The trick: turning on a Mac feature called Mouse Keys, which lets you move the Mac mouse pointer by tapping the keys on your numeric keypad—or, if you don’t have a separate numeric keypad, by pressing a set of keys within the keyboard itself.

How to turn on Mouse Keys

To get started, open the Mac’s System Preferences panel by clicking the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select System Preferences.

Next, click Accessibility, select Mouse & Trackpad in the left column, then check the Enable Mouse Keys checkbox.

How to move the Mac mouse pointer with a numeric keypad

The Mac’s Mouse Keys feature will let you move your mouse pointer using a numeric trackpad—or, if you don’t have a trackpad, you can tap keys on the keyboard itself.

Now, let’s give it a try. If you have a numeric keypad, press the “8” key to nudge the Mac mouse up a tad. The “2” key will move the mouse down, while the “4” and “6” keys will move the mouse left and right, respectively. The “7,” “9,” “1,” and “3” keys will move the Mac mouse up and to the left, up and to the right, down and to the left, and down and to the right.

Press the “5” key to click the mouse, click “0” to click and hold the mouse button, and press “.” to release the mouse button.

How to move the Mac mouse pointer with a trackpad

What if you don’t have a numeric keypad for your Mac? No problem; instead, use the box of nine keys bordered by the “7,” “9,” “J” and “L” keys. You can also press the mouse button by tapping the “I” key, tap “M” to press and hold the mouse key, and press “.” to release the mouse button.

Sounds easy, right? Well, here’s the catch: when Mouse Keys are enabled, you can’t use the assigned Mouse Keys for anything besides moving the mouse—in other words, no typing, which is particularly vexing if your Mouse Keys are smack-dab within the keyboard. Luckily, there are a couple of shortcuts for turning Mouse Keys on and off.

How to toggle Mouse Keys on and off

First, you can press a specific keyboard combo—COMMAND + OPTION + F5—to open the Accessibility Shortcuts menu. From there, you can quickly turn the Mouse Keys feature on or off.

Related: How the Mac’s “Sticky Keys” feature makes it easier to press keyboard combos

With the right setting enabled, you can toggle Mouse Keys on and off by tapping the OPTION key five times in a row.

Even better, though, you can toggle Mouse Keys on and off by pressing the OPTION key five times in a row. To do so, head back to the Mouse & Trackpad settings within the Accessibility preferences pane, click the Options button, then check the box next to the “Press the Option key five times to toggle Mouse Keys” setting.

A few more Mouse Keys tricks

The Options panel also has a couple of sliders: one labeled Initial Delay, and the second marked Maximum Speed. These sliders control what happens when you press and hold a mouse key to repeat a mouse movement. Move the Initial Delay slider from Short to Long to change how long it takes for the mouse pointer to start moving after you press and hold a mouse key, or fiddle with the Maximum Speed slider to control how quickly the mouse can move while you’re holding a key.

Finally, trackpad users can disable the trackpad while Mouse Keys are enabled by checking the box next to the “Ignore built-in trackpad when Mouse Keys is on” setting.

Click here for more Mac tips!

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For starters, you can…

Method No. 1: 

Here’s the classic way of right-clicking on a one-button Mac trackpad: press and hold the CONTROL key, then click. A bit clunky, yes, but it works.

Method No. 2:

Tap the trackpad with two fingertips rather than just one (a method that didn’t come into vogue until so-called “multitouch” several years ago).

You can visit your Mac’s trackpad settings to unlock a couple of additional right-click options.

Those are the two best-known ways to right-click on a Mac, but what if you’d like more options? No problem, provided you’re willing to take a few extra steps first.

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, select System Preferences, click the Trackpad icon, then make sure the “Point & Click” tab at the top of the window is selected.

Now, see the “Secondary click” heading? Click the “Click or tap with two fingers” setting to reveal…

Method No. 3:

Click in bottom-right corner, or…

Method No. 4:

Click in the bottom-left corner.

Click here for more Mac tips!

