Finding great software for your Mac can sometimes feel like a gamble . ButMacworldis here to assist . Every week , in the Mac Gems Weblog , I profile the best low - cost software that deliver grownup - fourth dimension returns . ( We also profile these computer software gems each calendar month in the pages of the magazine . ) As we approach the discovery of our 500th gemstone , I thought I would showcase my all - meter favorites — the greatest applications I ’ve uncovered in my search for dispirited - cost software , from - deary to – and - rat apps that also merit some recognition .
Let ’s begin our workweek - longsighted look at the Mac Gems Weblog ’s greatest hits with 18 enhancers that will assist you optimise Mac OS X. On the next varlet , I feature 14 of my favourite maintenance , tweaking , and troubleshooting applications .
( mark that version numeral are current as this article was send . However , given the nature of software development , it ’s likely that some of these apps will see frequent updates , and more recent interlingual rendition could be available by the time you register this . The apps we ’ve list work with the latest rendering of OS X , but you ’re advised to dual - confirmation the organization requirements at the developers ’ Web website to make certain that your make will scarper these programs . you may happen full reviews of these gems in our Mac Gems catalog . )
Permissions editor: FileXaminer 2.5.6
Among the myriad utilities that help you cut file info and permission , FileXaminer 2.5.6 ( ) resist out . In summation to an well-heeled - to - use port for modifying data file permissions and dimension , it provides Super Delete and Force Empty Trash functions — accessible from the software ’s Dock - ikon menu , Finder contextual card , or within the software — for getting rid of stubborn files . It also has a slew mode for work with multiple files simultaneously ; Finder integration ( instruction - option - I to get information or Command - option - C to copy a file itinerary to the Clipboard ) ; and systemwide support for contextual menus . Other feature let you resize and convert epitome , edit icons , and edit text files as the stem exploiter . FileXaminer even lets you make and delete exploiter groups without having to delve into NetInfo Manager . ( $ 10;Gideon Softworks )
Default application setter: RCDefaultApp 2.0
RCDefaultApp 2.0 ( ) let you choose your preferable help software for each of the primary Internet protocols ( Web , e - mail service , newsgroups , and TP ) and for each URL protocol — from AFP ( Apple Filing Protocol ) to WHOIS and everything in between ( such as HTTP , HTTPS , MS , and SSH ) . The utility ’s MIME Types mount lease you choose the nonremittal program for each variety of MIME content — such as the Windows Media television and PNG images you encounter on the Web . RCDefaultApp also lets you pick out the program program that should be used to open files with particular file - name extensions and file type . Unlike like public utility company , RCDefaultApp lets you disable types of files or protocols ( such as URL schemes that pose surety risk ) , cater you with a one - stay solvent for customizing nonremittal app preferences . ( free;Rubicode )
New written document ( here)Using NuFile , you could make a new papers of your choosing right from the Finder ’s contextual menu .
New document creators: Document Palette 1.0 and NuFile 1.8
One feature missing from OS Adam that Windows users have long enjoyed is the ability to create a new document in the Finder ; alternatively , you have to launch the appropriate software , create a new text file , and then spare it in the desired leaflet . Document Palette 1.0 ( ) andNuFile 1.9 ( ) skip all that , letting you create a young document in the current Finder folder via a keyboard cutoff or the Finder ’s contextual menu , respectively . Both programme admit a few common text file formats , but you’re able to add other papers types and your own guide . ( text file Palette : $ 8;Vertical Eye ; , NuFile : payment requested;Piti Ongmongkolkul )
Cursor enhancer: Mouseposé 1.3
Spotlight effectMouseposé attain it clean to your hearing exactly what you ’re demonstrating , with a ready to hand glare .
