[gendem]

Hi there

I'm new here, and new to Mac, and I have figured most of OS X out, but there are still some things that I can't figure out, or that bother me and I'd like to change. Any help is appreciated.

1. In windows, I used a little app called Second Copy to backup selected folders on a per-folder basis. So, for example, I would back up the fonts folder, the Photoshop scripts folder, the configuration files for various programs, things like that. Simple and straightforward.

So far as I can tell, there is no app to do this in Mac, and I have looked. Chronosync comes close, but there is no fine level control, and certainly no way to select a list of specific folders to back up; it prefers to be given a root folder, and you select and deselect folder at that root level only.

2. A nice, simple, non-library-based image viewer a la ACDSee would be awesome.

3. Same goes for a simple MP3 player, a la WinAMP. I don't need to add absolutely everything I listen to to a library...sometimes I just want to play a song by clicking on it.

4. Key mapping. I'd like the Home and End keys to behave as they do in Windows. I'd also like Delete to move files to the trash, as opposed to the somewhat convoluted apple-backspace. Is this possible?

Thats all I can remember at the moment, but I know there's more. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

...Mike

[TETENAL]

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - Boot Camp

[gendem]

Sooo...your suggestion is to boot into windows every time I want to listen to a song, or look quickly at an image? Really?

I guess I need to be more specific. For all the apps I described, I'm hoping to find native OS X apps to offer similar functionality.

...Mike

[peeb]

Originally Posted by gendem 

Hi there

I'm new here, and new to Mac, and I have figured most of OS X out, but there are still some things that I can't figure out, or that bother me and I'd like to change. Any help is appreciated.

Welcome. First off, don't expect there to be a one-to-one correspondence between win and OSX programs. You may have to adjust some of the ways you're used to doing things.

Originally Posted by gendem 

1. In windows, I used a little app called Second Copy to backup selected folders on a per-folder basis. So, for example, I would back up the fonts folder, the Photoshop scripts folder, the configuration files for various programs, things like that. Simple and straightforward.

Check out Time Machine - this will let you exclude folders on a per folder basis, and is a very powerful backup, otherwise Carbon Copy Cloner should work. If not, it's pretty easy to write an automator script to back up specific folders.

Originally Posted by gendem 

2. A nice, simple, non-library-based image viewer a la ACDSee would be awesome.

You don't like Preview?

Originally Posted by gendem 

3. Same goes for a simple MP3 player, a la WinAMP. I don't need to add absolutely everything I listen to to a library...sometimes I just want to play a song by clicking on it.

I'd suggest that you spend a little more time looking at iTunes - I think you'll like it. If not check out Players - Audio / Video - Mac OS X - Software Updates - VersionTracker there are a bunch.

[TETENAL]

Originally Posted by gendem 

Sooo...your suggestion is to boot into windows every time I want to listen to a song, or look quickly at an image? Really?

No, I suggest you press the space bar to do that.

I guess I need to be more specific. For all the apps I described, I'm hoping to find native OS X apps to offer similar functionality.

For all the apps you described native OS X apps that offer similar functionality come preinstalled with the system. The just don't do it exactly the same way as on Windows. If you want exactly the same behavior as on Windows, boot into Windows. It's simple.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by gendem 

1. In windows, I used a little app called Second Copy to backup selected folders on a per-folder basis. So, for example, I would back up the fonts folder, the Photoshop scripts folder, the configuration files for various programs, things like that. Simple and straightforward.

Both Carbon Copy Cloner and Retrospect allow you to back up arbitrary sets of files. (Good places for finding Mac apps like these are VersionTracker and MacUpdate.)

Originally Posted by gendem 

2. A nice, simple, non-library-based image viewer a la ACDSee would be awesome.

Preview, which comes with the OS. You can also just hit space to view most files if you're on Leopard.

Originally Posted by gendem 

3. Same goes for a simple MP3 player, a la WinAMP. I don't need to add absolutely everything I listen to to a library...sometimes I just want to play a song by clicking on it.

QuickTime Player, which also comes with the OS. Though you really should give iTunes a chance if you haven't — it's pretty good.

Originally Posted by gendem 

4. Key mapping. I'd like the Home and End keys to behave as they do in Windows. I'd also like Delete to move files to the trash, as opposed to the somewhat convoluted apple-backspace. Is this possible?

Well, for home and end, you can get the same behavior with command-left arrow and command-right arrow on a Mac. But there are also programs such as QuickKeys that let you create custom actions for key sequences, including the things you mention here.

