Mac Inside & Out · macOS Basics for Switchers · Lesson 2 of 5

The Dock, Menu Bar and Windows

Learn where menus live on a Mac and how windows really close.

One menu bar, many apps

The menu bar is the thin strip across the very top of a Mac screen. This is the biggest change for most Windows users.

On Windows, each window has its own menus inside it. On a Mac, there is only one menu bar, and it changes to match the active app, the app you are using right now.

Look just right of the Apple logo. You will see the name of the active app in bold, like Finder or Safari. The menus next to it, such as File, Edit and View, belong to that app. Click a different window and the menus change.

So if a menu seems to be missing, first check which app name is showing.

The menu bar has two other parts:

• The Apple menu, the Apple logo at the far left. It holds Restart, Shut Down, System Settings and About This Mac.
• The right side, with Wi-Fi, battery, the clock and Control Center, a panel of quick switches like sound and brightness. On Windows, this is like the right end of the taskbar.

The Dock is the row of app icons along the bottom of the screen. Click an icon to open an app. On Windows, this is like the taskbar.

A small dot under an icon means that app is open. To keep an app in the Dock, Control-click its icon, choose Options, then Keep in Dock. To remove one, drag it up out of the Dock until you see Remove. This only removes the shortcut, not the app.

At the right end of the Dock is the Trash, where deleted files go. On Windows, this is the Recycle Bin.

Closing is not quitting

Every Mac window has three round buttons at its top left corner. On Windows, they sit at the top right.

• Red closes the window.
• Yellow minimizes it, which tucks it into the right side of the Dock.
• Green makes it full screen. Hold the pointer over it to see more choices, like filling one half of the screen.

Here is the big surprise. On Windows, closing the last window usually ends the app. On a Mac, the red button often closes only the window. The app keeps running, and its dot stays in the Dock.

To fully end an app, you quit it. Press Command+Q, or choose Quit from the menu with the app's name in the menu bar. To close just one window, press Command+W.

Leaving apps open is usually fine. Quit an app when you are done with it for the day or when it acts strangely.

If an app freezes and will not quit, press Option+Command+Esc. The Force Quit window opens. Pick the app and click Force Quit. Unsaved work in that app may be lost. On Windows, this is like ending a task in Task Manager.

Lost a window behind others? Use Mission Control, a view that spreads out every open window so you can pick one. Swipe up with three fingers on the trackpad, or press the Mission Control key (F3 on many Mac keyboards). On Windows, this is like Task view.

To switch apps quickly, press Command+Tab. On Windows, you use Alt+Tab.