The Guide To macOS Mojave

The first step in mastering macOS is to learn what different user interface elements are called and what they do. In this lesson you'll learn the proper names for different things like the cursor, menu bar, Dock, Desktop, icons, toolbars, sidebars, and more.

Most of the work you do on your Mac will be within applications, also called apps or programs. To launch an app, you can use The Dock, Launchpad, or Spotlight. While working with several apps at once, you can use the App Switcher and the Dock to easily switch between apps.

Apps present information and documents in windows. Learn how to position windows on the screen, resize them, and scroll them. 

The Finder is the main tool you will use to view files and folders and organize your documents. There are four different ways to view files and folders: Icon view, List view, Column view and the new Gallery view. You can also use Quick Look to preview files without opening them.

Learn how to move, rename, duplicate, delete, copy and paste files and folders in the Finder.

Your Mac comes with a standard set of folders that should be used for specific purposes, such as storing your Photos library in the Pictures folder. You will also have a Documents folder that you can use to place all of your files and organize them as you wish into subfolders. If you use iCloud Drive, these files will be accessible on all of your Macs and iOS devices as well.

When you can't remember where a file is located, or think it will be faster to search for it than dig through folders, you can search by file name or the contents of files. You can use Finder searches to find only files, and Spotlight searches to find files and more.

The Finder also lets you tag files with keywords. If you would like to organize your files in another way, you can tag them and then search for those tags. You can also create Smart Folders that automatically show you the results of searches.

Learn how to add and remove apps from the Dock, place files and folders in the Dock for easy access, and see the new feature in Mojave that places running and recent apps in a new middle section of the Dock.

How to start a new document, save it, and return to it. 

When working with documents in many apps you have the ability to revert to previous versions or to view those versions and copy text from them.

The main way to get new apps is to use Apple's App Store. You can search for apps that perform functions you need. Installation is quick and simple.

Learn how to use the macOS default browser to view web pages. See how to use tabs, take a look at browser preferences and Top Sites.

Use bookmarks to revisit important web pages. See how you can search your browser history to go back to pages you visited hours or days before.

You can save articles you wish to read to Safari's reading list and return to them later. Reader View will clear away everything but the text and important images so you can concentrate on the content.

Safari has a built-in password manager that you can use to create strong passwords. They are automatically saved for later use.

With Safari, you can set up privacy and capability preferences for every website individually. So you can allow things like location access and video playback on sites you like and block them on others.

Configure the Mail app to receive and send email using your email service.

Read and reply to mail. With the Mail app you can easily archive mail and set up mailboxes to organize your old messages.

The Mail app gives you some tools to help compose messages. You can also set up a variety of email signatures.

The Messages app allows you to send text messages to other Apple users. You can also send SMS messages to almost anyone through an iPhone.

Use the Contacts app to store your personal and business contact information. You can then use names to bring up email addresses and phone numbers in other apps.

The Calendar app is essentially a database of events. Events can trigger reminder alerts. You can also share events and calendars with others.

The Reminders app lets you create lists. Items in lists can alert you with notifications, or can simply be checklists of anything you wish.

The Notes app can be used to record and recall miscellaneous information. You can store text, lists, tables and images in Notes.

Markup is not a stand-alone app, but functionality that you will see in many other apps that allows you to add drawings, text, shapes, arrows, highlights and other annotations. You can also modify images in a variety of apps.

With Siri, you can talk to your Mac and ask it questions, and access various functions and tasks without needing to use the cursor or keyboard.

TextEdit is a simple word processor and text editor that can be used in place of Pages or Word in many cases.

Preview is a PDF and image viewer that can also make adjustments and annotations.

The new News app lets you browse, search and read news articles from thousands of sources.

The new Stocks app lets you track your stock portfolio and read news pertaining to your stocks. You can search for and see charts and news for companies.

The Voice Memos app is a simple way to create, append and edit audio recordings.

The QuickTime Player app is the default video viewer on macOS. You can also trim and combine video and audio files and record from your camera or screen.

The Books app, previously named iBooks, is an ebook reader and online bookstore.

The Maps app is a street map and satellite image viewer. You can search for locations and get directions and traffic information.

The Maps app is a street map and satellite image viewer. You can search for locations and get directions and traffic information.

The FaceTime app is your Mac's telephone app. You can make video or audio calls to others with Macs or iOS devices. You can even place regular phone calls through your iPhone.

iTunes is a complex app that serves several purposes. You can manage your music library, subscribe to Apple Music, or rent and purchase videos. You can also directly sync items to your iOS devices, though most people use iCloud instead.

A look at more apps that come with your Mac or are available as free downloads from Apple. Familiarize yourself with the basics of Photos, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, iMovie, and GarageBand.

Become familiar with the various different categories in System Preferences and learn about some specific useful settings.

Use the new Dark mode to change the look of macOS and many apps to light text and elements on a dark background.

Learn how to customize your desktop wallpaper and how to use Mojave's new dynamic desktop images.

Use the Notification Center to check recent notifications and view widgets that show you up-to-date information.

Learn how you can create a custom keyboard shortcut for any menu item that appears in any app.

You can share files with other people using AirDrop, between Macs you own using cloud services, and between other Macs on the same network with File Sharing.

Find out how to identify your Mac, and see system and app version information.

Setting up user accounts for all people that use a Mac is key to security and productivity. You should use guest accounts for anyone else who uses your Mac.

Learn how you can view which files are taking up the most space and use other techniques to maximize your storage.

It is critically important that you back up your data. Time Machine is built into macOS and is simple to use.

Find out where you can get help if you are having trouble with your Mac. Learn about the Apple support website, the Genius Bar, the Apple discussion website, and how to find local user groups.