If you're new to Mac you may not be using one of the important features which is User
Accounts.
So basically your Mac can be several Macs.
Every user account is like a completely new computer with new settings, with new things
on the desktop, new documents, everything.
The user accounts are kept separate from each other.
How do you set up user accounts?
Well, in the Apple menu go to System Preferences.
From there you go to Users & Groups.
In Users & Groups you're going to see users listed on the left with the current user at
the top which is probably you.
Then you'll see other users.
Which could be anybody else.
Every individual that uses the Mac should have their own user account.
It's not a matter of trust.
It's a matter of having Settings and Preferences and Documents and things like that.
If you and your spouse use the same Mac you're not going to use the same documents, you're
not going to want to have things setup the same way and you're not going to use the same
iCloud account or iTunes account or any of that.
Having separate user accounts means you can switch easily between these.
It's like you each have your own Mac.
You each can have your own desktop background, different applications in the dock, everything.
So how do you create a new user account?
Well, once you're in here you have to click the padlock here and then authenticate.
Once you've unlocked it here you use the plus button to add a new user.
You have some options here.
Administrator is fine for any responsible adult using the Mac.
Standard for most other people.
The difference between the two is the ability to install apps.
You can install an app as an Administrator for all users on the computer.
That's why any adults who are owners of the computer that are using it, you want to be
Administrator because when you buy an app or install an app you want it to be available
for everybody else.
But for people that you don't want installing apps you can set up a Standard account.
So if you have somebody that, you know a relative or somebody, that comes over every once in
awhile and wants to use your computer to check their email, a Standard account may be fine
for them.
For kids you may want to look into Managed with Parental Controls.
You can also enable a Guest User.
The way to do that is you click on Guest User here in the list.
Then click Allow guests to log in to this computer.
This enables people to login as a guest.
So they don't need a password.
But they don't have access to any of the stuff on your user account.
They can just use the Mac and when they logout the stuff they have done is deleted.
So it's like a one time thing.
They can go in.
They can setup email.
They can check their email.
They can surf the web.
Then they logout of that guest account and it all is deleted and goes away.
It's a great way to give access to your computer to the internet for somebody that's visiting
and then clear it all off.
So they can't really do any harm or leave anything behind on the computer.
Now once you've set up multiple accounts you can simply go to the Apple menu and Log Out.
Then the login screen will show all of the accounts there and you can choose the one
you want to login in to.
But fast user switching is much better especially if you and a spouse or other family members
are sharing the computer and want to be able to switch easily.
You go to Login Options and you can check Show fast user switching menu and check whether
you want full name, account name, or icon.
Fast user switching then appears to the top right here and you can jump to any of these
accounts.
Now here's an important thing about this.
When you leave your account and go to another one it's not logging you out here.
It's basically just switching over.
So you can be in the middle of something.
You can have Pages open and you're in the middle of writing a paragraph.
You can have Safari open, you can be composing an email.
Doing all this stuff.
You go to Fast User Switching and switch to somebody else.
Then they can go and pick up where they left off.
When they're done you switch back to you.
Everything returns just as you left it.
So you really can be right in the middle of something.
Somebody else comes in and they switch to their account, check their email, switch back
to you and now you can pick up where you left off.
A super handy feature.
You definitely should have it.
I recommend that every individual have their own account on the Mac.
It's just much easier and a much nicer computing experience.
You can make it feel like you actually have multiple Macs in one piece of hardware.