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.(LongtimeMac fans should note that the name no longer appears in italics.) Bottom: If the alias can't find theoriginal file, you're offered the chance to hook it up with a different file.2.5.1 What's Good about AliasesAn alias takes up almost no disk space, even if the original file is enormous.Aliases are smart, too: Even if yourename the alias, rename the original file, move the alias, and move the original, double-clicking the alias stillopens the original icon.And that's just the beginning of alias intelligence.Suppose you make an alias of a file that's on a removable disk,such as a Zip disk.When you double-click the alias on your hard drive, the Mac requests that particular disk byname.And if you double-click the alias of a file on a different machine on the network, your Mac attempts toconnect to the appropriate machine, prompting you for a password (see Chapter 12) even if the other machineis thousands of miles away and your Mac must dial the modem to connect.In Mac OS X, aliases aren't nearly as important as they once were.There's less call for creating aliases ofprograms you use frequently, for example, because now you can just drag those programs' icons onto your Dockor Finder toolbar, as described in the next chapter.The Mac OS X versions of the Recent Items, Recent Folders,and Startup Items features no longer depend on aliases, either.Still, aliases can be handy in Mac OS X.For example:You still may want to file a document you're working on in several different folders, or place a particularfolder in several different locations.The Favorites command (see Section 2.6) relies on aliases.By choosing Go Favorites, you open awindow that reveals the aliases of every icon you've ever designated as a Favorite, so that you candelete, move, or rename them.You can use the alias feature to save you some of the steps required to access another hard drive on thenetwork.(Details on this trick in Chapter 12.)Put an alias of your Documents folder (which is inside your Home folder) on the Dock.After all, this is thefolder where most people spend the majority of their time.It's very silly to have to burrow four foldersdeep every time you want to find it.(You may as well put your Home folder on the Dock, too.)It's extremely useful to put aliases of your Mac OS 9 programs into the Applications folder, so that theyappear listed among the Mac OS X programs.Otherwise, you'll have to maintain your programs in twoseparate folders, arbitrarily separated by whether they're old or new.TIPMac OS X makes it easy to find the file to which an alias "points" without actually having toopen it.Just highlight the alias and then choose File Show Original ( -R).Mac OS Ximmediately displays the actual, original file, sitting patiently in its folder, wherever thatmay be.2.5.2 Broken AliasesAn alias doesn't contain any of the information you've typed or composed in the original.Don't burn an alias ofyour slide show onto a CD and then depart for the airport, hoping to give the presentation upon your arrival inTokyo.When you double-click the alias, now separated from its original, you'll be shown the dialog box at bottomin Figure 2-7.If you're on a plane 3,000 miles away from the hard drive on which the original file resides, click Delete Alias (todelete the orphan alias you just double-clicked) or OK (to do nothing, leaving the orphaned alias where it is).In certain circumstances, however, the third button Fix Alias is the most useful of all.Click it to summon theFix Alias dialog box, which you can use to navigate your entire Mac.When you click a new icon and then clickChoose, you associate the orphaned alias with a different original icon.Such techniques become handy when, for example, you click your book manuscript's alias on the desktop,forgetting that you recently saved it under a new name and deleted the older draft.Instead of simply showingyou an error message that says "'Enron Corporate Ethics Handbook' can't be found," the Mac displays the boxthat contains the Fix Alias button.By clicking it, thus re-associating it with the new document, you can saveyourself the trouble of creating a new alias.From now on, double-clicking your manuscript's alias on the desktopopens the new draft.TIPYou don't have to wait until the original file no longer exists before choosing a new original for analias.You can perform alias reassignment surgery any time you like.Just highlight the alias iconand then choose File Get Info.In the Get Info dialog box, click Select New Original.In theresulting window, find and double-click the file you'd now like to open whenever you double-clickthe alias.[ Team LiB ][ Team LiB ]2.6 FavoritesAfter years of watching Microsoft pilfer great ideas from the Mac OS, Apple decided that two could play that game and it stole a feature right back.The File Add to Favorites command ( -T) places the names of iconsyou've highlighted into the Go Favorites command, as shown in Figure 2-8.The Favorites scheme, therefore,is yet another mechanism that lists your favorite files, folders, programs, disks, and even network-accessiblefolders for quick access much like the Dock [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]