El Capitan Quick Start

What’s the least you need to know to use 10.11 El Capitan effectively? This book will fill you in. Most chapters focus on new features, but I’ve thrown in a few useful features from older versions of OS X that you might not have explored in depth. We’ll also examine a few built-in Apple apps to see how their changes can benefit you. The list below shows the book’s topics. Click any link to jump to a chapter.

What’s Changed

For a quick overview of all the changes see What’s New in El Capitan?

To learn about the operating system’s many small improvements, see Discover the Little Things in El Capitan.

Finder Fundamentals

Finder Tabs: Introduced in 10.9 Mavericks, this feature turns a mess of Finder windows into tidy tabs. Read Cut Clutter with Finder Tabs.
Finder Tags: Whether you litter your Desktop with files or you sort all your files into folders, Finder tags (introduced in Mavericks) are flexible tools that can help you find what you seek. See Get Organized with Finder Tags.
The Dock: You can Do More with the Dock than you may have realized. Start with Learn the Lay of the Land, sort out downloads in Dash to Your Downloads, and find out about a new Delete command in Tackle the Trash.

System-wide Tools

Mission Control: Command the View in El Capitan as you learn the latest workings of this window management tool, especially the New! Split View, which keeps the focus on just two apps, side-by-side.
Spotlight: You can now Find More Faster with Spotlight whether the information you seek is located on the Web or you want to try the New! Search Using Natural Language feature.
Dictation & Speech: There’s no Siri for OS X yet, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay quiet. El Capitan lets you activate Dictation using only your voice and adds some cool built-in dictation workflows. See Talk to Your Mac—and Let It Talk to You.
Notification Center: Learn to tame notifications and about updates to the Notification Center in Keep Current with Notification Center.
Sharing features: El Capitan and iOS 9 make it easier to move between your Apple devices.
Find out more in Navigate iCloud Drive, Move Easily between Devices with Handoff, Turn Your Mac into a Speakerphone, and Share Files with AirDrop in El Capitan.

Updated Apps

Safari: Quiet noisy tabs, pin your most-visited pages, and more as you Update Your Safari Smarts in El Capitan.
Notes: Apple’s note-taking app gets a complete overhaul. See Note Your Thoughts in El Capitan.
Messages: Brush up on Messages’ SMS and many group messaging features in Connect with Messages in El Capitan

Troubleshooting Essentials

Explore basic strategies for both getting out of trouble and avoiding it in the first place in Avoid Problems with User Accounts and Troubleshoot Mac Problems.