An Intro to MAC

If you’re new to MAC (or plan to be), there are certain things that you might “think” are missing, and although most of the computer rules you learned from being a PC-user are the same, there are a few things that MAC does slightly different. I’m not talking about super-geeked out stuff like processors and drivers, I’m talking about the simple, every-day functions you can’t go one day without knowing how to do.

Here are some I’ve come up with off the top of my head.

Problem #1: “WTF!! Ctrl-Alt-Del doesn’t work! Is nothing sacred!?”

One thing you’ll notice right away, is that although you will certainly need to Force Quit an application every once in a while, you’ll be relieved to know that you will no longer see the infamous “Blue Screen of Death” (and in 8 months of hardcore usage, I have only had to reboot once, sans “BSoD”, and that’s when I had my iBook running for more than 36hrs. straight with multiple programs open.)

Solution: Ctrl+Alt+Del = Apple+alt+esc

* Note: the Apple key, as I like to call it… because it has an Apple on it(!) is also known as the “command” or cmd key.

Problem #2: “Where’s the right-click? I *need* my right-click! Lord, help me I want my right-click!”

This freaked me out at first, too, and I also hated the keyboard trackpad, but after only a few hours of tooling around, I was more than comfortable with both. (So comfortable that I even tossed my mouse!)

Solution: right-click = ctrl-click OR just hold down the mouse/trackpad button for 1 second.

Problem #3: “The PrntScrn button is missing, so help me God I need to print my screen NOW!”

This is true. But although the button is missing, you can still easily print your screen with the touch of a couple buttons, only now you have more options!

Apple+Shift+3: takes a screenshot of your current screen and saves the image to your Desktop.

Apple+Shift+4: this will transform the mouse cursor from an arrow into crosshairs. Click and drag the crosshairs over the area of the screen you want to capture. When you’re done, just release the mouse button and “Ta da”! The screenshot will be saved to your Desktop.

Apple+Shift+4+spacebar: this turns your cursor into a camera (yes, a camera!), which lets you select the specific window you want to capture.

* Add the control (ctrl) key to any of the OSX screenshot keyboard shortcuts, and the screenshot is copied to the clipboard instead of being saved as an image file.

Problem #4: "I pressed the “x” in the top left corner of the window, and it closed, but the program is still running… WTF!?!"

In order to quit a program in MAC, you can’t just close the window. Select the program (so you see the program name next to the apple graphic on the toolbar in the top left of your screen) and quit it by...

Solution: ... pressing Apple+Q. Easy-peasy, lemon-sqeezy.

Problem #5: "So I like downloaded a program and stuff, but where the hell's the .exe file? How do I install this bitch?"

When you download a program, a .dmg file (.dmg = disk image) will appear on your Desktop. To install the application, double click on the .dmg file to open it. A new Finder window will open presenting to you the contents of your .dmg file, which will include the .app icon and likely a Read Me.rtf which contains information about the program. Just drag the .app file into your “Applications” folder and your new program is installed. That’s it! You’re done!

Solution: Open the .dmg (double click on it). Drag the .app file into Applications.

After your program is installed, you have no use for the dmg. Just drag it to the trash bin. (Unless of course you paid for the app and want to keep it for future installations.)

“But wait – what do I do with that thumbdrive image thingy that has also appeared on my Desktop?”

Ditch it! When you drag it to your trash bin your trash bin will transform into an eject symbol and voila. You’re all done.

“But then how do I uninstall something?”

Go into your Applications and just drag the .app file into your trash bin. Program: uninstalled. It’s as simple as that!

UPDATE: AppZapper is a much better way to uninstall applications. It's just as easy but, in one step, it also gets rid of all associated application files/folders.

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As I think of more I will continue to update this post so feel free to return to it or bookmark it. And if you think of any that would be helpful to include, please feel free to e-mail me using the form on the right and I’ll add it to the post.