macOS 13 Ventura brings important new usability, security, and convenience features to your Mac. Learn how to upgrade your Mac from an earlier version of macOS, find your way around the new system, and make use of the interesting new capabilities such as Stage Manager, Passkeys, and even a way to use your iPhone as a webcam.
All Take Control books are delivered in two ebook formats—PDF and EPUB—and can be read on nearly any device.
macOS 13 Ventura may look a lot like its predecessor, macOS 12 Monterey, but it packs a lot of useful new features (along with some potentially confusing user interface choices). Joe Kissell once again provides a complete guide to the upgrade process, as well as an in-depth look at what’s new.
While Stage Manager provides yet another way to manage your windows, apps like Mail and Messages finally offer solutions to longstanding irritations, Continuity Camera learns some fancy new tricks, and macOS offers even more options to manage your privacy and security. Take Control of Ventura walks you through all these changes.
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This book teaches you things like:
How to tell whether your Mac is compatible with Ventura
Steps you should take before upgrading
How to perform an in-place upgrade—or do a clean install and migrate your old data from a backup
Adapting to the sometimes-confusing new System Settings app, which replaces System Preferences
Managing windows and apps with Stage Manager
New Mail features—undo sending a message, schedule a message, follow up on messages awaiting replies, and more
Editing or unsending messages in the Messages app
Using new Safari 16 features, such as shared tab groups and editable suggested passwords
Understanding passkeys, which promise to replace passwords in many places—eventually
How to share a Photos library with family and friends
Using Continuity Camera to turn your iPhone into a webcam
Small but interesting changes throughout macOS, such as accessibility improvements, new features in Focus and Dictation, and expanded Live Text capabilities
How to use the brand-new Weather app
Improvements to bundled apps, including FaceTime, Maps, Notes, Reminders, and more
Take Control publisher Joe Kissell has written more than 60 books about technology, including many popular Take Control books. He formerly wrote for publications such as Macworld, Wirecutter, and TidBITS. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife, his two children, and his cat.
What’s New in Version 1.2
Version 1.2 of this book brings it up to date with changes introduced in macOS 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3, while correcting a few minor errors and adding details here and there. The most significant changes are:
Added a note about Rapid Security Response updates. See “Handle Software Updates.”
Noted that Time Machine in Ventura now lets you set a maximum size for APFS-formatted local volumes. See “General Settings.”
In macOS 13.1, Apple expanded searching in Messages to include objects and text in photos. See “Find More in Messages.”
Added more information about how SharePlay works with Messages. See “Use SharePlay with Messages.”
Updated “How to Create and Use a Passkey” to reflect the new user interface of the demo site.
Covered a new option, introduced in macOS 13.1, for encrypting more types of iCloud data. See “Advanced Data Protection.”
Described support for physical security keys when logging in to an Apple ID account, added in macOS 13.2. See “Security Key Support.”
Added a topic about Freeform, a digital whiteboard app, which was added in macOS 13.1. See “Freeform.”
Listed a handful of changes to Apple’s Shortcuts app in Ventura that weren’t covered in earlier versions of this book. See “Shortcuts.”
What Was New in Version 1.1
The changes between the beta versions of Ventura available when version 1.0 of this book was published and the release version of Ventura were comparatively minor, but I made the following changes in version 1.1:
Removed the no-longer-relevant mentions of the Ventura beta and some minor bugs that have since disappeared
Added a link to download Ventura from the Mac App Store (see “Obtain the Installer”)
Updated the description of how to configure which Control Center items appear on the menu bar (see “Manage Menu Items”)
Added a note in “Explore System Settings” about the new alphabetical View menu in System Settings
Added a brief mention of the Game Controller Settings pane in System Settings, and a corresponding mention in “Buddy Controller”
Replaced the image of Stage Manager’s Customize dialog with an updated version (see “Configure Stage Manager Options”)
Updated “Compose Messages with Rich Links” to reflect Mail’s current behavior with rich links
Added new information about collaboration in Messages (see “Collaborate More Easily”)
Included a link to the new Belkin iPhone mount (see “Position Your iPhone”)
Updated the discussion of changes to Game Center
Added a sidebar lamenting the disappearance of a promised feature; see “Hide My Email for Apps Stays Hidden”
Updated “Live Text” to reflect newly added capabilities
Explained how to add an item as a favorite in News (see “News”)
Read Me First
Updates and More
What’s New in Version 1.2
What Was New in Version 1.1
Introduction
Ventura Quick Start
Take In the Scenic View
Find Out What’s New in Ventura
Catch Up with macOS Changes
Check Your Mac for Compatibility
Model Support
RAM
Free Disk Space
Solid-State Storage
Upgrade to Ventura
Update Your Third-Party Software
Back Up Your Disk
Decide on an Installation Method
Make Final Preparations
Upgrade Using Plan A: In‑Place Upgrade
Upgrade Using Plan B: Clean Install
Perform Post-Installation Tasks
Troubleshoot Upgrade Problems
How to Downgrade macOS
Adapt to Ventura Changes
Get Your Visual Bearings
Explore System Settings
Update Your Backup Strategy
Discover Stage Manager
Enable and Use Stage Manager
Configure Stage Manager Options
Do You Really Need Stage Manager?
Explore New Mail Features
Use Smart Search
Undo Sending an Email Message
Schedule Sending a Message
Follow Up on Messages Awaiting Replies
Remind Yourself About Important Messages
Get Notifications for Missing Attachments and Recipients
Joe Kissell joined host Chuck Joiner on MacVoices to talk about Take Control of Ventura.
In part one, Joe talks about why he thinks Ventura is a comparatively minor upgrade and what to be aware of before installing it.
In part two, Joe goes further into some of the features he likes and dislikes in Ventura and talks bout future Take Control updates (and why asking when an update is going to appear actually makes it take longer).
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