There are some basic computer functions that everyone should know when using Silhouette Studio.
These aren't necessarily specific to the Silhouette Studio software, but are important for all users to know how to do as they are often used and needed in the Silhouette software. In this tutorial we'll go over the five basic computer functions I think everyone should know AND how to do them..whether you're on a MAC or a PC.
#1: How to Right Click on a MAC or PC with or without a Mouse
How to Right Click on a MAC
How to Right click on a Mac with Mouse: If you're wondering how to right click on a magic mouse, which is a MAC mouse that does not have buttons, simply use one finger to click towards the right side of the mouse.
Alternatively you can hold down the Control keys on the keyboard and click the mouse as normally would to get the right click menu options.
How to Right click on a Mac with a Track Pad or a Mac Laptop: To right click on a Mac laptop or track pad, simply click simultaneously with two fingers.
Alternatively you can hold down the Control key on the keyboard and click the track pad with a single finger as you normally would to get the right click menu options.
How to Right Click on a PC
How to Right Click on a PC with Mouse: To right click on a PC computer with Windows while using a mouse click the right mouse button with your middle finger (which is where it should naturally rest.)
Alternatively you can hold down the Control (CTRL) key on the keyboard and click the mouse with a single finger as you normally would to get the right click menu options.
How to Right click on a PC Laptop Touchpad - To right click on a PC laptop's touchpad click the right button below the touchpad.
Alternatively you can hold down the Control (CTRL) key on the keyboard and click the track pad with a single finger as you normally would to get the right click menu options.
#2: How to Unzip a Zip Folder on a MAC or PC
Zip files are a way to compress multiple files or folders into a single download for ease and speed of download. In order to access the files and folders inside the zip file, the zip file needs to be unzipped. Unzipping files on both MAC and PC is easy and free.
How to Unzip on a MAC
To unzip a zip folder on a Mac, wether it's a Macbook Pro or Macbook Air, first download the zip file. Navigate to where the zip file is (usually in the Downloads folder). You can either double click the file to unzip it or right click the zip file then select Open With > Archive Utility.
When a file is unzipped, a new folder with the same name will be produced and you can then open the folder to find the files and folders inside.
It's important to note, multiple zip files can be zipped together. If this happens repeat the process until all zip files are unzipped and you can access the folders.
How to Unzip on a PC
To unzip a zip folder on a PC, find the downloaded zip file. Right click on the folder and select Extract All. Select where the extracted or unzipped files should be saved. Double click on the file you'd like to extract / "un-zip" and you will see and be able to access the contents of the zip folder. Full tutorial on how to unzip a folder on a PC here
#3: How to Install a Font on a PC or MAC
How to Install a Font on a MAC - Start by downloading the font and unzipping the file. Double click on the font .OTF or .TTF file. The font install window will pop up. Click INSTALL. This will automatically open Font Book and the font is now installed. You will need to re-start any programs that were running during the font installation for the font to show up in the list of available fonts - this includes Silhouette Studio. Click here for a step by step tutorial on how to install fonts on a MAC.
How to Intall a Font on a PC: Start by downloading the font and unzipping the file. Locate the font .OTF or .TTF file. and right click to get the option to "Install". Follow the on-screen prompts. You will need to re-start any programs that were running during the font installation for the font to show up in the list of available fonts - this includes Silhouette Studio. Click here for a step by step tutorial on how to install fonts on a PC.
#4: How to Take a Screen Grab on a MAC or PC
Knowing to how to take a screen shot is extremely helpful when using software like Silhouette Studio - especially when giving or asking for help. Taking a picture of your monitor, rather than a screen shot, producing odd angle, blurry, and hard to see photos. Taking a screenshot however allows you to focus on either the full window or a specific area of the window with a clean clear, easy to see image that will automatically save to your computer.
How to take a screen grab on a MAC: To take a screen grab or screen shot on a MAC press down (in this order) Command + Shift + 3 on the keyboard . This will take a screenshot of your entire screen.
If you want to take a screenshot of a specific area of the screen to more easily see a window, panel, selection or tool bar hold down, in this order: Command + Shift + 4 this will turn your mouse into a cursor so you can then hold down the mouse and drag across the area you want to take a screen shot of.
How to take a screen grab on a PC: To save a screenshot to your computer, hold down the the Windows Key + PrtScrn. You can locate the screenshot in the Pictures > Screenshots folder.
You can also quickly copy a screen shot to your clipboard to paste into another program such as a Facebook comment, email, or message. To do this, press the PrtScn button on the keyboard, then go into the other application (email, Facebook, even Silhouette studio) and paste the image by clicking Ctrl+V.
#5: How to Use a Website Search Box to Get the Best Search Results
Google, with its super smart search box and ability to pick up keywords in any order, has created a misunderstanding of how the large majority of search boxes on websites on the Internet work. If you search google for "How do I install a font in Silhouette Studio V4.4" these are the search results you will get...even with the misspelling of studio.
However, if you search that exact term on pretty much any other website - that's NOT a search engine - you will likely come up completely empty as the search results are too narrow.
The reason is most search boxes aren't nearly as smart as google. Instead, in order to the best search results on websites it's best to search just a few keywords such as "install fonts" where you will then get a handful of relevant results.
The moral of the story is this: be super specific when searching Google or other search engines, but with a limited number of keywords ONLY on other websites as too specific of searches will narrow your results to...zero.
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In up to date Windows 10, you can also snapshot a specific area of the screen by "Win + Shift + s", and then use the mouse to drag a box around the area you want to snapshot.
ReplyDeleteThis puts it into the clipboard, so you can paste it into a graphics program.
That's a good one Nifty1a. I also use the snipping tool. Use the windows search in Windows 10 and look for Snipping Tool. It is similar in that you can grab just a portion of the screen and paste it. I frequently use it to match colors.
ReplyDelete