by Tom Nelson
Startup items, also commonly referred to as login items, are applications, documents, shared volumes, or other items you wish to automatically start up or open when you boot or log in to your Mac.
Screen shot © Coyote Moon, Inc.
A common use for startup items is to launch an application that you always use when you sit down at your Mac. You may, for instance, always launch Apple Mail, Safari, and Messages every time you use your Mac.
Instead of launching these items manually, you can designate them as startup items and let your Mac do the work for you.