Mac Tips and Tricks for beginners - Part 1

When you start using your Mac for the first time, there’s a bit of a learning curve—getting familiar with its features, setting up apps like Messages and Mail, and personalising your desktop. Once you’ve settled in, it’s the perfect time to boost your productivity by picking up some helpful shortcuts. Here are a few aimed at helping you work more efficiently and get the most out of your Mac experience.

1. Get words as you type

Whether you’re composing an email or writing up a note, you might be unsure how to spell a word. Rather than use a dictionary, just use a keyboard shortcut F5 (or fn + F5 keys). This will show you words starting with the letters you’ve typed so far. Then you can just select the word you want and keep writing.

2. Spotlight Search for quick calculations

You don’t have to open the Calculator to do calculations. For simple equations, you can add, subtract, multiply, and divide using Spotlight Search. Just open the Search by pressing Command + Space Bar and pop in the calculation you want.

3. Force quit window

If you’re used to using Control + Alt + Delete on Windows to force quit an application, you’ll need to get used to a different shortcut on macOS. Hit Command + Option + Escape to open the force quit window. From here, select the frozen app and hit Force Quit.

4. Delete files quickly

Another cool shortcut you can use on Mac is to delete files. Instead of dragging them to the Trash or using the right-click shortcut menu, just select the item and hit Command + Delete.

5. Open apps on startup

If you start each day by opening the same apps on your Mac, you can make this much easier. Set up your Mac so that the same apps open automatically when you start your computer.

Open System Settings and go to General > Login Items. From here, click the plus button (+) to add apps you want to auto-open when you power on your Mac or Restart it.

If you like these types of tips, let me know in the comments below.