Computing With Bifocals by Nancy Carroll Gravley A column for people who remember what the world was like before there was color..... Making Tool Bars And Launchers Work For You May 19, 1999 In previous columns I have mentioned a particular family member who is often impatient and easily frustrated when things don't go "right." This particular family member is also a late-comer to the world of computers and exasperated by the fact that both her younger siblings and her children can use computers with the same ease that they make telephone calls, while she seems to have to struggle every step of the way. Since she has recognized herself as the subject previously under discussion, and still speaks to me, I am going to cover two other areas that she has found difficult -- tool bars (you know, the row of buttons that programs like Claris Works has running underneath the menubar) and launchers. If you think about it, the whole concept of tool bars is somewhat foreign. The best comparison I can think of is putting money in a candy or coke machine and choosing the specific item you want. However, a button bar can be viewed as having a couple of dozen kinds of chocolate to choose between when you aren't even sure what chocolate is! In this column we are going to try and demistify the tool bar; i.e., you can learn from all the things I learned the hard way. We are going to look at the tool bars that are found in specific programs such as ClarisWorks. Making Your Tool Bar In Claris Works You can add or remove buttons that are displayed on your bar. You can, in fact, have a completely customized one once you know how to make the changes. Open ClarisWorks and, look at the short button bar that appears along the top of your screen. It probably looks something like this. I have my cursor (the little Star Trek Federation symbol) pointing to the button that allows you to make changes in your bar. The reason there are only a few icon choices at this point is that you have not told the program what kind of document you want to create. If you move the cursor over to the “A” icon and click on it, you will open a blank word processing document. At that point your button bar will look something like this. Most tool bars can change to match the window you are working with. Since I opened up a document, the tool bar changes to the document tool bar. Each of these icons represent a standard word processing function, and for those of us who routinely use the mouse, the buttons are a great help. I have my cursor pointing to the button that allows me to create a data base. I never use that icon and there are other functions that I would rather have readily available. So, with the blank page open (or any page for that matter) I can go up to the button that allows me to modify my bar. When I click on it I get a box that allows me to choose which bar I want to modify, the default bar, the internet bar, the assistant bar, or the document bar. If you are like me when I first started out, you did not know you even had that many. The default is the one I want to change so I click on it. Then I go back to that same spot and look in the second set of options and choose edit buttons bars. When I do, I get a box that displays all the buttons that are available for the default bar. All I have to do now is click on any one I want to remove and then click on Remove at the bottom. When I am through removing buttons I don't want, I just click on OK. At the top of this box is a pull down menu (currently showing general). There are several other button bars that you can modify in the same way by just choosing one of them instead of general. If you click on a button that is featured on the bar you have open it will allow you to remove it. If you click on a button that is not there, it will allow you to add it. You can also create your own, customized tool bar if the ones Claris includes aren't set up the way you want them to be. I find this to be a very useful tool because it allows me to pick and choose from among all the different kinds of button bars so that I have just what I want, and never have to open any other bars for routine work. To make your own you go back under the Modify button and click on New Button Bar. When the main box opens, click on User Defined. You will be asked to name the bar. Do so and click on OK. At this point the button bar at the top of your screen will have nothing on it except the Modify button. Click on the Modify button and then on Edit Button Bar. Highlight your new bar and then click on Modify. You then can pick and choose buttons that you want to always have available. If you are not sure what a specific button does, click on the button once and its function will be listed in the area to the right. You will, however, have to limit the number you choose to about 22. Any more than that will not show up. The buttons you choose will appear on the bar in the order you select them. You don't have to try and figure out where you want them placed though, because once the bar is complete you can easily move things around. For instance I prefer to have the icon that allows me to open a new document on my far left. To move it there I hold down the Option key at the same time I hold down the Apple Key, click on the icon I want to move, and drag it to the new spot. So long as I have chosen my personal button bar and Visible at Start Up, this new button bar will always be the one that opens with my ClarisWorks documents. Launchers Launchers are a different animal altogether, but one that is equally helpful when using your Mac. For one thing, they don't come automatically with any programs on them. The one I use is called PowerBar and you much purchase it for around $25. Here is what mine looks like at this time. For those of you who have more powerful machines, there is PowerBar Pro and it will do more than mine will. However, mine does everything I want it to do. It is very similar to The Launcher that comes with every Mac sold, but it is better. The buttons are smaller which means they take up less real estate on my screen, and it is easier to work with. When my machine launches, this task bar is part of my screen. I have the option of turning it off, but I always have it open. PowerBar automatically goes to the back when I open any document or program so it is never in the way. I can do two basic things with this task bar. The first is click on any icon and immediately launch that program. The second is that I can move any document into a program on the task bar by simply dragging the item to the particular program. That is particularly useful when using Graphic Converter. The icon for Graphic Converter is located in the bottom right hand corner. If I have a photo I want to open in Graphic Converter so that I can modify it, I just drag the photo to the icon and it will open. The task bar is flexible and you can have it as large or as small as you want depending on how many programs you want to have ready at your fingertips. In the bottom right hand corner is a small box and if you hold down the mouse and drag on it you will see additional empty slots for program icons. To add icons go to your hard drive or wherever you have the program. Click once on the icon and drag the icon to the spot you want it on the PowerBar. To remove an icon you click on the icon and hold down the Option and Shift keys while you drag the icon somewhere on your desk top. You will get a message asking if you really want it removed. Click yes, and it will be gone. When you put something on the PowerBar you are actually putting an alias there so if you remove something from the task bar you are not throwing away that program. If you want to check out PowerBar further you can do so at www.electricpuppy.com. I hope you have fun customizing your tools and that doing so helps you use your computer more effectively. If you have any tips, hints, or thoughts on these topics, make sure you write me so that I can share your thoughts with other readers. Copies of Nancy's book Tips, Hints, and Solutions for Seasoned Beginners Using Apple Macintosh Computers With OS X are available in PDF download versions  for US$9.57 and in print version for $18.15 plus $4.00 shipping.   To view sample pages and get ordering information visit the September 14, 2004 column. Post your comments below. Check out Nancy's complete index of all her columns for the most complete list of tips anywhere. The list is categorized and is a great reference when you are looking for help! A Capacious Catalog Of Computer Tips Talking to a generation that remembers what the world was like before there was color, covers issues for people who don't care how their computer works, but rather what their computer and the internet can do for them. Nancy has a Master's degree in Human Services Administration and prior to her retirement she worked for almost 30 years in field of mental health and mental retardation. She has been a Mac user for 11 years, and has recently developed an avocation of teaching basic computer skills in both group and one-to-one settings. Most Recent Computing With Bifocals Columns Nancy's (Alternate) Holiday Gift Guide - November 30th Teaching 400(+) People to Use a Mac - November 18th Review: iRemember Digital Scrapbooking - October 31st Other "Computing With Bifocals" Columns