Like the AVA software, Apple® technology is advancing all the time, but there are some key features to the Mac®OS® which you should be aware of, and which will improve your experience while using the Mac®® computer.  

Menus

Along the top of the screen is a row of menu items. If you click and hold on any of these items a list of commands will appear. Keep the button held down and move the cursor over the command that you require. Once this is highlighted, release the button and this command will be selected. It is only possible to select commands that are shown in black, if the command is grey it cannot be selected. 

The menus that appear when the computer starts up are part of the Mac®intosh operating system (Mac®OS®) known as the Finder®. When a piece of software such as AVA is launched the menus will change to the menus belonging to that particular software.

The Dock

The Dock is found at the bottom of your screen and gives you instant access to the software and files you have installed and use most often. It can be used to organise documents, applications and web sites, placing them within easy reach. 

Windows can be minimised into the Dock to give you more work space on your screen and will be displayed as a miniaturised icon which you can click on to restore the window whenever you like. The Dock can be positioned on the right or left of the screen, as well as at the bottom and magnification can be switched on to make it easier to see the icons within it.

Multiple windows

You can have multiple windows open in AVA. An active window will come to the front of any other windows that are open. A window is made active by clicking on it, and this is shown by highlighted traffic light buttons at the top of the window. 

Windows can be made larger or smaller by clicking on the box at the bottom right of the window (the size box), holding down and dragging it to the new size. Alternatively, click on the green zoom button to fill the monitor with the active window.

When the vertical or horizontal scroll bars are highlighted, this indicates that there are items in the window that are out of sight. Drag the window larger or click on the arrows to move the contents within the window.

To move a window around the monitor, click on the toolbar of the window and drag it to a new position on the screen.

To close a window, click on the red close button in the top left corner of the window. The window can also be closed by using the keyboard shortcut ⌘W.