Also, although he comes on a little strong, TETENAL has a point. The Mac may be a little unfamiliar right now, but you'll have a better experience overall if you let yourself get used to how the Mac works rather than constantly fighting it to try and make it more like Windows. Just a little tip, because I know sometimes it feels easier to stick with the familiar.

[gendem]

Thanks for the replies everyone (except tetenal, for obvious reasons. There's one in every crowd I suppose).

Peeb and Chuckit, thanks for the pointers. I knew there would be some things that would not make the translation 1:1, but I was hoping that I was simply unaware of them. I've had a macbook pro for a year or so, but only a few weeks ago made the transition to mac for my main system, on which I rely to actually get things done, and it's a bit rocky.

I'll take a look at iTunes again, but I think I'll just have to keep looking for a media player. Libraries are fine as far as they go, but break badly if things get moved around, leading to more work to fix them again. I try to avoid programs that use them if I can help it.

I had totally forgotten about preview, and I think it will do nicely for image previewing. Thanks for that

As for backups, I'll check out the ones suggested. Again, thanks.

I know that there are fundamental differences between OSX and XP, and I know that total immersion is usually the best way to learn new things. The other small problems I am having are all realated to the inflexibility of some parts of the OS (no tree view of the filesystem, for example), and massive flexibility in others (automator, and a real shell).

I'll find my way I guess, but i'm thankful for the pointers!

...Mike

[peeb]

I wouldn't worry too much about iTunes library breakage - it doesn't actually mess with the file locations if you ask it not too, and I've never seen it break.

[Nexus5]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - Boot Camp

[JKT]

For a 'simple', non-library based media player, try VLC. You can create playlists etc.

It also plays video as well as music files, fwiw.

Personally, I would just stick with iTunes as well. You won't get the full benefit of other apps on OS X if you don't (as the Media panel won't be populated). E.g. iMovie makes use of the iTunes library for picking its music files. E.g. many third party apps use the iPhoto library for their media pickers, etc.

[alex_kac]

Or just use QuickTime to play all your songs. No library. Just double click and boom - it plays. I use iTunes for all my music, but if I need to just listen to something I usually right click->Open with QuickTime.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by gendem 

I'll take a look at iTunes again, but I think I'll just have to keep looking for a media player. Libraries are fine as far as they go, but break badly if things get moved around, leading to more work to fix them again.

Ah, Windows switchers...always looking for ways to do things with maximum effort.

It ain't yours if you're not constantly fiddling, eh?

No, seriously, iTunes and iPhoto do well enough at managing their respective media (except video, which both sorta-kinda-halfway do), and the single biggest problem for people coming from Windows is the constant urge to overthink stuff.

Though, as mentioned, if you just tell iTunes not to copy stuff into its own library, and not to manage the iTunes music folder, then it'll leave everything you add to iTunes exactly where it is, and will still keep track of it even if you move it around/resort it/rename it/whatever (unless you move it to a different drive).

Though after years of sorting an increasingly huge music library by hand and *finally* capitulating and just making sure all ID3 tags are properly set instead and using the VASTLY more flexible sorting/intelligent playlist functions in iTunes instead, I *really* no longer see why anyone would want to sort their music by hand in the Finder anymore...

[OreoCookie]

It's hard to train away this windows reflex of doing things `by hand'. It'd try to let go of it.

1. Backups
I'd start with Time Machine, it's fire & forget.
If you need more control over your backups, I suggest you have a look at Synk or Retrospect, but judging from your solution on your Windows machine, Time Machine seems the way to go.

2. ACDsee
Well, other than Preview and Quicklook, the vast majority of Mac apps has a different philosophy, away from the file-oriented approach to

3. Media player
iTunes will not create some proprietary library file or so, it will just use files and folders. You can even tell iTunes not to sort your files automatically (by default it creates a folder for the artist > album name, unless you tell iTunes it's a collection). You can stop using it any time.

4. Key mappings
Deleting by Apple + Backspace is made a little more difficult on purpose, because (unlike Windows), you don't get a `Do you really want to delete …' message. It's a failsafe so you don't accidentally delete files and folders.

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by gendem

sometimes I just want to play a song by clicking on it.

Since nobody’s mentioned it so far, you can play songs straight in the Finder, just click on the ‘play’ triangle in the preview column.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

Since nobody’s mentioned it so far, you can play songs straight in the Finder, just click on the ‘play’ triangle in the preview column.

Or just hit the space bar, which *has* been mentioned.

QuickLook rules.

[Tsilou B.]

There are a lot more applications available for Mac OS X than most people think.

1.) You can use iBackup (free) from http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup to backup selected folders. Just press the "+" button in the source list to add as many folders as you like. If you need more control over your backup, e.g. you want to exclude some files deep inside a folder from the backup, you can use MimMac ($10) from http://www.ascendantsoft.com.

