Since the first MacBook hit the market in 1991, the popular portable computer has gone through dozens of changes and sold billions of units.
But if you’ve never had a chance to use a Mac, making the transition from other laptops and computers can be a challenge.
Whether you’ve taken advantage of COVID-19 sales or made an apple trade-in for upgrading your computer to work from home, the MacBook Air is a great choice. To make your transition easier, check out these 5 MacBook Air tips and tricks.
1. Check for Updates
Just because your MacBook Air came brand new from the store doesn’t mean it is automatically ready to go.
One of the best Macintosh tricks you can follow when setting up your new laptop is to check for updates. If your unit has been sitting on a store shelf for a few weeks, it could be behind on important updates.
While you can use your new computer without running these right away, it’s best to do so as soon as possible. Updates sometimes contain new security features, fix old bugs, or otherwise help your laptop run smoothly.
Plus, before you start getting the rest of your Mac set up the way that you want it, run the update so that your work doesn’t wind up going to waste once new changes are implemented!
To check for software updates, open your Software Preferences by clicking on the little Apple symbol in the top left-hand corner of your screen. Scroll through the options and click on Software Update. If any updates are available, they’ll appear in the window that pops up.
2. Shortcuts Make the Leap from Windows a Breeze
Making the switch from Windows to Mac means making some adjustments to your computer habits.
At first glance, the home screen on your new Mac and the home screen on your old Windows will look similar. But as soon as you lay a finger on the trackpad, try to open a folder, or attempt a right-click, you’ll quickly notice how different they really are. There are also times when you want to transfer files from Windows to your new MacBook Air. However, you may find it unable to write to your original data if it’s NTFS-formatted. How to fix that? Don’t worry, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac can help you read and write NTFS-formatted files on Mac seamlessly.
Below are more simple Mac tips that can make the transition from Windows to Mac much easier.
To right-click on your MacBook Air, simply use two fingers to click your trackpad. A small menu of options, the same option you have when you right-click on your Windows laptop, will appear.
On your Windows laptop, when you want to close or minimize a window, you look to the top right-hand corner of that window. On a Mac, you’ll find the same options in the top left corner. The small green circle expands and shrinks your window. The yellow circle hides your window at the bottom of your screen, and the red circle closes it.
3. Move Your Content to Your New Mac
Moving documents, photos and other files from one laptop to the next can be a drag. But you also don’t want to risk losing those files or not having important work documents when you need them. You can continue reading here for more information.
You could take the time to email them to yourself. However, this is not only time-consuming but in the case of large files, sometimes impossible. It also makes it easier to forget important documents.
To move over your new files to your MacBook Air, you can use Migration Assistant. This handy tool makes moving files easy and keeps you from having to do it manually.
Migration Assistant will walk you through the steps you need to move your files over from your old laptop to your brand-new Mac. Plus, it works even if your old computer wasn’t a Mac.
4. Command-Tab to Jump Between Applications
Mac’s use of applications makes it fast and easy to manage various tasks. You can open the email app to check your inbox, Word or another word processing app to type up documents, photo editing apps, and more.
But moving between these different applications can be time-consuming if you’re always only using your trackpad.
Luckily, there’s a simple shortcut you can use to jump quickly and smoothly between any apps you’re using.
To access this shortcut, all you have to do is press and hold “Command” and “Tab.” This will cause a small window to pop up, with all of the open apps displayed.
From there, you can click on the app that you want to open. When you’re finished with one app, use this shortcut again to jump to the next one you need. You’ll save time and frustration, making work or play go faster than ever before.
5. Make Your System Work for You
If you find yourself trying to manage documents on your new Mac but don’t have the right software for the job, you’re in luck.
While Microsoft Word is a popular software for managing and creating documents, it’s far from your only option.
If you don’t want to shell out over $100 to download Word, or even more if you want to keep access to the most current version of Word at all times, you need a different option for converting documents to .doc files.
While it may seem like Word documents would be tied to Word, it’s actually very easy to convert a PDF or other file to a Word document without the software.
All you need is one of a variety of other software options or even websites, like Google Drive or Adobe Acrobat Pro.
To learn the steps you need to convert a PDF to a Word document, check out https://setapp.com/how-to/convert-pdf-to-word-on-mac.
Mastering MacBook Air Tips and Tricks
Mastering MacBook Air tips and tricks will help make the transition to a brand new Mac laptop fast and easy.
Now that your new work laptop is ready to go, it’s time to start using it to improve your skills. Check out our blog for more tips and tricks.
