if you're just getting started with mac
OS learning how to navigate the
interface is a great place to start
first we're going to take a look at the
desktop which is the screen you see here
it includes a desktop background also
known as your wallpaper the menu bar at
the top
and the dock at the bottom the dock is
where you'll find shortcuts to some of
the folders and applications on your
computer for example Safari calendar and
finder to open any of the items on your
dock just click the icon there are
actually several different ways to
navigate to files folders and apps in
Mac OS the Finder feature is one of them
we'll talk more about how to use the
finder later though for now I'm going to
close the window by clicking the red
button in the upper left corner let's
check out launchpad instead as you can
see Launchpad gives you access to all of
your applications at once making it
easier to find and access the programs
on your computer to open a program click
the one you want
exiting applications is just as easy in
the upper left corner click the name of
the app then choose quit from the menu
also on the menu bar is the Apple icon
this gives you access to your system
preferences recent files folders apps
and much more you'll also use the Apple
icon whenever you want to restart or
shutdown your computer on the right side
of the menu bar you'll find an icon that
looks like a magnifying glass
this opens a feature called spotlight
it's a quick way to search for anything
on your computer from files and
applications to calendar events you can
even do web searches just type what
you're looking for and you'll get a list
of search results
the last icon in the menu bar opens the
notification center here you can keep
track of the alerts you receive for
different applications including events
on your calendar reminders and more the
Notification Center can be customized to
show as few or as many alerts as you
want the desktop is one more place that
you can store files folders and even
shortcuts for easy access
this time however to open an item you'll
need to double click your mouse
some apps have a full-screen mode that
you can activate by clicking the green
circle
this causes the window to expand so you
can focus on the application without any
distractions to return to normal view
press control/command
F on your keyboard not all apps support
this feature but it's available in
several of the apps that come
pre-installed on your computer
finally let's talk about using your
mouse in Mac OS specifically a feature
called natural scrolling you can learn
more about how it works by going to
System Preferences then choosing mouse
or trackpad depending on what you have
in this case we'll choose Mouse as you
can see from the demo natural scrolling
is the reverse of traditional scrolling
it's almost like you're pushing the
content up and down on the page this may
seem awkward at first but it's how many
touchscreen devices work natural
scrolling is the default setting but you
can always disable it by checking the
box here we recommend trying it both
ways to see which one you prefer
while you're in this window you can also
take a look at multi-touch gestures for
example here's one that lets you go back
and forth between pages using a simple
swipe Mac OS supports many different
types of gestures including pinches taps
double taps depending on what your mouse
or trackpad is capable of each gesture
performs a specific task to learn more
you may want to visit this resource
again once you become more familiar with
Mac OS now that you know your way around
the desktop we invite you to explore its
features more so you can get the most
out of your Mac OS experience GCF global
creating opportunities for a better life