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Indeed, the function keys often have to share their keys with volume controls, screen brightness buttons, and various media playback controls—and in most cases, you’ll have to press and hold the “Fn” key to make a function key actually work like a function key.

By tweaking a single setting, you can switch things around so you don’t need to press and hold “fn” to use a function key.

Want to switch things around so you don’t need to press and hold “fn” to use a function key? No problem.

Here’s what you do:

• Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select System Preferences.
• Click the Keyboard icon, then check the box marked “Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys.”
• Close the window to save your changes.

Now, you can tap a function key without pressing and holding the “Fn” key first.

Keep in mind, though, that you’ll now have to press and hold “Fn” to change the speaker volume on your Mac, brighten or dim the screen, or use any of the other controls that share space with the function keys.

Click here for more Mac tips!

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Hey Celia! So, in the market for a used MacBook? You can certainly save cash by going with a used Mac, but remember: you get what you pay for.

You’ll probably find the biggest savings by scouring the listings at eBay or Craigslist, but think twice before snapping up a “pre-owned” Mac (or any used PC, for that matter) from a private party—and if you ask me, you should never buy a second-hand laptop or desktop sight unseen, even if it’s dirt cheap.

After all, what good is a $100 MacBook if it up and dies in a week, taking your data along with it?

 
If you do decide to buy an older Mac from someone on eBay or Craigslist, take a test drive before plunking down your cash (tricky, if the seller isn’t in the same town as you are), and keep in mind that you likely won’t have the protection of a warranty.

Want more assurance that you won’t get stuck with a lemon? If so, consider a refurbished laptop, which will typically have a fresh battery, new components, and perhaps even a new shell.

Yes, a refurbished system will probably be pricier than a plain-old used one, but there will be fewer question marks in terms of reliability—and you may get some type of money-back guarantee or even a (brief) warranty in the bargain.

Apple sells refurbished iMacs and MacBooks for as cheap as $750 or so, and you can find refurbished MacBooks for even cheaper at Amazon (I found an older, white 13-inch MacBook for less than $400). You’ll probably find more refurbished Macs on sale at big-name electronics retailers if you look. Just make sure to check the seller’s warranty and return policy before you buy.

As far as specifications go, I’d suggest getting a Mac that’s capable of running Mountain Lion—the latest version of the Mac operating system.

 
Anything older, and you may end up with a system that’s so sluggish, it’s barely usable.

Most iMacs made since 2007 and the majority of MacBooks manufactured after late 2008 should support Mountain Lion, although the requirements vary depending on the specific system. (Click here for more.)

At the very least, I’d recommend getting a Mac with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor; an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 chip is even better. Avoid older PowerPC processors altogether.

Also, shoot for a minimum of 2 GB of RAM—the internal memory your system uses for running programs and “core” computing chores. The more RAM your system has, the more digital duties it can handle at once, and the less often you’ll see that aggravating spinning beach ball.

Note: Is the used Mac you’re eyeing have less than 2GB of RAM? If so, keep in mind you can often add more RAM for a reasonable amount of cash. For example, you can double the memory of an old white MacBook from 1GB of RAM to 2GB for less than $40 (more if you want an expert to handle the installation).

Hope that helps, Celia, and best of luck!

Have more questions about what to look for in a used Mac or PC? Post ’em in the comments below.

The post Mac tip: Advice on buying a used MacBook? (reader mail) appeared first on here's the thing.

How to back up your Mac with Time Machine
Having a recent backup of your entire system will save you the heartache of a failed hard drive or a stolen computer—and the good news for Mac users is that Apple’s own backup utility, called Time Machine, couldn’t be easier to set up and use.

Getting the hang of desktop “spaces” in Mission Control
Learn how to get the most out of the virtual desktop “spaces”—each filled with its own assortment of open documents and applications—in Mac OS X Lion, the latest version of the Mac OS.

How to get your missing scroll bars back
While Lion’s no-scroll bar aesthetic might be daring from a design perspective, it’s a bit disorienting for the rest of us. Luckily, it’s easy to get those scroll bars back.

