Switch from Windows to Mac - some real world problems

[djrobsd]

I've been a huge Apple fanboy since the first iPod came out, followed by my purchase of the 3g iPhone in 2008, and the retina MacBook Pro in 2012 as well as the 27" iMac when they redesigned it in 2012. Unfortunately, my employers in the past have not been up to the trend, and required me to use a PC which I have always hated. I recently had the opportunity to exclusively use a Mac for work purposes. Let me give you some background:

-99% of the work I do is in the cloud - I implement cloud software solutions for businesses and all of the tools we use, EXCEPT Office are cloud-based tools
-Our company is 100% Microsoft Office (no Google docs, pages, etc.)
-Because most of my work is in the web I have a lot of tabs open all the time and sometimes windows as well

I have been struggling with a few issues, and I'm hoping that people who switched from PC's to Macs have some workarounds or tips that can help make my life easier, because hands down I am already more productive on my Mac.. No more system freezing up in the middle of Zoom meetings, which happened almost every day on my Windows laptop.. No more app delays, smooth scrolling, web pages load MUCH faster on the M1 Air then they did on the i5 laptop.

Issues I am struggling with:

-Full screen - I want to make a window "full screen" without it actually switching to "full screen" mode. I am constantly having to drag the Safari window around to get it the size I want it to be.

-Disappearing windows - often times Safari windows will disappear and I struggle to try and get them to come back into focus on my main monitor

-Switching from laptop (clamshell mode) back to dock - I have the Hyper Dual 4K HDMI hub - for the most part it works great, but often times the windows disappear when plugging back into the hub

-"Right" mouse click actions in Microsoft Office - let's be honest, the Mac was originally built with a single button mouse, so not a lot of effort has ever been put into this, but there are so many things I can't right mouse click in Office on a Mac but can on a PC including inserting rows into a table in Word

-In general, everything I do in Office seems like a struggle compared to using it on a PC. Maybe I just need to "unlearn" everything I learned about MS office on the PC and re-learn it on the Mac... Or, should I just suck it up and install parallels desktop w/ Windows and Office on it and edit everything in Windows? LOL

Aside from that, all seems to be good, cloud apps work the same on every web browser, so it's very easy to switch from one platform to another when it comes to other programs, but when my boss asks me to edit a 120 page Word document I now cringe.. And yes, I do need the collaboration functionality of comments, markup, and revision control so that's what kind of locks me to using Office unless someone has another solution.

Thank you for reading and any tips and advice you can give to help! I am not adverse to learning keyboard shortcuts BTW, I grew up using WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 (yep, I'm dating myself here)

 

[Mr.Blacky]

Sorry, can't really help you, but what's wrong with using an app in fullscreen mode?

 

[tensixturtle]

-Full screen - I want to make a window "full screen" without it actually switching to "full screen" mode. I am constantly having to drag the Safari window around to get it the size I want it to be.

I don't know which operating system you are running, but you can download different versions of Rectangle from this page, which simulates the snap effect in Windows. (sometimes it gets slightly touchy with Mission Control but it works fairly well)

-Disappearing windows - often times Safari windows will disappear and I struggle to try and get them to come back into focus on my main monitor

If you right click/long hold on the Safari icon in the dock, it will give you a list of the various windows that you have, even ones that are minimized. Do you have the minimized applications set to hide inside the application icon? Or maybe they get stuck in a different desktop, in which case you can use just a single desktop in each monitor?

-Switching from laptop (clamshell mode) back to dock - I have the Hyper Dual 4K HDMI hub - for the most part it works great, but often times the windows disappear when plugging back into the hub

The other things, unfortunately, you cannot change. I think that in many ways Windows manages application windows better with peek and snap. There is no feature in macOS like this as far as I know. Similarly, I don't think you can change the differences with Office for Mac and Office for PC. If you really miss these features, I suppose you can use Parallels Desktop or Bootcamp to have both operating systems on the Mac, something you cannot do with a PC. Good luck!

 

[Ruggy]

When you resize a window then shut the program down, it should remember the size it was when you shut it
I think that's how it works because I know what you mean and I always manage to get them to stay full screen -without being full screen- and I'm pretty sure that's what I do (but it's so natural and I've had it that way for so long I forget).
Anyway, they always open up how I left them.
You can rt click by holding the control key down and left clicking.

