to simply turn the device off, let it sit a minute, and turn it back on. This allows the computer to flush any settings or problems may have been accumulating and start fresh. Think of it like a helpful rest for a human! Just closing the lid of your computer & opening it up again is NOT shutting down your computer. That will just put it to sleep, which accomplishes very little. It is important to do a full shutdown on a regular basis. There is a certain way of doing a computer restart that is more effective than others. Here's how to best turn your computer off and on. Turning Your Computer Off Properly While there are many way to actually power off a computer, the best way is whatever is built into your computer's operating system. In the case of a MacBook, this is to hit "Shut Down..." from the Apple menu. Once you have begun the shutdown process, please wait until your computer is completely off before continuing/closing the lid. You can tell that your computer is completely off if you cannot hear any fans running & there are no lights on the screen & keyboard. If your computer is malfunctioning & you cannot turn it off from the menu, please hold down the power button for 5-10 seconds. This should only be done as a last resort. For more info on the power button, see the "Turning Your Computer On" section. MacBooks - Closing the Lid Once your computer is completely off, close the lid for at least 10-15 seconds. Turning Your Computer On Every device has its own specific power button. Clicking it will begin the computer startup process. On a MacBook, this is usually the unlabeled button at the top-right corner of the keyboard, next to the F12 key.
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How can I turn on Voice to Text on my Mac?
Voice to text, or dictation, allows users to input text from their spoken words. There are many ways to do this including a built in feature in Google Docs. However, turning on dictation allows you to input text into any place where text can be written when using your computer. Open System Settings by clicking on the apple in the upper left corner of your screen and selecting System Settings from the dropdown menu. Scroll down the left-hand column of options until you see Keyboard. Select that option. Toward the bottom of the Keyboard window in the right side, you can find the Dictation option. Turn on dictation by clicking on the slide switch. Make sure your language is set correctly. Select the computer's microphone. Select the shortcut from the dropdown menu. We suggest the one shown in the image below. Now, when your cursor is in a text field, you can tap the fn key twice (or your selected shortcut) to enable dictation and tap it twice to end the dictation.