You can add weather forecasts, a Reminders widget, or even a calculator. Many third-party apps also install widgets you can access in this panel. Scroll to the bottom of the Today screen and click “Edit” to reorganize, and enable or disable widgets. This functions just like the Today screen on iPhone and iPad. The Today screen (shown above) also lives here.

Scroll up on this screen to enable Do Not Disturb mode or Night Shift. macOS has a robust notifications system, and this is where they all appear.

You can also swipe inward from the right-most edge of the trackpad. In the top-right corner of the menu bar is an icon you can click to open the Notification Center or Today screen. It’s worth it to poke around System Preferences, so you can familiarize yourself with its various options. Third-party applications might also install their own options panels here. This is where you go to add new users to your machine, change security settings, or customize your desktop (just to name a few of its useful functions). The Mac equivalent to the Control Panel on Windows is System Preferences. Launch System Preferences > Dock to set it up however you like. You can configure the Dock to appear on the bottom, or the left or right edge of the screen. To get rid of something, click and drag it until “Remove” appears, and then release. To pin an item to the Dock, you right-click it (or two-finger click on a trackpad), and then choose Options > Keep in Dock. On the left, you find your applications, and on the right, folders, the Trash, and any minimized windows you have open. There are two areas on the Dock separated by a partition. It’s one of the easiest ways to launch and access your applications.

This is the Mac equivalent of the Windows taskbar. You can also right-click with a regular mouse or hold the Control key and click.Īt the bottom of the screen, you find the macOS Dock.

Right- or two-finger click: To open the “right-click” context menu, place two fingers on the trackpad and “click” with one.

Clicking: The trackpad is one big button, so you can click anywhere.

Scrolling: On a trackpad, you scroll with two fingers, like you would on a mobile device.

How to Use the Trackpad or Mouseīefore we begin, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with some common actions you’ll use while you make your way around macOS: With that out of the way, you have a desktop in front of you that looks simultaneously familiar and slightly alien. When you first boot up your new Mac, you configure your account username and set up (or sign in with) an Apple ID.

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