"Switch application to"

congrats!! I'm pretty new to macs myself.. had my 12" PB maybe a month.

1) drag apps into the dock, and drag them off to remove 🙂 a cool thing you can do is to drag your apps folder or any folder or disk into the dock, and browse them a la the start menu > programs in windows by right-clicking on them. right-clicking on app icons also lets you select a particular app window.

2) you can use the dock to switch between them (apps that are running have a little triangular mark under them), or use cmd-tab to cycle between them.

3) applications - double click on your hard drive icon on the desktop to open it.. the apps folder is in there. home is in /users/username/ (or click on the "home" icon in the toolbar of your finder window)

Good luck! 😀

The dock is a lot more that Windows "Quick Launch" toolbar (this is what I think you are talking about when you say hoty keys?). It is also your Task Bar, hold minimised windows and can contain pop-up folders and any documents you want really quick access to. To remove an icon from the programs side of the dock (the left side in it's default place/orientation) simply drag it off. It will disapear in a poof of smoke (no really). This only works with an app that is not running. To add an app either start it and use the dock menu to select "Keep in dock" or drag it from you Applications folder (I'll help you with this in a minute). To switch between apps simply click on it's icon in the dock (or use alt-tab like windows). You can tell which apps are running and which are simply in the dock by the little black triangle under the icon. To add folders or documents to the dock drag them to the right hand side (where minimised windows go).

You Applications folder should be at /Applications (this is a unix path. / represents the root. All other folders/drives live in here). You can get to it by opening a finder window. Make sure that the toolbar is showing (if it's not click the icon on the right of the title bar). It should have shortcuts to the root (/) Applications (/Applications) and your home directory (/home/<userid> called ~ in unix speek). In your home directory should be a directory called Documents.

Welcome to the boards, the mac community and have fun 🙂

-eVolcre

The dock could be your worst enemy, or your best friend, depending on what foot you start off on.

Could go into depth, but I use mine to launch my applications.

Create Alias's of the apps you wish, put them in a new folder, and drag that folder to the dock. If you click-and-hold, or if you have a two-button, right click, you'll get a list of contents.

For a screenshot of my Dock: https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23130

Also, I've noticed that if I put my Dock on the right, it can kick my drive icons to where I don't want them.