Five things that work in all applications - Mac OS Tutorial

- [Instructor] Every software application has a learning curve. Some applications are easier to use and understand than others, but what you're going to find as you become more experienced with computers and software is that nearly all applications have features or controls in common with each other. If you're a novice with computers at the moment, you probably wondered how more experienced users can just sit down and start being productive with applications they've never used before. Now of course some talent and an aptitude for computers can be significant contributors, but what seasoned computer users know is that most applications have basic things in common and they know where to look for the commands that will allow them to perform the tasks they want to accomplish. So in this video, I want to go over five features that appear in and work the same in nearly all applications. First common feature is the File menu. Here's some screenshots of the File menu from several different applications in both Windows and macOS. Just about every application has a File menu and it usually contains commands like New, Open, Save, Close, and Print. New is for creating a new document, image, or project depending on what app you're in. Open opens files or projects you've previously created or worked on. Save of course saves the file you're currently working on. And Close closes the file but usually leaves the application running. And if the application is one that you can print from like a word processor, a spreadsheet program, or a photo editor, you'll always find the Print command under the file menu as well. And again, I'm showing you menus from both Windows applications and Mac applications. These common features I'm going to be showing you are not just common across applications but also across operating systems. So if you're a Mac user finding yourself working with Windows, or a Windows user having to use a Mac, you won't be completely lost. But there are differences to be aware of. For example, in Windows applications, you'll usually find the Exit command which quits that application. Notice the keyboard shortcut is Control + Q. On Macs though, you quit applications by clicking the applications name and then choosing Quit. But also notice that its keyboard command is Command + Q. So even though there's a slight difference between the two operating systems here, their keyboard shortcuts are similar. And you'll find that they're always consistent with themselves. You'll always find Exit under the File menu in Windows and you'll always find Quit under the applications name on Macs. But the point is, that the File menu is found in nearly every application and within it, you'll almost always find the commands to Create, Save, Open, or Print your files. The next common feature is a group of three commands named Cut, Copy, and Paste. They're all found under the Edit menu. Now I refer to these as a single feature because they really go hand in hand. They're probably used most commonly in applications involving typing. If you've typed some text that you'd like to copy or move to another location in your document, these are the commands you use. Let's take a look at an example. So Cut is used when you want to move text. For example, if I want to move the second sentence of this letter and make it the opening sentence, I would select it by dragging across the text with my mouse. And then I would choose Edit, Cut, which would temporarily remove it from my document. I would then place my cursor at the point in the document where I want the cut text to appear, in this case at the beginning, and choose Edit, Paste. And my cut text now reappears. Now Copy on the other hand leaves the selected text where it is but just makes a copy of it to your computer's clipboard. The clipboard is a special section of memory your computer uses to temporarily store cut and copied text. So for example, maybe I want to create another document that begins with this contact information. I'll select the info I want to copy, and I'll choose Edit, Copy. Now it doesn't look like anything happened because copying doesn't alter your document in any way. It just places a copy of the highlighted text into your computer's memory. You then just place your cursor at another location in your document or into another document altogether. I'll just click down here and choose Edit, Paste, which places a copy of your text into that document. So that's the Cut, Copy, and Paste feature that you'll find in many applications. You'll even find Cut, Copy, and Paste in image editing applications where you can cut and copy photos or other graphics and paste them into other image files. All right so feature number three is another group of commands that also appear under the Edit menu of most applications. Here you'll find Undo and Redo. Whenever you make a mistake like accidentally deleting some text or making a change to a photo or video clip that you want to take back, you'll more than likely use Edit, Undo. In almost every application you'll find an Undo command, which simply takes back the last change you made to your document or project. Many applications even have multiple levels of Undo, so you can take back the changes you've made to your document in reverse order. The Undo command can also be a nice safety net that lets you experiment with your file without permanently altering it. For example, maybe you're trying out different effects on a photo you're editing. You can apply effect after effect and as long as you keep choosing Edit, Undo between attempts, you'll never do any permanent changes to your photo. Now Redo is a little less common than Undo. Sometimes it's called Repeat. And while you'll find Undo in just about every application, fewer apps have Redo, which is a shame because it can a very useful, time-saving feature. It has two main uses. First, if you choose Undo but then change your mind, you can choose Edit, Redo, which changes your document back to before you chose Undo. In some apps, Redo can also be used to take changes you made to one item and apply the same change to other items. For example, if I selected some text in a document and changed the font, I could then select other text and choose Edit, Redo, to apply that same font. So that's Undo and Redo, and again, if the application you're using has these commands, and most do, you'll find them under the Edit menu. Feature four is Preference settings. Almost every application has an area in which you can tweak or adjust the way the application behaves. If you're using a photo editing application, you might want to change the default image format of files you save. If you're using a page layout program, you might want to page guides appear and behave in your document. Every application has Preference settings. In Mac applications, you'll usually find your Preferences under the application's name in the Menu bar. In Windows applications, depending on the application, you'll often find Preferences under the Edit menu, but it might be called Properties or Options instead of Preferences. In some applications, you'll find Preferences under a menu called Tools, or even under unlabeled buttons that look like gear icons. So you sometimes have to do some hunting around in Windows apps, but those are generally where you'll find application preferences. And the fifth feature you'll find almost all applications have in common is a Help menu. The Help menu is where you'll find things like the built-in or online instruction manual for the applications you're using. You might also find links to tutorials or other special guides to teach you how to use the application. The Help menu is also where you can often check for updates, which has the application check online to see if any newer versions of the software have been released. But generally, the help menu is a good place to go if you can't figure out a feature of the application you're using, or just want to learn more about the application overall. And again, you'll find that most applications have this menu. So those are the five most common features you'll find in nearly all applications. Knowing about these features can really help make an application you've never used before a little less daunting because at least you'll already be familiar with and know how to use a couple of the commands.