How to Manage Startup Items on Your Mac

Every computing machine contains a list of programs, documents and other files which are supposed to be launched when you switch it on. The same thing also happens on Mac that loads programs in the list whenever you reboot or start your Mac. You as a user can manage startup items on your Mac.

We’ve described the steps to add an item to startup list:

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Add an item to Login items:

1. Log in with the account you need to associate with your startup item.
2. Click on the Apple icon in the left-hand side top corner and select ‘System Preferences’.
3. Click on User & Groups under ‘System’ section.

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4. Select the appropriate Username from the left-hand side Accounts List.
5. Click on ‘Login items’ tab associated with that user name.

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6. It shows the list of startup items.
7. Click the + (plus) button at the end of Login Items window. A standard Finder browsing window would open.
8. Navigate to the item you want to add. Click once on it to select it, and then click the ‘Add’ button.
9. The item you add would be enlisted in login items and would open every time you boot the system.

Hide startup item:

Did you notice the check box in login items? It’s a convenient feature for you to decide what comes up and what hides behind. By hiding an application, it would run in background but will not bother you with its interface window.

See Also: How to Transfer your Data from an Old Mac to New

Delete startup item:

If you don’t want an app to load at the startup, you’ve the power to delete it from the login items. You can simply select an application from the list and hit the ‘DELETE’ key and it’ll be out of the login items. You can also use the ‘–‘ (Negative) sign to stop the application from being loaded at the beginning of your Mac.

Overall, managing startup items in Mac is no brainer. Its your Mac and you should decide what comes up and what doesn’t. By following these simple steps, you can easily manage the items you want your Mac to automatically launch at the startup. Just make sure you don’t get carried away by startup items or you may face some consequences.