 

[calliex]

Look at all the trackpas gestures. There are some that will show you all the open windows
another one will shown all windows within an app

 

[Jay-Jacob]

-Full screen - I want to make a window "full screen" without it actually switching to "full screen" mode. I am constantly having to drag the Safari window around to get it the size I want it to be.

Closest thing as far I can see on Mac is press and hold alt/option button on keyboard and click green button at top left. It make it taller and wider but not full screen like Windows. If press alt/option button and click green button often enough it will do full screen size. It goes bigger bigger bigger each click.

-Disappearing windows - often times Safari windows will disappear and I struggle to try and get them to come back into focus on my main monitor

If assuming your using trackpad and have this gesture switch on. Mission Control gesture on trackpad. That use 4 fingers and swipe up then can see all open apps and click on missing ones bring it up.

-"Right" mouse click actions in Microsoft Office - let's be honest, the Mac was originally built with a single button mouse, so not a lot of effort has ever been put into this, but there are so many things I can't right mouse click in Office on a Mac but can on a PC including inserting rows into a table in Word

-In general, everything I do in Office seems like a struggle compared to using it on a PC. Maybe I just need to "unlearn" everything I learned about MS office on the PC and re-learn it on the Mac... Or, should I just suck it up and install parallels desktop w/ Windows and Office on it and edit everything in Windows? LOL

I very rarely use MS Office on Mac (my personal Mac doesn't have MS Office) so I don't know how it works compare vs Windows version. Trackpad 2 finger tap bring right click or press hold command and tap do same. I don't know if that works? Maybe Mac version MS Office have different way of doing and search on Google find out?

 

[MBAir2010]

on Mac, system presences, there are trackpad option that you can adjust to your liking.

personally im having TV problems while projecting windows 10 to a TV that you have
i can't activate anything around the corners.
getting a mac mini will solve all these!

 

[calliex]

Closest thing as far I can see on Mac is press and hold alt/option button on keyboard and click green button at top left. It make it taller and wider but not full screen like Windows. If press alt/option button and click green button often enough it will do full screen size. It goes bigger bigger bigger each click.


If assuming your using trackpad and have this gesture switch on. Mission Control gesture on trackpad. That use 4 fingers and swipe up then can see all open apps and click on missing ones bring it up.


I very rarely use MS Office on Mac (my personal Mac doesn't have MS Office) so I don't know how it works compare vs Windows version. Trackpad 2 finger tap bring right click or press hold command and tap do same. I don't know if that works? Maybe Mac version MS Office have different way of doing and search on Google find out?

I think two finger tap for a right click is not enabled by default.

 

[djrobsd]

I think two finger tap for a right click is not enabled by default.

Very helpful! This works great, it uses the whole screen (mostly) without taking me to "full screen" mode. The problem with "full screen mode" is that it opens it in a new "space" rather than in the same space you're working in already.

 

[djrobsd]

I think two finger tap for a right click is not enabled by default.

Correct, except that I've been using a Mac for a long time, so some of my preferences were transferred over, including the two finger tap on the trackpad. The issue is not "why can't I right click", the issue is that the right click actions on Office for the Mac are not the same as the PC, which makes it hard to switch. Some of the right click things you can do on the PC are HUGE time savers, but I have since learned I can insert a row in a table just as easily with a keyboard shortcut, so over time this will get easier for me.

There are some programs on the Mac that are so much better than the PC that it's all just a trade-off. Unfortunately, Office is just such a critical part of my work day sometimes... If only I could afford a secretary! LOL

 

[djrobsd]

on Mac, system presences, there are trackpad option that you can adjust to your liking.

personally im having TV problems while projecting windows 10 to a TV that you have
i can't activate anything around the corners.
getting a mac mini will solve all these!

For me, that ship sailed years ago when Amazon and Apple both started heavily competing for TV boxes. I have a hard enough time reading the font when I'm in front of the monitor, let alone trying to read a computer font while sitting on the couch. I am almost 100% satisfied with Plex on my Apple TV for playing all my media that's downloaded to a computer. I paid for a lifetime subscription so I get all the pro features, which is very helpful if you want to stream to tablets in the airport or other fun stuff like that.

A Mac mini is an excellent choice if you want to have a computer-based media server and don't want to try a NAS device instead. For me, I got the QNAP TS-873 and it runs Plex perfectly and transcodes all my media on the TV even if the Apple TV doesn't support the format (i.e. WMV files which I still have a lot of from my Windows days LOL). Hard drives have gotten so cheap, I have 30TB of storage in it which is insane.

