What to do when you get a new Mac or MacBook

There’s an excellent probability that should you’re shopping for a Mac for the primary time, you already use an iPhone or an iPad. Identical to these different gadgets, your Mac needs you to enter your Apple ID and Apple ID password. Enter your Apple ID and password to connect with iCloud in your Mac whenever you first set it up, or later via the Apple ID system setting.

By connecting to iCloud along with your Apple ID you may entry all of your images, contacts, calendars, and rather more on all of your Apple gadgets with out ever having to bodily tether or sync them. As soon as all of your Apple gadgets are linked this fashion you’ll additionally have the ability to make the most of options like having the ability to minimize and paste between gadgets, use a mouse and keyboard to manage multiple Mac, and make purchases on the Mac App Retailer.

Relying on whether or not you an an iCloud subscriber additionally, you will have the ability to sync recordsdata to the cloud, together with paperwork and all the pieces you save to your Desktop. As a result of you may entry all the pieces in iCloud on any Apple system you personal you gained’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 Personal Relay. To learn how a lot iCloud prices learn: iCloud storage plans and costs.

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

You may get to your Apple ID by going to System Settings (System Preferences on pre-Ventura machines) and clicking Apple ID on the prime.

When you’ve ever puzzled why the Mac doesn’t include a thick proprietor’s handbook explaining the way it works and the way all of the apps work, marvel no extra: That handbook is definitely constructed proper into the pc.

The Assist menu is so apparent that almost all 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 discipline, desk of contents, lists of shortcuts, and different useful ideas and step-by-step directions, usually with visible cues to point out you which of them menus to click on on and what menu objects 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 prompt entry to your Mac’s System Settings, the Mac App Retailer, and apps and paperwork you’ve lately opened (see Latest Gadgets). You can too 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: Pressure Give up. Pressure give up will instantly give up a cussed software, so you may restart your pc and get again to enterprise.

Constructed proper into macOS, Highlight helps you rapidly discover issues in your pc: paperwork, apps, photos, contacts, maps, and recordsdata. What’s extra, it might probably hook up with the web to look locations like Wikipedia, information websites, film listings, and rather more. You possibly can even use Highlight to do calculations, like changing ft to meters or any kind of easy arithmetic you’d slightly 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 discipline. You can too open Highlight by urgent Command and Area on the identical time.

Sort something into the search discipline and Focus will seek for it.

When you get the hold of it, utilizing Highlight is the quickest solution to launch apps, discover paperwork, and do tons of different stuff in your Mac actually rapidly. Over time it’s gained an increasing number of options together with sturdy internet and picture search, and fast actions like timers constructed proper in.

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

Your Dock is an important a part of your Mac Desktop, so spend a while getting it simply the way in which you need.

You possibly can tailor your Dock to point out 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 as an alternative. You can too add functions, folders, and recordsdata you want incessantly just by dragging them and dropping them into the Dock.

To additional scale back the area taken up by the Dock you may change the scale of icons. To resize the Dock, click on and drag on the bar that separates functions from folders and stacks. You can too change the scale of icons, change the magnification of icons as you cross your cursor over them, flip off the bouncing animation, reposition the Dock to the left, backside or proper edges of your display screen, and rather 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 way in which you need it to.

Change the wallpaper: Proper-click the desktop and choose Change Wallpaper, or open System Settings and choose the Wallpaper choice. You possibly can choose from the gorgeous photos Apple gives of select certainly one of your personal.

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

Change the display screen saver: In System Settings > Display screen Saver you may choose from tons of display screen savers together with some stunning views of the Earth from the area 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 may 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 all the pieces shall be slotted into category-appropriate ‘Stacks’ in your Desktop slightly than your Desktop being cluttered by hundreds of screenshots and recordsdata.

System Settings was once known as System Preferences in older variations of macOS.

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

However it can save you your self so a lot time by utilizing keyboard shortcuts to do generally used duties as an alternative. As a substitute of clicking on the File menu and deciding on Print, for instance, you may simply maintain down the Command key and press P. (In case you are 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 trying to find “keyboard shortcuts” will yield some references, we additionally suggest this text: These helpful Mac keyboard shortcuts will assist you to work quicker 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 along with your new desktop—take a while to study in regards to the many gestures constructed into macOS, your new Mac’s working system.

One of many easiest methods to find the varied gestures obtainable 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 tips on how to set off the gesture. Some could effectively 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 solution to obtain software program to your Mac, all utilizing the identical Apple ID and password you employ for Music and iPhone apps. There are millions of apps obtainable, together with many who gained’t value you a dime.

The Mac App Retailer is rather more essential than only a solution to obtain nice new apps to your Mac. It’s additionally how Apple distributes important app updates. To maintain your Mac operating in tip-top form and to maintain all the pieces as safe as doable, obtain updates whenever you see notifications from the Mac App Retailer or set apps to mechanically 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 provides hundreds of apps, and downloading and putting in these apps is simple. Many apps are free; others require a fee, starting from $1 to a few hundred bucks. When you can—and sure will—discover loads of apps exterior the comfortable confines of the Mac App Retailer, looking it’s an effective way to find fascinating apps, learn critiques, and get a way of the Mac software program market.

On the M1-, M2- and M3-series Macs, you may even set up iPhone and iPad apps. While you’re looking, simply click on over to the iPhone & iPad Apps tab to obtain iOS apps proper in your desktop.

Organising 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 cause: Having an excellent backup resolution now means you gained’t lose irreplaceable information later. We’ve coated quite a few methods to again up your Mac with minimal fuss. Choose 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 system you could purchase for a comparatively small funding (see: Greatest exterior SSD for Mac or greatest exterior arduous drives in order for you 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 interchange or improve your system.

The “time” in Time Machine is a timeline you could assessment, restoring recordsdata or adjustments to recordsdata that have been made on the factors the place Time Machine saved its backups. Time Machine backs up your Mac hourly, every day, weekly, and month-to-month, so that you’ll at all times have the ability to get better to that time limit. So long as that drive is related your Mac shall be backed up.

To arrange Time Machine comply with 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 proper.
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’ve gotten? 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 should you test a number of e mail accounts, and it’s well-integrated with macOS’s different core functions, similar to Contacts, Calendars, and Maps.

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

With so many people working from residence lately, printers are an enormous 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 you want to do is to attach your printer to certainly one of your Mac’s USB-C ports or hook up with a Wi-Fi community.

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

Video chatting won’t 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.