Macbook tips for beginner

1. Essential Keyboard Shortcuts in Mac OS X

If you’re used to quickly navigating Windows and Microsoft Office using keyboard shortcuts such as CTRL-S to save and CTRL-C to copy, you might be a little shocked if you’ve decided to make the switch to Mac OS X. That’s because those familiar shortcuts will no longer work as expected. Instead, Macs boast the same functionality but use the Command key rather than the Control key.

In addition to the standard key combinations that most PC users are aware of — those for save, copy and paste, for instance — Macs feature a number of shortcuts that are unique to Apple’s OS. Here is a list of handy shortcuts that every budding Mac user should know:

Command-Q: Quit the open application.

Command-Option-Esc: Force quit.

Command-Option-M: Minimize all windows of application to the Dock.

Command-Option-W: Close all windows in the application without quitting.

Command-Tab: Cycle forward through open applications.

Command-Shift-Tab: Cycle backward through open applications.

Command-Shift-F: Search all files.

Command-Shift-A: Search all applications.

Command-Space bar: Open or close Spotlight search field.

Control-A: Move to beginning of line or paragraph.

Control-E: Move to end of line or paragraph.

Command-Option-D: Show or hide the Dock.

Command-F3: Show the desktop.

2. How to Use Trackpad Gestures to Navigate OS X

Swipe between full-screen apps: Swipe with three fingers to the left or right to switch between any apps that you have open in full-screen mode.

Tap to zoom: Tap the trackpad with two fingers simultaneously to zoom in on a page in Safari or a PDF.

Swipe to navigate: Swipe with two fingers to the left or right to flip through Web pages and documents.

Open Launchpad: Pinch toward the center of the trackpad with your thumb placed in either the bottom left or bottom right corner and three fingers in the opposite corner above. The Launchpad lets you see your installed apps and launch them with a single click.

Show desktop: Spread your thumb and three fingers apart to show the desktop. This gesture is the exact opposite of the previous gesture.

Look up: Tap a word with three fingers to immediately look up the word’s definition, synonym and more.

Three-finger drag: Slide three fingers around the trackpad when you’ve positioned the cursor at the top of the window to drag the window around the screen.

Notification Center: Swipe in with fingers from the left to open the Notification Center.

Show Safari tabs: Pinch with two fingers to see all of your Safari tabs simultaneously, and then swipe left or right with two fingers to scroll between the tabs.

3. How to Use Right-Click in OS X

One of the most deeply ingrained practices of a PC user is the right-click. Unfortunately for the neophyte Mac convert, Macs don’t use a right-click — at least not in the way that PC users have come to expect. Moreover, secondary-clicking is disabled on Macs by default. Thankfully, setting this up is a simple affair. Here are three ways to right-click on a Mac:

1. Hold the Control key while clicking on the trackpad. While this method requires two hands where the others require only one, holding down the Control key while tapping on the trackpad is a foolproof way to open the right-click options menu, and it doesn’t require you to dig into the system preferences menu.

2. Assign the bottom right or left corner of the click pad as a right click. Some PC traditionalists will undoubtedly become frustrated as they instinctively click the bottom corner of the trackpad when trying to open the right-click options menu. Thankfully, Apple has made it possible to keep those instincts alive: You can assign the bottom right or bottom left corner of the trackpad as a right-click function. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting it up.

•  Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen.

• Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.

• Select Trackpad from the Hardware category.

• Check the box next to Secondary Click to enable right-clicking.

• Select “Click in the bottom right corner” from the drop-down menu just beneath Secondary Click. Alternatively, select “Click in the bottom left corner” if you use your left hand to navigate.

3. Click on the trackpad using two fingers. This is probably the easiest of the three methods. Setting up two-finger clicking follows the same procedure as above, with one exception: In the drop-down menu beneath Secondary Click, select “Click or tap with two fingers.”

