This page contains common mistakes experienced Windows users will often make when converting to a Mac. Reading through this list will also provide a good overview of how things work on a Mac.

Mistakes working with application windows:

• Closing an application window (the red x) does not quit the application. It just closes that window.
• Double clicking a window does not maximize it, that action sends it to the Dock.
• Clicking the green "+" button does not maximize a window to full screen. Apple's maximize philosophy is to make a window only as big as it needs to be to comfortably fit the width of the content currently being displayed.
• Minimizing windows rather than using "hide", leaving the document section of the Dock littered with minimized windows.
• Trying to resize windows from the edge rather than using the drag area in the bottom-right corner.

Not understanding the Dock:

• Double-clicking dock icons. One click is enough.
• Accidental click-drags, removing applications from the dock in the process.
• You can both launch and return to an application using the Dock. You can also "hide" or "quit" an application from the Dock by holding a click on the icon.

Mistakes using the keyboard:

• Trying to use the CTRL key rather than CMD key for shortcuts.
• Not using keyboard shortcuts.
• What? No backspace? Delete means delete backwards, not forwards (as in Windows). Use Fn Delete on a MacBook (or the forward delete key on a full keyboard) to delete forward. Yes, the full Mac keyboard has two delete keys and no backspace key (brilliant Apple).

Other general mistakes:

• Looking for the menus on a window, not realizing they are always at the top of the screen in the menu bar.
• Not seeing the light. The "light" under an icon on the Dock means the appication is still running.
• Not understanding the usefulness of column view in Finder, leaving everything in icon view.
• Using the Enter or Return key on Mac to try and take action. Enter or Return puts an object (file or icon) into rename mode.

In general, experienced Windows users are looking for the complicated way of doing things. Don't go looking in System Preferences and right-clicking icons. When in doubt, click it or drag it. For example:

• Highlight a word and drag it to the Dictionary on the Dock.
• Drag an image from a web page in Safari to the desktop.
• Drag a file from Finder to an application in the Dock.