Switching from Windows to Mac: beginner tips for Finder, shortcuts and apps

TUREFF• •0

Moving from Windows to a Mac is easier than most people expect, but a few things work differently enough to be confusing for the first week. Learn these and you will feel at home quickly.

Command, not Control

The biggest muscle-memory change: most shortcuts that use Ctrl on Windows use Command (⌘) on a Mac.

Command-C, Command-V, Command-X: copy, paste, cut
Command-Z: undo; Shift-Command-Z: redo
Command-A: select all; Command-F: find
Command-S: save; Command-P: print
Command-Tab: switch between open apps
Command-Comma: open the current app's settings
Control-Command-Q: lock the screen
Shift-Command-5: take a screenshot or screen recording

The Control key still exists and does other things, such as Control-click to open a shortcut menu (a right-click). On a trackpad, a two-finger click also works as a right-click. The Option key sits where Alt is on a Windows keyboard. Shortcuts are shown next to each item in the menus, so you can always look one up.

Finder: the Mac's File Explorer

Finder is the smiling face icon in the Dock and is always running.
The sidebar shows your Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Applications and iCloud Drive.
Press Space with a file selected to preview it with Quick Look, without opening an app.
Command-Delete moves a file to the Bin (Trash). To rename, select a file and press Return.
Use View in the menu bar to switch between icons, a list and columns. Column view is handy for navigating deep folders.

Spotlight: search for everything

Press Command-Space to open Spotlight. Type part of an app name and press Return to launch it, or search for files, emails, settings and quick sums. Many Mac users open almost everything this way instead of hunting through folders.

Installing and removing apps

The App Store is the simplest route, with automatic updates.
Apps downloaded from a developer's website usually come as a .dmg file. Open it and drag the app into the Applications folder, then eject the disk image and delete the .dmg.
The first time you open a downloaded app, macOS checks it and asks you to confirm. Only download from developers you trust.
To remove most apps, drag them from Applications to the Bin. Some come with their own uninstaller; check the developer's instructions.

Closing a window is not quitting an app

This catches out almost everyone.

The red button in a window's top-left corner, or Command-W, closes that window. With most apps, the app keeps running.
Command-Q quits the app completely. A small dot under an icon in the Dock shows that it is still open.
Command-H hides an app; Command-M minimises the current window to the Dock.
If an app freezes, Option-Command-Esc opens Force Quit.

Mission Control and multiple desktops

Press Control-Up Arrow (or the Mission Control key, F3 on many keyboards) to see every open window spread out. At the top you can add extra desktops, called Spaces, for example one for work and one for personal use. On a trackpad, swiping up with three or four fingers opens it, and swiping sideways moves between desktops; you can change gestures in System Settings.

Time Machine backups

Time Machine is the built-in backup and it is worth setting up on the first day.

Connect an external drive (or use a compatible network storage device).
Open System Settings > General > Time Machine and add it as a backup disk.
After the first full backup, it backs up changes automatically while the drive is connected.

Time Machine cannot back up to iCloud Drive, so keep an external copy even if you use iCloud.

Keeping macOS up to date

Go to System Settings > General > Software Update to install updates and turn on automatic updates. Updates bring security fixes as well as new features, so do not leave them for months. Back up before a major upgrade.

A few more differences

The menu bar for the current app is always at the top of the screen, not inside the window.
The green button in a window makes it full screen; hold the pointer over it for tiling options.
System Settings replaces the Control Panel.

Apple renames settings from time to time, so if something is not where this guide says, search for it in System Settings. Just switched? Ask about anything that is confusing you, or share the tip that helped you most, in the comments.