Opening, closing, organizing and installing. Managing apps on a Mac is different to Windows, but it’s very simple. If you’re at all unsure check out this guide for some top tips.
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When you’re new to Mac computers one of the first things you’ll notice is how apps are managed differently. Generally speaking, most things are more straight-forward; although it might not seem that way at first glance.
There’s no start menu anymore, but instead there’s a row of icons at the bottom of the screen. The ‘X’ button has moved to the left and into a red circle, but it doesn’t even close the app properly.
Jul 03, 2019 To remove a specific app, highlight it and click the minus button under the list. Hide Login Items on Startup Certain apps can still launch at startup without necessarily popping up on the screen. Jan 21, 2020 Saving links for later How to manage favorites on the new Microsoft Edge If you already switched to the Chromium version of Microsoft Edge, you can use this guide to manage your favorites.
Links can be organized and managed using tags, stars, and unread status. Read/unread and starred/unstarred states are common to many read-it-later and RSS clients and are a handy way to manage your links. What sets GoodLinks apart, though, is its use of tagging. Tagging adds another dimension for organizing links into buckets that can overlap. Previously many hardware peripherals and sophisticated features needed to run their code directly within macOS using kernel extensions, or kexts. Now these programs run separately from the operating system, just like any other app, so they can’t affect macOS if something goes wrong.
In this post I’ll explain all the basics of how to manage apps on a Mac. Including my favorite shortcuts to make even experienced Mac-users more productive than ever.
Contents
- 1 Opening Apps on a Mac
- 3 Organizing Apps on a Mac
- 4 Installing and Uninstalling Apps
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Opening Apps on a Mac
Opening Apps with Spotlight
I believe this is the quickest and easiest way to launch any application on your Mac.
Spotlight is a macOS feature that lets you search your machine for almost anything: documents, photos, contact details, directions, web pages. And applications.
Open Spotlight by pressing cmd+space and start typing the app you want to open. When Spotlight finds it—usually after only a few letters—hit enter to launch the app.
Quick, easy, and accessible whatever you’re doing on the Mac.
Opening Apps with the Dock
Usually found at the bottom of your Mac screen is a colorful row of app icons. This is the Dock and it’s probably the most common way of opening apps on a Mac.
The main section of the Dock shows your favorite apps, which are easy to customize. To the right you’ll see a divider with a few recently used applications, and then stacks of documents and the Trash.
To launch an app from the Dock just click its icon and watch it bounce up and down while the app opens.
Opening Apps with Launchpad
Launchpad is an app to open other apps. Its iOS-style full-screen display makes it easier to find the specific application you’re looking for.
Open Launchpad using either of the two methods above or press the grid-like shortcut button on your keyboard or Touch Bar. If that isn’t good enough, pinch together with your thumb and three fingers on the trackpad.
With Launchpad open, click any app icon to open it. Otherwise click the background, press esc, or pinch your fingers out to close Launchpad.
Opening Apps in Finder
Finder is the blue-and-white face on the left side of the Dock. It’s what you’ll use to navigate or organize files and folders on a Mac.
Click the Finder icon to open a new window, then either click the Applications shortcut or press cmd+A to open the Applications folder and view your Mac apps. Double-click any of these apps to open them.
You could also use this opportunity to drag your favorites apps onto the Dock.
Closing Apps on a Mac
When an app is open you’ll see three colored circles at the top left of the window; if you don’t see them hover your mouse in the top left corner of the screen and they should appear.
The red circle will close this window but it won’t necessarily close the app. This is because you may have multiple windows of that app. Or it could be because it’s beneficial for that app to run in the background, such as Mail or Messages.
To close an app completely, make sure it’s your active application—by looking at the Menu Bar—and press cmd+Q. To make a different app active, follow any of the steps for opening applications on a Mac.
Alternatively, you can click the app’s name in the Menu Bar and select the Quit [Application] option.
Organizing Apps on a Mac
Organizing Apps on the Dock
The largest section of the Dock holds your favorite apps and can be easily customized.
Click and drag app icons to any position or drop them into the Trash to Remove from Dock. When an app is removed from the Dock it hasn’t been deleted from your Mac and can still be opened using any of the other methods.
You can drag icons from the recently used section to your favorites to make them permanently accessible. Or open the Applications folder in Finder and drag any other apps onto the Dock.
You can now add, rearrange, or remove Dock icons to your liking.
Organizing Apps in LaunchPad
Just like the Dock, you can click and drag app icons in Launchpad to wherever you want them. However, in Launchpad you’re also able to create folders or move apps to new pages.
Move an app to a new page by dragging it to the edge of the screen. Create a folder by dropping one app on top of another. You can then rename the folder by clicking its name and typing something new, like ‘Productivity’ or ‘Games’.
