Both of these guides offer information about the Mac Operating System that can be very useful while you are using Fusion.
Other valuable sources of information are:
Note: The preceding links were correct as of August 22, 2011. If you find that a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
For general information, see Mac 101: Applications, files, and folders.
Files and folders can be opened by double-clicking them. Double-clicking an application icon starts the application.
Most files open with a default application. (For example, by default, text files – including Rich Text Format files and documents created in Word for the Mac or Word for Windows – open in Text Edit.) This default application can change when new applications are installed. (If you install Word for the Mac, documents created in Word for the Mac or Word for Windows will now open in Word for the Mac.) You can also change this, on a one-time basis, by ctrl-clicking the file and selecting Open With, and then either choosing one of the applications listed or clicking Other.
The Mac's file browser is called Finder (in contrast to Windows' "Windows Explorer"). You can open your files, folders, and programs through the Finder. (For more information, see Mac OS X: Mac 101 - Finder and the desktop.)
At any time, you can open a new Finder window by clicking the Finder icon (a blue, square, smiley face) in the dock. By default, the new window will open in your "home folder" – this folder is the default location for all documents and files that you create and download. Your home folder contains these folders:
You can also create other folders in your home folder. However, if you rename or delete these folders, the folders will be restored the next time you log in.
Note: Mac OS depends on these folders, so Apple recommends that you do not change them. The Library folder contains configuration and settings information. Apple strongly recommends that you do not change the files in it or even open this folder unless you know what you are doing.
It is important to note the two conventions in common use for writing file paths (the locations of files):
You can see various information about a file or folder (directory) in the Info window. To open this window, right-click the file or folder and select Get Info. The Info window that appears includes this information:
You can change which application will be used to open a document. The way in which you do this will depend whether you want to do this for this particular file or all files of the same type. To change the application:
You can set and change permissions for files and folders through the Get Info window. (To open this window, either select the file/folder to change and go to the File menu in Finder, or right-click the file/folder, then select Get Info.) For more information, see Mac OS X Help: Setting permissions.
To create and edit user and administrator accounts, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > Accounts. For more information, see Mac OS X Help: Setting up a user account.
From this screen, it is possible to set certain programs, documents (for example, virtual machines), or server connections to open automatically when a specific user logs in by clicking the Login Items pane (on the right side).
It is possible to configure the operation of the login screen. For example, you can allow a certain user to login automatically when the Mac starts up by clicking Login Options on the left side, below the list of users.
Mac OS X uses a utility called Terminal to let you run certain commands that are not easily found from the menus, or to give you more flexibility with those commands. Many of our Knowledge Base articles (as well as Apple's help), tell you to run a command from Terminal / the command line / a command prompt. To open Terminal:
From here, you see a prompt formed by the name of your computer, a colon, the current directory you are working in (your home folder, by default, so this is a ~), your username, and a dollar sign.
Example: VMware Computer:~ kbauthor$
Any commands you type (or paste in) appear after the dollar sign.
Note: You can use your mouse to select, copy, and paste text within the Terminal window. However, you cannot use it to place the cursor. You must use the left and right arrow keys to move the cursor. (Pressing the up arrow key replaces the current command line contents with the last command entered.)
For information about uploading support log files to VMware Support, see Uploading diagnostic information to VMware (1008525).
Mac keyboards differ in a number of ways from PC keyboards. For details, see Tips on using a Macintosh keyboard (1001675).
For more information, see Apple – Support – Keyboard + Mouse.
You may wish to change the way your trackpad and/or mouse are set up, to suit your workflow. To change these settings, go to Apple menu > System Preferences and select either Trackpad or Mouse. (These icons are not visible if your Mac does not have a trackpad installed or a mouse connected, respectively.)
There are a few specific settings you may wish to test / set:
Trackpad
Mouse
For more information, see Apple – Support – Keyboard + Mouse.
Use the Mac's System Profiler (Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info) to see information about your Mac's hardware, software, and network adapters. These are a few areas of interest in this screen:
System Profiler Entry | Details |
Hardware |
An overview of your hardware, including:
|
ATA | Information about any ATA drives on your system (likely your Super Drive / optical drive / CD/DVD drive). |
Audio (Built In) | A list of all audio devices installed in your Mac. |
Disc Burning | Information about any drives on your Mac that can burn discs, and what kind of discs they can burn. |
FireWire | Information about your Mac's support for FireWire, and information about any FireWire drives connected to your Mac. |
Graphics/Displays | Information about the graphics card installed in your Mac, your main display, and any external displays connected. |
Memory | Information about your RAM and where it is installed. |
Printers | Information about printers that have are configured on your Mac, whether they are on/connected or not. |
Serial-ATA | Information about any Serial-ATA (SATA) drives on your system (likely your hard drive), and any volumes on those drives. |
USB | Information about the USB devices installed in your Mac, about any USB devices connected to your Mac, and any file volumes on any USB storage devices connected to your Mac. |
Software | Information about your current version of Mac OS X, the name of your hard drive, your computer name, and whether you are running in 64-bit mode (10.6 only). |
Applications | The names, versions, and install/update dates of all applications, utilities, and services running on your computer. Select any application (particularly anything unfamiliar) to see where it is installed. |
Logs |
Easy access to many of your Mac's logs, if you need to review them. (Fusion logs are not included!)
|