Mac tips for Windows switchers
It’s easy. Just do it!
Whether you bought that MacBook because you needed some more computing power, better performance, or out of social insecurity, getting pushed into an alien OS can be a frightening experience. People who have just used the all-time-good Windows might feel that many essential features are seemingly missing.
In this blog, let me take you through some of the differences, tips, and tricks that will make your experience on macOS efficient and smooth.
I tend to see macOS as halfway between the monster (to an average user) that is Linux and the cute little Windows.
If you wish to familiarise yourself with the keyboard and shortcuts, start at the end of the blog and read backwards. JK. Head to the end!
Where is the Start menu?
Windows users tend to start most of their activities from the Start Menu. There is nothing similar on Mac. You start by clicking an icon on the desktop, using Spotlight search to find what you want to start doing, choosing an option from the top menu bar, invoking the Launchpad by icon or shortcut key, or tapping a Dock icon.
Where are the menu icons?
Applications on Windows typically have menu along their top edge of the program window. For macOS, this is a part of the OS and appears on the top margin of the desktop — the menu-bar.
Maximising and minimising options for a window is usually on the left as opposed to Windows. There are even more options for you to explore.
Entering fullscreen usually hides the Dock at the bottom, so I don’t prefer it. Instead you can double tap the application bar for it to expand and fill available height.
Where is the taskbar?
Along the bottom of your Mac screen you see a row of icons that resembles the Windows Taskbar. Indeed it does function similarly — with some key differences.
The Dock is split between two main sections. Most of it is dedicated to app and system utility shortcuts on its left side. On the right, past a thin line, are document icons. You must customise the dock to meet your daily needs. Right-clicking on an icon in the dock will show you some additional options which include removing it from the dock, or force quitting a running app.
Where is the Windows Explorer?
Finder on macOS has got you. It’s actually pretty similar, except that the main left-hand sidebar doesn’t show you the folder tree the way Windows does. It indeed has the items which are just shortcuts, or favourites. Finder lets you organize files by color codes and keyword tags.
Where is the action center?
Like Windows, macOS offers a notification center. Other than notifications, you get access to the calendar, stock prices, screen-time, etc. Click on the system date-time to open this.
On the right-end of the menu bar, we also have apps running in the background, battery, wifi (system status), as well as control center — for things like bluetooth, brightness, and even the focus mode!
I miss Cortana, what should I do?
Well, you probably know this one. Apple’s Siri is a supercharged personal assistant that can do small tasks like taking notes and adding reminders to complex tasks like playing music, surfing to web, and even tweeting on your behalf.
Just say, Hey Siri and watch the magic happen!
How do I install apps? Where are the .exe files?
In macOS, a typical app installation involves you mounting the .dmg file (acronym for disk image) and dragging the app icon into the Applications folder. In some cases, you actually get an installation guide — which is a similar experience to Windows.
Additionally, the App Store has got you covered should you need any of the apps available there. This is similar to the Windows store!
How do I right click? What are trackpad gestures?
To right click, click the right corner of your Apple mouse, or click with two fingers on your Apple trackpad. You can change this in Mouse preferences and Trackpad preferences. Settings for scroll direction, swipe gestures, and button assignments are also in here.
These can be very useful. For example, you can drag and drop with 3 fingers, see all open apps with 4 fingers, and even open the launchpad with 5 fingers! There are many more gestures, which you will discover with time.
Where is the control panel?
Just head to System Preferences instead for this purpose. Options for your Mac are organised into preferences. For example, options you can set for Spotlight are located in Spotlight preferences.
Preferences appear as a grid of icons; the icons shown may vary depending on your Mac and the apps you have installed. Click an icon to open a preference pane and display the options.
What else is there to know?
- MacOS has a variety of inbuilt applications that come for free. These include productivity apps like — keynote, numbers, pages (similar to the Microsoft Office suite), and even music and video editing apps like iMovie.
- Most items on macOS can be previewed using the Preview app. This is your one-stop solution to everything from image editor to PDF reader.
- To erase files, uninstall applications, or in fact remove anything, you can just drag and drop it into the Bin icon at the extreme end of the dock. This acts as your Recycle Bin, and can be emptied eventually.
- Taking screenshots on macOS is as easy as ABC. Just use Command + Shift + 3 to capture the entire screen, or Command + Shift + 4 to capture a portion of the screen.
The keyboard is nothing like I have seen before!
Look at this keyboard. Isn’t it cute? Except that it’s all strange to a Windows person. There are bunch of weird symbols, keys and a lot of missing keys. So what’s the deal here?
Mac menus and keyboards often use symbols for certain keys. Here are the primary ones (often acting as modifier keys in keyboard shortcuts).
- Command (or Cmd) ⌘
- Shift ⇧
- Option (or Alt) ⌥
- Control (or Ctrl) ⌃
- Caps Lock ⇪
- Fn
To use a keyboard shortcut, press and hold one or more modifier keys and then press the last key of the shortcut. For example, to use Command-C (copy), press and hold the Command key, then the C key, then release both keys.
Some keys on some apple keyboards have special symbols and functions, such as for display brightness, keyboard brightness, volume, play-pause, etc.
Pressing the 🌐 Fn key only opens up an emoji menu which is quite useful.
There are a ton of shortcuts for macOS and I won’t bore you with them here. An exhaustive list can be found on Apple’s support website.
Conclusion
I hope this blog has been really useful, especially if you are newbie and just starting out with a Mac. With time, you’ll discover all these, and a lot more as you progressively get acquainted with the operating system, and the hardware.
Btw, are you a developer who hates the dull look and feel of the default macOS terminal? Here is how cool my terminal looks like —
Wanna learn how to do this? I’ll show that to you in my next blog 😇
Feel free to reach out to me for any questions or suggestions that you might have. You can follow me on these social media platforms — LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram for more updated content!
As always! Happy Hacking! 😇
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