Mac Operating System User Manual

When you upgrade to macOS Mojave, you’ll get a host of new features inspired by its most powerful users but designed for everyone. Stay better focused on your work in Dark Mode. Automatically organize files using Stacks. Take more kinds of screenshots with less effort. Try four handy new built-in apps, and discover even more in the redesigned Mac App Store. Now you can get more out of every click. Best of all, upgrading is free and easy.

Chances are, your Mac can run macOS Mojave.

MacOS Mojave: The Missing Manual: The book that should have been in the box David Pogue on Amazon.com.FREE. shipping on qualifying offers. Answers found here! Apple’s latest Mac software, macOS Mojave, is a glorious boxcar full of new features and refinements. Page 17 Logging In to Mac OS X Mac OS X is set up to log in automatically using the user account that you Make sure you are typing the user account name and password with created when you set up Mac OS X. If automatic login is turned off, you the same capitalization and punctuation that you used originally. Upgrade to macOS Mojave. When you upgrade to macOS Mojave, you’ll get a host of new features inspired by its most powerful users but designed for everyone. Stay better focused on your work in Dark Mode. Automatically organize files using Stacks. Take more kinds of screenshots with less effort. Mac OS X also uses the home folder to store system preferences and managed user settings for Mac OS X users. Also known as a home directory. Page 36 LPR Line Printer Remote. A standard protocol for printing over TCP/IP. Mac OS X The latest version of the Apple operating system. Mac OS X combines the reliability of UNIX with the ease of use of Macintosh. Apple Macintosh Instruction Manuals (User Guides) Look it up with EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup. For help, please refer to Mac Identification. Complete technical specifications from EveryMac.com are linked on the left and the correponding instruction manual in PDF format is linked on the right. If you find this page useful, please Bookmark & Share it.

Mac computers with Metal-capable graphics processors (GPUs) can be upgraded to macOS Mojave.

Make sure you’re ready to upgrade.

The Operating Systems and Updates category feature the latest update for your system's OS and hardware. Utilities include OS service packs, automatic driver updaters, and more.

Before you upgrade, we recommend that you back up your Mac. Then, if your Mac is running OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 or later, you can upgrade directly to macOS Mojave.

Upgrading is free. And easier than you think.

Visit the macOS Mojave page on the App Store. Click the download button and follow the onscreen instructions to begin your upgrade. If you don’t have broadband access, you can upgrade your Mac at any Apple Store.

OS X 10.8 or later
2GB of memory
12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*

Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Have an older version of OS X? Learn how to upgrade

Upgrading from OS X Snow Leopard or Lion

If you’re running Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7) and your Mac supports macOS Mojave, you will need to upgrade to El Capitan (10.11) first. Click here for instructions.

For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Mojave:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)

Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards)

Siri

Requires a broadband Internet connection and microphone (built-in or external).

Hey Siri

Supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2018)
iMac Pro (2017)

Dictation and Voice Memos

Requires a microphone (built-in or external).

Spotlight Suggestions

Requires a broadband Internet connection.

Gestures

Requires a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, Magic Trackpad, or Magic Mouse.

Force Touch gestures require a Force Touch trackpad.

VoiceOver gestures require a Multi-Touch trackpad, Force Touch trackpad, or Magic Trackpad.

Photo Booth

Requires a FaceTime or iSight camera (built-in or external), or USB video class (UVC) camera.

FaceTime

Audio calls require a microphone (built-in or external) and broadband Internet connection.

Video calls require a built-in FaceTime camera, an iSight camera (built-in or external), or a USB video class (UVC) camera; and broadband Internet connection.

Continuity Camera, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and Universal Clipboard

Supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Continuity Camera requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 12 or later.

Handoff requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 8 or later.

Instant Hotspot requires an iPhone or iPad with cellular connectivity with a Lightning connector and iOS 8.1 or later. Requires Personal Hotspot service through your carrier.

Auto Unlock

Supported by Mac models introduced in mid 2013 or later.

Requires an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later and an iPhone 5 or later.

Apple Pay on the Web

Supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Requires MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, iPhone 6 or later with iOS 10 or later, or an Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later.

Phone Calling

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8 or later and an activated carrier plan.

SMS

Requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 or later and an activated carrier plan.

Home

Requires iPhone with iOS 12 or later and a configured Home app.

