Master Using Your Mac in Just 15 Minutes a Day

What is the difference between Apple ID and iCloud? Are they different accounts?

This lesson will share the differences as well as the main services of iCloud.

You have an Apple ID if you have ever purchased anything from Apple (Music, Apps, Movies or TV Shows, or Books). But if you don't already have an Apple ID, you should get a free account and refer to the previous lesson because your Apple ID and iCloud provide many services that make your Mac great.

iCloud.com is accessible from any web browser and gives you access to much of your iCloud data. So if you're working on a PC, this is a way to get to your information. There are also some nice tools you can use online. This is a brief overview. Let me know if you want a more in depth lesson.

In this lesson you'll learn what Family Sharing is and why it's a good time to setup a family. You'll see the process on setting up a Family and becoming the organizer. And you'll learn all the things that can be shared with your Family Group.

• Where can you find the menubar and the dock?

• How do you change the desktop picture?

• What are some ways to organize files on the desktop?

• What is the menubar?

• How is it different than a Windows PC?

• What can you access on the menubar?

• What is Control Center and how do you use it?

• How to you get to Notification Center and Widgets?

• Red- Close an application's window (not the entire application)

• Press Command + Q to Quit the Application

• Yellow- Minimize the application

• Green- Make the application Full Screen.

• ALT/Option + Click on Green- Maximize the window.

• Power Users- Hover over Green to use Split Full Screen

• The separation between Apps and Files

• Customizing the Dock

• Working with Apps in the Dock

• Emptying the Trash

• What is Spotlight?

• How can we use it to search and do other functions?

• What can Spotlight do?

• What about Privacy in Spotlight?

• Click an App in the Dock

• Use Spotlight to Search and Launch Apps

• Use Finder to view Apps in a list

• Use Launchpad

Quick tutorial on managing windows for your applications.

Full Screen mode

Split View are also covered.

After watching this video you will have a better understanding of why you should use iCloud and how to start an account if you don't have one already.

You will be able to use the Power Button to perform several tasks like putting your computer to sleep and Shutting down.

You will also learn why you shouldn't be too quick to shut down your computer.

This video covers the main parts of the Desktop and some of the differences between the Mac and PC.

This Video will walk you through customizing your Desktop and Screensaver. Whether you want to use the stock photos Apple provides or your own, you'll learn how to do it in this video.

This video will show you a very important difference between a PC and Mac. It has to do with the Menubar.

Here's a few quick tips for those who are switching from a PC to a Mac.

You can do the same things on a Mac that you can on a PC, but some functions are moved and some require different keyboard shortcuts. We'll take a look a few things to help you get started as a new Mac User.

In this video, we'll set a few settings and learn how to "Right Click" on the Mac.

We'll also see how to change the desktop background picture.

One thing that bothers me is when people have messy Desktops with a ton of files. If that's you I want to show you how to organize the files on your Desktop and make a case for putting your files into other folders on your Mac rather than storing everything on the desktop.

The Dock is a little tray what holds your favorite Applications and Folders for easy access. We'll see how to customize the Applications, Folders, and Settings of the Dock in this video.

Here are 4 ways to launch applications on your mac:

1. Click an icon in the Dock
2. Press Command + Spacebar and search for an App
3. 4 Finger Pinch closed to get Launchpad
4. Double Click an Application in the Applications folder in Finder

Launchpad is a great way to launch and manage Applications. Here are a few things you can do with Launchpad.

The Stoplight works similar to Windows, but differently.

• Red Stoplight = Close Window
• Yellow Stoplight = Minimize Window
• Green Stoplight = Full Screen Window
• Option + Green Stoplight = Maximize Window

To Quit an Application, Click on the Application's Name in the Menubar and choose Quit.

The Shortcut to Quit an Application is Command + Q

Here's a simple and easy way to produce two different backups for your Mac.

Before you upgrade to OS X Mavericks, please do a backup (and test it).

What's new in OS X Mavericks.

iBooks is a great way to read electronic books and study digital textbooks. Now the great features you love on the iPad are on your Mac.

The Maps App is new to Mavericks, but it adds many useful features for finding locations and directions and then syncing those directions to your iPhone or iPad. Here's a look at these features.

The Mac Trackpad is an amazing tool. Setting it up and learning to use it will help you become a Mac Ninja in no time.

We will be setting up the Secondary Click and using the Trackpad for everything we do, so we begin with some simple settings.

In This Lesson:

• Find the Trackpad Settings
• Be introduced to a few of the many settings and gestures of a multi-touch Trackpad
• Set the “Right-Click” aka Secondary Click on the Trackpad
• Change the Tracking Speed of the Cursor on the screen.

Having a Multi-Touch Trackpad means a Mac Trackpad can do some amazing things. Here are a few and where to learn more gestures to make you a Mac Ninja.

Finder is the Application where we can access all of our files and other applications.

