Five Useful Tips And Tricks For New Mac Users

(This post is a guest post contribution from Tony Tran. Read more about him in the author bio below the post.)

As a new user, I felt too strange when moving the primary platform from Windows to macOS. Last few months, all my works are dependent on Windows. However, most of my friends suggested me to switch to macOS because it’s smoother and flexible.

At first, I thought it is easy to use, and I will quickly adapt to this new platform. But it took me a week to learn how to use macOS. I must admit that macOS is very smoothly and provide better performance. So if you want to use macOS and have the plan to change from Windows to this operating system, here are a few useful tips and tricks you should know:

#1. Installing and uninstalling an application

Installing a new application, as well as uninstalling it is quite different, compared to what we often do on Windows. The difference I mentioned is not complicated. In fact, it’s quite simpler!

There is no setup wizard to follow and install an app. Instead, you will need to download the installation file, open it and then drag it and drop to Applications folder.

That’s it!

Uninstall an application on macOS is also simple. All you need to do is just drag the app to the Trash at the bottom-right corner of your Mac screen. The application will automatically be uninstalled and completely out of your Mac. In case you change your mind, just restore it from the Trash.

What do you think? It’s too simple, right?

#2. Forcing a frozen application to close

Like on Windows, you may encounter a frozen application sometimes. It will not respond to any of your commands or actions. In this case, you will need to force it to close with a program like Task Manager.

But does macOS have the Task Manager application? Of course, it has – with a different name: Activity Monitor.

However, you can just open this built-in app by pressing a keystroke. In order to open it, navigate to Applications -> Utilities and it will be there for you to launch.

There is a quicker method to force a program to close in macOS. That is to use Force Quit Applications tool. To open this tool, press this keystroke: Command + Option + Esc, and then select the program you want to close.

That’s it!

You can also force a program to quit in macOS with Terminal. But it’s not simple, and you have to type a few commands. I will not mention it in this article because it’s not flexible!

#3. Take a screenshot on macOS

Capturing a screenshot of your Windows screen is easy as you only need to press the PrtScr key – stands for Print Screen, on your keyboard and then use MS Paint to convert to a picture file.

But did you know how to Print Screen on Mac? It is a bit different than on Windows and also more advanced. There are two primary ways to capture a screenshot on macOS, which use Command, Shift, 3 and Command, Shift, 4.

– Command, Shift, 3: This keystroke will help you to take a screenshot of the whole screen.
– Command, Shift, 4: This keystroke will allow you to choose a part of your Mac screen and then take a screenshot of it. It is also resizable that you can move your cursor to choose any sizes you want.

There are a few other tips you can learn, such as take a screenshot of a selected program, change default folder that your screenshot will store, or modify the file format of your screenshot. You can easily find detailed tutorials about these tips on Google in minutes.

#4. Split your Mac screen into two pieces

I would not recommend you to split your Mac screen if you are using a small screen machine, like a 13-inch MacBook Air. But if you are using a 27-inch iMac, there is no reason to not doing so.

You can choose the 1st application to stick on the left side, and then select the 2nd application to put on the right side. By doing that, you can easily work or read an online newspaper while focusing on something like a YouTube video.

It is also a good method to use if you are working as a writer. On the left side, you can write down all ideas you could think. And then use the right side to write a complete article, based on ideas on your left. It is flexible, and you can apply for many cases, not only for writing.

Do you have any ideas to use this feature on your Mac yet?

#5. Use the “fn” key to control your Mac better

You might not know that the “fn” key is very important while using keyboard shortcuts in macOS. It is a major key to helping you do a lot of things on your Mac quicker and easier.

For example, you can press Fn + Delete to delete from the left to the right instead of the right to the left. You can use Fn + Up or Fn + Down to scroll up one page or scroll down one page.

Moreover, the Fn key is needed to combine with F1, F2, F3, or other standard function keys to perform respective tasks. If you want to learn more about macOS keyboard shortcuts, visit the Apple’s website.

For further Mac tips and tricks, visit UsefulMacGuide.com blog to find out.

Conclusion

I hope these useful tips and tricks will help new users who have just get started with macOS to know more about this operating system and easier to control and master their Mac computer.

If you have any questions about macOS, feel free to ask by leaving your comment below.

 

Tony Tran

Tony Tran is a tech enthusiast  who regularly publishes very useful and quality articles through his blog Usefulpcguide.com

 

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