Mac User Guide: 4 Tips and Tricks Especially for Mac Users

If you own a Mac or are interested in getting one, look no further!

Macs have quickly become a tech guru standard due to their performance and design. Macs are meant to be easy to use while offering a lot to advanced users. No matter what kind of computer background you come from, you can benefit from using one.

Understanding various Mac tips and tricks will make using a Mac easier than it already is, and anyone that owns one may learn something new.  If you’re on the fence about buying one or upgrading to the latest model with the apple trade-in, this Mac user guide should convince you to invest in one today.

Keep on reading to learn about 4 tips and tricks for Mac users!

1. Take Advantage of Spotlight

Spotlight is one of the most overlooked and underrated features on Macs. It’s essentially a built-in program that allows you to quickly browse your Mac’s files and manage them. Unlike most computers, Macs give you a variety of customization options.

With Spotlight, you can move files to various folders, rename them, change their images, and categorize them. While this is a common feature in Windows, Spotlight is much quicker.

Whenever you search for a specific file on Windows, you may have to wait several minutes. This is because Windows is indexing your files the moment you hit the search button.

Spotlight is actively indexing your computer’s files so that you can bring them up whenever you’d like. While you’re browsing, it will continue to index anything that you download.

You can also use natural language when searching for something. If you were to type, “photos that I took from January 2019,” your Mac would show the photos you took in January 2019.

Use It as a Calculator

Most people are unaware that Spotlight doubles as a calculator. In the search bar, you can type any calculation you’d like and you’ll see the result. If you’re familiar with Google Chrome’s search bar calculator, it’s the same concept.

2. Use an Apple Account for Multiple Devices

Most people are familiar with Apple’s various devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, Macbook, etc. In the past, it was common for people to own an iPhone and use Windows computers. However, Apple has made it easier to sync your devices.

With most modern Apple devices, you can log in with your Apple account. Your account can be synced with your photos, messages, and other data on your devices. This allows you to quickly share things between devices. With the AirDrop feature, you can send a photo from your iPhone to your Mac within a second and vice-versa.

If you have an Apple Watch, you can share data between it and your Mac. Bringing your phone into the equation allows you to check messages on your Mac, and if you’d like, on your Apple Watch.

This feature is commonly used by those that often have to take care of business while on the go. You can create documents on your Mac and send them to your phone for you to review while you’re away from the computer.

3. Don’t Stress About Antivirus

One of the best tips for Mac users we can give you is to not stress about having a great antivirus. Macs are much more difficult to hack than Windows computers thanks to the code behind their operating system and programs.

Most hackers are concerned with affecting as many people as they can. More people use Windows computers because they’re cheaper, so people have focused on bypassing Windows programs.

Yes, a Mac can get a virus. However, the chances that you do are slim to none. Macs have an App Store in which you can download most programs. However, there’s a risk if you decide to download something from your web browser.

Whenever you go to download a program from your browser, you’ll be alerted if the download source is suspicious. You’ll have to use your best judgment, but you’ll never get a virus if you stick to the App Store.

4. Taking a Screenshot Has Never Been Easier

Screenshots are something that many people have struggled with in the past because it required downloading a third-party program. Today, most computers have screenshot features built within them, including Macs.

All a Mac user has to do is press Command + Shift + 3 to take a screenshot of the entire screen. If you were on a Windows computer, you’d have to manually crop the photo upon screenshotting. However, you can use the Command + Shift + 4 shortcut to select an area of the screen in which you’d like to screenshot.

From there, your screenshot will be stored in your images. You can then send it to another device, edit it, set it as a background, etc. Your screenshots will save as PNG files, so they’ll be in high-quality and ready to upload on most major platforms.

You can check out these 5 ways to take a screenshot on a Mac to learn about some other effective methods!

Refer to This Mac User Guide

In this quick and efficient Mac user guide, you’ll be ready to join the rest of the Mac users out there. Using a Mac is simple and intuitive, and you’ll quickly fall in love with its many features. After creating an Apple ID, you can sign in to your Mac and sync it with any Apple devices you may have.

Upon creating an account, we encourage you to look into the App Store to get your Mac loaded with some neat programs.

Browse our articles to learn about more tech tips and tricks!