From the monthly archives:
December 2006
Summer roundup
Summer roundup
Mac Tip #273/13-Dec-2006
MacTips is taking a few weeks off for the New Zealand summer. We’ll be back in late January. Meanwhile, here’s a brief roundup of interesting items.
New Zealand finally has an iTunes Store. Open up iTunes and click on iTunes Store in the Source list on the left side of the window. Sign up and browse around. You can listen to the first 30 seconds of any track for free, or buy tracks for NZ$1.79 or albums for NZ$17.90.
There’s plenty to explore in the iTunes Store, including audio books and a lot of free audio or video podcasts. Take a look at the NASAcast Video podcast, for example, for videos of the space shuttle launch, images of probable water ice on Mars, and other space-related events.
We also now have a proper online Apple Store where you can buy Macs, iPods and other stuff. Today only (Wednesday 13 December 2006) there’s a sale on. Take a look if you’re thinking of buying hardware, software or accessories.
Remember that coming up sometime in the new year will be the next version of Apple’s operating system: 10.5, codenamed Leopard. Start saving for the upgrade. Spaces and the Time Machine both look particularly interesting and useful.
Remember, this is a good time to clean up your Mac — toss out or archive old files; set up some new folders for 2007, check your backups.
Till the Tips return, enjoy any festivities you may celebrate this season, and keep your self and your Mac safe.
Popularity: 12% [?]
{ 1 comment }
E=mc cubed
E=mc cubed
Mac Tip #272/06-Dec-2006
After the Tips about Find and Replace a reader asked how to find and replace the term m2, where the 2 is superscript (or raised up a bit and is a bit smaller, and it means ’squared’). What an interesting question!
If you use a program such as Microsoft Word, you type this kind of expression by simply typing m2, then selecting the 2 and choosing Format > Font > Superscript (or a shortcut such as Command Shift =, to achieve the same end result). If you need to type something like H2O for water you’d select the 2 and choose subscript, which lowers the character and makes it a bit smaller.
It’s easy to find and replace a superscripted (or subscripted) character: open the Find and Replace dialog box, enter the 2 in the Find what text box, enter the replacement (eg 3) in the Replace with box and then click the downward pointing arrow on the bottom line.
Click in the Find what text box, then click on the Format pop-up, click on Font… and check the Superscript (or Subscript) checkbox.
Now choose Replace All. Word replaces all superscripted 2s with superscripted 3s.
However, that wasn’t quite the question my reader had. My reader wanted a normal m together with a superscripted 2.
I did a fair bit of searching and came up empty, I’m afraid. It seems that the Find and Replace is all or nothing. For example, I italicised part of the word superscript. I could replace the entire word if it was in a regular style or the entire word in italics, but not a mixture of regular and italics.
By the way: if you’ve previously searched for formatted text, remember to click the No Formatting button next time you want to search for unformatted text.
Next week: End of year round-up.
Popularity: 12% [?]
{ No comments yet }
is jointly authored by Miraz Jordan and Maria Langer.