Just bought my first mac.

[unrigestered]

be sure to auto hide your Dock, in case you haven't already.
it will still come up quickly enough, but the best way is simply using cmd+space and then type in the name of the app you want to launch anyway.

it will remember your searches, so if you want to start Ableton, usually
cmd+space-> a, (for Ableton) and enter will launch it

you can also auto hide your menu bar on top to gain some additional screen space, but some people prefer to have it displayed all the time

 

[mihighil]

be sure to auto hide your Dock, in case you haven't already.
it will still come up quickly enough, but the best way is simply using cmd+space and then type in the name of the app you want to launch anyway.

it will remember your searches, so if you want to start Ableton, usually
cmd+space-> a, (for Ableton) and enter

you can also auto hide your menu bar on top to gain some additional screen space, but some people prefer to have it displayed all the time

The first thing that i did! 😀
I watched a snazzy labs video, i pasted some commands in the terminal so the dock will appear instantly, much better 😉

 

[Deedeekay]

...don’t install disk cleaners or other maintenance bloatware.

I use Clean My Mac because MacOS itself has significant issues with cluttering the OS disk with useless ****ing crap. I regularly pare down my disk by about 20GB. It also clutters up with deleted applications. My god, the crap that gets left behind can be GB's from one application alone. Given that SSD costs are a huge part of the expense of modern Macs, I'd say this is a good reason to have some sort of maintenance UNbloatware.

 

[satcomer]

The first thing that i did! 😀
I watched a snazzy labs video, i pasted some commands in the terminal so the dock will appear instantly, much better 😉

Hey I just remembered a great little app you might like it's called Meteorogist that lives in the Finder and is free!

 

[mihighil]

I use Clean My Mac because MacOS itself has significant issues with cluttering the OS disk with useless ****ing crap. I regularly pare down my disk by about 20GB. It also clutters up with deleted applications. My god, the crap that gets left behind can be GB's from one application alone. Given that SSD costs are a huge part of the expense of modern Macs, I'd say this is a good reason to have some sort of maintenance UNbloatware.

I installed Onyx, just for the purpose if cleaning up stuff that gets left behind from removed apps.

 

[spiderman0616]

If you’re really nitpicky about your workspace like I am, Magnet is another good one that lives up in your menu bar and allows you to save your open windows in specific spots/sizes.

 

[Ashbash75]

Don't turn those things off all the time. you will probably need them.

Ash, can you give any explanation for why you thing they should turn those things off? to give them some context.

When you are messing about with audio/music LATENCY is your biggest enemy. I use mine to trigger drum sounds when I play my electronic drum kit.

I got a RME Babyface too, best in the biz for low latency and long support.

 

[jdb8167]

You close a Mac app with cmd-x or with the menu bar. Just closing the window does not close the app in many app.

Surely you meant cmd-Q.

 

[Tagbert]

Surely you meant cmd-Q.

True, I was away from my Mac when typing that and not paying enough attention. Will update.

 

[theorist9]

The two simple Mac programs I find essential are SizeUp ( https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ ) (allows you to create shortcuts to have a window fill the left half or right half of screen, etc.) and CopyLess (clipboard manager—you can create shortcuts for the last 10 items you copied; available in the App store). Three other fancier programs I use are KeyBoard Maestro (lets you create Macros for common tasks), LaunchBar (easy app Launching, but can also be used to open commonly-used documents), and Carbon Copy Cloner (for making regular automated backups to an external drive).

Finally, I got a Logitech G502 and programmed into it the most commonly used shortcuts. The screenshot button is really useful. Normally to bring up a screenshot cursor, you need to do CMD-CTRL-SHIFT-4. This does it with the touch of a button. And the "Resize and Move Right/Left" buttons simply activate the shortcuts to do that in SizeUp. The Forward and Back action, which is from tilting the scroll wheel right and left, activates the forward and back arrows in web browsers.

 

[tastesliketailpipe]

What the heck is this monstrosity? 👆

 

[Alex Cai]

Thanks anyway and why doesn’t the damn X button close apps?!? 🤣🤣

Command Q (q for quit) will do the job

 

[theorist9]

What the heck is this monstrosity? 👆

Illegal Chitauri technology.

 

[aevan]

Yes i was thinking the same thing, i was just reading at some other forums for audio, and didn’t find anything related for optimising. Just normal (use your brain) stuff. Thanks anyway and why doesn’t the damn X button close apps?!? 🤣🤣

It closes the window - and macOS separates the concept of an app and its windows (an app can have multiple windows). I like it - you can just close a window but have an app running, similar to running something in the tray on Windows. ⌘ + Q will quit an app completely.

 

[Tagbert]

Yes i was thinking the same thing, i was just reading at some other forums for audio, and didn’t find anything related for optimising. Just normal (use your brain) stuff. Thanks anyway and why doesn’t the damn X button close apps?!? 🤣🤣

In Windows the app is the window. In Mac OS the app has one or more windows (or no windows for some apps).

For apps that work with documents, closing the document window doesn’t mean you want to close the app. You may be ready to start a new document or open another. Word processors and image editors would be typical examples. For these you would close the app with cmd-q or with the menu Appname>Quit.

For apps where everything happens in one window, closing that window may close the app because the app has no function without that window. A lot of utilities/tools do this where all of the app’s functionality is contained within a single window and there are never any other windows. A printer control app would be one example. Dictionary and Fontbook are others. For these, closing the window may close the app.