3. How to Use Right-Click in OS X

One of the most deeply ingrained practices of a PC user is the right-click. Unfortunately for the neophyte Mac convert, Macs don’t use a right-click — at least not in the way that PC users have come to expect. Moreover, secondary-clicking is disabled on Macs by default. Thankfully, setting this up is a simple affair. Here are three ways to right-click on a Mac:

1. Hold the Control key while clicking on the trackpad. While this method requires two hands where the others require only one, holding down the Control key while tapping on the trackpad is a foolproof way to open the right-click options menu, and it doesn’t require you to dig into the system preferences menu.

2. Assign the bottom right or left corner of the clickpad as a right click. Some PC traditionalists will undoubtedly become frustrated as they instinctively click the bottom corner of the trackpad when trying to open the right-click options menu. Thankfully, Apple has made it possible to keep those instincts alive: You can assign the bottom right or bottom left corner of the trackpad as a right-click function. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting it up.

•  Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen.

• Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.

• Select Trackpad from the Hardware category.

• Check the box next to Secondary Click to enable right-clicking.

• Select “Click in the bottom right corner” from the drop-down menu just beneath Secondary Click. Alternatively, select “Click in the bottom left corner” if you use your left hand to navigate.

3. Click on the trackpad using two fingers. This is probably the easiest of the three methods. Setting up two-finger clicking follows the same procedure as above, with one exception: In the drop-down menu beneath Secondary Click, select “Click or tap with two fingers.”

4. How to Install Apps in Mac OS X

If you’re fairly new to a Mac and want to be able to install applications, there are a couple of ways to do it. You can use the Mac App Store, which combines the download and installation into a single step. Or you can download programs from the web and then install them. Here’s how to use both methods.

Install from the Mac App Store

1. Click on the price located beneath the app’s star rating.

2. Click on the green Install App button that appears.

The app you just downloaded from the Mac App Store should automatically show up in Launchpad, ready for you to open with a single click.

5. How to Take Screenshots in OS X

The print screen key — you never know you’ll miss it until it’s gone. Apple dispensed with the key entirely, opting for a key combination instead for capturing screenshots. As a result, new Mac users will likely become confused when they try to capture an image of their screen. Thankfully, Apple offers numerous, easy-to-remember keyboard shortcuts for taking screenshots.

1. Pressing Command-Shift-3 takes a screenshot of the entire screen and saves it on the desktop.

2. Pressing Command-Shift-4, then selecting an area of the screen, takes a screenshot of the selected area and saves it on the desktop.

3. Pressing Command-Shift-4, then Space Bar, then clicking on a window takes a screenshot of that window and saves it to the desktop.

6. How to Use the Finder in OS X

Veteran PC users know that, to find files and folders, the root of their search will be My Computer (or the Search charm in Windows 8). Given that My Computer is unique to Windows, however, it should come as no surprise that you won’t find it in OS X. Instead, Macs use a powerful tool called the Finder. Here’s how to find your files and documents in Finder.

1. Click on the Finder icon at the bottom left of the screen (the left-most icon on the Dock). 

2. You can also click Go at the top left of the screen to open the Go Menu.

3. Select Computer from the drop-down menu to view all files and folders.

The Finder window features a list of categories such as Applications, Documents and Downloads on the left for quick access. You can also use the search bar at the top left of the Finder if you already know the name of the file or folder you’re looking for. Another point of confusion may arise when plugging in an external drive to your Mac, as you won’t use My Computer to access its contents. Instead, look for the drive under Devices in the Finder window, or directly on the desktop.

4. Change the view of your files in the Finder by selecting one of the four buttons in the top left in the gray bar above the main window. You can view your files as icons, in a list, in columns, or in Cover Flow, as seen below. 

5. Sort your files by Name, Kind, Application, Dare, Size, and Label by selecting the second right-most button.

6. SHARE your files by selecting the right-most button. Options include Messaging, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

7. Select Preferences from the Finder drop-down menu at the top of the screen to change what appears in the Finder window. 

8. Select the General tab in Preferences to choose what items will appear on the desktop, and what will appear when you open a new Finder Window.

8. Select the Sidebar tab in Preferences to change what shows up in the left-hand column of the Finder window.

9. Select the Advanced tab to change options, such as displaying file extensions, warning before emptying the Trash, and where to look when performing a search.

 

by : http://www.laptopmag.com/pc-to-mac-tutorial