7 Things Every New Mac Owner Should Know

Are you a new Mac owner? Congratulations on finally entering the ecosystem of Apple and becoming a part of the family. 

Using Mac for the first time is going to be a bit confusing and that’s normal. You need to get yourself familiarized with the basics and then, you’ll start to have fun. 

To get you started, here are a few things that all you Mac newbies ought to know. 

The control alt delete command to force quit apps

Have you recently switched from Windows to Mac? Then, you must be wondering if there is an equivalent to ctrl+alt+delete for Mac that would allow you to terminate a program or reboot the system. 

If your question is how to control alt delete on a Mac, the answer is there are no keyboard shortcuts that will perform the same tasks of ctrl+alt+delete. But, similar results can be achieved on Mac through different commands. For instance, to force quit apps, you can press command+option+esc. Then, you have to select the app that you’re trying to terminate and click on force quit.  

Understanding accounts on a Mac

You can set up 3 types of accounts on your Mac. The first one is the standard account that gives you access to just your files and enables you to change system preferences. Then, there is the Managed Account which is handy if you’re sharing your device with other users or you wish to install parental controls. The third one is the Administrator Account which gives you access to all the settings and files on your Mac. 

When you want to change one account type with another, you have to click on  > System Preferences > Users and Groups. Here, you will be able to change account settings, assign parental controls, create new accounts, and so on. 

Launching items at the time of login

Mac users can personalize the apps that launch automatically during login. You can customize your device to launch the applications that you use almost daily when you login into your Mac. You can do this by clicking on  > System Preferences > Users and Groups. Then, you have to click on the account found on the left panel and click on the “+” button to add the applications you want to launch and click on the “-” button to remove the apps that you no longer need. 

See the hidden files using Finder

One of the most commonly used applications on Mac is the Finder. This is a powerful application, but it wouldn’t show you all the files that are there on your device. The app has been designed with an intentional viewing limitation so that the system files are kept safe. However, there might be times when you need to access those system files or the library on your Mac. 

To display hidden files on your Mac, you have to open a session on the Finder and agree to give you access to all files. Then, close the Finder and re-open it. You should be able to locate all the hidden files.  

Take a screenshot

There might be instances when you need to take a picture of what’s being displayed on your screen. It is sometimes referred to as screen capture. On a Mac, there are a few ways to take a screenshot. 

To take a picture of the full screen, you have to press command+shift+3. By pressing command+shift+4, you can drag the frame to that part of the screen that you want to capture. The image is going to save on your desktop or any other location that you’ve specified. To add image copies to the clipboard, you need to press command+control+shift+4. 

If you press command+shift+4 and space bar, the pointer will change to a camera icon and if you hover it over a specific window and then tap the trackpad or click the mouse, you will get a screenshot of only that particular window. 

Open files and programs faster 

The search window on Mac is Spotlight Search and this is a productivity dream come true. It can help you quickly open files and apps. To launch Spotlight Search, you need to press the command+space bar. Then, simply type in the first few letters of the file or app that you want to open. When the app or files appears on the dropdown menu, take the arrow down to it and then press enter. 

Avoid malware on your device

Malware prevention is of utmost importance to keep your files and system safe. Take a look at your device’s basic security settings and ensure that they are up to par. The Gatekeeper setting is one of those settings. You need to click on  > System Preferences > Security and Privacy and ensure that you’ve selected Mac App Store and Identified developers in the “Allow Applications Downloaded From” section. 

So, keep these in mind to successfully transition from a Mac newbie to an expert.