Getting a MacBook means getting a reliable computer. Besides, these laptops are light, and portability is also one of their best features. If you travel often or need to take the computer to you with work and back home, then MacBook’s are one of the best options available.
However, if you are switching from Windows to macOS, you may find that there are some things you will need to get adjusted to first. For some, waiting for things to take a natural course is not an option because they need to do work on their new laptop.
Here are some excellent tips for new MacBook owners that should help them become familiar with their new computer faster.
Take Screenshots
There are plenty of instances when you need to send someone a screenshot to give them instructions or send a proof of something. Therefore, knowing your mac where are screenshots saved is pretty much a must.
By default, the MacBook will save the screenshots on its desktop. However, you can change the default location in the Terminal available on the Utilities section in the Applications tab.
As for how you can take screenshots, there is no print screen keyboard button. No, if you want to capture the entire MacBook screen, you will need to hit the Shift + Command + 3 keyboard shortcut. To capture a portion of the screen, use Shift + Command + 4 instead.
There are other useful macOS shortcuts that you should learn. The whole list is available on the official Apple support website on the keyboard shortcut tab.
Sign PDF Documents
Sometimes, you may have more documents to sign than you can handle. Thankfully, MacBooks have a digital signature feature that should save you some valuable time.
First, you will need to upload a picture of your signature on the laptop. Get a piece of paper and sign it. Then, take the signature’s picture with the MacBook’s camera or use your smartphone and upload the signature’s picture via the smartphone.
When the signature’s picture is on the MacBook, launch Preview and click on the Pen icon at the top. Select the Signature button, then Create Signature. From here, you can upload the signature’s picture and include it in PDF documents.
Enable the Dictation Feature
The dictation feature may not be that necessary for some, but if you feel like dictating some text could save you some time, then do not hesitate and go for it. Besides, the dictation feature gives you an opportunity to rest your fingers from all that typing. It may be weird to say a text out loud at first, but you may find that it is quite handy.
Set up iCloud Account
iCloud offers 5 gigabytes of free storage with the option to expand it by paying a monthly fee. Paying 10 dollars will provide as much as 2 terabytes of iCloud space.
Setting up an iCloud account is worth it because you will not have to keep all files on the MacBook. Freeing up disk space would help with the overall laptop performance. Besides, you can also use iCloud as a means to back up data. Despite its reliability, MacBook hardware could also run into problems. Before you know it, the computer data is wiped, and you cannot restore it.
Check the Official App Store
Checking the app store is another good piece of advice. While macOS has some great built-in tools like Time Machine and Spotlight, you should still spend some time browsing through available applications.
Be it entertainment, education, lifestyle, business, finances, or another category, you should find some applications to make your overall MacBook experience better.
As a rule of thumb, you should stick to the official store. There might be some decent third-party tools, but if they are not approved by Apple and are not available on the official store, keep in mind that you are risking downloading a potential threat to your computer.
Customize the Dock
The default Dock version is quite common, and you may get used to it quite fast. However, there is also an option to customize the Dock if you want to introduce some changes to the MacBook’s home screen.
Go to System Preferences and select the Dock and Menu Bar preferences tab. Here, you can adjust the Dock’s side, relocate it to the left or right edges of the screen, or make the Dock disappear.
Keep the MacBook in Good Condition
The last tip is to keep your MacBook in good condition. Just because Macs are reliable, it does not mean that you can neglect computer maintenance. Keep tabs on potential cybersecurity threats, the dust inside, drive space, background applications, the temperature, and internal fan noises.
In case you notice something wrong with the computer, do not hesitate and look for a solution online to solve it yourself or get in touch with a tech-savvy professional who can fix the MacBook for you.
