- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- About the Author
- Acknowledgments
- Tell Us What You Think!
- Introduction
- Part I: Introduction to Mac OS X
- Chapter 1. Mac OS X Component Architecture
- Chapter 2. Installing Mac OS X
- Chapter 3. Mac OS X Basics
- Chapter 4. The Finder: Working with Files and Applications
- Chapter 5. Running Classic Mac OS Applications
- Part II: Inside Mac OS X
- Chapter 6. Native Utilities and Applications
- Chapter 7. Internet Communications
- Chapter 8. Installing Third-Party Applications
- Part III: User-Level OS X Configuration
- Chapter 9. Network Setup
- Chapter 10. Printer and Font Management
- Chapter 11. Additional System Components
- Part IV: Introduction to BSD Applications
- Chapter 12. Introducing the BSD Subsystem
- Chapter 13. Common Unix Shell Commands: File Operations
- Part V: Advanced Command-Line Concepts
- Chapter 14. Advanced Shell Concepts and Commands
- Chapter 15. Command-Line Applications and Application Suites
- Chapter 16. Command-Line Software Installation
- Chapter 17. Troubleshooting Software Installs, and Compiling and Debugging Manually
- Chapter 18. Advanced Unix Shell Use: Configuration and Programming (Shell Scripting)
- Part VI: Server/Network Administration
- Chapter 19. X Window System Applications
- Chapter 20. Command-Line Configuration and Administration
- Chapter 21. AppleScript
- Chapter 22. Perl Scripting and SQL Connectivity
- Chapter 23. File and Resource Sharing with NetInfo
- Chapter 24. User Management and Machine Clustering
- Chapter 25. FTP Serving
- Chapter 26. Remote Access and Administration
- Chapter 27. Web Serving
- Part VII: Server Health
- Chapter 28. Web Programming
- Chapter 29. Creating a Mail Server
- Chapter 30. Accessing and Serving a Windows Network
- Chapter 31. Server Security and Advanced Network Configuration
- Chapter 32. System Maintenance
- Appendix A. Command-Line Reference
- Appendix B. Administration Reference
System Preferences: Hardware
The Hardware section of the System Preferences panel includes panes for customizing hardware settings. With the controls in this section, you can customize such items as color profiles, display settings, and sound settings. In this section, we look specifically at the ColorSync, Displays, Energy Saver, Keyboard, Mouse, and Sound panes.
ColorSync
The ColorSync pane works much like the ColorSync control panel of the traditional Mac OS. The ColorSync pane allows you to specify color profiles for different types of workflows. For detailed information on ColorSync, the color matching technology, see Apple's Web site at http://www.apple.com/colorsync/. Additionally, check this URL for a ColorSync white paper: http://www.apple.com/creative/resources/.
In addition to settings under the different tabs of the ColorSync pane, for each tab, you can import preferences from a ColorSync workflow document, or export preferences as a ColorSync workflow document.
Device Profiles
The Device Profiles tab, shown in Figure 11.22, is where you specify profiles for standard devices. For standard devices you can specify an input profile, display profile, output profile, and proof profile. If you calibrated your display either in the Displays pane or by running the Display Calibrator manually, and you would like that profile to be available in the ColorSync profile, copy it to /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/or /Library/ColorSync/Profiles/. The profile you created is automatically stored in your own ~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/ directory.
)
Figure 11.22 The Device Profiles tab of the ColorSync pane.
Document Profiles
The Document Profiles tab, shown in Figure 11.23, is where you specify profiles for documents. For documents you can specify profiles for RGB default, CMYK default, gray default, and lab default.
)
Figure 11.23 The Document Profiles tab of the ColorSync pane.
CMMs
As in the ColorSync control panel of traditional Mac OS, the ColorSync pane has a CMMs tab, where you specify the color matching method or technology to be used. The choices are Automatic and Apple CMM. The CMMs tab is shown in Figure 11.24.
)
Figure 11.24 The CMMs tab of the ColorSync pane.
Displays
The Displays pane in System Preferences functions in a way similar to the Monitors control panel or the Monitors portion of the Monitors & Sound control panel. As you might have noticed, Displays is also located in the System Preferences toolbar. In some versions of OS X, there is also a Displays Dockling.
Display
As expected, in the Display tab, shown in Figure 11.25, you can set the resolution, the number of colors displayed, and the refresh rate. There is an option to make the Displays information available in the menu bar. There is also an option available to ask the pane to list only modes that the display recommends. You probably will see some of the options grayed out upon checking the box. Apple recommends that 256-color mode and 640x480 resolution be used, alone or in combination, in Classic applications only.
)
Figure 11.25 The Display tab of the Displays pane is where you set resolution and color depth.
