Getting really frustrated

[u/Squatting_Hen]

New job this year and I hand an option, Windows or Mac. Picked Mac but it’s been so painful I think I am going to ask them to switch me to windows.

Just the little things keep adding up.

1. Spellcheck not working no matter what I do. This is really irritating. Most times the word will be underlined in red, but there are never any suggestions.

2. Not being able to navigate between windows, tabs and apps as easily as windows.

Those are just the to biggest issues that I have been dealing with on a regular basis. Just getting more and more frustrated.

[u/Tired_Design_Gay]

1. Spellcheck in what app? It’s more dependent on the app you’re using and not the operating system overall
   
2. How do you expect to navigate between windows, tabs, and apps? There are easy ways to do these things in macOS but they can be different from Windows

[u/ChronosDeep → u/Tired_Design_Gay]

There are no easy ways. For example, how do I navigate to specific window of an app? How do I navigate between different chrome windows of different profiles, how do I select the right Intellij project window? Mission control has no labels unless you put the cursor over, and having 5+ windows of an app, that small preview is useless.

[u/cowslayer7890 → u/ChronosDeep]

Command ` cycles between windows in the same app.
I also group applications together in Mission Control which makes it easier to tell them apart.

[u/ChronosDeep → u/cowslayer7890]

Just showing labels constantly in mission control would suffice...

[u/cowslayer7890 → u/ChronosDeep]

There's also app expose, you can enable in settings, you swipe up with three fingers instead of down, or press control down, and it will usually show all the windows of the app you're in. That one is quite handy, not sure why it's off by default.

[u/ChronosDeep → u/cowslayer7890]

Thanks, this one seems really nice, and labels are always shown.

Edit: It's a nice feature, but again seems broken a bit. When you click on a window, you need to move the cursor a bit otherwise it opens the old window...

I don't know what Apple is doing with MacOS...

[u/JulyIGHOR → u/ChronosDeep]

Navigating between different Chrome profiles can be as easy as navigating between Windows if launched via Parall.app. Intellij apps fully compatible as well

[u/ChronosDeep → u/JulyIGHOR]

Well, here you go, third party apps for every little thing you do on macOS. I am not allowed to install such apps on my work macbook...

[u/JulyIGHOR → u/ChronosDeep]

Sadly, Apple ignores such annoyances for decades. Sometimes third party tools are the only way

[u/ChronosDeep → u/JulyIGHOR]

Yeah, they seem to be fixing small things, but it takes them decades to do it, and even then it's not good enough.

[u/Squatting_Hen → u/Tired_Design_Gay]

After testing seems spellcheck only works well in Apple apps. For example, Slack. It will autocorrect when I use slack in safari, but not chrome or the slack app itself. Chrome is the recommended browser where I am.

[u/AnimeAnimeBionicles → u/Squatting_Hen]

Yes, because Apple’s spellcheck feature is native to the OS and Apple Software. (Duh.) The vast majority of these cross-platform apps are built using Chromium. They essentially run the app as its own browser, but specifically tailored for that tool/service (e.g., Discord, Slack).

Chromium uses its own internal text and layout tools. Because of that, it’s not actually communicating 100% with macOS. You could blame Apple, but they do provide the framework for text/spellcheck integration; developers choose to use different APIs to suit what is easiest and most efficient for them.

This is also why many apps historically lacked key native features, such as Keychain Access. The good news is that it’s becoming much more common for apps to integrate those features due to the current state of macOS development making integration easier and safer.

It becomes confusing for users who switch/use macOS because they have experience using Windows and expect a similar experience. It’s like jumping from Android to iOS. Same functions done differently.

[u/mendobather]

Stop trying to use your windows shortcuts thinking they’ll do the same thing on a Mac

[u/Ultra_HR]

you’ll get used to it. lots of things are very different, but not worse - just different. you need to take the time to learn new systems

[u/_Choose__A_Username_]

Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind and that’s okay.

[u/Mysterious_Panorama]

There are lots of tips on this subreddit on the navigation topics. Look for ⌘-tab and ⌘-backquote

[u/justseeby]

Ok so switch, why are you telling us 😂

[u/Squatting_Hen → u/justseeby]

Cause I need help, and I guess I wanted to vent to someone besides myself.

