What to do first along with your new Mac

There’s a superb likelihood that even when that is your first Mac, you already use an iPhone or an iPad. Similar to these different gadgets, your Mac desires you to enter your Apple Account and Apple Account password. Enter your Apple Account and password to hook up with iCloud in your Mac while you first set it up or later via the Apple Account system setting.

By connecting to iCloud along with your Apple Account you’ll be able to entry all of your photographs, contacts, calendars, and far 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 be capable of make the most of options like having the ability to minimize and paste between gadgets, use a mouse and keyboard to regulate multiple Mac, and make purchases on the Mac App Retailer.

Relying on whether or not you an 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 gadget you personal you received’t have to have your Mac helpful to edit a Pages doc you might be engaged on, for instance. Discover out about iCloud right here: How you can use iCloud and What’s iCloud Non-public Relay. To learn how a lot iCloud prices learn: iCloud storage plans and costs.

In the event you haven’t created an Apple Account but, now’s the time to take action. Consider your Apple Account as your keys to the dominion. For assist learn: How you can create an Apple ID.

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

In the event you’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 accomplish that 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 deliver up a search discipline, desk of contents, lists of shortcuts, and different useful suggestions and step-by-step directions, usually with visible cues to point out you which ones 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 offers you instantaneous entry to your Mac’s System Settings, the Mac App Retailer, and apps and paperwork you’ve lately opened (see Current 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 perform that’s price realizing: Drive Stop. Drive stop will instantly stop a cussed utility, so you’ll be able to restart your pc and get again to enterprise.

Constructed proper into macOS, Highlight helps you rapidly discover issues in your pc: paperwork, apps, pictures, contacts, maps, and recordsdata. What’s extra, it might connect with the web to look locations like Wikipedia, information websites, film listings, and far 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 discipline. You can too open Highlight by urgent Command and Area on the identical time.

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

When you get the hold of it, utilizing Highlight is the quickest technique 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 will probably be crammed with Apple’s personal built-in apps, like Safari, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Notes, however you’ll be able to customise it 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 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 or proper, as a substitute. You can too add purposes, folders, and recordsdata you want often just by dragging them and dropping them into the Dock.

To additional scale 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 can too change the dimensions 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 far 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 choose from the attractive pictures Apple offers or select one in all 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 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’ll be able to choose from tons of display screen savers together with some stunning views of the Earth from the house station, underwater video, and extra.

Use Desktop Stacks: If you wish to maintain 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 change on Stacks click on on the Desktop and select View > Use Stacks from the menu. Now every thing will probably be slotted into category-appropriate ‘Stacks’ in your Desktop somewhat than your Desktop being cluttered by 1000’s of screenshots and recordsdata.

Apple’s person interface is about up with simple menus akin 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 by utilizing keyboard shortcuts to do generally used duties as a substitute. As a substitute 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 aid 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 along with your new desktop—take a while to be taught 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 correct in System Settings. As soon as there, click on on Trackpad. There, you’ll discover three tabs’ price of mouse shortcuts. Transfer the cursor over any of them, and also you’ll get a video preview of the right 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 deliver up its definition.

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

The Mac App Retailer is far more essential than only a technique to obtain nice new apps in your Mac. It’s additionally how Apple distributes important app updates. To maintain your Mac operating in tip-top form and to maintain every thing as safe as potential, obtain updates while 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 easy. Many apps are free; others require a fee, starting from $1 to some hundred bucks. When you can—and sure will—discover loads of apps exterior the comfy confines of the Mac App Retailer, shopping it’s a good way to find attention-grabbing apps, learn evaluations, 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. If 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 motive: Having a superb backup resolution now means you received’t lose irreplaceable information later. We’ve lined quite a few methods to again up your Mac with minimal fuss. Choose no less than one and get began. Belief me.

In all probability the best resolution is to make use of Apple’s personal backup resolution, Time Machine, which is a part of the Mac working system (see How you can use Time Machine to again up your Mac). All you want is a separate exterior storage gadget which you could purchase for a comparatively small funding (see: Greatest exterior SSD for Mac or greatest exterior laborious drives in order for you one thing a bit cheaper/larger). Time Machine makes recovering from large issues simple 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 exchange or improve your system.

The “time” in Time Machine is a timeline which you could evaluation, restoring recordsdata or adjustments to recordsdata that had been made on the factors the place Time Machine saved its backups. Time Machine backs up your Mac hourly, each day, weekly, and month-to-month, so that you’ll all the time be capable of recuperate to that time limit. So long as that drive is linked your Mac will probably be backed up.

To arrange Time Machine comply with these steps:

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

Are you continue to accessing your e mail utilizing an online browser, going to Gmail or Microsoft’s web site to see what new messages you’ve gotten? There’s a greater manner: Apple offers you a Mail app that may connect 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 purposes, akin 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 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 you’ll want to do is to attach your printer to one in all your Mac’s USB-C ports or connect 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 gadget (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, but it surely’s nonetheless a delight. No software program makes it simpler to begin (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 identify.

Now all you want is the e-mail deal with or cellphone variety of one other FaceTime person.

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

In macOS Sequoia 15.2, Apple Intelligence began to hit its stride with 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.