Apple MacBook 13inch Aluminum Late2008 Manual

							 
  
Chapter 2    
Life with Your MacBook 
21 Function (fn) key 
Hold down this key to activate customized actions assigned to the function keys 
(F1 to F12). To learn how to customize function keys, choose Help > Mac Help from the 
menu bar and search for “function keys.” 
Brightness keys (F1, F2) 
Increase ( ) or decrease ( ) the brightness of the screen.  
Exposé All Windows key (F3) 
Open Exposé for quick access to all your open windows. 
Dashboard key (F4) 
Open Dashboard to access your widgets. 
o
 
Keyboard illumination keys (F5, F6)  
Increase (
o
 
) or decrease (
ø
 
) the brightness of the keyboard illumination. Available on 
select models.
’
 
Media keys (F7, F8, F9) 
Rewind (
]), play or pause (’), or fast-forward (‘) a song, movie, or slideshow.
—Mute key (F10)
Mute the sound coming from the built-in speakers and headphone port.
-Volume keys (F11, F12)
Increase (-) or decrease (–) the volume of the sound coming from the built-in speakers 
or headphone port.
CMedia Eject key
Hold down this key to eject a disc that’s not in use. You can also eject a disc by dragging 
its desktop icon to the Trash. 
						

							 
22 Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook
Por ts on Your MacBook
®
¯
Gigabit Ethernet
port (10/100/
1000Base-T)G
Security slot
Headphone
out/optical
digital audio
out port
f
Audio in/
optical digital
audio in port,
Mini
DisplayPort£USB 2.0
portsdMagSafe 
power port 
						

							 
Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook23
Note:  Adapters and other accessories are sold separately at www.apple.com/store.
¯MagSafe power port
Plug in the included 60W MagSafe Power Adapter to recharge the MacBook battery.
GGigabit Ethernet port (10/100/1000Base-T )
Connect to a high-speed Ethernet network, a DSL or cable modem, or another computer. 
The Ethernet port automatically detects Ethernet devices and doesn’t require an 
Ethernet crossover cable.
dTwo USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports
Connect an iPod, iPhone, mouse, keyboard, printer, digital camera, modem, and more to 
your MacBook. You can connect one high-powered external USB device. You can also 
connect USB 1.1 devices.
£Mini DisplayPort (video out)
Connect to an external display or projection system that uses a DVI or VGA connector. 
You can purchase adapters for supported video formats.
,Audio in/optical digital audio in port
Connect your MacBook to a line-level microphone or digital audio equipment. 
fHeadphone out/optical digital audio out port
Connect external speakers, headphones (including iPhone), or digital audio equipment. 
Security slot
Attach a lock and cable (available separately) to prevent theft. 
						

							 
24 Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook
Using the Multi-Touch Trackpad
Use the trackpad to move the cursor and to perform a variety of Multi-Touch gestures. 
Unlike typical trackpads, the entire MacBook trackpad is a button, and you can click 
anywhere on the trackpad. To enable gestures and set other trackpad options, choose 
Apple () > System Preferences, and then click Trackpad.
Here are ways to use your MacBook trackpad:
ÂTwo-finger scrolling lets you drag to scroll quickly up, down, or sideways in the active 
window. This option is on by default. 
						

							 
Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook25
ÂSecondary clicking or “right-clicking” lets you access shortcut menu commands.
ÂTo set up a one-finger secondary-click zone in the bottom left or right corner of the 
trackpad, select Secondary Click under the One Finger option in Trackpad 
preferences.
ÂTo set up two-finger secondary-clicking anywhere on the trackpad, select 
Secondary Click under the Two Fingers option in Trackpad preferences. 
Note:  You can also secondary click by holding down the Control key while you click.
Secondary click zone 
						

							 
26 Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook
The following trackpad gestures work in certain applications. When you perform these 
gestures, slide your fingers lightly on the surface of the trackpad. For more information, 
see Trackpad preferences or choose Help > Mac Help and search for “trackpad.”
ÂTwo-finger pinching lets you zoom in or out on PDFs, images, photos, and more.
ÂTwo-finger rotating lets you rotate photos, pages, and more. 
						

