MAKING .ZIP FILES (COMPRESSED FILES) IN ONE CLICK

One of my favorite Panther features is the ability to create .zip compressed files from within the Os. (Basically, this shrinks form within the file size, ideal for files you’re going to e-mail –smaller file sizes mean faster file transfers.) To create a compressed file either Control-click on the file then choose Create Archive (which is Apple-speak for “make a compressed .zip file”). Or you can click on a file then go to the Action menu (the button that looks like a gear up in the Finder window’s toolbar) and choose Create Archive from there. Either way, it quickly creates a new file with the file extension “.zip.” This is the compressed file. You can also compress several different files (like three for example) into one single archive file-just Command-click on all the files you want included then choose Create Archive of 3 items from the Action menu. A file is created named “Archive.zip”. By the way, if someone sends you a .zip file don’t sweat it-just double-click it and Panther automatically decompresses it.

SEARCHING BY COLOR LEVEL

Besides the visual benefits of having certain files tagged with a color label, there’s hidden benefit: You can search for files by their color. For example, let’s say you misplaced an important file for a project you were working on. You can press Command-F to bring up the Find function and from the Search for Items pop-up menu, choose Label. Then, click on the color for the files you labeled in that project, click Search button and it instantly finds and displays all the files with that color. Searching by color-only Apple is cool enough to come up with a search like this!

CREATING YOUR OWN LABEL NAMES

Don’t like the names Apple created for the colors used in the Color Labels feature? Then, just create your own by going under the Finder menu and choosing Preferences (or use the keyboard shortcut Command-,). When the Finder Preferences dialog appears, click on the Labels button and you’ll see a field beside each color where you can input custom names. This is great for designating a color for “Hot Projects” or “Backup These Files”, or perhaps a project name like “Anderson Catalog” or “Vegas Blackjack Table Scam.”