Quite a few of my family and friends have been moving to Mac from Windows, and they've had a few questions about the differences between the systems. Instead of answering their questions as they come up, I've made a few short movies that show a few of the differences between the workflow of the two OSs.
It's my attempt at a getting started with Mac with an assumed windows knowledge tutorial. If you are just starting out with Macs, you might find them helpful. I just watched them again and I make a few term slip ups, but I think overall they should be helpful.
One of the joys of trying out new operating systems it trying to figure out how everything works. I remember first booting Linux and having no clue how to read a CD, install a program, or anything - it was exhilarating. If you are the same way, then you'll want to skip these movies. If you're not into that and just want to know how to do X and Y to get your work done, these might help (I am looking at you Dad ;-D)
The first one is an introduction to Finder - the file manager (about 13 minutes):
The second one is installing software and where to find your computer settings (about 7 minutes):
The third one is a basic example and explanation of the Mac UI from an application point of view (about 10 minutes):
If you notice any errors, feel free to point them out (even term errors and places I obviously messed up). Also, let me know if you find them helpful, I was thinking about making a few more (there is a lot I didn't talk about).
[...] of how my work flow works to kind of counter / help with the annoyances. Much like my post on the Mac introduction movies, but more focused on these particular issues because A) I see them quite often and B) I [...]
Thanks for the videos. Great job and it helps me a lot. Now I am used to work with the keyboard extensively and that seems to be pretty different in the mac world. What do you recommend me? Or could you do another video about this topic?
Thanks and regards
Marcel
Hi Marcel,
Here are the most common ones I use (command is the “apple” or “clover” key):
command+c = copy
command+v = paste
command+x = cut
command+z = undo
command+shift+z = redo
command+tab = switch between applications
command+` = switch between application’s windows
command+w = close the front most window (or tab)
command+q = quit the front most application (or the selected application when in command+tab mode)
command+h = hide the front most application (works better than minimize because you can command+tab back to it and show it again)
(I use emacs keybindings for text entry so you can use this, or the next section)
control+f = forward one character
control+b = back one character
control+n = next line
control+p = previous line
control+a = move to the start of the line
control+e = move to the end of the line
control+d = forward delete
(non-emacs bindings - aka “arrow keys”)
command+arrow right = move to end of line
command+arrow left = move to start of line
command+arrow up = move to start of file
command+arrow down = move to end of file
alt+arrow right/left = move by word
command+control+shift+3 = take a screen shot
command+control+shift+4 = take a screen shot of an area
Those are the only OS wide ones I can think of off the top of my head that I use all the time. Here is a list of some more (including startup options) put out by Apple: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75459
Cheers