Mac FAQ

Why doesn't Real Player work when I try to launch a video from a web site?
This is a known issue to the people who make Real Player. There is an existing bug in their software that may prevent media from playing when a non-administrative user clicks media links in a web browser. The easiest way to get around the problem is to launch the Real Media Player BEFORE you open the web browser. As long as Real Player is already running, it should play the media file.
I have Windows(2000 or XP) in my office- how do I access "my documents"
You can open your Windows server documents from a Macintosh by doing the following:
  1. Login to the Macintosh as yourself (same username and password you use to access a CHFA Windows machine).
  2. Go to the finder (Click on the Mac Face in the lower left of the screen)
  3. Click on the Go pulldown menu - choose Connect To server.
  4. In the address line type SMB://MERCURY - then click the Connect Button.
  5. On the SMB Mount page choose "staff" for Faculty and Staff or "students" for Students. Click OK.

You will then have a STAFF (or STUDENTS) icon on the desktop and in the Finder. Double-click then scroll down to find your user folder (you will not have access rights for anyone else but your own).

I get a compaction error any time I send mail. -OR- My mail gets send out repeatedly.
Mac OS X Panther error (10.3.x)
The source of this problem comes from sending a message with an attachment larger than 52KB. The error message:
"Compaction Error The old mailbox cannot be moved to make room for the new one, perhaps because the disk is full. An attempt will be made to restore the mailbox to its state before compaction"
We are working with Apple Computer Inc. to try fix the problem, most likely with their software. Until such time as they fix the issue, we have found that this problem initially occurs when you send an attachment of size 52KB or larger. What happens is this message is placed in the outbox queue (waiting to be sent out to its recipients). The message *is* sent, but Mac Mail fails to compact the out folder after sending, which results in the message staying in the out and being sent each time you send other mail messages. This will continue UNTIL the offending message is removed or deleted from the out box - and all additional outgoing messages will be sent over and over. The work-arounds we currently have
  1. Don't sending attachments over 50KB (obviously not a useful solution)
  2. Delete the "stuck" messages in the Out box. When you receive the "Compaction error" delete any messages from the outbox of Mac Mail (labeled as Out). Do this by opening the Out box - selecting each message and pressing the delete key (right of the +/= key) or the delete icon. DO NOT drag the messages to trash - as this will not fix the issue.
  3. Mac Mail or Thunderbird can be configured to keep your mail settings on the local hard disk of the computer in your office. This eliminates the error, but also prevents backup of messages risking loss of your mail if a hard disk failure occurs in your office. We need to schedule a time to work with you to make this change, as it can take up to an hour (depending on how much mail you have).
  4. There is no reason (benefit) to change to Thunderbird from Mac Mail at this time (other than personal preference).
Adobe Illustrator (or other Adobe products) keeps crashing on me when I try to print. The computer says that Adobe Illustrator unexpected quit. How can this be fixed?
There are two ways we've found to fix this problem. They both have to be done from with your (the users's) account, and neither of them is very difficult.
Option 1:
  1. Launch System Preferences
  2. Choose the Print & Fax pane
  3. Click the Set Up Printers... button
  4. Click on a printer to highlight it - I recommend the default printer for whatever lab you are using
  5. From the Printers menu, select Create Desktop Printer (or press Apple-Shift-D)
  6. When that finishes, go ahead and Quit the Utility, and Quit System Preferences
  7. You will now find a printer icon on your desktop. You can go ahead and delete it if you want to-- the act of creating it was all that was necessary for fixing this folder problem.
Option 2:
  1. (all the folders discussed are contained within the previous mentioned folder) Open your Home folder (the folder with your name)
  2. Open the Library folder
  3. Create a New Folder (select New Folder from the File menu, or press Apple-Shift-N)
  4. Change name of folder to Printers (it is case sensitive)
  5. Whether you followed option 1 or option 2, you should find that Illustrator should now allow you to print once again.
Microsoft Word gives me an error message about not being able to save. How can I fix this?
There are currently two known issues with the newest version of Microsoft Word (version 11.1.0) and Mac OS X Tiger. The two issues give different error messages, and we are still trying to determine if these are two unrelated problems, or the same problem with different error messages. The error message from the first problem is "Word cannot save this document due to a naming or permissions error on the destination volume." The error message from the second problem is "The disk is full or too many files are open."
We currently have a work-around that works for both error messages. We also have a solution for the first problem type (caused by an incompatability between the OS, Word, and Norton Anti-Virus). If you are getting the first error message, please contact us to apply the full solution. We have had a few reports that once "solved," the result is that the second error message now pops up. There currently is NO full solution for the second problem, but we are working with both Microsoft and Apple support to find a resolution.
