How To Learn Mac After Switching

When switching from Windows to Mac you'll see lots of specific tips for using and altering your Mac to make it more like Windows. But if you really want to switch, learn to do things the Mac way.
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Video Transcript: Hi, this is Gary with MacMost.com. Let me show you how to switch from Windows to Mac. 
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Let me tell you how to switch from Windows to Mac. Not exactly what to do. I'm not going to show you a list of tips or show you a bunch of things in the interface that are different. Instead I'm going to talk about how you go about changing if you've been using Windows for years and now you want to use macOS. If what you really want to do is just make macOS as much like Windows as possible instead of learning how to do things the Mac way, then you're not going to like what I have to say. This video isn't for you. 
My first bit of advice is not to change anything on your Mac right away. You're going to get a lot of advice, in articles and videos out there, telling you what you should install to make your Mac work more like Windows. But if you really want to get the benefits of working on macOS you should try to do things the macOS way. That means don't install apps that are going to change how macOS works. That is not how long time Mac users use their Macs. You should at least try to do things the Mac way before installing something to make it more like Windows. 
Next, try not to map things 1-to-1 from Windows to Mac. For instance on the Mac, at the bottom of the screen you're going to see the Dock. It's easy to think of that as the Windows taskbar. But it is very different from the taskbar. The Menu Bar on the Mac is at the top of the screen at all times. It is not attached to the window. There are a lot of differences like that that mean you can't just go and say that a Menu Bar on Mac is like a menu bar on Windows. Or the Dock on the Mac is like the taskbar on Windows. These things don't map 1-to-1. They are different kinds of elements. So instead of trying to think where should I find this element from Windows on Mac, instead just try to learn the Mac interface and see what it can do and don't try to have any preconceived notions of what each thing should be. 
Next, it is important to be patient. Don't expect to learn macOS and transition over in one day. If you've been using Windows for years you've gotten used to how it works. It may take days, weeks, or even months to fully transition over. Everyday you use it you learn something new and you'll be able to use macOS a little bit more efficiently. But expecting to adjust in a day or two isn't realistic.
Next, take the time to explore. Not while you're actually doing work and need to accomplish tasks. But take breaks and actually play around with the interface. Look at the Menu Bar. Look at the different items there. Explore each menu and look at the different submenus to see what is available. Do this in the apps you're using. If weeks from now you start using a new app, explore that menu as well. Look in the windows and look in the Toolbars and see what buttons are there and what they do. If you move your pointer over a button usually you'll get a little description of what it does. There are also Context Menus. When you Control Click, right click, or two-finger click on a trackpad a different item, like this folder here for instance, you'll get a Context Menu. There are Context Menus for almost every kind of element in every kind of app. Take the time to explore these things even if you're not looking for a particular function right now see what is available. Go to the Apple Menu and go to System Settings and then look through all of the different parts of System Settings. You may find something you don't need right now but hopefully you'll remember it for when you need it later on. 
A  great way to learn things in Mac Apps is to create sample documents. Not enough people do this. When you have free time go into an app, say, like Pages here. Create a blank document and then type some text. Explore the different Menu items. Try different things. Look through all of the different options here. Look through the Sidebars. Play around with a sample document to see what is possible. It is the quickest way to learn new apps. Then continue to do this even after you're using the apps for work. So, for instance, if you're working in Pages and you're not trying to do something, create a sample document in Pages. Populate it with some sample text and try various things there before trying them in the document you're actually working on. 
It is commonly said that macOS doesn't really have documentation. You just sort of naturally know where to go to do things. But of course if you've been using Windows that is probably not true. You're going to find things a bit frustrating because they are not like they are in Windows. But it is also not true that there is no documentation. If you go to the Help Menu you'll often find lots of documentation. For instance here in Pages you can go to Pages Help and it will open up an entire mini-booklet of information here on all sorts of different subjects having to do with Pages. You can learn a lot from this. You can also use the Search Bar here to search for information. This is true almost everywhere. That Help Menu is always there. So here I am in the Finder and you can go to the Finder and you can get help right here. Just general macOS help, and you'll get this whole User Guide. But it is not just there. In a lot of places, like System Settings and Dialogue Boxes in apps you'll often find this little question mark button here. Click that and it will bring up Help for whatever it is you're looking at. So here it gives you detailed descriptions of what each of these things does. 
The main way you're going to learn macOS is by actually using it. Browsing the web. Answering your emails. Creating documents and such. But at the beginning you should also take the time to learn things you don't need right now. For instance, you can go to my site. I've got just tons of free videos that you could watch and learn all sorts of different things. You may not need that specific technique right now but it will be easy to learn it now in a low pressure situation and then be able to recall it later on. When you learn a tip it is usually useful beyond the specific example. For instance, one tip you may learn is that when you select a file in the Finder and you go to Edit, if you hold the Option Key down the Copy function changes to Copy As Path Name. Now that is useful in itself. But learning that you can hold the Option Key down when selecting a Menu and get different options will also help you in other cases. So, for instance, maybe when you're working in Pages and you go to the File Menu and notice there is no Save As you might remember that holding the Option Key down changes some of the Menu Items. So you give it a try. Sure enough the duplicate item changes to Save As. The tip you learned before about something unrelated gave you the knowledge you needed to accomplish something else later on. 
Finally, realize that Windows and Mac have this one thing in common. There are things that you can accomplish just with the Operating System with Windows or with macOS. There are things that you need a third-party app to accomplish. But they aren't necessarily the same things across operating systems. You're going to find some things that Windows does on its own, you need a third party app to do on the Mac. And some things that on Windows you need a third-party app to do, on macOS you can do it just with native functionality. When you want to look for a third-party app for the Mac the first place to go is The App Store app, which is installed on your Mac, and you can browse and search for apps there. There are a ton of third-party apps so it can be difficult to figure out what the right one is. But usually if you take the time to browse The App Store and you look at some of the apps that are there you'll notice right away that you've got apps, for instance, with high ratings and lots of them, and these are usually the apps that tons of Mac users use. Usually these apps are also ones that if you search the web you'll find tons of people giving reviews and also tutorials about them. So it is not to hard to figure out which apps are the main ones that lots of people use to get their work done. 
So remember to be patient while learning macOS. You were using Windows for years. It's like a trail that you've hiked everyday. You know every rock and every tree. Now you're hiking a new trail. This can be exciting. There are new things to explore. So remember to take the time to enjoy the learning experience. Hope you found this useful. Thanks for watching.
Comments: 2 Responses to “How To Learn Mac After Switching”

Sheldon
8 months ago
Thanks bunches
Khazar
thanks, Gary. You mentioned worthwhile things to consider when getting acquainted with macOS.
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How To Learn Mac After Switching

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