Quick Look Key features of the desktop

The menu bar

This shows commands for the currently active app (Finder, if you aren’t using a specific app). The first item is always the Apple menu, where you can access system info, System Preferences, and the Mac App Store, shut down and restart. In Sierra and High Sierra, you can optionally hide the menu bar until the pointer is at the screen’s top edge: See System Preferences > General.

Spotlight

Click the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar, or press Cmd+[Space], to search your Mac, iCloud Drive, and online. Confusingly, the search box doesn’t drop down from this icon, but appears where you last positioned it on the screen; to reset that position, click and hold on this menu bar icon.

Siri icon

Click this to use Siri, or hold Opt+[Space] until Siri appears. This shortcut can be changed in System Preferences > Siri.

Notifications

Click the rightmost icon for Notification Center. The Today tab shows reminders, appointments, weather, and more; drag items to rearrange them, or click Edit to alter what’s shown. The Notifications tab shows latest alerts; click the cogwheel (bottom right) to change preferences.

Dock

To add an app to the Dock, drag its icon in from a Finder window. To remove one, drag it out; the app itself is not deleted. To open or switch to an app, click its icon. Open apps have a black dot below.