Mac Setup Information: Highlight, Time Machine, Dock & Shortcuts

There’s a very good probability that even when that is your first Mac, you already use an iPhone or an iPad. Identical to these different units, your Mac needs you to enter your Apple Account and Apple Account password. Enter your Apple Account and password to connect with iCloud in your Mac if you first set it up or later via the Apple Account system settings.

By connecting to iCloud together with your Apple Account, you’ll be able to entry all of your pictures, contacts, calendars, and way more on all of your Apple units with out ever having to bodily tether or sync them. As soon as all of your Apple units are linked this fashion, you’ll additionally be capable of make the most of options like having the ability to lower and paste between units, use a mouse and keyboard to manage a couple of Mac, and make purchases on the Mac App Retailer.

Relying on whether or not you’re an iCloud subscriber, additionally, you will be capable of sync recordsdata to the cloud, together with paperwork and every thing you save to your Desktop. As a result of you’ll be able to entry every thing in iCloud on any Apple machine you personal, you received’t must have your Mac useful to edit a Pages doc you’re engaged on, for instance. Discover out about iCloud right here: Find out how to use iCloud and What’s iCloud Non-public Relay. To learn the way a lot iCloud prices, learn iCloud storage plans and costs.

If you happen to haven’t created an Apple Account but, now could be the time to take action. Consider your Apple Account as your keys to the dominion. For assist, learn Find out how to create an Apple ID.

You may get to your Apple Account by going to System Settings and clicking Apple Account on the high.

If you happen to’ve ever questioned why the Mac doesn’t include a thick proprietor’s guide explaining the way it works and the way all of the apps work, surprise no extra: that guide is definitely constructed proper into the pc.

The Assist menu is so apparent that the majority of us overlook it altogether. However we achieve this at our peril as a result of it may be an enormous assist. The Assist menu sits proper there within the menu bar, and it’s contextual: Its contents will change relying on which app is open.

Clicking on the Assist menu will carry up a search area, desk of contents, lists of shortcuts, and different useful ideas and step-by-step directions, usually with visible cues to indicate you which of them menus to click on on and what menu gadgets to pick. Any time you get caught in an app and don’t know what to do subsequent, click on on the Assist menu to get out of a jam.

The Apple menu is within the higher left nook of your Mac’s display screen.

Clicking on the Apple icon provides you immediate entry to your Mac’s System Settings, the Mac App Retailer, and apps and paperwork you’ve lately opened (see Latest Objects). You may also use the Apple menu to restart your Mac and shut it down.

If an app misbehaves and stops working, the Apple menu additionally sports activities a particular operate that’s value realizing: Drive Stop. Drive give up will instantly give up a cussed utility, so you’ll be able to restart your laptop and get again to enterprise.

Constructed proper into macOS, Highlight helps you rapidly discover issues in your laptop: paperwork, apps, photos, contacts, maps, and recordsdata. What’s extra, it will probably hook up with the web to look locations like Wikipedia, information websites, film listings, and way more. You possibly can even use Highlight to do calculations, like changing ft to meters or any kind of easy arithmetic you’d somewhat belief to the pc.

Highlight lives in your Mac’s menu bar; it’s the icon that appears like a magnifying glass, and clicking on it brings up the Highlight search area. You may also open Highlight by urgent Command and House on the similar time.

Kind something into the search area, and Concentration is going to seek for it.

When you get the hold of it, utilizing Highlight is the quickest strategy to launch apps, discover paperwork, and do tons of different stuff in your Mac actually rapidly. Through the years, it’s gained increasingly options, together with sturdy internet and picture search, and fast actions like timers constructed proper in. In macOS Tahoe, Highlight gives entry to your clipboard and help for working Actions from Shortcuts. Be taught extra.

The Dock is that bar of icons that sits on the backside of your Mac’s display screen. Docks on new Macs can be crammed with Apple’s personal built-in apps, like Safari, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Notes, however you’ll be able to customise them to your liking.

Your Dock is a very powerful a part of your Mac Desktop, so spend a while getting it simply the best way you need.

You possibly can tailor your Dock to indicate you solely the apps you care about. Don’t use Maps or FaceTime? Drag them out of the Dock till the phrase Take away seems and let go. Use Mail greater than the rest? Transfer it over to the left or proper, as a substitute. You may also add purposes, folders, and recordsdata you want ceaselessly just by dragging them and dropping them into the Dock.

To additional cut back the house taken up by the Dock you’ll be able to change the dimensions of icons. To resize the Dock, click on and drag on the bar that separates purposes from folders and stacks. You may also change the dimensions of icons, change the magnification of icons as you go your cursor over them, flip off the bouncing animation, reposition the Dock to the left, backside or proper edges of your display screen, and way more within the Desktop & Dock settings (macOS Ventura and later) or Dock & Menu Bar settings (macOS Monterey and earlier).

That is your Mac. Make it look the best way you need it to.

Change the wallpaper: Proper-click the desktop and choose Change Wallpaper, or open System Settings and choose the Wallpaper possibility. You possibly can decide from the attractive photos Apple gives or select considered one of your individual.

Customise the interface: Open System Settings and select Look. You possibly can select issues like spotlight colours and whether or not your interface modifications to mild or darkish relying on the time of day, and extra.

Change the display screen saver: In System Settings > Wallpaper, click on on the Display Saver button. You possibly can decide from tons of display screen savers, together with some lovely views of the Earth from the house station, underwater video, and extra.

Use Desktop Stacks: If you wish to hold your Mac’s desktop tidy we suggest switching on Desktop Stacks, which is able to group all of the recordsdata in your Desktop by class (you’ll be able to select whether or not they’re sorted by sort, date, or tags.) To modify on Stacks click on on the Desktop and select View > Use Stacks from the menu. Now every thing can be slotted into category-appropriate ‘Stacks’ in your Desktop somewhat than your Desktop being cluttered by 1000’s of screenshots and recordsdata.