AirDrop

AirDrop between Mac computers and iOS devices is supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Pro (2012 or newer)
MacBook Air (2012 or newer)
Mac mini (2012 or newer)
iMac (2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)

AirDrop to iOS devices requires an iPhone or iPad with a Lightning connector and iOS 7 or later.

AirPlay

AirPlay Mirroring requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later). Supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)

AirPlay for web video requires an Apple TV (2nd generation or later).

Peer-to-peer AirPlay requires a Mac (2012 or later) and an Apple TV (3rd generation rev A, model A1469 or later) with Apple TV software 7.0 or later.

Time Machine

Requires an external storage device (sold separately).

Power Nap

Supported by the following Mac models:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)
MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)
MacBook Pro with Retina display (Mid 2012 or newer)
Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac (Late 2012 or newer)
iMac Pro (2017)
Mac Pro (Late 2013)

Boot Camp

Allows Boot Camp installations of Windows 10 on supported Mac models.

Exchange Support

Requires Microsoft Office 365, Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, or Exchange Server 2010. Installing the latest Service Packs is recommended.

App Store

Available only to persons age 13 or older in the U.S. and many other countries and regions.

Apple Books
Apple News
App Store
Automator
Calculator
Calendar
Chess
Contacts
Dashboard
Dictionary
DVD Player
FaceTime
Font Book
Home
Image Capture
iTunes
Launchpad
Mail

Maps
Messages
Mission Control
Notes
Photo Booth
Photos
Preview
QuickTime Player
Reminders
Safari
Siri
Stickies
Stocks
System Preferences
TextEdit
Time Machine
Voice Memos

Activity Monitor
AirPort Utility
Audio MIDI Setup
Bluetooth File Exchange
Boot Camp Assistant
ColorSync Utility
Console
Digital Color Meter

Disk Utility
Grapher
Keychain Access
Migration Assistant
Screenshot
Script Editor
System Information
Terminal
VoiceOver Utility

Arabic
Catalan
Croatian
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
English (Australia)
English (United Kingdom)
Finnish
French
French (Canada)
German
Greek
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Indonesian
Italian

Japanese
Korean
Malay
Norwegian
Polish
Brazilian Portuguese
Portuguese
Romanian
Russian
Slovak
Spanish
Spanish (Latin America)
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
Ukrainian
Vietnamese

The original Macintosh System Software and Finder, released in 1984

The family of Macintosh operating systems developed by Apple Inc. includes the graphical user interface-based operating systems it has designed for use with its Macintosh series of personal computers since 1984, as well as the related system software it once created for compatible third-party systems.

In 1984, Apple debuted the operating system that is now known as the 'Classic' Mac OS with its release of the original Macintosh System Software. The system, rebranded 'Mac OS' in 1996, was preinstalled on every Macintosh until 2002 and offered on Macintosh clones for a short time in the 1990s. Noted for its ease of use, it was also criticized for its lack of modern technologies compared to its competitors.^[1]^[2]

The current Mac operating system is macOS, originally named 'Mac OS X' until 2012 and then 'OS X' until 2016.^[3] Developed between 1997 and 2001 after Apple's purchase of NeXT, Mac OS X brought an entirely new architecture based on NeXTSTEP, a Unix system, that eliminated many of the technical challenges that the classic Mac OS faced. The current macOS is preinstalled with every Mac and is updated annually.^[4] It is the basis of Apple's current system software for its other devices – iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and audioOS.^[5]

Prior to the introduction of Mac OS X, Apple experimented with several other concepts, releasing different products designed to bring the Macintosh interface or applications to Unix-like systems or vice versa, A/UX, MAE, and MkLinux. Apple's effort to expand upon and develop a replacement for its classic Mac OS in the 1990s led to a few cancelled projects, code namedStar Trek, Taligent, and Copland.

Although they have different architectures, the Macintosh operating systems share a common set of GUI principles, including a menu bar across the top of the screen; the Findershell, featuring a desktop metaphor that represents files and applications using icons and relates concepts like directories and file deletion to real-world objects like folders and a trash can; and overlapping windows for multitasking.