One choice is to save the file to another location. You can save it to Local Storage on an office computer (not available in labs), or to removable media such as a USB Flash Drive.
The work-around for both issues is that you will not have a problem saving the file as another document type. When saving (either a normal Save or Save As) the standard format is Word Document (.doc). Choosing another format from the Format pop-up menu will allow you to save. Our recommendation is Rich-Text Format (.rtf) -- it is readable by both Macs and PC's and will retain font choices and settings and most margin and paragraph settings. (Highly complex document settings MAY be lost.) To make this your default setting, follow these instructions:
  1. Launch Microsoft Word (if it is not running already)
  2. Select Preferences from under the Word menu
  3. Select Save from the window on the left
  4. Set the pop-up menu for Save Word files as: to Rich Text Format (RTF)
  5. Click OK
Microsoft Excel tells me it cannot access my Documents folder or Desktop when I try to save. How can I save my file?
This is part of a known issue between the current version of Microsot Office and Mac OS X Tiger. The particular error message is:
"Microsoft Excel cannot access the file 'Where-ever you tried to save to' "
There are several possible reasons:
"The name of the workbook you're trying to save is the same as the name of another document that is read-only. Try saving the workbook with a different name."
There currently is NO full solution for the problem, but we are working with both Microsoft and Apple support to find a resolution. There are a couple of fixes that can be done. If you have unusual data or formulas entered into Excel, your only choice is to save it to another location. You can save it to Local Storage on an office computer (not available in labs), or to removable media such as a USB Flash Drive. The other work-around for both issues is that you will not have a problem saving the file as another document type. When saving (either a normal Save or Save As) the standard format is Excel Spreadsheet (.xls). Choosing another format from the Format pop-up menu will allow you to save. One good choice is Comma Delimited (.csv) -- it is readable by both Mac's and PC's and will retain entered data, but it does not preerve cell properties, formulas, and other special formatting. Another setting that may work for you is an Excel 4.0 Workbook (.xlw). It should be readable by Mac's and PC's as well, but once again has problems retaining some advanced features. To make one of these your default setting, follow these instructions:
  1. Launch Microsoft Excel (if it is not running already)
  2. Select Preferences from under the Excel menu
  3. Select Compatibility from the window on the left
  4. Set the pop-up menu for Default save as type: to which setting you prefer
  5. Click OK
I access my e-mail and get the error "Mail cannot access your mailboxes because they are locked."
Mac OS X Tiger problem (10.4.x)
Use the following steps the access your email:
  1. Acknowledge the error message and Quit Mail
  2. Open your Home Directory (house-shaped folder)
  3. Open your Library folder
  4. Open your Mail folder
  5. Select the file "Envelope Index-journal" and drag it to the trash
  6. Re-launch Mail
How do I access the Public server storage space?
Public storage is located on our Mercury server. To locate it use these steps.
  1. Make sure that the Finder is active. (click on desktop, select Finder from the dock, etc.)
  2. Select "Connect to Server" from the Go menu (or press Apple-K)
  3. Type "smb://mercury.chfa.uni.edu" (or select it from favorites if it is there; no quotation marks please!)
  4. Click the Connect button
  5. Select "Public" from the Pop-Up menu
  6. Click the OK button
How can I access my server-based personal document space from an older Macintosh?
The faculty, staff, and student storage areas can only be accessed from a Macintosh computer running OS X or a Windows computer. If the computer that you regularly use is running OS 9 and maintained by CHFA|Tech, please contact us and request an OS upgrade.
How do I change my account password in OS X?
Follow these steps and be take note to step 6.
  1. Open System Preferences
  2. Open the Accounts Preference pane
  3. Click in the Password blank for your account
  4. Enter your current (old) password in the Old Password line
  5. Enter your new password on the New Password line, and enter it again on the Verify line
  6. Do NOT enter anything into Password HINT -- this will usually lock you out of the system the next time your try to log into your computer!!
  7. In most cases within CHFA, using those steps will change your password to access the computer in either the Mac or PC labs as well as your offices (if you are faculty or staff) or your university active directory account (if you are a student)
How do I print in OS X?
Printing in OS X is pretty simple, but a bit counter-intuitive when you are used to OS 9.
Step 1: Select Print from the File Menu (or use Apple-P)
Step 2: Select the appropriate printer from the Pop-up list next to the word Printer
Step 3: Press the Print button
If the printer that you are trying to print to is not in the Pop-up list, you can either try setting it up yourself (by choosing Edit Printer List ... from the Pop-up List) or submit a work request and we will get it set-up.