Apple’s consumer interface is about up with simple menus comparable to File and Edit, and most apps expose their main options via these menus as properly. Have to print one thing? Simply click on on the File menu and choose Print.

However it can save you your self so a lot time through the use of keyboard shortcuts to do generally used duties as a substitute. As an alternative of clicking on the File menu and deciding on Print, for instance, you’ll be able to simply maintain down the Command key and press P. (If you’re coming from a PC, principally you’ll press Command the place you used to press Management).

Every app on the Mac has its personal shortcuts. Opening Mac Assist and looking for “keyboard shortcuts” will yield some references, we additionally suggest this text: These helpful Mac keyboard shortcuts will assist you work sooner and smarter.

In case your new Mac features a trackpad—both as a result of it’s a laptop computer with a built-in pad, otherwise you scored a Magic Trackpad to go together with your new desktop—take a while to study concerning the many gestures constructed into macOS, your new Mac’s working system.

One of many easiest methods to find the varied gestures out there is true in System Settings. As soon as there, click on on Trackpad. There, you’ll discover three tabs’ value of mouse shortcuts. Transfer the cursor over any of them, and also you’ll get a video preview of the way to set off the gesture. Some might properly enhance your Mac computing expertise; I, for one, love the three-finger double-tap on any phrase to carry up its definition.

The Mac App Retailer is a handy and protected strategy to obtain software program to your Mac, all utilizing the identical Apple Account and password you utilize for Music and iPhone apps. There are millions of apps out there, together with many who received’t value you a dime.

The Mac App Retailer is way more vital than only a strategy to obtain nice new apps to your Mac. It’s additionally how Apple distributes important app updates. To maintain your Mac working in tip-top form and to maintain every thing as safe as attainable, obtain updates if you see notifications from the Mac App Retailer or set apps to routinely replace like in your iPhone.

On a brand new Mac, it’s proper there in your Dock—the blue circle with a stylized A inside it. The Mac App Retailer gives 1000’s of apps, and downloading and putting in these apps is simple. Many apps are free; others require a cost, starting from $1 to a few hundred bucks. Whilst you can—and certain will—discover loads of apps exterior the comfortable confines of the Mac App Retailer, shopping it’s an effective way to find fascinating apps, learn opinions, and get a way of the Mac software program market.

On the M-series Macs, you’ll be able to even set up iPhone and iPad apps. Once you’re looking, simply click on over to the iPhone & iPad Apps tab to obtain iOS apps proper in your desktop.

Establishing a backup is boring, un-fun, and doesn’t contain taking part in with any cool apps or doodads. However your future self will thank You-Of-Simply-Previous-Christmas, and with good motive: Having a very good backup resolution now means you received’t lose irreplaceable knowledge later. We’ve coated quite a few methods to again up your Mac with minimal fuss. Decide at the least one and get began. Belief me.

In all probability the only resolution is to make use of Apple’s personal backup resolution, Time Machine, which is a part of the Mac working system (see Find out how to use Time Machine to again up your Mac). All you want is a separate exterior storage machine which you can purchase for a comparatively small funding (see: Greatest exterior SSD for Mac or greatest exterior laborious drives if you’d like one thing a bit cheaper/greater). Time Machine makes recovering from huge issues straightforward as a result of it retains a snapshot of your Mac and makes it a breeze emigrate to a brand new Mac when the time comes to switch or improve your system.

The “time” in Time Machine is a timeline which you can assessment, restoring recordsdata or modifications to recordsdata that have been made on the factors the place Time Machine saved its backups. Time Machine backs up your Mac hourly, day by day, weekly, and month-to-month, so that you’ll at all times be capable of get well to that time limit. So long as that drive is linked your Mac can be backed up.

To arrange Time Machine observe these steps:

1. Plug in an exterior drive.
2. Open System Settings and go to Common.
3. Discover Time Machine within the column on the fitting.
4. Click on on Choices to set the backup frequency.

Are you continue to accessing your e-mail utilizing an internet browser, going to Gmail or Microsoft’s web site to see what new messages you will have? There’s a greater manner: Apple provides you a Mail app that may hook up with nearly each e-mail service. Utilizing the Mail app is much more handy, particularly when you test a number of e-mail accounts, and it’s well-integrated with macOS’s different core purposes, comparable to Contacts, Calendars, and Maps.

You’ll discover the Mail app in your Dock on new machines. Click on it to open it and observe the directions to arrange your account.

With so many people working from residence as of late, printers are a giant factor in a lot of our homes.

Prior to now, you needed to obtain and set up drivers and software program, however the Mac makes it manner simpler to arrange. All that you must do is to attach your printer to considered one of your Mac’s USB-C ports or hook up with a Wi-Fi community.

1. Open System Settings
2. Click on on Printers & Scanners.
3. Click on on the Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax button.
4. In case your Mac acknowledges the machine (and it ought to), it’ll configure it as wanted and obtain any relevant drivers from Apple’s servers.

Video chatting may not really feel like the longer term anymore, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a delight. No software program makes it simpler to start out (or obtain) a video name than FaceTime, which is constructed proper into macOS.

Discover FaceTime in your Functions folder, or use Highlight to seek for FaceTime by typing within the first few letters of the app’s title.

Now all you want is the e-mail handle or cellphone variety of one other FaceTime consumer.

Learn extra about utilizing FaceTime on a Mac in our information.

Apple Intelligence has some new methods, together with Picture Playground and ChatGPT integration. And that’s along with the options launched with macOS 15.1, together with Writing Instruments and a wiser Photographs app.