It's probably one Application you'll have open all day every day. Because we use it so much, it's important to know what you can do with the Finder and get things setup exactly how you want it.

In This Lesson:

• An Overview of the Finder Application
• Add, Sort, and Remove “Favorites”
• Enable the Path Bar
• Enable the Status Bar
• Customize the Toolbar

The Finder allows you to view and organize your files and Applications.

There are a number of different styles of view which you can choose. Some Views are more visual and others give more detailed information about the files and folders.

In This Lesson:

• An Overview of the different Views
• Basic Options for each View
• How to Customize each View

There are a few ways to select files on your Mac.

We'll go over Selecting individual files by clicking on them, and selecting multiple files.

Once you have a file or two selected, you can easily Move or Copy the files.

• How to Select a File (Click it)
• How to Select Multiple Files
• Advanced File Selection
• How to Move a File
• How to Copy a File
• Protip- Open multiple Finder Windows for easier Moving and Copying

When you can Select Files, you can begin to do more things with your Files.

You’ll learn some ways to Organize your files and Share them with others.

• Label Files with Colors for easy recognition
• Compress Files into ZIP archives
• Make Shortcuts to files and folders (aka Aliases)
• Share Files via Email, Message, and Airdrop *More in other videos.

QuickLook is a fast way to view most common documents on your Mac without Opening an Application.

When combined with Searching for Files, you will be able to organize your life quickly and efficiently.

Airdrop is the simplest way to share files between two Macs. You just need two modern Macs who are in close proximity to each other.

In This Lesson:

• Airdrop Requirements: Two Macs on the Same Network, Macs made in 2009 or later.
• How to use Airdrop
• Why it’s important to authorize file transfers
• Where do Airdrop files go?

Over time, we build up so many files on our computers. Sometimes it gets hard to remember where we've stored our files.

That's where Search comes in. Your Mac makes it easy to search and find your files and folders.

In This Lesson:

• How to Search in the Finder
• Use “Quote Marks” for more specific searches
• Choose where to search for files
• Add Criteria to narrow your search
• What’s a BOOLEAN?
• Save searches you’ll come back to for faster access

Four Ways to Launch Applications on the Mac

Click an Application in the Dock to Launch

Open a Finder Window and View all your Applications

Search for your Applications with Spotlight

Use Launchpad to view your Applications like an iPad or iPhone

Launchpad is a great way to View, Organize, and Launch Applications.

If you own an iPhone or iPad, you’ll feel right at home using Launchpad

In This Lesson:

• Two ways to access Launchpad
• Organize your Applications just like you organize your iPad and iPhone
• Search for Applications

Closing Apps on the Mac is a little different than on a PC.

In This Lesson:

• What the “Stop Light” is
• Green means change sizes
• Yellow means Minimize into the Dock
• Red means Close the Window
• Quit means “Close” the Application

Every application has at least one window and when you start to multi-task the number of windows increases and managing those windows is important.

In This Lesson:

• How to move your Application Windows around
• How to change the size of windows (aka “Resize Windows”)
• Review on the “Stop Light”

The Dock on your Mac holds your favorite Applications and Folders.

In This Lesson:

• Where’s the Dock?
• How to Add and Remove Applications and Folders
• Change and Customize the Dock to give you more screen.

It's easy to setup Email on your Mac.

Just start the "Mail" Application and fill in the blanks.

Composing and Sending Email is Simple.

We'll also take a look at:

• Simple Formatting in Emails
• Adding Photos
• Using Apple Stationary

A theme of this course is customizing the Applications and Workspace to make it your own.

We'll glance over a couple of Preferences and Settings to help you setup Mail to your liking.

Many of these features come down to personal preference. So try a few settings and see if you like them.

Some advanced topics to Speed up your Email Organization and Browsing:

• Use the Shortcut Key- Command + (Number)
• Star Contacts to make them VIPs
• Organize your Email with Smart Mailboxes via the Search Bubble

A brief overview of using Safari to surf the web.

Managing and syncing your contacts is a breeze on your Mac with the Contacts App.

The Mac Calendar is a simple, yet very functional calendar. Here are some basics to organizing your life.

Your Mac has some great security features built right in.

• Passwords
• Gatekeeper for Applications
• Firewall for Network Access
• FileVault 2 for encryption

That's all for now. Please leave me your questions and comments and for some of the most common questions, I will produce a video to add to this course.

Thanks and bye for now.

This is the first place to start when using your Mac. But the Power Button does more than just turn the computer on and off.

The Power Button does more than just turn the computer on. You can use it to put your mac to sleep, restart, shutdown, or in an extreme situation do a hard shut down.

Most of the time you'll want to just put the computer to sleep.

An Apple ID is an essential part of the Mac experience so as you setup your computer, be sure to setup your Apple ID. It will backup a lot of your data and sync across your multiple Apple devices.