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Go to System Preferences > Notifications & Focus. Review and change settings as desired for all apps you’re interested in.Go to the app menu > Preferences > review and change settings as desired, as there may be further customisation you can make at the app-level.Going into a meeting? Quit your noisy apps like Slack! Pings from messages can be distracting. Also turn on Do Not Disturb on your Mac so notifications don’t pop up.
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macOS 101
How to work efficiently on your Mac, a crash course by Harv Nagra.
This course was designed by Harv Nagra for creative consultancy, . It’s shared with permission. Some of the context below may be relevant to Saentys.
You’re welcome to use this resource for your own team.
Why do we need a Mac course?
In our workplaces, many of us get thrown into using a Mac without an opportunity to learn how or why things work a certain way in macOS.
In order to work efficiently, it’s important for you not only to know how to use [Scoro], [Dropbox for Business] and [Slack] properly, but also how to be able to work quickly and confidently within the Mac operating system.
The following in-house training videos show you the A-Z of using your Mac, and is a mandatory watch for all new starters. For those of us that have been here a while, it’s important we’re all on a level playing field – please do use these resources to brush up on your skills.
How to get the most out of this course? Watch the videos while practicing the shortcuts on your own Mac. Then, come back to this page regularly to look up shortcuts when you need a reminder.
Introduction
Why do creative agencies use Macs? And why do we need you to watch this course?
Topic 1 – The Dock
The colourful row of icons across the bottom of your screen
*Note: the dots indicating an app is running in the dock might be black or white depending on whether your Mac’s in light or dark mode.
Topic 2 – Using Apps
Standard settings and behaviours across all apps on your Mac.
*Note: the dots indicating an app is running in the dock might be black or white depending on whether your Mac’s in light or dark mode.
Topic 3 – The Finder
The file explorer on your Mac. Access to your Desktop, downloads, documents, and applications folder.
Topic 4 – Spotlight Search
Search your files, your emails, the web, find/open apps, even do quick calculations. (⌘-space)
Topic 5 – Control Centre
Toggle your WIFI and Bluetooth settings, disable notifications with Do Not Disturb, and Airplay your screen to AppleTV.
Note: Every app on your Mac can be customised to display notifications in a way other than default. For example, if you don’t want a banner to pop up and prefer a badge on the app icon in your dock; or if you don’t want a preview of a message to show in the banner; or if don’t want to get a ‘ping’ when you get a message, this can all be changed.
Topic 6 – Scroll and clicking with 2 fingers
Scroll down a page quickly using 2 fingers, and ‘right-click’ by using 2 fingers.
Topic 7 – Keyboard shortcuts
Save time with keyboard shortcuts using the command (⌘) key.
A few important ones to get you started:
⌘-x to cut
⌘-c to copy
⌘-v to paste
⌘-w to close the active window
⌘-h to hide an app
⌘-q to quit an app
⌘-tab (release) to toggle back and forth between 2 apps quickly
Hold ⌘ and hit tab to bring up the App Switcher
⌘-tilde (~) to cycle between all the current app’s open windows
Topic 8 – App Switcher
Switch between your open apps with a keyboard shortcut (hold ⌘ and hit tab repeatedly).
Topic 9 – Screenshots
Take full screen screenshots, selection screenshots, full window screenshots or cloud-based screenshots, and mark them up with comments.
Reminder:
⌘-shift-3 for a full screen screenshot
⌘-shift-4 for a selection screenshot
⌘-shift-4 (then press spacebar) for a full window screenshot
Or better yet, avoid the clutter for you and the recipient, and take cloud based screenshots with CloudApp.
Topic 10 – System Preferences
Checking and changing your system-wide settings.
Topic 11 – Force Quit a frozen app
Shutting down a frozen app.
Topic 12 – The most important. Managing windows on a Mac.
Mastering window management on a Mac is potentially the hardest thing to get used to, but also the most critical to being efficient. Please spend time on this topic.
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