How to paste your signature into a PDF using your Mac’s built-in webcam
Got “Lion”? If so, you can scan your signature using your Mac’s iSight camera, then paste it onto the dotted line of a PDF. Here’s how.

5 new, handy trackpad gestures to try
Pinching, swiping, and tapping have come to the Mac in a big way thanks to Apple’s new “Lion” software update. Here are five new gestures that got my attention.

How to stream all your music from iCloud with iTunes Match
The $25-a-year service will scan your music library and “match” your songs with high-quality versions in iCloud, perfect for streaming from your iPhone or iPad.

How to create a new desktop in Mission Control
Making a new “space” in Mission Control, the Lion feature that gives you a bird’s eye view of all your virtual desktops, is easy—if you know where to look.

How to lock your Mac’s hard drive with File Vault
Apple’s new-and-improved File Vault utility will lock even the most determined thieves out of your Mac’s hard drive. Learn how to turn it on right here.

Why “natural” scrolling feels backwards—and how to turn it off
Mac OS X Lion introduces “natural” scrolling—which means (somewhat counter intuitively) that you flick up on your mouse to scroll down, and down to scroll up. But if you’d rather forget “natural” and go back to normal, there’s an easy way to do it.

How to take charge of where your downloads go
Sick of trying to find where your browser stashed your downloaded files on your Mac? Good news: there’s a better way.

The post 10 tips for taking control of your new Mac appeared first on here's the thing.

Hi Matt! There’s an easy way to check if your MacBook Pro has what it takes to run “Lion,” the latest update to the Mac operating system. Whether Lion’s ready for you is, of course, another question.

Just go to your Mac destop, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, and select “About This Mac.” Now, in the pop-up window that appears, look where it says “Processor” and read the specification.

Just open the "About This Mac" window to see if your system has the right processor for Lion.

Now, does the processor section have any variation of “PowerPC,” or does it read “Intel Core Duo”? If so, I’m sorry—no Lion for you.

If you have an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, or an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7, good news: you’re ready to upgrade to Lion (and here’s how to do it).

As a general rule of thumb, any iMac or MacBook Pro purchased in late 2006 or later will have at least an Intel Core 2 Duo processor under its hood—which means just about any Mac that’s less than four or five years old should be Lion-ready.

So, Matt: since you got your 17-inch MacBook Pro in 2007, your Mac should be ready for Lion.

But here’s the next question: Is Lion ready for you? After all, Apple only released Lion a few months ago, and fresh operating system updates are prone to glitches and other bugs.

Indeed, there have been reports of various Lion bugs ranging from spotty Wi-Fi reception to poor MacBook battery life. Apple has since released a software patch to iron out at least some of the initial kinks.

I’ve been running Lion on three different Macs since Day One—a 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2007, a MacBook Air from 2009, and a 2010 iMac—and so far, I haven’t run into any serious problems.

Another thing to keep in mind, though, is that Lion sounds the death knell for any software that relies on PowerPC processors—the chips that powered most Macs released before 2006.

EverythingMac has a list of the major software packages that will no longer work under Lion, including Microsoft Office 2004, Intuit Quicken 2007, Adobe Creative Suite 2, and Filemaker 6.

For most of these apps, you can (and probably should) go ahead and simply upgrade to the latest versions, which are designed to work with Intel-based Macs.

Fans of Quicken 2007, however, are in a bit of a pickle, because the latest version of Quicken for the Mac—dubbed “Quicken Essentials”—jettisons many of the robust online and investment features in older versions of the program. Personally, I made the switch from Quicken 2006 (which was the last version I bought) to Essentials without skipping a beat; others, however, may want to explore some alternatives.

Last but not least, Lion features some design quirks that have annoyed many longtime Mac users, including the new “natural” scrolling feature and barely-there scroll bars. Luckily, you can turn back the clock on many of these features by tweaking the right settings in the System Preferences menu.

Hope this helps, Matt. Have more questions? Let me know!