When give an on - screen demonstration , you desire to focalise your audience ’s attention on exactly what the pointer is doing . Mouseposé 1.3 ( ) does this by spotlighting the mouse cursor when you press a hotkey . For example , if you ’re show your consultation where to penetrate in a dialog , Mouseposé will darken the screen except for a small circle around the cursor , cause it obvious what you ’re attempting to certify . ( free;Boinx )
File manager: Path Finder 4.1.1
The Finder has meliorate in each version of OS X , but some drug user still bid it had a few more feature of speech — or at least more tractableness in using the feature article it already has . Path Finder 4.1.1 ( ) , a Finder alternative , can help . It kick in you more look at choice , such as tabbed window , Indian file proprietor and group column in list view , and the power tosortin column view . Path Finder ’s window include a ready to hand Drop Stack area , which lease you temporarily store filing cabinet and leaflet . you could even view many file with Path Finder ’s built - in text editor program and PDF viewers , and make record images and squeeze files directly from Path Finder window . If you make up one’s mind that you care using Path Finder more than the Finder itself , you may have Path Finder foreswear the Finder and take its place . ( $ 35;Cocoatech )
Window shade effect restorer: WindowShade X 4.0.2
WindowShade X 4.0.2 ( ) brings Mac OS 9 ’s popular Window Shade force to OS X. Double - select a windowpane ’s claim bar , and the windowpane rolls up and out of the way — complete with the “ swoosh ” sound you would expect if you were a definitive Mac exploiter . If you favour , you may determine whether the window becomes partially or completely transparent , minimizes in place instead of to the Dock , or hides entirely . ( $ 10;Unsanity )
Dialog-box enhancer: Default Folder X 3.0
Default Folder X 3.0 ( ) contribute much - postulate advance to OS X ’s exposed and Save seafaring dialog box . As the name imply , it allow you assign a default folder for each lotion . In addition , it makes recently used and favorite file and folder , as well as loose Finder windows , well accessible — while you ’re in any sailing dialog box seat , you may tap a Finder windowpane ( or opt it from Default Folder ’s X ’s Windows menu ) to immediately interchange the dialogue corner to that directory . Add to that Default Folder X ’s power to make undetermined and Save dialog boxes remember the last leaflet and charge you work with in each program , as well as the size and position of each dialogue box . ( $ 35;St . Clair Software )
Other top enhancers
If you ’re using a Windows keyboard with your Mac — or just wish well your Mac keyboard was laid out otherwise — DoubleCommand 1.6.1 (; free;Michael Baltaks ) lets you remap special keys , such as turning a Windows keyboard ’s Alt key into an pick paint . ( Tiger furnish this capableness as well , though DoubleCommand offers many more pick . ) A simple yet effective puppet isEraseCMPlugIn 1.3.1 (; free;soft ‘ type O ’ matic)—it gives you the ability to wipe out a CD - RW disc from the Finder ’s contextual menu instead of having to delve into Disk Utility . GeekTool 2.1.2 (; free;Tynsoe ) allows you to place the output signal of a Terminal command , the contents of a single file , or an image ( such as a Webcam snapshot ) on your screen background . PrintWindow 3.1.5 (; standard version , destitute ; advanced version , $ 15;Searchware Solutions ) rejuvenate the power to impress a Finder window ’s content to OS X while also let you choosewhatto print — for example , complete file and folder information , just names and the seeable contents of a folder , or all subfolders .
If you want to change the nonremittal data format and location for screenshotswithouthaving to mess around in Terminal , Screenshots Preference Pane 1.0 (; $ 2;EGO Systems ) add a useful window pane for doing just that to OS X ’s System Preferences . religious service scrub brush 1.1.3 (; free;Peter Maurer ) puts you in restraint of OS X ’s Services feature — a necessary task for anyone who struggles with a bloated Services menu . To take your Mac laptop ’s trackpad to the next level , SideTrack 1.4.1 (; $ 15;Raging Menace ) is a replacement trackpad driver that lets you conform fastness , quickening , and standardization , as well as assign hot corners that perform particular action when you rap them .
Anyone who enjoys fiddle with their system of rules should embraceTransparentDock 2.3.8 (; $ 8;Free Range Mac ) , which lets you customize everything about your Dock , from how it seem to how it behaves . WinSwitch 3.2.1 (; free;Wincent Colaiuta ) is a handy customization tool that lets you choose the appearance of the Fast User Switching card , designate a keyboard shortcut to the login windowpane , and — most telling — automatically open documents or launch applications when you switch to and from specific account . X - Assist 0.7 (; free;Peter Li ) animate OS 9 ’s software menu , impart useful features such as a Shortcuts submenu for speedy entree to preference panes .
Make no mistake — the Mac is a reasonably dependable estimator . But anything progress by human hands is destined to run into some kind of problem . And when fuss hit your Mac , many of the troubleshooting public utility company list below will leap to your saving and have your Mac working again in short order . Even better , some of the programs I ’ve selected will help you identify trouble spotsbeforethey burn up up . last , I ’ve let in a few titles aim at helping you tweak your Mac to hunt down the wayyouwant it to .
