HOW TO Select login and background items

1 All change

For many years, System Preferences stuck with the same familiar design – shown here in macOS Monterey – with your Preferences options arranged in horizontal rows. However, Ventura changes all that, as we’ll see further on…

2 Login location

Traditionally, the controls for Login Items that we’re looking for were located within System Prefs > Users & Groups. You needed to select your own Admin account, and then click on Login Items in order to see the list of apps.

3 You have mail

These are the login items set up on an office iMac. We have Mail set to start automatically when logging in, so that we can check emails. We’ve also got the Logi Options+ app set as a login item, in order to control a Logitech mouse.

4 System Settings

System Preferences gets a major redesign in Ventura. It’s now called System Settings and, like Settings on an iPhone or iPad, shows a list of the main Settings categories (left), and a view of the selected category (right).

5 Location, location

The Settings option for Login Items has moved from Users & Groups, and is now located within the General pane shown here. You can also find it simply by typing ‘Login’ into the Search tool at the top left of the window.

6 Login lists

The Login Items pane now shows two different lists. The top list is for apps that ‘Open at Login’ and, as before, we have Mail and Logi Options+ set as login items so that they launch automatically when we log in to this Mac.

7 Adding apps

You can add other apps to the list simply by clicking the little ‘+’ button below the list. This opens a window that lets you select the app you want, such as Safari. You can also remove apps from the list by clicking the ‘–‘ button.

8 In the background

A new list of ‘background’ items run automatically when you start your Mac. These aren’t ‘apps’ per se – they’re bits of software that work with other apps, such as Microsoft AutoUpdate, which is part of Microsoft Office.

9 Background blocker

Items like Microsoft AutoUpdate can be annoying – popping up on your Mac even when not using Microsoft apps – thankfully, Ventura enables you to switch background items off. We’ll keep the Logitech one, though, for the mouse.