Welcome to the Menu Bar.
The menu bar is a very important place when you use a computer.
The menus on the menu bar hold all of the commands you need to use the Mac operating system and any application.
Note: An experienced computer user can start to learn a new application just by exploring its menus to see what it can do.
The menu bar runs horizontally all the way across the top of your screen, it is separated into the Menu Bar to the left of the screen, and Menu Bar Extras to the right.
What's in the Menu Bar?
- The Apple menu is the first item that VoiceOver goes to in the menu bar, it contains frequently used commands such as those to open System Settings, log in to or out of your account, or to restart, lock, and shut down your Mac.
- The App Menus are located to the right of the Apple menu. The name of the app you’re using appears first, followed by other menus, often with standard names such as File, Edit, View, Format,or Window.
- The Help Menu is the last item in the menu bar. It contains MacOS or app specific help menus depending on the app you are in at the time.
To use the Menu Bar:
- Press VO + M to move the cursor to the Menu Bar.
- Press the Left or Right Arrows to move horizontally through the menus.
- Press the Down Arrow to open a menu.
- Press the Up or Down Arrow to move through the options on a menu.
- Press VO + Space to select a menu option.
- Press the Escape key to exit the Menu Bar.
What's in the Menu Bar Extras?
- The Status Menus are the first set of menus in the Menu Bar Extras. The status menus that let you check the status of your Mac such as the time, the battery charge, or wifi status.
- Click the Spotlight icon, or press Cmd + F, to search for items on your Mac and the Web.
- Click the Control Center icon to access features you use often, such as AirDrop, AirPlay, WiFi, Bluetooth, and more.
- Click the SIRI icon to use Siri to do things like open files or apps, or to find things on your Mac or on the internet.
- The Date and Time
- The Notification Center
Status menus
Click the Spotlight icon to search for items on your Mac and the web, or press VO + Space to open Spotlight.
Click the SIRI icon to use Siri to do things like open files or apps, or to find things on your Mac or to make searches on the internet.
Click the date and time to open the Notification Center, where you can view appointments, notes, weather, and more, you can also catch up on any notifications you may have missed.
Before you can explore the Menu Bar, you need to learn how to navigate there. Lets keep going!
To use the Menu Bar Extras:
- Press VO + MM to move to the Menu Bar Extras.
- Press the Left or Right Arrows to move horizontally between the menus.
- Press the Down Arrow to open a menu.
- Press the Up or Down Arrow to move through the options on a menu.
- Press VO + Space to select a menu option.
- Press the Escape key to exit the Menu Bar Extras.
I think you are ready to move up to the Menu Bar so press VO + M, and then later VO + M + M later, and explore. Remember to come back here when your done so you can go to the next lesson.
Finder Lesson