Setting up a new Mac computer

  1. Go through the initial installation sequence:
    Location and accessibility; WiFi; Migration Assistant for transferring data (only if appropriate — you might want a clean installation); Apple ID and login. Etc.
    From the Make This Your New Mac screen you can customise settings as you wish.
  2. If you want, auto-hide the dock to get more usable screen space (the dock is the strip at the bottom of your screen that shows applications):
    In System Settings, go to “Desktop and Dock” and switch on “Automatically hide and show the Dock”.
  3. Make the monitor display denser and hence win more effective screen space:
    In System Settings, go to “Displays” then click on “Resolution Scaled”, and click “More Space”.
  4. Install and activate cloud storage, like Dropbox, OneDrive or iCloud (your files will then start downloading).
  5. Having access to the keyboard viewer is useful, for example how would you type a copywrite sign “©” on your keyboard:
    To have access to the keyboard viewer, go Apple menu » System Settings, then click Keyboard in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down). Go to Text Input on the right, click Edit, then turn on “Show Input menu in menu bar”. Then with the keyboard view open, click on ⌥ (alt) and then separately click on ⇧⌥ (shift+alt). Try this (easier to try than to explain) and see for example why “©” is accomplished by pressing ⌥G.
  6. A personal recommendation:
    From the App Store, I install Flycut for clipboard (copy-paste) management and Magnet for workspace (windows) organisation. You might need to Google how to use these — very easy.
  7. Restart your computer then ensure that your cloud storage (for example OneDrive and Dropbox) and Flycut and Magnet (if you installed them) have icons in your Menu Bar (the Menu Bar is the strip at the top of your screen). If not, then go to the Preferences in the missing (from menu bar) applications and ensure that Launch at Login is ticked.
  8. Install your applications.
  9. Customise your dock to your satisfaction.
  10. Set up email, printers, etc.