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That’s because your MacBook’s hard drive is probably packed with loads of personal information. Just think of all the email stored on your system, or the names and phone numbers in your address book. Ever do any online banking on your Mac? There’s a good chance your banking password is stored in your browser—along with a road map of all the sites you’ve visited recently. And let’s not forget any sensitive Word, Excel, or Quicken files sitting on your hard drive.

The good news? Mac OS X Lion, the just-released update to the Mac operating system, boasts a new-and-improved version of File Vault—an essential tool that will lock even the most determined thieves out of your Mac’s hard drive. Sure, they might have your MacBook in their greedy little hands, but they won’t be able to dig through all your files.

The new File Vault 2 utility cloaks your entire hard drive using what’s called 128-bit XTS-AES encryption—a cipher that’s devilishly difficult to crack.

And from a practical standpoint, File Vault is a cinch to activate and use. Just make sure not to lose your password and the last-ditch recovery code—if you do, and you haven’t asked Apple to keep your recovery key for you (more on that in a moment), you’ll be locked out of your hard drive forever.

Ready to get started? Then here we go:

1. First things first: back up your Mac before you proceed.

2. Next, you’ll need to have the administrator password for your Mac handy. The “administrator” is the main user of your system—most likely you—and the password you’ll need is the one you created when you first set up your Mac. Can’t remember your password? Follow these instructions to reset it.

3. Got your password? Then open the Security and Privacy preferences settings; click the Apple menu, select System Preferences, and click Security & Privacy.

4. Click the FileVault tab, then click the “Turn On FileVault” button. Is the button grayed out? If so, click the locked padlock in the bottom-left corner of the window, and enter your administrator password.

5. Have any other user accounts on your Mac—for, say, a friend or a loved one? If so, you’ll be prompted to enter their user passwords.

6. Now, your Mac will give you a 24-character “safety net” recovery code, which you can use to unlock your Mac if you ever lose your password. Make sure to write down, copy, or otherwise save the recovery passcode and put it in a safe place—because once you lock your Mac with FileVault, it’ll be impossible to pry it open without your user password or the “safety net” code. (Tip: Don’t save the “safety net” passcode on the Mac you’ve locked with FileVault.) Once you’ve written your code down, click Continue.

7. You’ll now get the option of letting Apple keep an encrypted copy of your “safety net” code for you; if you say yes, you’ll be prompted to choose three security questions that you’d have to answer—precisely—before Apple gives you your passcode back. Choose (and answer) wisely.

8. Done? Click the “restart” button; FileVault will restart your Mac and begin encrypting your hard drive, a process that could take several hours.

The good news is that you’ll be able to keep using your Mac while FileVault is doing its thing, and you can even put your Mac to sleep or shut it down altogether; when you turn your Mac back on, File Vault will simply pick up where it left off.

Once File Vault is activated, any files you edit, create or transfer to your Mac will be automatically encrypted, on the fly.

9. File Vault will turn password protection for all your Mac’s user accounts—and by default, you’ll need to enter your password the moment after your wake your Mac from its “sleep” mode. If you want a little more time, go back to Security & Privacy in the System Preferences, click the General tab, and select an option from the drop-down menu (anywhere from five seconds to an hour). Remember, though—the shorter the time period you select, the more secure your Mac will be.

Have more questions about File Vault, or Mac OS X Lion? Let me know!

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Sound confusing? Sure. After all, most of us are used to having a single desktop on our systems—you know, the one that’s directly in front of us. The idea of have more, “virtual” desktop spaces with open windows that you can’t see can take a little getting used to.

Once you get the hang of it, though, these additional desktop spaces—which you manage in Mac OS X Lion with a new feature, dubbed “Mission Control”—can become addicting, even essential.

Indeed, when I switch to a PC running Windows, which doesn’t have built-in desktop “spaces” like the Mac does, the thought of having only one space for all my windows leaves me feeling cramped and claustrophobic.

Let’s take a quick tour of the desktop spaces in Lion’s new “Mission Control”—and keep in mind that older versions of the Mac operating system also have the “spaces” feature, which you can manage in the System Preferences panel under the Apple menu.