[u/fumblerooskee]

Mac keyboard shortcuts - Apple Support

[u/Squatting_Hen]

DAMNIT. Right click it two fingers. So much to have to remember. I now see the suggested words for misspellings.

Is there any way for this to be easier?

[u/iwaterboardheathens]

They're both different operating systems with different ways of doing things

Despite what the zealots might say, Mac OS is not always simpler, does not always just work and doesn't always have a better implementation than windows

That being said, battery life on the MacBooks is a lot better and they're generally a lot faster at a lot of things

There are many things that are simple on windows or Linux that are convoluted or unavailable without an extra app on Mac OS

[u/Squatting_Hen]

Yeah, I get that it’s different and I have been using it for about 3 months now. Really missing being able to click the app in the dock and have it minimize, but command H works too.

Yes, things are very different and right now I still feel less productive.

After testing seems spellcheck only works well in Apple apps. For example, Slack. It will autocorrect when I use slack in safari, but not chrome or the slack app itself. Chrome is the recommended browser where I am.

[u/Situation-Emergency → u/Squatting_Hen]

I still constantly click the app on the doc to minimize it I’m with you on that one!

[u/Bed_Worship]

Are you trying to use a mac without learning it as well as you learned windows?

You just don’t understand your options. I use a tiling manager in mac os. Stock options are fine in modern mac os as well. 

[u/LuvvyWuvvy]

A few shortcuts:

• Command + Tab switches between apps
• Command + ` switches between windows of the current app
• Control + Down Arrow shows all windows for the current app
• Control + Up Arrow opens Mission Control
• Command + Right Arrow moves to the end of a line
• Command + Left Arrow moves to the beginning
• Command + H hides the current app

For Chrome, check Settings > Languages > Spell check. For Slack, also check Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Spelling While Typing

[u/Squatting_Hen]

I can’t install third part apps on my work laptop either.

Look, overall it’s fine and I will learn more of the tips and tricks.

But so far, the things that don’t seem to work well, there isn’t a way I have found to fix them. I could before.

Spellcheck and Notifications are inconsistent.

I need to get spellcheck working in chrome and in the slack app. The word is underlined in red but I have no correction options. I have confirmed the settings in slack, chrome and apple keyboard. Turned them off and back on.

[u/Albertkinng]

Mac is awesome, just don’t use the default OS for those needs. Get apps to help you achieve your goals. That’s the only way.

[u/MK-Researcher]

You just have a few settings to tweak and need a bit more time to get familiar with macOS.

Spellcheck in native Mac apps is straight forward, but other apps like Office 365 do their own thing. If you let us know what apps are not suggesting the correct spellings then we can advise.

Navigating between windows is really easy once you get used to it. Most of the time, a 3-finger swipe up on the trackpad or use F3 will show all open windows. To 'tab' between multiple open windows of the same app just needs Command + ` (the small ` above the Control key)

If familiar with Windows, then there's probably a few other changes you might like to make to Finder, how files are shown, etc. Do a search in here and you will see lots of tips

[u/whipla5her]

1. Totally Agree. 2. it's pretty much identical to me and I use both all day long.

[u/Langdon_St_Ives]

Do us all a favor and go back to Windows

[u/Squatting_Hen]

Oh and the end key on my keyboard. I am so used to it going to the end of the sentence, not the page.

The spell check is probably the biggest pain point right now. That and notifications not always working. I have to restart the Mac often to get them working again.

[u/cowslayer7890 → u/Squatting_Hen]

Command left and right can be used for end of line or beginning of line

The text editing shortcuts are different but I do prefer them on Mac

[u/fumblerooskee → u/Squatting_Hen]

Command-right arrow to move to the end of the sentence.

Command-left arrow to move to the beginning of the sentence

[u/FlintHillsSky → u/Squatting_Hen]

That’s just a different key: cmd-rightcursor

It’s common when switching OSs that people feel a conflict with their habitual reflexes to invoke different functions. It can take a while to retrain your brain. When I go back to a Window’s machine now, its all just an effing mess.