- Aaack!! HELP!
- Computer Doesn't Turn On
- Startup Disk
- Can't Find Your Document
- System Crashes
- There's Garbage Hanging Around Outside the Trash Can
- Reset Switch
Can't Find Your Document
In the beginning you may very often save a document dutifully, but then when you get to your Desktop you can't find it anywhere. This is because when you saved it you weren't paying attention into which disk and/or folder you were saving the document.
Anyway, at the moment you can't find it. Use Sherlock. When you find your document, put it in a folder you have created, just as if you would put it in a file folder in the filing cabinet: press-and-drag the document icon over to the folder or disk of your choice. The folder/disk should turn black; when it's black, let go and the document will drop right in.
Can't Open a File
Sometimes when you click on an icon you get a message that tells you the file is locked or in use, or maybe that an application can't be found.
If the disk is locked, you'll see a little lock symbol in the upper left of its window. When a disk is locked you can't save to it, although you can read, copy, and print files that are on it. To unlock a floppy disk, first eject it. In one of the corners is a little black tab that covers or uncovers a hole. When the hole is open, the disk is locked (seems backwards, doesn't it?). So to unlock it, switch the tab back so the hole is closed.
Figure 13 This symbol indicates that the disk is locked. A locked disk is also called "write-protected."
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A CD-ROM is always locked. "rom" stands for "read-only memory," meaning you can only read things from the disk, you can't write anything onto it. There are also writable and rewritable CDs.
If the file is locked, click once on it and choose "Get Info" from the File menu. In the bottom-left corner of the box there is a checkbox labeled, "Locked." If that box is checked, then click in the box to uncheck it and thus unlock the file.
Figure 14 This is a locked file. I locked it in the Get Info window.
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If the folder is locked, click once on it and choose "Get Info" from the File menu. In the "Show" menu right there in the Get Info box, choose "Sharing." There is a checkbox labeled, "Can't move, rename, or delete this item (locked)." If that box is checked, then click in the box to uncheck it and thus unlock the file.
Figure 15 This is a locked folder. I locked it through the Get Info box, in the "Sharing" section.
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If the file is in use, then it's in use. Usually you get this message if you try to open an icon that looks like a Macintosh; Mac icons are part of the System.
Application can't be found
If a message tells you an application can't be found, then one of two things is happening:
The software application in which you created the document is not in the computer. Even though your document icon may look like FileMaker Pro, to display itself the document has to go into the application FileMaker Pro.
Some files cannot open straight from the Desktop, even if the application is in the computer. In this case, if you know the document was created in a certain application and you know that particular application is in your machine, then go into the application itself (double-click on its icon) and open the file you want from inside, choosing "Open" from the File menu.
Viewing Clip Art Files
When trying to view clip art, often you will get the message that "An application can't be found," even when the program it was generated in is on the disk. It may be in a different version of the software you have. Open the actual application itself, then open each individual document through the File menu, choosing "Open." Also see the previous suggestion for "An application can't be found."
Most clip art does not need to be opened--you need to insert it into a document. In your word processor, for instance, check the menus for something like "Insert" or "Place," choose it, then find the clip art. Double-click the name of the clip art and it should appear on your document page.