Color
In the Color tab, shown in Figure 11.26, you select a color profile for your monitor. If no ColorSync profile is available for your monitor, you can create a custom profile by clicking the Calibrate option. The Calibrate option starts the Display Calibrator utility, which will guide you through calibrating your monitor.
)
Figure 11.26 The Color tab of the Displays pane is where you select a color profile for your monitor.
Arrange
When multiple monitors are attached, the main monitor has an extra tab called Arrange, shown in Figure 11.27.
)
Figure 11.27 When you select the Displays pane while multiple monitors are attached, the Displays pane of the main monitor includes an Arrange tab.
When you open the Displays pane while multiple monitors are attached, the controlling monitor has the extra Arrange tab. At the same time, the other monitors display the normal Displays pane, with only the Display and Color tabs. In this area of the Displays pane, you can select how the monitors are arranged.
Figure 11.28 shows the two monitors without the added distraction of the Displays panes.
)
Figure 11.28 Here you can see the multiple monitors without the distraction of the Displays panes.
Display Calibrator
The Display Calibrator, as mentioned earlier, is the utility that creates a ColorSync profile specific to your monitor. The utility is located in /Applications/Utilities.
Figure 11.29 shows the introductory screen for the Display Calibrator. As you can see, the calibrator will guide you through adjusting your brightness and contrast, gamma, display color, and white point. The calibrator has an expert mode available, but you can turn that off by deselecting the check mark, if you so choose. The normal and expert modes are similar. Expert mode does not provide any extra steps, only more options with some of the steps.
)
Figure 11.29 The introductory screen of the Display Calibrator. Here you can choose whether to be in expert mode.
The first set of adjustments you make are done in the Set Up step, shown in Figure 11.30, where you adjust your display's contrast and brightness. The Display Calibrator utility instructs you to set your contrast to the highest setting, and adjust your brightness so that the oval in the dark square is barely visible. This step is the same in the expert and normal modes.
)
Figure 11.30 In the Set Up step, you adjust the contrast and brightness of your display.
The next step is the Native Gamma step, where you determine the your display's native gamma. Figure 11.31 shows this step in expert mode. In this mode, you adjust the sliders for each of three squares—red, green, and blue—so that the apple shape in the center of each square blends as closely as possible with the background of the square. The utility suggests that it might be helpful to squint or stand back from the display to accomplish this task. In the normal mode, you adjust only one item: a gray square.
)
Figure 11.31 In the Native Gamma step, shown here in expert mode, you determine the native gamma of your display.
The next step is the Target Gamma step, in which you select a target gamma for your display. Figure 11.32 shows this step in normal mode. In this mode, you select from standard Macintosh gamma, standard PC gamma, or native gamma. The target gamma is selected in expert mode on a slider, which has the Macintosh and PC gammas marked. You'll find that your monitor displays a broader and smoother color palette if you choose the Macintosh default gamma of 1.8. If you do a lot of image creation for the Web, you might find it useful to create two ColorSync profiles: one for a standard Macintosh display and one for a standard PC display. Two such profiles would give you the ability to see approximately how your images will appear on each of these common display types.
)
Figure 11.32 In the Target Gamma step, shown here in normal mode, you select the target gamma of your display.
The next step, the Tristimuli Values step, is shown in Figure 11.33. Because the color range varies with the physical characteristics of each display, this step allows you to select a color range for your display by selecting a description for your display model. This step is the same for both modes.
)
Figure 11.33 In the Tristimuli Values step, select a color range for your display by selecting an appropriate description for your display model.
In the next step, the Target White Point step, you select a target white point setting for your display. Figure 11.34 shows this step for the normal mode, which provides three basic choices with comments on the choices, as well as a choice for no white point correction. The expert mode provides a slider interface for these choices, but no comments on possibly pertinent choices. D65, equivalent to midday sunlight, is the default choice in both modes.
)
Figure 11.34 Select a target white point setting for your display in the Target White Point step.
In the final step, shown in expert mode in Figure 11.35, you provide a name for your new profile. In expert mode, a summary of the profile is included, but in normal mode, you simply provide a name. As mentioned earlier, this ColorSync profile is saved in your own ~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles/ directory. It then appears as an option in the Color tab of the Displays pane. Additionally, it appears either directly listed or as an Other Profile option for all the profile categories under the Device Profiles tab of the ColorSync pane, plus as an RGB Default choice under ColorSync's Document Profiles tab.
)
Figure 11.35 In the final step, you save your newly created ColorSync profile.
If you decide you do not like the profile you created, simply delete it.
Energy Saver
The Energy Saver pane is where you set sleep and wake options for your machine, as well as whether it should automatically restart after a power failure.
Sleep | Next Section
Account Sign In
View your cart