How to Navigate Mac OS X Leopard Stacks

Mac OS X Leopard's stacks make navigating through computer files easy for the new or experienced Mac user. With stacks, users can readily access files or applications on their desktop without cluttering their virtual workspace. Use stacks to streamline your personal computer experience.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Click on one of the two default folders on the dock that Mac OS X Leopard provides for new users. Select "Downloads" to access the stack that contains all your recent downloads or "Documents" to view your personal documents.

2. Choose to have stacks display as a fan or grid. Position your mouse pointer on top of the dock. Right-click and select "View As" if you have a two-button mouse. If your mouse only has one button, hold down the "Control" key on your keyboard, click on the dock and select "View As." Selecting a fan view will fan each file in a stack across the screen's height. Opting for a grid view lets you view up to 80 files at once along the screen's width.

3. Add your own stacks to the dock. Create a folder, name it and drag files into the folder. When you've finished adding files to the new folder, drag the folder to the right side of the dock and allow the dock to anchor it.

4. Navigate through your stacks by clicking on any stack and watching your files appear as a grid or a fan. Click on a subfolder to view files in it or type the first characters in a file's name to find it. In addition, you can use the arrow keys to highlight specific files in a stack.

Tips & Warnings

• You can also add individual applications to the dock.
• Mac OS X Leopard automatically arranges a stack into a grid if too many files lay in a stack for a fan view.
• Selecting a grid view of your files may result in a shortening of file names.