							 
Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook27
ÂThree-finger swipe lets you rapidly page through documents, move to the previous or 
next photo, and more.
ÂFour-finger swipe works in the Finder and all applications. Swiping four fingers to the 
left or right activates Application Switcher so you can cycle through open 
applications. Swiping four fingers up or down causes Exposé to show the desktop or 
display all open windows.  
						

							 
28 Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook
Using the MacBook Battery 
When the MagSafe power adapter isn’t connected, your MacBook draws power from its 
battery. The length of time that you can run your MacBook varies, depending on the 
applications you use and the external devices connected to your MacBook. Turning off 
features such as AirPort Extreme or Bluetooth
® wireless technology and reducing 
screen brightness can help conserve battery charge, for example, when you’re traveling 
by air. Many of your system preferences are automatically set to optimize battery life. 
You can determine the charge remaining in the battery by looking at the eight battery 
level indicator lights on the left side of your MacBook. Press the button next to the 
lights, and the lights glow briefly to show how much charge remains in the battery. 
Important:  If only one indicator light is on, very little charge is left. If no lights 
illuminate, the battery is completely drained and the MacBook won’t start up unless 
the power adapter is connected. Plug in the power adapter to let the battery recharge, 
or replace the drained battery with a fully charged battery (see page 34). For more 
information about battery indicator lights, see page 56.
You can also check the amount of battery charge remaining by viewing the 
Battery ( ) status icon in the menu bar. The battery charge level displayed is based 
on the amount of power left in the battery with the applications, peripheral devices, 
and system settings you are currently using. To conserve battery power, close 
applications and disconnect peripheral devices not in use, and adjust your Energy 
Saver settings. For more information about battery conservation and performance tips, 
go to www.apple.com/batteries/notebooks.html. 
						

							 
Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook29
Charging the Battery
When the power adapter that came with your MacBook is connected, the battery 
recharges whether the computer is on, off, or in sleep. The battery recharges more 
quickly, however, when the computer is off or in sleep.
Getting Answers
Much more information about using your MacBook is available in Mac Help on your 
computer and on the Internet at www.apple.com/support/macbook.
To get Mac Help:
1Click the Finder icon in the Dock (the bar of icons along the edge of the screen).
2Click the Help menu in the menu bar and do one of the following:
aType a question or term in the Search field, and select a topic from the list of results 
or select Show All Results to see all topics.
bChoose Mac Help to open the Mac Help window, where you can click links or type a 
search question. 
						

							 
30 Chapter 2   Life with Your MacBook
More Information
For more information about using your MacBook, see the following:
To learn aboutSee
Installing memory Chapter 3, “Boost Your MacBook,” on page 33.
Troubleshooting your 
MacBook if you have a 
problemChapter 4, “Problem, Meet Solution,” on page 51.
Finding service and support 
for your MacBook“Learning More, Service, and Support” on page 63. Or see the 
Apple Support website at www.apple.com/support/macbook.
Using Mac OS X The Mac OS X website at www.apple.com/macosx. Or search for 
“Mac OS X” in Mac Help. 
Moving from a PC to a Mac “How to move to Mac” at www.apple.com/getamac/movetomac. 
Using iLife applications The iLife website at www.apple.com/ilife. Or open an iLife 
application, open Help for the application, and then type a 
question in the search field.
Changing system preferences System Preferences by choosing Apple (
K) > System 
Preferences. Or search for “system preferences” in Mac Help.
Using the trackpad Mac Help and search for “trackpad.” Or open System Preferences 
and click Trackpad.
Using the keyboard Mac Help and search for “keyboard.”
Using the iSight camera Mac Help and search for “iSight.”
Using AirPort Extreme wireless 
technologyThe AirPort Support page at www.apple.com/support/airport.