The Mac, explained for Windows users.
What works differently, the shortcuts you know in their Mac form, and the apps worth installing first.
01What works differently
Things you’d expect that work differently. Click one for the answer.
Getting around
I closed the window, but the app is still runningClosing a window doesn’t quit the app. ⌘Q does.
On a Mac, the red button closes a window, but the app stays open, ready for the next one. The small dot under its Dock icon means it’s still running.
To quit, press ⌘Q or choose Quit from the app’s menu. A few apps, like System Settings, quit when their last window closes.
Running apps with no windows use very little, so leaving them open is fine.
⌘Q
Where’s maximise?The green button goes full screen. Fill is in the Window menu.
The green button sends a window into full screen, which hides the menu bar and the Dock and gives the window a space of its own. Move the pointer to the top to bring the menu bar back, or press Esc in many apps to leave.
To fill the screen while keeping the menu bar and Dock, choose Window › Fill (macOS 15 and later), or double-click the window’s title bar.
macOS 15 and later can also tile windows: drag one to the edge of the screen, or rest the pointer on the green button for a menu of layouts.
Windowsify makes the green button maximise, and adds Windows 11’s snap layouts. →Alt+Tab switches apps, not windows⌘Tab moves between apps. ⌘` moves between windows of one app.
⌘Tab shows one icon per app, not one card per window. Pick an app and all of its windows come forward.
To move between windows of the same app, press ⌘` (the key above Tab). To see every window at once, swipe up with three fingers or press F3 for Mission Control.
A minimised window doesn’t come back with ⌘Tab: click the app in the Dock, or hold ⌥ while you let go of ⌘Tab.
⌘Tab⌘`
Windowsify adds Windows-style Alt+Tab and Task View, one card per window. →The notch doesn’t do anythingRight: on a Mac it’s just the camera. An app like Droppy gives it a job.
If you’ve used an iPhone, the notch looks like it should be a Dynamic Island. On a MacBook it isn’t: it only holds the camera, and the menu bar flows around it.
Droppy turns it into something useful: drop files on the notch to park them, see what’s playing, and get clipboard history and nicer volume and brightness pop-ups. It works on Macs without a notch too.
Keyboard and mouse
Ctrl or ⌘? Which key do I press?Most Ctrl shortcuts from Windows are ⌘ on a Mac.
Copy, paste, undo, save, find and select all use ⌘ (Command): ⌘C, ⌘V, ⌘Z, ⌘S, ⌘F, ⌘A. Control (⌃) is still there, but it’s used much less.
Option (⌥) is the Mac’s Alt. It types extra characters (⌥2 is ™) and shows hidden menu items when you hold it in a menu.
On a PC keyboard plugged into a Mac, the Windows key acts as ⌘ and Alt acts as ⌥, which moves ⌘ to the wrong place for Windows hands.
Windowsify makes Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and the rest work as they did on Windows. →My keyboard has no Delete keyDelete is Backspace. fn+Delete deletes forwards.
The Mac’s Delete key works like Backspace. For the Windows Delete (forward delete), press fn+Delete.
Home and End: in a text field, ⌘← and ⌘→ jump to the start and end of the line, and ⌘↑ and ⌘↓ to the top and bottom. On a web page, fn+← and fn+→ do what Home and End do.
fnDelete⌘←
How do I right-click?Click with two fingers, or hold Control and click.
On a trackpad, click with two fingers. On an Apple mouse, turn on Secondary click in System Settings › Mouse. Holding Control while you click works everywhere.
Any two-button mouse right-clicks as normal.
⌃click
Scrolling goes the wrong wayTurn off natural scrolling in System Settings.
Macs scroll like a phone: move your fingers up and the page moves up. To scroll the Windows way, turn off Natural scrolling in System Settings › Trackpad (or Mouse).
On macOS the trackpad and mouse share that switch, so turning it off changes both.
Windowsify can reverse a mouse wheel on its own, leaving the trackpad alone. →Files and Finder
I can’t cut and paste filesCopy as usual, then paste with ⌥⌘V to move.
Finder has no Cut for files. Copy with ⌘C, then press ⌥⌘V in the new place: the file moves instead of copying.
Dragging between folders on the same drive moves; dragging to another drive copies. Hold ⌘ while dragging to move instead.
⌘C⌥⌘V
Windowsify makes Ctrl+X then Ctrl+V move files in Finder. →Enter renames the file instead of opening itIn Finder, Return renames. ⌘O or ⌘↓ opens.
Finder uses Return to rename (F2 on Windows). To open, double-click, or press ⌘O or ⌘↓. ⌘↑ goes up a folder, like Backspace or Alt+Up did.
To delete, press ⌘ Delete: the file goes to the Trash. Empty it from the Dock or Finder › Empty Trash.
Return⌘↓⌘Delete
Windowsify gives Finder Enter to open, F2 to rename and Delete to bin. →Where are the file paths and hidden files?View › Show Path Bar. ⇧⌘. shows hidden files.
In Finder, choose View › Show Path Bar to see where you are. Right-click a file and hold ⌥ to find Copy as Pathname (or press ⌥⌘C).
⇧⌘. (Shift, Command, full stop) shows and hides hidden files. ⇧⌘G opens Go to Folder, where you can type a path.
⇧⌘.⇧⌘G
File Explorer for Mac has the address bar, drive letters and %APPDATA% paths. →My external drive is read-onlyMacs read NTFS but can’t write to it. exFAT works on both.
