iMac Beginners Guide

Jay9495 said:

Hi all, I just wanted to start this thread for all people who are going to be buying they're first iMac (like me).
If any experienced/veteran OSX users can post useful tips and tricks,regarding the physical iMac and OSX related tips to help us beginners out. Or if any beginners have any questions to ask the long time OSX users.

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These questions are asked and answered in thousands of threads, so you won't get people to refer to just one thread for their questions/answers. However, to answer the basic question, this may be useful:

Helpful Information for Any Mac User
iMac Fast Start: The new user's guide to iMac

This is basic but just remember that if you want to do something in the pull down menu at the top and you have 2 or more applications open, make sure that the active window is the one you want. The menu changes at the top depending on which application you are in.

This got me a few times at first.

I actually think it is a nice post.
Yes there is a lot of places you can read, but they all scattered.
If talking about transition, I am going to buy as well my first one as well. question that bother me is :
what is the main idea behind the tool bar at the top of the screen.

Coming from windows it look weird, as if the programs never close.
Any pro iMac user care to explain the logic?

Overg said:

what is the main idea behind the tool bar at the top of the screen.

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In Windows, there is a title bar at the top of each window with menu items on it. In OS X, there is a shared Menu Bar at the top of the screen. Its contents change, depending on which app is "active". If you click on Finder, the Menu Bar has Finder menu items on it. If you click on Safari, the Menu Bar reflects Safari menu items.

Overg said:

Coming from windows it look weird, as if the programs never close.
Any pro iMac user care to explain the logic?

Click to expand...

Some apps remain in the Dock (typically located at the bottom of the screen) whether they're running or not. Some only appear on the Dock while running. The presence of a light under a Dock icon indicates that app is running. Some apps don't have a Dock presence, even when running.

Unlike Windows, where clicking the red "x" button on a window closes the window and quits the app, in OS X if the app is a single-window app like Photo Booth or System Preferences, closing the window also quits the app. If the app is a multi-window capable app, such as Finder, Safari, Word, etc. closing the window leaves the app running, in case you want to open additional windows. To quit the app, use Command-Q or select Quit from the Menu Bar menu (such as Safari > Quit Safari).

Read the link I posted earlier for more resources on getting familiar with OS X, including migrating from Windows.

I appriciate this thread as I will be a first time Imac user as well.

Would be nice if we could use this on a continued base.

Hardcore user can happily ignore this thread

I've favourited this thread too, been using my flatmates Macbook to try get to grip with the OS. Slowly getting there ha.

Hello, I've been a mac user since 1998, never switched from anything, just started from mac.

My tip is: use keyboard shortcuts!

Seriously, they are so useful, speed you up a lot, make you more efficient and more comfortable with the computer.

Most commands have a shortcut, they are written next to it in the top menu. You can start slowly, like using cmd-q for quitting applications and cmd-w for closing windows, no need to memorize them all at once. Cmd-tab or/and f3 (mission control) for switching between open apps.

Besides, you will find that most shortcuts are universal across apps and are rather logical. In the above mentioned commands q and w stand for quit and window, for example. Cmd-o means open, cmd-n means new document/window. Cmd-t in safari opens new tab.

If you use only your mouse, just think of how bored your other hand must be, sitting there doing nothing, while your mouse hand has to take the extra work.