Windows to Mac
Guides for new Mac switchers
Your hands know a keyboard that no longer exists. Each of these answers one question a switcher actually types into Google, starting with what to press right now.
Start here
The 7 shortcuts switchers miss
Alt+Tab, Ctrl+X, Win+V, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, Win+Arrow, Alt+F4 and Ctrl+W on macOS.
The full shortcut table
Every common Windows shortcut and its Mac equivalent, in one place.
Keys that do the wrong thing now
Alt+F4
Command+W closes. Command+Q quits. Why the red dot doesn't do what you think.
Home and End
They scroll instead of moving the cursor. Command+Left and Command+Right are the fix.
The Delete key
Fn+Delete is forward delete. Option+Delete removes a word. In Finder it is different again.
F2 to rename
F2 does nothing. Return renames, which is the same key that opens a file on Windows.
The Windows key
Windows becomes Command, Alt becomes Option, and the two end up physically swapped.
Things Windows had that macOS hides
Cut and paste files
Cmd+C then Cmd+Option+V moves a file. Why Apple designed it that way.
Win+V clipboard history
macOS has none. What it does offer, and how to get a Win+V-style panel back.
The Snipping Tool
Shift+Command+4 is the snip. Shift+Command+5 is the whole toolbar.
Win+E for Explorer
Command+N only works when Finder is already in front. Here is what to press otherwise.
Right-click
Five ways, including the one on the Magic Mouse that nobody turns on.
When something goes wrong
Ctrl+Alt+Delete
Force Quit, Activity Monitor, and one keystroke to the Task Manager equivalent.
Force quitting an app
Five ways in the order to try them, including when Force Quit itself won't open.
Why is the fan so loud?
Find what is eating your CPU, and keep an eye on it from the menu bar.
The apps these guides mention
Every guide answers its question using what macOS already does, first. Where a habit genuinely has no built-in equivalent, there is usually a small Switchover app that brings it back, and the guide says so plainly rather than burying it.
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