 

[mihighil]

In Windows the app is the window. In Mac OS the app has one or more windows (or no windows for some apps).

For apps that work with documents, closing the document window doesn’t mean you want to close the app. You may be ready to start a new document or open another. Word processors and image editors would be typical examples. For these you would close the app with cmd-q or with the menu Appname>Quit.

For apps where everything happens in one window, closing that window may close the app because the app has no function without that window. A lot of utilities/tools do this where all of the app’s functionality is contained within a single window and there are never any other windows. A printer control app would be one example. Dictionary and Fontbook are others. For these, closing the window may close the app.

Makes sense, i got used to it in 3 days.

 

[theorist9]

Makes sense, i got used to it in 3 days.

Yeah:
Close app: CMD-Q
Close window (which, if you're working in Office, means close file/document/email): CMD-W
The latter is what this button does on my mouse :

CMD-W is useful if you've opened a lot windows in an app, and want to close several of them to reduce clutter, but don't want to exit the app because you're still working on something.

 

[theorist9]

You should also set up hot corners in your Mac and see if you like it (System Preferences > Mission Control > Hot Corners (button at lower left). For instance, I have mine set so if I move the mouse cursor to the upper right of my display, it explodes all the windows in the active app. And for upper left, it explodes all windows in all open apps. When the windows are exploded, you can click on any of them to bring it to the front. [You can also enable shortcuts for these.] They're useful when you can't find something you've been working on (typically happens either when you've got a gazillion windows open and/or or if you've accidentally moved the window so only a tiny corner of it is on-screen; in the latter case, that's when SizeUp is useful: you can just click on that corner, and then hit one of your SizeUp shortcuts to make th window left-screen, right-screen, or full-screen).

And, to protect the privacy of your data, you should enable disk encryption (FileVault) (System Preferences > Security > FileVault). Just be very careful to record that password somewhere--but you can set it so it can be unlocked with you iCloud account.

 

[mihighil]

You should also set up hot corners in your Mac and see if you like it (System Preferences > Mission Control > Hot Corners (button at lower left). For instance, I have mine set so if I move the mouse cursor to the upper right of my display, it explodes all the windows in the active app. And for upper left, it explodes all windows in all open apps. When the windows are exploded, you can click on any of them to bring it to the front. [You can also enable shortcuts for these.] They're useful when you can't find something you've been working on (typically happens either when you've got a gazillion windows open and/or or if you've accidentally moved the window so only a tiny corner of it is on-screen; in the latter case, that's when SizeUp is useful: you can just click on that corner, and then hit one of your SizeUp shortcuts to make th window left-screen, right-screen, or full-screen).

And, to protect the privacy of your data, you should enable disk encryption (FileVault) (System Preferences > Security > FileVault). Just be very careful to record that password somewhere--but you can set it so it can be unlocked with you iCloud account.

Thanks for the info, i already look up what every damn setting in preferences does. I like to have my options open 😂

 

[theorist9]

Thanks for the info, i already look up what every damn setting in preferences does. I like to have my options open 😂

Perfect, playing around and exploring is exactly the way to start with any new OS.

 

[Tagbert]

One more suggestion… hold down the Opt key while clicking on menu items. Good chance you will see more options that were hidden. Same thing applies to the right-click menu.

 

[mihighil]

One more suggestion… hold down the Opt key while clicking on menu items. Good chance you will see more options that were hidden. Same thing applies to the right-click menu.

Yes, already found out about that….so many options 😀

 

[theorist9]

And if you run into real trouble, AppleCare support can be very helpful (it's night-and-day compared with, e.g., Dell support). As can the Genius Bar, if you live near an Apple Store.

Also: If you haven't already, I'd urge you to get AppleCare+, especially since you bought a laptop. While Apple's laptops have a lower failure rate than those from other mfrs (according to Consumer Reports), laptops as a class are still prone to failure, and AppleCare+ provides a very generous blanket warranty. I'd buy the 3-year package, and then continue to extend it. Plus it ups the resale, since AppleCare+ is transferrable. People will pay significantly more for a used product that's still under Apple's warranty.

 

[mihighil]

And if you run into real trouble, AppleCare support can be very helpful (it's night-and-day compared with, e.g., Dell support). As can the Genius Bar, if you live near an Apple Store.

Also: If you haven't already, I'd urge you to get AppleCare+, especially since you bought a laptop. It provides a very generous blanket warranty. I'd buy the 3-year package, and then continue to extend it. While Apple's laptops have a lower failure rate than those from other mfrs (according to Consumer Reports), laptops as a class are still prone to failure. Plus it ups the resale, since AppleCare is transferrable. People will pay significantly more for a used product that's still under Apple's warranty.

We dont have apple stores in my country, only authorized resellers.

 

[theorist9]

We dont have apple stores in my country, only authorized resellers.

Got it. In that case I guess you'd need to see if AppleCare+ is available in your country. And even if it is, you may not be able to extend it after the three years is up (the latter is not yet available in all countries, though Apple is increasing the number). You might also want to look into how good AppleCare+ is in your country, since it might not come from Apple itself.

[I posted this list earlier, but it's incomplete--there are lots of countries offering AppleCare not on here, including Israel, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa, Kenya...: https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/applecare/countrylist.html .]