 

[NT1440]

Correct, except that I've been using a Mac for a long time, so some of my preferences were transferred over, including the two finger tap on the trackpad. The issue is not "why can't I right click", the issue is that the right click actions on Office for the Mac are not the same as the PC, which makes it hard to switch. Some of the right click things you can do on the PC are HUGE time savers, but I have since learned I can insert a row in a table just as easily with a keyboard shortcut, so over time this will get easier for me.

There are some programs on the Mac that are so much better than the PC that it's all just a trade-off. Unfortunately, Office is just such a critical part of my work day sometimes... If only I could afford a secretary! LOL

Do you have any specific examples of action you need out of the right click? I can see on mine if there’s a way to get that into the right click menu.

 

[djrobsd]

Closest thing as far I can see on Mac is press and hold alt/option button on keyboard and click green button at top left. It make it taller and wider but not full screen like Windows. If press alt/option button and click green button often enough it will do full screen size. It goes bigger bigger bigger each click.


If assuming your using trackpad and have this gesture switch on. Mission Control gesture on trackpad. That use 4 fingers and swipe up then can see all open apps and click on missing ones bring it up.


I very rarely use MS Office on Mac (my personal Mac doesn't have MS Office) so I don't know how it works compare vs Windows version. Trackpad 2 finger tap bring right click or press hold command and tap do same. I don't know if that works? Maybe Mac version MS Office have different way of doing and search on Google find out?

Hey Jay, I do have the gesture switch on, however sometimes with the "disappearing" windows, I can see them when I swipe up with 4 fingers but when I click on the window it still doesn't show up. Scary!

On the Mac version of office, the options when you right click are different than the PC, there are several of them that are missing. I know you can customize the ribbon, but I don't think you can customize the right click menu unfortunately.

 

[usagora]

As another person mentioned for making an app window "full screen" (what you really mean is to maximize the window), sometimes holding option and clicking the green button at the top left of the app window will do the trick (when you hold down the Option key, you'll notice the green button icon changes to a + sign instead of the full-screen icon), but it depends on the app. With Google Chrome, for instance, it will always maximize the window, but for Safari, it will only switch it to the last size you manually changed it to. But Safari will remember the window size even after you quit the app, so you should only have to manually maximize the window (by dragging the sides/corners) once.

As for MS Office, I use it daily both on Windows and Mac and have no real issues with either. I'd definitely suggest learning the native Mac versions instead of using Parallels. You might also give us some examples of tasks you're finding difficult to accomplish on MS Office for Mac.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

I think two finger tap for a right click is not enabled by default.

I forgot it isn’t on default. Had it on for so long.

 

[Jay-Jacob]

Hey Jay, I do have the gesture switch on, however sometimes with the "disappearing" windows, I can see them when I swipe up with 4 fingers but when I click on the window it still doesn't show up. Scary!

Sounds like it hidden on external screen when you unplug it. Maybe right click app icon in dock (if it is in dock) and options then pick this desktop.

On the Mac version of office, the options when you right click are different than the PC, there are several of them that are missing. I know you can customize the ribbon, but I don't think you can customize the right click menu unfortunately.

Looks like you have to learn Mac version way of doing things instead doing same way on windows. They probably are there but somewhere different.

 

[chabig]

The problem with "full screen mode" is that it opens it in a new "space" rather than in the same space you're working in already.

Why is that a problem? Swipe left/right with four fingers to move quickly from space to space. Or swipe up with three fingers for Mission Control.

 

[Aggedor]

For Windows-like windows resizing, fullscreen, half-screen, etc, there's an excellent app called Magnet which does all of that, with shortcuts. I have a Windows desktop gaming machine, and came back to the Mac with the M1 MBA, and I found Magnet essential, especially as I work with multiple documents open side-by-side on a large display, and need to be able to arrange them quickly and easily.

 

[tensixturtle]

Is Rectangle able to do the same thing as Magnet?

 

[JamesMay82]

Sounds like it hidden on external screen when you unplug it. Maybe right click app icon in dock (if it is in dock) and options then pick this desktop.


Looks like you have to learn Mac version way of doing things instead doing same way on windows. They probably are there but somewhere different.

Another vote for getting use to it. I have the similar issues and I just put up with it now unfortunately.

My biggest complaint is copying small excel data into an email and it either works or doesn't. i..e sometimes it just posts as text all jumbled up. Sometimes I just use screenshots of the bits I need.

 

[Aggedor]

Is Rectangle able to do the same thing as Magnet?