1. First, go ahead and activate Mission Control by clicking its icon in the Mac OS “Dock,” swiping up with three fingertips on your MacBook trackpad, pressing the Mission Control key (the one marked with three little boxes) on your Mac keyboard (it should be in the top row), or by following one of these methods.

2. Now you’ll see an overhead view of all your open applications, windows, and spaces. In the example I’m showing here, we’ve only got two spaces running: the Mac OS “Dashboard,” a window with “widgets” for things like the weather, stock tickers, and news headlines, and a single desktop space.

On my desktop, I have five applications open—Mail, iPhoto, iCal, iTunes, and Safari, not to mention a total of three Safari open windows at once. Yep, things are starting to get a little crowded.

3. OK, time to spread out a little bit. I’d like to deal with my Mail in a completely separate space on my desktop, so it can be open and ready for me without getting lost in a pile of windows. So here’s what we’ll do; I’ll activate Mission Control again, click and hold my Mail window, and then drag it up and over to the upper-right corner of the screen—where all of a sudden, a new “space” with a big “+” sign appears.

4. I drop Mail into my new space, and presto! I now have another desktop (helpfully labeled “Desktop 2”) with just my Mail application open. To visit my new space, I just activate Mission Control and click the Desktop 2 icon, which immediately zooms in and fills my screen. (You can also click the two arrows in the upper-right corner of the Mail window to enter a “Full Screen” mode—or not, it’s up to you.)

5. Now I’ll go ahead and rinse, repeat with more of my open applications, until I have a total of six desktop “spaces” (plus the Dashboard space) going at once. To switch between your desktops, open Mission Control and click the desktop space you want to jump to. You can also scroll though them one-by-one with a sideways three-finger swipe on your trackpad, or by tapping a left or right arrow key on the keyboard while holding down the Control key.

6. Want to start cleaning up your spaces? Activate Mission Control, then hold your mouse over the space you want to close until a circle with an “x” appears on its corner. Click the “x,” and poof—the space will disappear, with any open windows safely sliding over to one of your remaining spaces (so don’t worry, you won’t lose any work).

So, that’s the “what” and “how” of Mission Control’s desktop spaces—but what about the “why”?

As I mentioned earlier, the whole desktop “space” concept may take time to wrap your brain around—and indeed, it changes the way you work.

My wife, for example, used to love having all her open applications and documents on one desktop, or minimized in the Mac OS “Dock” where she could see them. For her, using virtual spaces was an unwelcome jolt to her daily desktop routine.

Personally, though, I love it—and my wife has come to depend on virtual desktop spaces, too. For me, it keeps my desktop activities organized and separated: all my mail is here, my photos are over here, my music’s there, and my calendar’s here. When it’s time to do the books in Quicken, I create a new space and start cranking away—and if work beckons, I can switch spaces, do what needs to be done, then return to my Quicken desktop “space,” with everything there just as I left it.

So, give it a try—and if you have more questions about desktop spaces, Mission Control, or Mac OS X Lion in general, just ask!

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Also: Find out how to fix Lion’s new, “natural” scrolling feature (which might make sense to Apple, but feels backwards to the rest of us), how to make those missing scroll bars reappear, and how to drag mailboxes into Mail’s new Favorites bar.

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!

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Personally, I love the new, cleaner look—but it wasn’t long before I unhid a third column that shows a long, junky list of email folders (a.k.a. mailboxes).

Why? Because I’m constantly sorting new messages in my inbox from one folder or another, and the handful of folder shortcuts in Mail’s new Favorites bar (like Inbox, Drafts, and Sent) simply were sufficient for my frequent message-shuffling needs.

Or so I thought.

It turns out that in Lion, you can drag a mail folder—any mail folder—from the Mailboxes column (which you can reveal by clicking the “Show” button in the upper-left corner of the Mail interface) into the new Favorites bar.

(Related: Top 5 ways that “Lion” turns your Mac into an iPad)

Very nice—and given this is the Mac operating system we’re talking about, I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t just try dragging and dropping those mailboxes earlier.

Best of all, now I can hide that ugly column of mailboxes again. I love it.

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