Mac user recommendations

mac-user-recommendations.md

Mac setup recommendations

Suggestions for new users to Mac. Note that these cater toward coders:

Apps

• Rectangle for arranging windows
• browser: Firefox, Chrome, or a privacy browser like Brave Browser
• JetBrains apps for coding, e.g. if you use Python, install PyCharm
• Bear app, for notes in Markdown format, shared with iPhone/iPad via iCloud
• iTerm2, zsh, and oh-my-zsh for devs who like a better command line
  • Oh My Zsh
• Gifski creates .gif
• ImageOptim optimize images, reduce sizes

Tips

• external keyboard typing gibberish need to enable/disable Sticky Keys
• pipe output to/from clipboard on Mac
  • echo 'hello' | pbcopy
  • pbpaste
• Spotlight Search CMD+Space for quickly searching and opening apps
  • How to open items in the enclosing folder directly from a Spotlight search in macOS | Macworld
  • e.g. CMD+Space and search for Night Shift
  • System Preferences > Trackpad > check out all the multi-finger gestures
• SHIFT+CMD+3 screenshot entire desktop, save into folder Desktop/
• SHIFT+CMD+4 screenshot section of screen, save into folder Desktop/
• CTRL+SHIFT+CMD+3 screenshot entire desktop into clipboard (CMD+V to paste it somewhere, like Bear)
• CTRL+SHIFT+CMD+4 screenshot section of screen into clipboard (CMD+V to paste it somewhere, like Bear)
• SHIFT+CMD+5 overall Screen Capture including screenshot & screen recording
  • you can also screen record with QuickTime Player by going to New>Screen Recording
• SHIFT+CMD+Gin Finder to go to a path
• Applications/ folder is where most apps are installed
• .dmg files are Mac installer files
• CMD+Q to quit an application completely
• When editing PDFs, you can write a signature with your trackpad

Gestures