Desktop Management and Customization in macOS 13 Ventura

Name: Desktop Management and Customization in macOS 13 Ventura
Author: Nizar Dajani

Learn how to manage, organize, and customize the Mac Desktop.

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Course: On-Demand

In this lesson, we will customize the desktop. In front of us here, we see a blank desktop, and it's currently using one of the macOS Ventura wallpapers. To change this wallpaper, I can right-click anywhere on my desktop and choose Change Wallpaper. This will open System Settings and take us straight to the Wallpaper section. I wanna show you another way to access this Wallpaper section. So I'll click on the General section for now, then I will close this window, and show you another way to access this same window. I'll go to the Apple menu, then System Settings, then I'll scroll a bit down until I find Wallpaper and click on it. So we are right back to where we were a moment ago. Our first option here is to set our background image to either a dynamic option or light or dark. The dynamic option means that the shade of the background image changes to a lighter shade during the day hours but then dims down to darker tones during night hours. And this is based on your computer's time settings. If you don't want this dynamic option, you can choose to use the light option, which displays lighter tones, or we can change it to dark, which changes the background image to darker tones. Both light and dark options are non-dynamic options, meaning they are still and they don't change. Then down here, we see some other wallpaper images. The one that have a cloud icon with a down arrow, this means that we need to download this image first if we want to use it. I can just click on the cloud icon and it starts to download for me. This group of images are in the dynamic desktop category, and so they can be set up as either dynamic, light, or dark. And if I click on this background, I can see how it looks by changing between the different options. I can also scroll horizontally to see more wallpaper designs. I also have some other light and dark options I can choose from. And if I change it to dark and light, I get to see the difference between the two. And the next background section is the desktop pictures. These don't have light and dark options, so they are as is and don't change by the time of day. If you don't want images as your wallpaper, you could make it a solid color by clicking on any color in the color section. From here, you can pick any of these solid colors or click on the plus button and have your pick as you'd like. You can also use the color picker icon, then go to any color on the screen and pick that color. So let's hover over the red color in the Safari icon, and now our background color is that same red color. Now, you don't have to stick with one color all the time. If I click on the Auto-Rotate icon, I can now set the time frequency to change every five seconds so I can see the colors changing on my wallpaper. So right now, the colors are changing in the order we see down here, but if I click on the random checkbox, the colors will rotate randomly. You can also make your wallpaper from an image in your photo album or any image in any other folder of your choosing. Another section related to our desktop is Screen Saver, which is right under Wallpaper. Here, you can customize your screen saver by choosing any of these screen savers. And anytime you click on a screen saver, you get to see it in action up here. You can also show the clock with the screen saver. And to see your settings in full preview, I'll go up here and then click on Preview. So this is what the screensaver will look like in full mode, and I see the time displayed as well. And to exit, I just move my mouse or click any key. Now, let me exit out of System Settings and have a clean view of my desktop once again. Other things we can customize on the desktop are the folder names and the folder icons. So I'll create a new folder on my desktop by right-clicking and choosing New Folder. For the name, I can customize the name by using emojis. So I'll launch my emojis by going to the Edit menu, then Emojis & Symbols. I'll now change the folder's name to just one heart. And to customize the folder icon, I will first open the image that I want to use for the folder icon. Then I'll go to the Edit menu, then copy this image. Next, I will right-click on the folder that I want to change its icon and go to Get Info. This window appears, and up here, I will click on the folder icon to select it, then I will go to the Edit menu and choose Paste. And now our folder has a customized icon. Another thing we can also customize in our desktop is the view options. I'll right-click anywhere in the desktop and choose Show View Options. From this window, I can customize the size of the folder icon to be bigger or smaller. I can also control the size of the text for the folder's name, as well as place the text to the right of the icon instead of at the bottom. So, in this lesson, you learned about multiple ways to customize the desktop. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for the next lesson where I will show you how to organize files and folders on the desktop.

Essential Provider : Nizar Dajani 4 Lessons · 24m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

The desktop is the first thing that macOS users see when they sign on to any Mac computer. You might have seen desktops filled with files and folders, while other desktops have nothing on them. In this module, we will cover some of the best practices for desktop management in macOS Ventura and some of the common practices for how to best utilize this space on your Mac.

In this course, you will also learn how to properly use and customize your desktop, organize desktop files and folders, as well as how to use Workspaces to create multiple desktops on the same screen. Leveraging the power and benefits of a single and/or multiple desktops is a great skill to master in macOS Ventura and can allow for increased efficiency when utilized correctly.

What You'll Learn

Describe the desktop interface in macOS 13 Ventura
Recognize the different features of the desktop
Customize the desktop to suit your workflow
Organize desktop files and folders using best practices
Use Stage Manager to manage your workspace
Explain the concept of workspaces and create multiple desktops on the same screen

Key Takeaways

The desktop is the first thing macOS users see when they sign on to a Mac computer.
This course covers best practices for desktop management in macOS Ventura and common practices for utilizing this space on a Mac.
Learners customize the desktop, organize desktop files and folders, and use Workspaces to create multiple desktops on the same screen.
Leveraging the power and benefits of single and/or multiple desktops is a skill that can increase efficiency when used correctly in macOS Ventura.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It covers best practices for desktop management in macOS Ventura, including how to use and customize the desktop, organize desktop files and folders, and use Workspaces to create multiple desktops on the same screen. Lessons include Customizing the Desktop, Organizing the Desktop, Stage Manager, and Workspaces.

What will I be able to do after taking this course?

You will be able to describe the desktop interface, recognize the different features of the desktop, identify how to customize the desktop, and explain the concept of workspaces.

What skills does this course help build?

It builds skills in Desktop Management, Desktop Environments, the Desktop Management Interface, Parallels Desktop for Mac, and Virtual Desktops.

Why is learning desktop management in macOS Ventura useful?

Leveraging the power and benefits of a single and/or multiple desktops is a great skill to master in macOS Ventura and can allow for increased efficiency when utilized correctly.