Drives formatted on Windows as NTFS open on a Mac, but you can’t save or delete on them. For a drive you share between the two, exFAT works fully on both (erasing it in Disk Utility wipes it, so copy your files off first).
Apps and settings
How do I install an app?Open the .dmg and drag the app to Applications. No installer.
Most downloads are a .dmg. Open it and drag the app onto the Applications folder shown in the window, then eject the disk image. Some apps come as a .pkg installer instead, or from the App Store.
The first time you open a downloaded app, macOS checks it. If it says it can’t be opened, go to System Settings › Privacy & Security and choose Open Anyway, but only for apps you trust.
How do I uninstall something?Drag it to the Trash. Its settings and caches stay behind.
Drag the app from Applications to the Trash, or right-click it in Applications and choose Move to Trash. Apps from the App Store can be removed the same way.
That leaves its settings and caches in your Library folder. Some apps include their own uninstaller; check the developer’s site.
Windowsify lists every app and finds its leftover files before removing it. →Where’s Task Manager? An app frozeForce Quit is ⌥⌘Esc. Activity Monitor shows everything.
Press ⌥⌘Esc (Option, Command, Escape) to open Force Quit, pick the frozen app and click Force Quit. That’s the Mac’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
Activity Monitor (in Applications › Utilities, or search Spotlight) is the full Task Manager: CPU, memory, energy, disk and network per app.
⌥⌘Esc
Where’s Control Panel?System Settings, in the Apple menu.
Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings. Its search box finds any setting by name, which is quicker than browsing.
Default apps live in each app’s own settings (Safari or Chrome offers to be the default browser), or in a file’s Get Info window (⌘I) under Open With › Change All.
Print Screen and the Snipping Tool⇧⌘3 for the screen, ⇧⌘4 for an area, ⇧⌘5 for everything else.
⇧⌘3 captures the whole screen and ⇧⌘4 lets you drag an area (press Space after it to capture one window). ⇧⌘5 opens the toolbar with screen recording and options.
Screenshots land on the Desktop. Hold Control as well to copy to the clipboard instead.
⇧⌘4⇧⌘5
A .exe won’t openWindows programs don’t run on a Mac. Look for the Mac version first.
Most big apps have a Mac version: Office, Chrome, Edge, Spotify, Zoom, Steam, Discord. Search the developer’s site or the App Store.
For software that’s Windows-only, see Running Windows apps below.
02Shortcuts, translated
⌘ is Command, ⌥ is Option (Alt), ⌃ is Control, ⇧ is Shift.
03Suggested apps
Our suggestions for people coming from Windows. We’re not paid to list any of them.
Good places to start
Small, well-made apps that fill the gaps you’ll notice coming from Windows.
Windows Migration AssistantFree Apple’s free mover: run it on your old PC and it copies your files, bookmarks and email accounts to the Mac. Instead of copying everything by hand 
DroppyPaid Gives the notch a job: park files on it, control music, clipboard history, better volume and brightness pop-ups. Instead of an idle notch 
RaycastFree, Pro paid The Start menu search you’re missing: apps, files, settings, a calculator and quick commands from one box. Instead of Start menu search 
The UnarchiverFree Opens RAR, 7z and other archives the Mac can’t open on its own. Instead of 7-Zip, WinRAR 
IINAFree Plays almost any video, with subtitles and a clean, Mac-like player. Instead of Windows Media Player 
VLCFree The same VLC you know. Plays anything. Instead of VLC on Windows 
VitalsPaid A friendlier Activity Monitor: about 60 apps instead of a thousand processes, with history and menu bar widgets. Instead of Task Manager 
ShottrPay what you want Screenshots with a quick editor: arrows, text, blur, scrolling captures and text grabbing. Instead of Snipping Tool, ShareX 
MonitorControlFree Your keyboard’s brightness and volume keys work on external monitors too. Instead of the buttons on your monitor 
BetterDisplayFree, Pro paid Sharper text on lower-resolution monitors with HiDPI scaling, plus more resolutions and brightness and colour control. Instead of Windows display scaling The Windows apps you already use
Most of them have a Mac version. Sign in and your files and settings follow.
Microsoft 365Subscription Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneDrive for Mac. Instead of Office 
Microsoft EdgeFree Edge with your favourites, passwords and extensions synced. Instead of Edge 
Google ChromeFree Chrome with your profile and extensions. Instead of Chrome 
LocalSendFree Send files between your Mac and Windows or Android, over Wi-Fi. Instead of Nearby Share 
BlipFree Send files of any size to your other devices or a friend’s, fast and straight to them. Instead of WeTransfer, USB sticks For power users
Deeper tweaks for once you’ve settled in.
Path FinderPaid A file manager with two panes, a drop stack, tabs and a built-in Terminal. Instead of Total Commander 
Karabiner-ElementsFree Remap any key or button, down to complex rules for each app and keyboard. Instead of AutoHotkey, PowerToys Keyboard Manager 
BetterTouchToolPaid Custom gestures, mouse buttons and shortcuts for anything on your Mac. Instead of X-Mouse Button Control Running Windows apps
For the software that only exists on Windows.
Windows AppFree Microsoft’s app for reaching a Windows PC, Cloud PC or remote desktop from your Mac. Instead of Remote Desktop 
Parallels DesktopSubscription Runs Windows 11 in a window, side by side with your Mac apps. Instead of a second PC 
CrossOverPaid Runs many Windows apps and games without installing Windows. Try before buying: not everything works. Instead of Windows itself 04Already on your Mac
Where the Windows tools went. No download needed.