1Classic Mac OS
2Mac OS X / OS X / macOS
- 2.1Releases
3Other projects
- 3.1Shipped
- 3.2Cancelled

Classic Mac OS[edit]

Mac OS 9, released in 1999

The 'classic' Mac OS is the original Macintosh operating system that was introduced in 1984 alongside the first Macintosh and remained in primary use on Macs through 2001.^[6]^[7]

Apple released the original Macintosh on January 24, 1984; its early system software was partially based on the Lisa OS and the Xerox PARCAlto computer, which former Apple CEO Steve Jobs previewed.^[6] It was originally named 'System Software', or simply 'System'; Apple rebranded it as 'Mac OS' in 1996 due in part to its Macintosh clone program that ended a year later.^[8]

Classic Mac OS is characterized by its monolithic design. Initial versions of the System Software run one application at a time. System 5 introduced cooperative multitasking. System 7 supports 32-bitmemory addressing and virtual memory, allowing larger programs. Later updates to the System 7 enable the transition to the PowerPC architecture. The system was considered user-friendly, but its architectural limitations were critiqued, such as limited memory management, lack of protected memory and access controls, and susceptibility to conflicts among extensions.^[2]

Releases[edit]

The text-only logo for Classic Mac OS starting with Mac OS 7.6, released in 1997

Nine major versions of the classic Mac OS were released. The name 'Classic' that now signifies the system as a whole is a reference to a compatibility layer that helped ease the transition to Mac OS X.^[9]

Macintosh System Software – 'System 1', released in 1984
System Software 2, 3, and 4 – released between 1985 and 1987
System Software 5 – released in 1987
System Software 6 – released in 1988
System 7 / Mac OS 7.6 – released in 1991
Mac OS 8 – released in 1997
Mac OS 9 – final major version, released in 1999

Mac OS X / OS X / macOS[edit]

macOS Mojave, released in 2018

macOS (originally named 'Mac OS X' until 2012 and then 'OS X' until 2016)^[10] is the current Mac operating system that officially succeeded the classic Mac OS in 2001.

Although the system was originally marketed as simply 'version 10' of Mac OS, it has a history that is largely independent of the classic Mac OS. It is a Unix-based operating system^[11]^[12] built on NeXTSTEP and other technology developed at NeXT from the late 1980s until early 1997, when Apple purchased the company and its CEO Steve Jobs returned to Apple.^[13] Precursors to the original release of Mac OS X include OpenStep, Apple's Rhapsody project, and the Mac OS X Public Beta.

macOS makes use of the BSD codebase and the XNU kernel,^[14] and its core set of components is based upon Apple's open sourceDarwin operating system.

macOS is the basis for some of Apple's other operating systems, including iPhone OS/iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and audioOS.

Releases[edit]

The 'X' logo for Mac OS X versions 10.0 'Cheetah' and 10.1 'Puma', released in 2001

Desktop[edit]

The first desktop version of the system was released on March 24, 2001, supporting the Aqua user interface. Since then, several more versions adding newer features and technologies have been released. Since 2011, new releases have been offered on an annual basis.^[4]

Mac OS X 10.0 – code name 'Cheetah', released to end users on Saturday, March 24, 2001
Mac OS X 10.1 – code name 'Puma', released to end users on Tuesday, September 25, 2001
Mac OS X 10.2 – also marketed as 'Jaguar', released to end users on Friday, August 23, 2002
Mac OS X Panther – version 10.3, released to end users on Friday, October 24, 2003
Mac OS X Tiger – version 10.4, released to end users on Friday, April 29, 2005
Mac OS X Leopard – version 10.5, released to end users on Friday, October 26, 2007
Mac OS X Snow Leopard – version 10.6, publicly unveiled on Monday, June 8, 2009
Mac OS X Lion – version 10.7, released to end users on Wednesday, July 20, 2011
OS X Mountain Lion – version 10.8, released to end users on Wednesday, July 25, 2012
OS X Mavericks – version 10.9, released to end users on Tuesday, October 22, 2013
OS X Yosemite – version 10.10, released to end users on Thursday, October 16, 2014
OS X El Capitan – version 10.11, released to end users on Wednesday, September 30, 2015
macOS Sierra – version 10.12, released to end users on Tuesday, September 20, 2016
macOS High Sierra – version 10.13, released to end users on Monday, September 25, 2017
macOS Mojave – version 10.14, released to end users on Monday, September 24, 2018
macOS Catalina – version 10.15, announced on Monday, June 3, 2019

Server[edit]

An early server computing version of the system was released in 1999 as a technology preview. It was followed by several more official server-based releases. Server functionality has instead been offered as an add-on for the desktop system since 2011.^[15]