From the screenshot of the shortcuts at that link, yes, it looks identical to Magnet.

 

[djrobsd]

Another vote for getting use to it. I have the similar issues and I just put up with it now unfortunately.

My biggest complaint is copying small excel data into an email and it either works or doesn't. i..e sometimes it just posts as text all jumbled up. Sometimes I just use screenshots of the bits I need.

That's definitely an issue too, copying and pasting from an Excel document into Word or Outlook makes a nice table with the same fonts and everything, but on the Mac it's usually garbled.

I'm starting to get used to it, I discovered that my right click commands in Word for table editing weren't showing up because I opened a document that was in "Review" mode, so all the right click actions were focused on review mode. The Windows version doesn't do that. Eventually I'll get used to the differences.

The Option Fullscreen button has been a HUGE time saver for me as have many of these other suggestions, so things are slowly starting to improve as I get more used to the Mac way of doing things.

I still feel like Microsoft just completely cripples Macs by doing a crappy job on Office for Mac, and I know that the program has came a LONG way since Office Mac 2010, but it's still a joke and has a long way to go. I know a lot of companies get around this by using Google Docs and Sheets, but we all know those programs only have 1/4 the capabilities of Word and Excel (good luck getting a VB Macro to work in Google Sheets).

One thing I'll never understand is why people torture themselves by ONLY using the trackpad. While I do enjoy the gestures and other features, my hands hurt after a day of only using the Trackpad, so I switched back to the Logitech MX Master mouse which is MUCH more ergonomic and comfortable for my hand. I still have the trackpad on the left side of the keyboard for access to using the gestures.

 

[djrobsd]

For Windows-like windows resizing, fullscreen, half-screen, etc, there's an excellent app called Magnet which does all of that, with shortcuts. I have a Windows desktop gaming machine, and came back to the Mac with the M1 MBA, and I found Magnet essential, especially as I work with multiple documents open side-by-side on a large display, and need to be able to arrange them quickly and easily.

Score! I forgot about Magnet, I used to use that on my 2012 Retina MBP. It turns out my license is still valid from the App Store, so will give that a try as well!

 

[satcomer]

On Mac if you want to know about Keyboard Shortcuts bookmark the apple Support document Mac KeyBoard shortcuts

If you want to what ports Apple software uses bookmark the Apple Support site TCPand UDP ports used by Apple Software products

 

[wys]

-Full screen - I want to make a window "full screen" without it actually switching to "full screen" mode. I am constantly having to drag the Safari window around to get it the size I want it to be.

Use these;

Better Touch Tool https://folivora.ai/

Spectacle https://www.spectacleapp.com/

the former will give you "window snapping" (where you drag the window to a corner or the top of the screen and it pops into shape), the latter will give you keyboard shortcuts for the same thing. Windows has the "snapping" built in but AFAIK macOS does not have that yet (??)

-Disappearing windows - often times Safari windows will disappear and I struggle to try and get them to come back into focus on my main monitor

This is probably due to the screen configuration changes between monitors. Use the Mission Control and App Expose gestures to wrangle windows easier. Also keep in mind the Spaces feature (virtual desktops you can switch between).

Sometimes app windows can end up off screen (usually with just a sliver of pixels on screen that you have trouble grabbing with the mouse), using Mission Control and App Expose and/or plain old Alt-Tab can help to get them back.

One thing that can actually help a lot, if you can Alt-Tab to select the window that has dropped off screen, you can usually use Spectacle's keyboard combos to "snap" the window back on screen to a certain location.

-Switching from laptop (clamshell mode) back to dock - I have the Hyper Dual 4K HDMI hub - for the most part it works great, but often times the windows disappear when plugging back into the hub

Again, I think this is mostly due to the attachment of external monitor.

-"Right" mouse click actions in Microsoft Office - let's be honest, the Mac was originally built with a single button mouse, so not a lot of effort has ever been put into this, but there are so many things I can't right mouse click in Office on a Mac but can on a PC including inserting rows into a table in Word

idk about this one, I have not used Windows MS Office in a very long time but I do remember some of the features being burried in the top macOS Menu Bar or more often in the "Ribbon" menu, there should be some limited customizability of the Ribbon menu items but besides that I think you just have to get used to the macOS UI's placement for things. Also keep in mind, if your MS Office app window is too tiny, it will automatically start hiding Ribbon menu items to keep the UI coherent; this can drive you nuts if the button you need gets hidden.