How To Switch From Windows To MAC: 51+ Proven Tips

Owning a MAC is still a dream of many people, but when you decide to switch from window to MAC, the journey becomes difficult.

There are many confusions and fear in a person’s face; thus, here we are with some tips to help you switch from window to MAC and make your transitions a little smoother.

How To Switch From Windows To MAC

Choose a MAC – the first and critical step towards switching from windows to MAC is to look for the kind of laptop you are looking for, uses you have, functions you are looking for, the budget you have.
Prepare yourself to learn new things – MAC is something which you can’t learn to operate overnight; it will take you some time to learn, but if you are intelligent, it will not take more than a week.
Battery backup – before buying the MAC, look at the battery backup options available; the better the battery backup, the more efficient your work will be.
Budget – before you buy a MAC, look at the budget you have, try to keep your preference within your account, as if your choice is set, it will be easier for you to choose the options.
Type of work – before you decide to buy a MAC, determine the type of work you will be having. Whether you are buying it for professional use or student use or just for projects based out of college.
Right color – there are multiple colors available to choose the color and choose the color that suits your personality.
Accessories – don’t forget to get the accessories with the MAC, as supplements will increase your MAC’s coolness and make you look more stylish and more relaxed.
Receipt- don’t forget to get the receipt of the accessories and MAC you have bought to help you get the future benefits.
Refurbished MAC- there are options available to buy opened items or used items, which will save a ton of money and your wish to own a MAC, but be careful before you buy them. Make sure you have checked their software and hardware.
Online stores- plenty of options are available online to buy a MAC; before you go to an offline store, you can compare the options available with specifications, functions, and price.
Payment options – plenty of options are there for the payment, such as EMI options, credit card options. Before you make the price make sure to check out all the options to avail the best offers and discounts.
Warranty – make sure you understand the warranty terms and conditions so that it won’t create confusion in the future, and you know the best use of your resources.
Offers – before you buy the MAC, make sure you know all the offers you can avail of in terms of price, software, guaranty, and warranty.
Transfer your data – you will need all your data from your old computer; thus, make sure you transfer all your data to not lose any important thing.
Memories the short keyboard tricks – memories all the quick tricks of keyboards to further help you. It may take some time, but it will make your work a lot easier once you learn it.
Set up an id – set up an id and password for your MAC to have some changes from the simple laptop.
Use of finder – learn to use the finder to find all your documents, photos, music. It will make your search a little easy.
Explore the apps – MAC have many preloaded apps. Thus, it is advisable to explore them first and then download the paid apps you might require for future use.
How to use the mouse on MAC – mouse of MAC is somewhat different from the laptop’s mouse. Scrolling – here, you will scroll like you scroll your mobile device. Clicking – the mouse/trackpad is significant, and you can connect anywhere. Right-click – place two fingers on the mouse/ trackpad and bond with one.
The doc – the MAC has doc, which is the equivalent taskbar of windows. The doc has two portions on the right, you will have trash and minimized windows, and you will have applications on the left.
The menu bar – in MAC, the menu bar appears at the top bar, the user application will appear on the top left bar of the menu, your connected Wi-Fi, the battery percentage will be shown on the right corner of the menu bar.
Spotlight – command+ spacebar will launch spotlight; although it is not the most efficient to launch applications, the best way to tackle the application is to type in the search engine and then hit enter.
Preferences of your system- The MAC equivalent to the Control Panel on Windows is System Preferences. This is where you can add your preferences, customize your desktop settings, and add new users. It will make access to your system a little more comfortable and time-saving.
Notification center- notification center is on the top right center of the menu bar; from the rightmost edge, you can swipe inwards through the trackpad /mouse, and a notification system will appear where all your notifications will appear.
Siri – Siri is like your Google assistance, which helps you find all the files and information online. Under system preference, you can change your settings to Siri.
Install and remove software – installing or removing software is a little different from windows.
Manual install – you can download an image in DMG form and can pin it by clicking it. In finder, click and drag the item into your application folder.
Package installer – they work like the windows. Double click on the file and follow the instructions.
MAC app store – on the MAC app store, you can find all the applications of your choice. Use your apple id and password to access them.
Two methods to remove the applications are:

Manual delete- find the application you want to delete, click on it, and then drag it to trash. Automatic uninstallers- in some applications, the uninstallers work just like the windows; double click on the app you want to remove and follow the instructions.
App cleaner – if you have some application you find difficult to remove, then try using app cleaner. You can access it from any account.

Everyday maintenance is easy on MAC; the drives are updated automatically, not manually, unlike windows.
Monitor your activities – it is equal to windows task manager; it will help you see and manage your actions. There are tabs to monitor CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, and Network usage. To kill processes, highlight them, and then click the “X” in the top-left corner. The apps that are no longer used or respond are highlighted in red.
Update the software on MAC – install the app from the store or update them in a single click. To avail, this system goes to system preferences > software system to enable updates automatically. Apps you download manually will show the notification of updates whenever available.
Back up – the MAC have an inbuilt back up called a time MAChine; purchase an external drive that is equal to the internal memory of the MAC, insert the drive and launch the time MAChine to access it, so in the future, whenever you will connect the drive your data will back up automatically.
File management- finder in-app is equal to windows explorer,
You can click and drag to highlight files and right-click (or two-finger click) to access context menus and create folders.
Copy and paste are the same as windows; to cut a file, you need first to copy the file and Command + Option + V to move it.
If you right-click and press the Option key, “Paste” changes to “Cut” in the menu.
The critical folders in your MAC are:

/Applications: This is where your applications live.
/System: Files related to the regular operation of MACOS.
/Libraries: Shared libraries used by software and the core OS.
/Users: Where user files and folders are stored.
/Volumes: Where all mountable volumes (like . DMG files) and external drives are mounted.
/Network: Where network volumes are mounted.

There is no separate c drive due to the way system is structured; to search a file, go to the folder and search the location.
MAC security- the MAC is secure in all the ways from viruses and hackers. Gatekeeper- to keep the mc safe from unsigned software. System integration protection – protects systems and files, protects from pre-installed applications, and stops downloading from unknown sources.
The hardware- the hardware such as the keyboard and mouse are almost the same as the windows laptop.

To switch the app > command + tab,
To copy > command +c, to close the running application, right-click on the application,
For special characters > option +p,
Paste > command + v, move (cut) > command + option + v,
Quit the app > command + q

Trackpad – to set the track pad as your preference, go to system preference> track pad. You will be surprised to see the response time of the trackpad in comparison to the windows.
Keep it safe – the MAC is not expensive but a little sensitive, so handle it with care; if you are a person who roughly uses the laptop, then the MAC is not a good option.
Have patience – MAC operating system is a lot different from windows; thus, learning it will take some time, so be prepared for some lessons and brainstorming sessions to learning to operate the MAC.

How To Switch From Windows To MAC

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