2.) A very simple image viewer that resembles the first versions of ACDSee is Phoenix Slides (free) from http://blyt.net/phxslides/.

3.) Try Cog (free) from http://cogx.org/. You can drag files and folders to it's playlist window and you can load and save M3U playlists (the Winamp playlist format). Don't forget to read the top news item on the product page. (If you want Cog to open every double-clicked mp3 file, open the Info window for an mp3 file in the Finder, select Cog in the "Open with" menu and click "Change all".)

By the way, there are many more Backup applications, image viewers and mp3 players available. If you don't like the ones I've listed, try MacUpdate or VersionTracker to find other applications (as Chuckit wrote).

4.) To "fix" the home and end keys in most Mac applications, use KeyFixer (free) from http://www.starryhope.com/tech/apple/2006/keyfixer. There's also a special version of KeyFixer for Firefox. In Microsoft Office, the home and end keys work like in Windows anyway.

[Stogieman]

Originally Posted by gendem 

The other small problems I am having are all realated to the inflexibility of some parts of the OS (no tree view of the filesystem, for example), and massive flexibility in others (automator, and a real shell).

I'll find my way I guess, but i'm thankful for the pointers!

...Mike

Have you tried using the Columns view or customizing the toolbar to include a show Path button? How about going in the view menu and selecting "Show Path Bar." I know none of these are exactly the same as the tree view in Windows but they're close enough.

[CharlesS]

Okay, first off, what is with all the hostility in here? The guy's new, and asking some questions. Instead of making rude comments like "You don't like Preview?", why not consider the fact that the guy is new, and might not know about Preview?

Anyway, rather than recommending Time Machine for the 20th time (okay, I just lied. Give TM a try), I'll try to answer a few of the OP's questions.

Originally Posted by gendem 

4. Key mapping. I'd like the Home and End keys to behave as they do in Windows. I'd also like Delete to move files to the trash, as opposed to the somewhat convoluted apple-backspace. Is this possible?

I'd really recommend that you try to get used to the Mac way of doing things - the shortcuts might not be what you're used to, but often they make sense. For example, command-Delete is, like someone said, less prone to accidental deletion. For jumping to the beginning or end of a paragraph, as in the Home and End keys in Windows, the traditional Mac shortcuts are command-right arrow and command-left arrow. However, I myself prefer the emacs shortcuts, which work in most Cocoa and Carbon apps - Control-A to jump to the beginning of a paragraph, and Control-E to jump to the end of it. Why do I like these the most? Because unlike home/end or control-arrows, these shortcuts don't require you to move your fingers off of the home row. I can Ctrl-A or Ctrl-E without moving my hands or taking my eyes off the screen, which is really handy (and makes me annoyed when I have to work on a Windows machine). Here's a handy list of the default Mac OS X key bindings.

However, if you feel you must remap keys, here's how you do it. In System Preferences, in the "Keyboard and Mouse" pane, there's a "Keyboard Shortcuts" tab. This allows you to remap the shortcut keys for any menu item in any application, should you not like the default shortcut keys. If you want to change the default text key bindings, you have a few options. The simplest way is to get a macro program like QuicKeys, as someone else suggested, and remap Home and End to command-Left and command-Right. However, there's a lower-level solution that's not quite as easy to use, but free, if you're interested. As it turns out, the Cocoa text system is completely customizable, and if you make a folder inside your home/Library folder called KeyBindings, and then put a text file inside it called DefaultKeyBinding.dict, you can remap the keys. To remap home/end to what Windows does, you'd add this to the file:

[codex]"\UF729" = "moveToBeginningOfLine:"; /* home */

"\UF72B" = "moveToEndOfLine:"; /* end */[/codex]

However, it's much cooler than just that. You can define sequences and everything, so you could have a key, I dunno, move you to the beginning of a line and then paste. Or any sequence of events you'd like to define. There's an article explaining DefaultKeyBinding.dict and how it works here, and a Reader's Digest version of it here.

One downside of customizing the Cocoa text system is that it only works in Cocoa apps. Most apps for OS X these days seem to be Cocoa apps, but there are some really prominent exceptions, such as the Finder, iTunes, Firefox, and Microsoft Word (although Word has its own interface to customize key bindings).

Originally Posted by gendem 

The other small problems I am having are all realated to the inflexibility of some parts of the OS (no tree view of the filesystem, for example)

Not sure if this is what you mean, but the Finder has an "As List" option in the View menu. There's also a button for it in the toolbar. I prefer Column View, myself.