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What This Document Is About

This page is intended to be a list of useful hints and tips that Mac users may find helpful in some situations. For pointers to other resources, see the Informatics MacOS home page.

Making ssh connections

For ssh connections to a Mac, you will first need to enable X11 forwarding on that Mac. Edit /etc/sshd_config to uncomment or include "X11Forwarding yes", and restart sshd via "System Preferences: Sharing: Services: Remote Login". Note that ssh connections from a Mac should work with the default configuration (and hence without the need for the above).

Using special characters in documents

Some applications have their own "insert a special character" option, and you should be able to just point & click to do this. However, if there isn't such an option in the application that you're using (or you want to use a standard input method for all applications) you can use the Character Palette:

• Select the Finder (the default, if you click on the background, or haven't started any applications)
• Choose Edit: Special Characters
• Scroll down to (for example) "Accented Latin" on the left-hand side and scroll down to the character you want on the right-hand side.
• Select the character, and then return to the application you're using
• Click "Insert" in the Character Palette window (which will paste it into your application window at the current cursor position).

You can, if you wish, add the Character Palette to the top menu bar:

• Use the "System Preferences" button in the toolbar
• Select the "International" option and then the "Input Menu" tab
• Select the tickbox for "Character Palette" (if it's not on by default). When the "Character Palette" tickbox is selected, you should also see the "Show input menu in menu bar" option at the bottom of the dialogue box selected too.
• Once selected, you should see a flag appear on the right-hand side of the top menu bar... select "Show Character Palette" and you should see the Character Palette window described above.

Apple Maintenance

There is a scheme, run by Apple, and taken up by the University, that allows users to register their work (not home) machines and receive upgrades to MacOS X:

"Apple is pleased to announce that for a limited time it is able to offer special pricing to qualifying institutions who wish to upgrade to the latest OS X 10.3 operating system and, at the same time, take out the 3 year Apple Maintenance Program for OS X.

The Apple Maintenance Program (AMP) provides institutions with the most up-to-the-minute advances of OS X for 3 years at a significantly reduced price. In a nutshell, AMP enables your institution to subscribe to OS X upgrades instead of purchasing them individually each time they are released. Participating institutions can realise substantial savings over time. AMP is designed to protect software investment and reduce cost of ownership."

EUCS (Software Services) offer this to users (who normally reply directly to EUCS), but we can organise a School-wide request if there is sufficient interest. The cost would be roughly £13 per machine per year (although this may fluctuate based on how many requests there are).

Deals via on-line Apple Store HE

When buying hardware or software from Apple, you can use the Higher Education section of the Apple Store web pages (the HE section can only be accessed from participating Institutions' networks - so you can't do this from home).

"The Apple Store for the National Higher Education Agreement offers powerful desktop and portable computer solutions at special negotiated prices for the contract."

If buying for personal use, use the "Shop for yourself" option, and click on the "Access to the store for Individuals" link (you can't access this link directly - you need to go through the "Apple Store HE" page). This takes you to a page which asks you to confirm your staff or student status. Once this has been confirmed, start shopping!