Member Avatar for dooblay

I am embarassingly new to computing. Please be patient with my infantile questions.

Using a little how-to book, I set Expose because I do like to be able to spread out the windows I have open and get myself reorganized. But all I really want is to have the F9 key set for that, which it is. How do I eliminate the corners from also clearing the desktop, moving the windows apart, etc?

THANK YOU.

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For the Expose hot‑corner question raised by (and the helpful pointer from ), a couple of practical troubleshooting tips and a faster photo workflow are useful additions.

If a hot‑corner change in Expose does not take effect immediately, force macOS to reload the Dock/Expose settings without logging out by restarting the Dock. In Terminal:

# restart Dock so Expose/hot‑corner settings are reloaded immediately
killall Dock

# (advanced) back up and reset Dock prefs if problems persist
cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist ~/Desktop/
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist
killall Dock

Note: resetting the Dock preferences will restore Dock/Expose settings to defaults, so keep a backup and accept the prompt before using these commands.

On the photo/import side (building on ’s Image Capture suggestion): Image Capture can import straight to a chosen folder and apply a filename prefix so files arrive with sequential names. To automate resizing and renaming after import, three quick options work well:

  • Automator folder action: create a Folder Action on the import folder that first copies items (optional), then runs “Scale Images” (set to 600 px) and “Rename Finder Items” (Make Sequential). Drop files into the folder and they are processed automatically.

  • Photoshop (no manual Save for Web): use File > Scripts > Image Processor to process an entire folder, choose output format and quality, and check “Resize to Fit” to set pixel limits.

  • Command line (fast, repeatable). Example using the built‑in sips tool (preserves aspect ratio; longest side -> 600 px):

mkdir -p ~/Pictures/resized
for f in ~/Pictures/Imported/*.jpg; do
  sips -Z 600 "$f" --out ~/Pictures/resized/"$(basename "$f")"
done

If exact dimensions (600x480) are required rather than proportional scaling, add a crop step (Photoshop or an Automator Crop action). Best practice: keep originals in a separate folder, work on copies for resizing/renaming, upload from the resized folder, then remove the temporary files when finished. Also check for any third‑party utilities or login items that might reassign hot corners if odd behavior persists.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Nothing wrong to being new to computing. There is no embarassing question out there, except perhaps if the computer is not working properly when the power is off.

Go back to Expose, and click on the drop down boxes that you see next to the windows. You will find a little - setting. That turns off / disables that corner. In essence, means " do nothing "

Enjoy,

Christian

Member Avatar for dooblay

Hi Christian.....I had clicked on the '-' option and nothing seemed to happen. But once I put the Mac to sleep last night, it must've thought more about it and now it's working fine.

My other question is about importing pictures from my digital. I have just hooked up the camera or the SD card via the reader and have imported them into iPhoto. But they're so HUGE (as mentioned before) that I need to size them down to include them with an email or in an eBay auction. The only way I've figured out to do that is to go through a rather tedious process. You'll probably laugh when you read it, but here goes:

1. Import to iPhoto
2. Drag to desktop
3. close iPhoto, open Photoshop (I can't see how to import straight into Photoshop?)
4. File---'Browse folders' and pics come up in desktop window
5. Double click one
6. File---'Save for Web'
7. Reduce size by changing pixel #, keeping ratio, apply, OK
8. Rename and save to desktop
9. Repeat for all pictures/quit photoshop/throw originals in the trash

I know! I know! it's tedious!

What I'd love to find is a way I can import right into Photoshop, edit them all as a batch with 600 x 480 (if that's what comes up automatically with the 600), and be done with it! Oh, and while I'm wishing, be able to individually rename them.

Any great ideas? THANKS Beth

Member Avatar for yellow

Don't ley iPhoto import your photos. Try using /Applications/Image Capture to download the pictures off your camera and save them on the hard drive. That will at least skip the iPhoto import/export step.

Member Avatar for dooblay

Don't ley iPhoto import your photos. Try using /Applications/Image Capture to download the pictures off your camera and save them on the hard drive. That will at least skip the iPhoto import/export step.

Thanks, Yellow, but I'm so new to this that I don't even know how to retrieve them once they're there. Do I open photoshop and that will call them up?

How do I delete them once I'm done with them? I only need them long enough to upload them from here to Ranchoweb. THANKS!!

Member Avatar for yellow

Open Photoshop -> File pull-down menu -> "Browse..."
Navigate to the folder where you downloaded them from the camera..

They should all be available to you now.

After you've uploaded them, drag the folder to the trash.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello There,

Sorry that I was gone.

Some cameras, when plugged into the computer via a USB cable, or a Firewire one, will turn into little "hard drives", or more importantly, Volumes, on the Mac Desktop. You would then be able to click on them, go find your files, and drag them off of the camera onto your computer's hard drive just as if it was a floppy disk.

I do not suggest storing your photos on your desktop.... that might cause profile damage. if you want, make a shortcut of a better location, and drag your pictures there.

CHristian

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