At the end of the day, an Apple computer can do anything a Windows one can. Their real differences lie in how they go about these tasks. It’s these separate ways of thinking that can throw new Mac users for a loop.
Macs occupy a much smaller portion of the industry than PCs, but their sales have rebounded in recent years. If you’re a new owner of an Apple computer, you’re probably wondering how to use a Mac efficiently. Well, once you wrap around some of the basics, it’ll become second nature to you.
Learn how to use a Mac with these 7 navigation hacks.
1. Master the Dock
The Dock takes the place of the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen. It’s filled with applications and tools to provide easy access to your most important software. With a single click of an icon, you’ll launch the associated program on the Dock.
That’s easy enough to understand. What new Mac users fail to realize is the Dock terminates programs, too. Closing out of a window with a red circle only shuts the window, but the software keeps running in the background.
You’ll know an application is running when you see a small gray circle underneath the icon on the Dock. To quit the program for good, right-click the icon and select Quit.
2. Search With Spotlight
Spotlight is the easiest way to find what you’re looking for on your Apple computer. Whether it’s an application or a missing file, you can find it by inputting its name in Spotlight. You can open this helpful tool with the Command + space bar macro.
Type in a name, program, or even a vague phrase like “programs I downloaded this month” to find an organized list of search results.
Spotlight also serves as a calculator and currency converter in a fix.
3. Uninstall on Mac
As a rite of passage, new Windows users thought you could delete a program by dragging its desktop icon into the trash. How naive we were. You’d assume it be that easy.
Well, on an Apple computer, it is. There’s no uninstallation tab on a Mac. To remove a program from your computer, visit your Applications folder, select the application, and click Move to Trash.
That’s it. However, don’t make the mistake of dragging a Dock icon to the garbage bin. These are shortcuts and not the applications themselves.
4. Activate the Camera
iMacs, MacBooks, and most other Mac devices have built-in webcams. But how do you actually use these iSight cameras? Your webcam should enable itself whenever you run a compatible application.
If you’ve never used a Mac webcam before, give it a try by visiting your Applications folder and selecting a relevant app. By default, you should have access to PhotoBooth which allows you to snap pictures of yourself.
Now, look at the light next to your iSight camera. It should have turned green. This indicates your camera is working, so it may not be necessarily recording at the time.
If you activate compatible apps and your webcam doesn’t respond, you could be dealing with a bug. Here’s how to enable camera on Mac computers if yours isn’t working.
5. Get Defined
Modern Macs come with a dictionary application. That doesn’t sound like the most exciting feature, does it?
You’ll change your mind once you learn to use it. Let’s say you’re reading an online scholarly article and come along a word you don’t understand. You could ignore the word or take the time to Google its definition.
Or, better yet, you could let your Mac do the work for you. Simply highlight the words you need to define. The Command key + Control + D macro will automatically create a definition pop-up for highlighted words.
6. Access the iCloud
The iCloud is Apple’s data storage service. Assuming you take advantage of two-step verification with your Apple account, you’ll have 5 gigabytes of iCloud storage. That’s plenty of space for work files, pictures, and other documents.
Backing up your files on the cloud is a great idea, and there’s no excuse not to do it because it requires only a few clicks.
Click on the Apple icon in the top-left, select System Preferences in the drop-down menu, choose Apple ID, then iCloud.
If the iCloud is not active, turn on the iCloud Drive. Once it’s on, navigate to Options and select Desktop and Documents folders.
Congratulations, you just backed up all your documents to the iCloud. Any time you make changes to your Desktop and Document folders, the iCloud will automatically save them.
7. Monitor Computer Activity
If your Mac computer ever begins to act strangely, your first move should be taking a look at the Activity Monitor. This tool displays the resource consumption of all active apps. Oftentimes, you’ll discover you have too many apps running, or one has gone haywire and is slowing down your Apple computer.
The easiest way to find the Activity Monitor is to type its name into Spotlight. You can also find it in the Applications folder, then Utilities.
A panel should appear listing all active apps. You’ll see your CPU usage by default. If nothing seems out of the ordinary, click the tabs at the top to switch between memory, energy, and network consumption as well.
How to Use a Mac as a Beginner
Learning how to navigate your Apple computer is a lifelong goal. You’re certainly not going to get a grasp of things overnight, especially if you’re transitioning from Windows.
However, if you know these basic tips, then you know how to use a Mac at a beginner level. That’s more than enough to handle your daily needs and troubleshoot a few issues when they occur.
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