Mac Inside & Out · macOS Basics for Switchers · Lesson 5 of 5

Challenge: Walter's First Week on a MacBook

Help a lifelong Windows user settle in on his new MacBook.

Where did the file go?

Walter used Windows for thirty years. His daughter gave him a MacBook, and this is his first week. He calls you with a list of puzzles.

First, he saved a letter called "Insurance claim" yesterday. Now he can't find it. He keeps looking for File Explorer and the Start button, and neither is there.

You remind him that the Mac has a search tool he can open from anywhere with one shortcut. He types a few letters of the name and the letter appears at the top of the list.

He also wants to know which folder it was saved in, so he can find it next time. You show him how to hold Command and click the window title, and how to turn on the path bar.

Then he wants to check it is the right letter before he emails it. He selects it and presses one key to peek inside.

The app that won't go away

Next, Walter says his Mac is acting strange. He clicked the red button on Mail to close it. But the Mail icon in the Dock still has a little dot under it.

Later, he was in Safari but wanted Mail's File menu. The menu bar at the top only showed Safari menus. He thought Mail had lost its menus.

You explain that the menu bar always shows the menus of the active app. Clicking a Mail window brings back the Mail menus. And the dot means Mail is still running.

Old habits, new keys

Walter types a lot of email. He keeps pressing Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, and nothing happens.

You tell him the Mac uses a different key for copy, paste, undo and save. It sits right next to the Space bar and has a ⌘ symbol on it.

He also wants to right-click a photo, but his trackpad has no right button. You show him a Control-click and a two-finger click.

Finally, he asks how to take a picture of his screen to show you an error. You teach him Shift+Command+3 for the whole screen.

A new app for the grandkids' photos

Walter wants a photo printing app his grandson recommended. He downloads it from the maker's official website. A file ending in .dmg appears in his Downloads folder.

He double-clicks it, and a window opens with the app icon and an arrow.

After he installs it, the Mac asks if he is sure he wants to open an app downloaded from the internet. He came from the real website and meant to get it, so he can click Open.

He also asks how to remove the old trial app he installed earlier. You tell him to drag it from Applications to the Trash.