Mac OS X Server 1.0 – code name 'Hera', released in 1999
macOS Server – several releases since 2001

Other projects[edit]

Shipped[edit]

A/ROSE[edit]

The Apple Real-time Operating System Environment (A/ROSE) was a small embedded operating system which ran on the Macintosh Coprocessor Platform, an expansion card for the Macintosh. The idea was to offer a single 'overdesigned' hardware platform on which third-party vendors could build practically any product, reducing the otherwise heavy workload of developing a NuBus-based expansion card. The first version of the system was ready for use in February 1988.^[16]

A/UX[edit]

In 1988, Apple released its first Unix-based OS, A/UX, which was a Unix operating system with the Mac OS look and feel. It was not very competitive for its time, due in part to the crowded Unix market and Macintosh hardware lacking high-end design features present on workstation-class computers. A/UX had most of its success in sales to the U.S. government, where POSIX compliance was a requirement that Mac OS could not meet.^[17]

MAE[edit]

Mac Operating System Download

The Macintosh Application Environment (MAE) was a software package introduced by Apple in 1994 that allowed users of certain Unix-based computer workstations to run Apple Macintosh application software. MAE used the X Window System to emulate a Macintosh Finder-style graphical user interface. The last version, MAE 3.0, was compatible with System 7.5.3. MAE was available for Sun MicrosystemsSPARCstation and Hewlett-Packard systems. It was discontinued on May 14, 1998.^[18]

MkLinux[edit]

Announced at the 1996 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), MkLinux is an open source operating system that was started by the OSF Research Institute and Apple in February 1996 to port Linux to the PowerPC platform, and thus Macintosh computers. In mid 1998, the community-led MkLinux Developers Association took over development of the operating system. MkLinux is short for 'Microkernel Linux,' which refers to the project's adaptation of the Linux kernel to run as a server hosted atop the Mach microkernel. MkLinux is based on version 3.0 of Mach.^[19]

Cancelled[edit]

Star Trek[edit]

Star Trek (as in 'to boldly go where no Mac has gone before') was a relatively unknown secret prototype beginning in 1992, whose goal was to create a version of the classic Mac OS that would run on Intel-compatible x86 personal computers. In partnership with Apple and with support from Intel, the project was instigated by Novell, which was looking to integrate its DR-DOS with the Mac OS GUI as a mutual response to the monopoly of Microsoft's Windows 3.0 and MS-DOS. A team consisting of four from Apple and four from Novell was able to get the Macintosh Finder and some basic applications such as QuickTime, running smoothly on the x86 architecture. The project was canceled a year later in early 1993, but some of the code was later reused when porting the Mac OS to PowerPC.^[20]^[21]

Taligent[edit]

Taligent (a portmanteau of 'talent' and 'intelligent') was the name of an object-oriented operating system and the company dedicated to producing it. Started as a project within Apple to provide a replacement for the classic Mac OS, it was later spun off into a joint venture with IBM as part of the AIM alliance, with the purpose of building a competing platform to Microsoft Cairo and NeXTSTEP. The development process never worked, and Taligent is often cited as an example of a project death march. Apple pulled out of the project in 1995 before the code had been delivered.^[22]

Copland[edit]

Copland was a project at Apple to create an updated version of the classic Mac OS. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software. As originally planned, a follow-up release known as 'Gershwin' would add multithreading and other advanced features. New features were added more rapidly than they could be completed, and the completion date slipped into the future with no sign of a release. In 1996, Apple decided to cancel the project outright and find a suitable third-party system to replace it. Copland development ended in August 1996, and in December 1996, Apple announced that it was buying NeXT for its NeXTSTEP operating system.^[23]

Timeline[edit]

Mac Operating System 9.2

Related systems[edit]

Before the arrival of the Macintosh in 1984, Apple's history of operating systems began with its Apple II series computers in 1977, which ran Apple DOS, ProDOS, and later GS/OS; the Apple III in 1980, which ran Apple SOS; and the Apple Lisa in 1983, which ran Lisa OS and later MacWorks XL, a Macintosh emulator. Apple also developed the Newton OS for its Newtonpersonal digital assistant from 1993 to 1997.

In recent years, Apple has also launched several new operating systems based on the core of macOS, including iOS in 2007 for its iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touchmobile devices; watchOS in 2015 for the Apple Watch; tvOS in 2015 for the Apple TVset-top box; and audioOS for its HomePodsmart speakers.