There are countless ways to organize your apps in Launchpad: alphabetically, color-coded, or by categories. It’s up to you.
Installing and Uninstalling Apps
Installing Apps on a Mac
The easiest way to install apps is with the Mac App Store. Search for the app you’re looking, click install, and enter your password.
However, if the app you wants isn’t available on the Mac App Store, you can still install it using either a download or an installation disc. To do so, download the app from a website or insert the disc and double-click the disk image that appears.
The disk image will either have an app installer for you to open and follow or a copy of the app to drag into your Applications folder.
Occasionally macOS will refuse to run an application from unidentified developers. If you’re certain the app is safe, you can bypass this by control-clicking the app in Finder and selecting Open.
Uninstalling Apps on a Mac
Uninstalling applications on a Mac can seem tricky at times but it’s really rather simple.
Open the Applications folder in Finder and locate the app you want to uninstall. If there is an Uninstaller, open that and follow the prompts. Otherwise, drag the app icon into the Trash on your Dock.
That’s it.
Alternatively, for Mac App Store apps you can click and hold on the icon in Launchpad and click the ‘X’ button that appears.
When an app is uninstalled, your Mac will keep your preferences just in case you ever wish to use that app again. These preferences files are usually tiny and hidden away, so you don’t need to worry about removing them.
Hopefully that gives you a solid grounding in how to manage apps on a Mac. If you’ve still got questions or want us to do some other beginner guides, let us know in the comments!
Dan is a freelance writer based in South West England.
He spent two years supervising repairs as a Genius Admin for Apple Retail and uses that knowledge to keep our troubleshooting guides up to date.
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Long before that, Dan turned to Apple products from a musical background. Having owned iPods for years, he bought a MacBook to learn sound recording and production. It was using those skills that he gained a first-class Bachelor of Science in Sound Technology.
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App Clips
An app clip is a lightweight version of your app that lets people perform everyday tasks quickly, without downloading and installing your app. People discover and launch app clips in a variety of situations and contexts. At a physical location, people launch an app clip by scanning an NFC tag or a visual code. On their device, they launch an app clip from location-based suggestions from Siri Suggestions, the Maps app, or Smart App Banners on websites, and by tapping links others share with them in the Messages app.
Consider creating an app clip if your app provides an in-the-moment experience that helps people perform a task over a finite amount of time. For example:
- A rental bike could come with an NFC tag that people scan to launch an app clip that lets them rent the bike.
- A coffee shop could offer an app clip for fast advance orders that customers launch from a Smart App Banner on the coffee shop’s website. Customers could share a link to the website from the Messages app, which recipients then tap to launch the app clip from within Messages.
- A restaurant could let diners launch an app clip from the Maps app or a suggestion from Siri Suggestions, or scan an NFC tag at their table to pay for a meal.
- A museum could have visitors scan visual codes on labels next to displayed works to launch an app clip that reveals augmented reality content or provides audio commentary.
An app clip is a great way to share some of your app’s features with people who haven’t installed the app. For developer guidance, see App Clips.
Designing a Great App Clip
Focus on essential features. Interactions with app clips are quick and focused. Limit features to what’s necessary to accomplish the task at hand. Reserve advanced or complex features for the app.
Don’t use app clips solely for marketing purposes. App clips should provide real value and help people accomplish tasks. Don’t use them as a means to advertise services or products.
Design a linear, easy-to-use, and focused user interface. App clips shouldn’t have tab bars, complex navigation, or settings. Keep the number of screens and entry forms to a minimum. Remove extraneous information and reduce complexity in the user interface wherever possible.
On launch, show the most relevant part of your app clip. Skip unnecessary steps and take people immediately to the part of the app clip that best fits their context.
Ensure people can use your app clip immediately. App clips include all required assets, omit splash screens, and never make people wait on launch.
Ensure your app clip is small. The smaller your app clip, the faster it will launch on a person’s device. Keeping your app clip small is especially important when bandwidth is limited. As much as possible, reduce unnecessary code and remove unused assets. Avoid downloading additional data, which can take away the feeling of immediacy.
Make the app clip shareable. When a user shares a link to an app clip in the Messages app, recipients can open the app clip from within the Messages app. Offer the ability to share links to specific points in your app clip, and encourage people to share the app clip with others.
Make it easy to pay for a service or product. Entering payment information can be a long and error-prone task. Consider supporting Apple Pay to offer express checkout and enable people to enter shipping information with no typing.
Avoid requiring people to create an account before they can benefit from your app clip. Creating an account is a complex task that takes time and effort. Consider not requiring an account, or think about asking people to create an account after they finish a task. If your app clip requires an account to provide value, limit the amount of information people need to provide; for example, by offering Sign in with Apple.
