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Have you got a new Mac just recently? Now it’s time to go through some setup tips. This Mac-specific article will take you through 8 easy-to-follow Mac setup tips that will help you get a better user experience and maximum productivity.
Keep an Eye on Updates
It is necessary to install a system update as soon as it becomes available. Keep an eye on notifications and react as soon as you see a new macOS version available.
Keeping the system updated improves MacBook’s overall performance and security. In addition, you are less likely to encounter issues like screen flickering, kernel panic, or memory leaks.
Adjust Your Trackpad’s, Tracking Speed
Configuring the tracking speed for the trackpad is probably the first thing you should do during the setup process. Navigate to System Preferences and then Trackpad. From here, alter the tracking speed for the trackpad from level 4 to any other level (you can set it to Level 9, which is only 1 level less than the maximum value).
It’s important to adjust the tracking speed because the default level 4 in macOS is quite slow to navigate the interface effectively.
Initiate Click by Tapping on Trackpad
In macOS, you need to press for a while on the trackpad to start a ‘click,’ and this functionality is set by default. To change this and initiate, tap to click, go to System Preferences from the Apple menu, and click on Trackpad.
Once changed, the ‘tap to click’ will work with a tap on the trackpad, and you don’t have to press it. You should do this setup as your hands are used to tapping on your mobile devices.
Set Up Three-Finger Drag Gesture
To drag the tabs, windows, and other items in macOS, you need to click on the Trackpad and move a finder. If you have already been using the tap to initiate click functionality, then navigating items may seem like a backward step to some extent. But it does not hold entirely true. macOS is equipped with a touch feature named three-finger drag, which empowers users to navigate through macOS without requiring them to initially click on it.
Note that three-finger drag in macOS is a great feature that can be enabled by executing these small steps:
- Navigate to System Preferences.
- Click Accessibility.
- Tap on Pointer Control.
- Select Trackpad Options.
- Tick mark the checkbox located after Enable dragging.
Further, use the drop-down box to choose a three-finger drag. This feature of three-finger drag is exceedingly useful, so much so that many users who discover this want to have it enabled by default or at least be set up within Trackpad preferences.
Adjust the Tracking Speed of the Magic Mouse
You may sometimes want to use a mouse instead of a trackpad. In such a case, you should configure the tracking speed of your Mac’s mouse to boost its speed. You can do this by going to System Preferences and then clicking Mouse.
You can set the tracking speed of your mouse to the max, i.e., level 9 (the same as the tracking speed of the trackpad), for better efficiency and sensitivity.
Set Up Right-Click Function for Magic Mouse
If you want to use a mouse with your Mac system, you must enable the right-click of your mouse. This is because right-clicking is very useful for navigating through your Mac machine running macOS. You should set up a right-click function for the mouse on your Mac, provided you want to use a mouse with your Mac.
To configure right-click functionality, navigate to System Preferences, click Mouse and tick the checkbox available with Enable Secondary Click.
Set Up Swipe Between Pages Gesture for Mouse
Magic mouse has an unmatched gesture capability that allows it to go forward and backward in applications like Safari web browser with a one-finger swipe. This capability enables the user to navigate through macOS smoothly.
If you want to enable swiping among pages while using a Magic Mouse, go to System Preferences, click Mouse, tap on More Gestures, and tick the checkbox available with Swipe between pages.
Enable Hot Corners on Mac Screen
Hot Corners permit performing any specific action when one moves the pointer to any four corners of Mac’s display. With a click, you can perform actions such as showing the desktop, putting the display to sleep, launching Mission Control, and more.
Being highly useful, Hot Corners is strongly recommended for Mac users. If you want to enable Mac’s Hot Corners, navigate to System Preferences, click Mission Control, tap on Hot Corners, and then set up one, two, three, or four corners using dropdown boxes.
Conclusion
Try these highly useful tips to get the most out of your new Mac. Make the most out of ideas mentioned in this article and work on becoming better at using the computer while also avoiding potential problems that could occur along the way.
