The Macbook Pro is a very powerful laptop; one that can increase your productivity many times over. But it can also be a bit complicated, especially if you’re used to working in a Windows environment. In this article , we’ve put together 10 useful tips that will accelerate your familiarity with this sleek, state-of-the-art block of aluminum.

Note: We’re currently using a 2018 model running macOS High Sierra for this article, so there might be some features that aren’t accessible to you if you’re using an older MBP model or an older version of macOS.

Feb 22, 2016 Getting started on OS X (macOS)? Mac Tutorial for Beginners - Switching from Windows to macOS 2019 - Duration. Top 10 BEST Mac OS Tips & Tricks! - Duration: 8:08. Jan 18, 2015 After this Mac OS X tutorial for beginners, you will know many of the Mac OS X tips for beginners. There are lots of reasons to switch from PC to Mac. As mentioned before, Mac OS X may look and feel very different from any version of Windows. Instead of Windows Explorer, there’s a Finder. And closing apps and switching between programs works.

1. Work Faster with Multi-Touch Gestures

The first thing you’ll want to be familiar with is that massive, smooth-to-the-touch trackpad. There’s a reason why the MacBook Pro trackpad is so large and why it feels so different from other laptop trackpads.

It can actually support multi-touch gestures, much like your smartphone or tablet. Yes, there are now several Windows 10 laptops that can do that as well, but MacBook Pros have supported multi-touch for many more years and the implementation is simply better.

Let’s put multi-touch into action right now. Using the trackpad, hover your mouse pointer over any non-clickable object on this article (try whitespace). Now, bring your thumb and index finger close together (while touching the pad) and then expand just like you would to zoom in on an image on your smartphone.

Notice how everything expands like your zooming in (because you are). Bring everything back to original size by doing a pinching gesture.

You can also have almost the same effect by simultaneously double-tapping non-clickable space on the page using two fingers. That should zoom in on the page. Zoom out by double-tapping again using two fingers.

You can learn (as well as configure) more touchpad gestures by navigating to the Apple menu > System Preferences.

Then click on Trackpad.

You should then see Point & Click, Scroll & Zoom and More Gestures tabs across the top.

2. Let Siri Do Some Tasks For You

Even if you’re new to the Apple ecosystem, you’ve probably already heard about Siri, the virtual assistant that replies to questions and even performs some tasks for you. Siri debuted on the iPhone, but has now found its way to the iPad and other Apple devices, including the Mac.

You can access Siri by tapping its icon on the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

Once launched, Siri can start responding to questions/requests, like:

Show my Downloads folder
Make the screen brighter
How fast is my Mac?
FaceTime Bob
What is the weather tomorrow?
And so on

Siri uses artificial intelligence (AI) that enables it to learn more as you keep on using it. Once you get the hang of it, it can really help you get more things done.

3. The Delete Key Isn’t Broken

On a Windows keyboard, when you want to use the Delete key to delete a character, you would normally place the cursor to the left of that character and press the Delete key. Strangely, if you did that on a MacBook Pro keyboard, the cursor will just move to the left.

Worse, if a character is situated to the left of the cursor, that character will be deleted — just like what you’d expect if you did that with a Windows Backspace key.

Sounds counterintuitive, right? Well, if you’re used to Windows then it certainly is. To achieve the same effect as a Windows Delete key, just press fn+ Delete. Once you get used to that, it won’t be so counterintuitive anymore.

4. Right Click = Single-Tap with 2 Fingers

Right-click functionality is one of the most useful features on Windows, enabling you to launch context menus that display the choices you need at a given time — or context. Unfortunately, that functionality isn’t available by default on your MacBook Pro. Nothing happens if you try to right-tap on the trackpad.

But don’t worry. The Mac-equivalent of the right-click is equally easy. Remember that two-finger double-tap we taught you earlier? Well, if you reduce that to a single-tap, you can get the same effect as a right-click. Try it out. Single-tap with two fingers while the cursor is hovering over this article. You should instantly see a context menu popping out as soon as you perform the gesture.

Also, be sure to check out my other article on more Mac equivalents to Windows programs.

5. Capturing Screenshots

Sometimes, you might want to capture screenshots to use in a document or presentation. To capture screenshots on your Mac, you can do any of the following:

To capture the entire screen, press command + shift + 3
To capture a portion of the screen, press command + shift + 4, and then, once a crosshair appears, tap and drag that crosshair over the area you want to capture. Once you’ve covered the area you want captured, release. Easy as pie.

Normally, your images will be stored on your desktop. However, if you have a screen-capturing tool like Snagit, the images will usually be pasted there. Check out my more detailed post on more keyboard shortcuts in OS X.

6. Plug in More Devices using Thunderbolt

So far, we’ve been focusing on stuff you see on the screen. Let’s move someplace else on your MacBook Pro’s unibody. Look at the side, particularly that peculiarly-shaped power jack. Apple didn’t shape that jack to simply look like the Thunderbolt port beside it. IT IS a Thunderbolt port. Both ports are exactly the same.

So, you can actually charge your laptop through either ports and you can plug in any compatible device (e.g. Os x driver for radium midiman. an external drive, an external monitor, an external microphone, etc) into either one.

Having a Thunderbolt port as a power jack can come in handy, especially if you’re using the smaller 13-inch MacBook Pro, which only comes with 2 Thunderbolt ports. For example, let’s say you want to record audio through an external mic AND still have an external monitor for viewing — say your script — while ALSO using the main screen to display an application.

To do this on a 13-inch MacBook Pro, you can temporarily detach your power cord, plug one of the devices in its stead and then plug the other device in the other port. MacBook Pros have extensive battery life, so you can accomplish a lot of work even with the MBP unplugged.

7. Bring on the Emojis!

If you’re a Millennial or a Gen Z or just about anyone who just loves to express through smileys, frownies and the like, you’ll be glad to know that your MacBook Pro’s got a hotkey for launching Apple’s extensive collection of emojis. Just press Control + Command + Space. That should bring this up:

Most applications allow you to simply tap an emoji to use it. For others, you might have to drag the emoji into place.

8. Search Fast with Spotlight

Normally, when we want to search for something on the Web, we launch our favorite web browser and then type our search into the search bar. Then if we want to search for a file (in Windows), we open Explorer or go to the Start menu and search there.

MacOS puts all search functionality into one place. You can do all searches in Spotlight. To launch Spotlight, just press Command + Space. That should launch the Spotlight search bar, where you can then enter whatever you want to search, be it a file on your file system or something on the Web.

If you can’t find the file you’re looking for but are 100% sure it’s in your system, you probably just need to re-index your drive. But that’s for another post, so stay tuned for that.

9. Work More Efficiently with Split Screens

Power users

Mac Os X Tips For Beginners