Provide a familiar, focused experience in your app. When people install the full app, it replaces the app clip on their device. From this moment, invocations that would have launched the app clip launch the full app instead. Ensure your app provides a focused, familiar experience to people who previously used the app clip. Don’t require additional steps that slow people down; for example, don’t require people to log in again when they transition from the app clip to the app.
Preserving Privacy
The system imposes limits on app clips to ensure people’s privacy. For example, app clips can’t perform background operations. For developer guidance, see Developing a Great App Clip.
Limit the amount of data you store and handle yourself. If you need to store people’s data — for example, login information — store it securely. In addition, don’t rely on the availability of data you previously stored on the device — the system may have removed the app clip from the device between launches and deleted all of its data. If you store login information, securely store it off the device.
Consider offering Sign in with Apple. Sign in with Apple securely retains login information off people’s devices and preserves their privacy. For guidance, see Sign in with Apple.
Offer a secure way to pay for services or goods that also respects people’s privacy. For example, consider offering Apple Pay.
Showcasing Your App
People don’t manage app clips themselves, and app clips don’t appear on the Home screen. Instead, the system removes an app clip after a period of inactivity.
Because apps remain the best way to keep people engaged over time, the system helps them discover and install the full app:
- On the app clip card, people can either launch the app clip or visit the full app’s page on the App Store.
- When people first launch the app clip, the system displays an app banner at the top of the screen. Like the app clip card, the banner allows people to visit the app’s page on the App Store.
In addition, you can display an overlay in your app clip that allows people to download the full app from within the app clip. However, be mindful of when you recommend your app to people.
Don’t compromise the user experience by asking people to install the full app. Instead, consider whether the app clip card and the system-provided app banner provide enough incentive for people to download the full app. App clips don’t require people to install the full app to complete a task.
Pick the right time to recommend your app. Give people the opportunity to try out your app clip and understand its value. Only recommend the full app to people who use your app clip repeatedly, or after they complete a task.
Recommend your app in a nonintrusive, polite way. Don’t ask people to install the full app repeatedly or interrupt them during a task. Push notifications aren’t a good way to ask people to install the app, either. Clearly communicate your app’s additional features.
For developer guidance, see Recommending an App Clip’s Corresponding App.
Limiting Notifications
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App clips provide the option to schedule and receive notifications for up to 8 hours after launch, enough time to follow up and complete most common tasks.
Only ask for permission to use notifications for an extended period of time if it’s really needed. If your app clip’s functionality spans more than a day, explicitly request the user’s permission to schedule and receive notifications. For example, a car rental company’s app clip can ask for permission to send a notification that reminds people that they need to return a rented car soon.
Keep notifications focused. App clips don’t have an ongoing relationship with the user, making it especially important to send only relevant notifications. Don’t send purely promotional notifications, and only use notifications in response to an explicit user action. If a person completes their task without leaving the app clip, notifications might not be needed at all.
Use notifications to help people complete a task. An app clip’s notifications relate directly to the task the app clip helps to accomplish. For example, an app clip that allows people to order food could send notifications related to a scheduled delivery.
For developer guidance, see Enabling Notifications in App Clips.
Creating Artwork and Copy for the App Clip Card
The system-provided app clip card is people’s first interaction with your app clip, so give careful consideration to its imagery and copy.
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Be informative. The image on the app clip card should clearly communicate the app clip’s features, supported tasks, or content.
Prefer photography and graphics. Avoid using a screenshot of your app’s user interface because it’s unlikely to communicate the app clip’s purpose. Instead, use imagery that helps people understand the app clip’s value, or a photo of the location of its associated business or point of interest.
Avoid using text. Text in the header image isn’t localizable, can be difficult to read, and can make a card image less aesthetically pleasing.
Adhere to image requirements. Use a 3000px × 2000px PNG or JPEG image without transparency.
Use concise copy. An app clip card requires both a title and a subtitle. Express your app clip’s purpose clearly within the available space so people can read these at a glance and understand the app clip’s purpose.
Pick a verb for the action button that best fits your app clip. Possible verbs are View, Play, or Open. Pick View if your app clip provides informational or educational content, Play for media or games, and Open for all other app clips.
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Creating App Clips for Businesses
If you’re a platform provider who services businesses, you may create several app clip experiences in App Store Connect and use a single app clip to power them all. To people using the app clip, it appears with the branding of an individual business or location instead of your own branding.
Use consistent branding. When people see the app clip card for a business, the brand for that business is front and center. Tone down your own branding and make sure the branding for the business is clearly visible to avoid confusing people when they enter the app clip experience.
Consider multiple businesses. An app clip may power many different businesses or a business that has multiple locations. In both scenarios, people may end up using the app clip for more than one business or location at a time. The app clip must handle this use case and update its user interface accordingly. For example, consider a way to switch between recent businesses or locations within your app clip, and verify the user’s location when they launch it.
For developer guidance, see Configuring Your App Clip’s Launch Experience.