macOS Core Concepts - Learn to use your Mac!

Explore Mac desktop, featuring the wallpaper, menu bar, and dock, and customize desktop icons via Finder settings. Open Finder windows to rename, move, or copy files with drag-and-drop or option-drag.

Explore the macOS menubar at the top of the display across multiple monitors, access Apple and application menus, check system status, and learn to customize and rearrange items.

Master macOS control center in the upper-right menu bar, managing network, focus modes, display, sound, and media playback. Expand modules, adjust display brightness, and customize control placement in system settings.

Explore Finder settings to customize default windows, display options, and iCloud syncing, and manage tags, sidebar items, and advanced preferences like file extensions, trash warnings, and search scope.

Explore the macOS Finder sidebar: quick access to iCloud favorites, tags, and locations in any Finder window, with drag-and-drop to organize folders and files.

Explore macOS view options to customize the desktop and finder displays via the view menu and command J, adjusting icon size, text size, item info, icon previews, and view modes.

Master Mission Control to view windows, switch spaces, and use Split View with full screen apps. Use swipes, shortcuts, and hot corners to move between desktops and pair apps seamlessly.

Learn to manage display clutter on macOS by hiding and revealing apps with command-h, using hide others, and show all to restore all apps in their current state.

Activate Stage Manager to group open windows into left-side icons, cycle between apps, and use it alongside dock, mission control, and spaces on macOS Ventura and later.

Learn where the home folder sits in the macOS structure, what it contains (downloads, desktop, documents, movies, music, pictures, apps, public and sites folders), and how to access it quickly.

Explore how macOS notifications appear as banners or alerts, manage them in Notification Center, and customize app alerts in System Preferences, including replying, marking read, and dismissing messages.

Discover macOS widgets you can place on the desktop or in Notification Center, edit and resize them, drag-and-drop to arrange, and interact with reminders or weather from your Mac.

Master launching apps with Launchpad, a full-screen grid that supports multi-page navigation, drag-and-drop rearrangement, folder creation, and quick search, with shortcuts like option-command-L for fast access.

Learn to move, copy, rename, and organize files and folders in the macOS finder with drag and drop, copy-paste, new folders, and multi-select with shift or command.

Discover how to create and save smart folders in Finder, using parameters like kind, last opened date, and file size to display dynamic results that do not contain the files.

Learn to batch rename files in macOS finder by replacing text, adding text, and choosing name formats such as name and index, name and counter, or name and date.