Custom installer: Pacifist 2.0
Have you ever wonder exactly what an installer package ( a file with a.pkgor.mpkgextension ) installs ? Or have you wanted to install just a individual data file or subset of files from such a parcel ? If so , disarmer 2.0 ( ) is just what you ’ve been count for . drag in an installer package onto the Pacifist icon , and the utility program presents you with a leaning of all the files in the package , devise by the prey installation directory . you could also see detailed information about each file , including its permissions , size , and file cabinet eccentric . This functionality alone can be very helpful for preview installations , but Pacifist also lets you affirm installing and extract or install any file from within a parcel . disarmer 2.0 adds the capability to take DMG disk images ; .pax , .tar , .tar.gz , and .tgz files ; and the ReadMe single file and installation script inside a package . ( $ 20;CharlesSoft )
Under the wrapperPacifist can tell you what ’s inside installer computer software and can even install individual software program files .
Device monitor: Peripheral Vision 1.6.3
OS X ’s System Profiler coating is helpful if you require to see what is connected to your Mac at a given second — but maybe you want to cognise when devices have connect or disconnected successfully . Peripheral Vision 1.6.3 ( ) monitors FireWire , USB , Bluetooth , and web connection , and notifies you when a novel gadget is connected and when a affiliated gimmick is no longer available . It ’s a helpful puppet for name problems . you may set up dissimilar notice — optic or audio — for each type of machine , as well as for connections and disconnections . And if you find the official name of a twist to be uninformative — for example , Jargy USB — you could shift how it appears when it ’s detected ( to , say , 4 - Port USB Hub ) . ( $ 7;Granted Software )
Cloning utilities: Carbon Copy Cloner 2.3 and SuperDuper 2.1.2
Bootable backupsSuperDuper makes creating a bootable clone of an OS decade push a simple summons .
A utilitarian computer backup approach is abootable clone — an exact copy of your hard effort on another driveway — which lets you get back up and race in no time should disaster strike . regrettably , thanks to permissions , invisible files , and other issues , you ca n’t just replicate an OS X parkway via drag and drop cloth . What you need is a cloning utility that understands all of OS cristal ’s peculiarities . Carbon Copy Cloner 2.3 ( ) andSuperDuper 2.1.2 ( ) are two of the sound . Both make it promiscuous to choose a source crusade and a destination movement and then start the written matter , and both provide you to synchronize your knockoff with change you made to the original . SuperDuper bestow one of the beneficial interfaces I ’ve seen in a backup utility , as well as a turn of more - in advance — but still accessible — feature film such as prosperous - to - purpose scheduling , numerous copy options , package installation , post - clone actions , and the ability to easy save up backup process as script . ( Carbon Copy Cloner : payment requested;Mike Bombich ; Super Duper : $ 28;Shirt Pocket )
Tweaking tools: TinkerTool 3.61 and TinkerTool System 1.51
Many utilities for pluck hidden options and perform maintenance let you get at OS X options and feature that are n’t otherwise easily available . Among these product , TinkerTool 3.61 ( ) andTinkerTool System 1.51 ( ) are my darling . TinkerTool and TinkerTool System supply access to many mystical setting — for the Finder , the Dock , Exposé , organization appearance , and much more — as well as scores of system sustentation and customization options . But developer Marcel Bresink has occupy much of the risk out of using these utility program by separating dependable actions from potentially risky one . exploiter - level taste options are usable via TinkerTool ( which any user can escape ) , whereas system - level and administrative setting and actions are limited to TinkerTool System ( which only an administrator can track down ) . ( TinkerTool , free ; Tinker Tool System , € 7 ; both fromMarcel Bresink )
Other top maintenance and troubleshooting tools
AppleJack 1.4.2 (; free;The Apotek ) can repair your heavy drive , repair permissions , delete cache data file , and formalise preference filing cabinet ; more authoritative , it does all of this via undivided - user mode at startup , making it usable for use even if a problem keep you from boot into OS X.GrandPerspective 0.95 (; free;Eriban ) examines a volume or folder you ’ve selected and create a optical mental representation of the outer space each filing cabinet occupies — letting you easily see what ’s fill up most of the space on your arduous drive . MemoryStick 1.5 (; free;Matt Neuburg ) lets you know if you ’re running dead on RAM or if you ’ve get too many apps open , by displaying your Mac ’s remembering allocation . Memtest 4.13 (; free;Tony Scaminacic ) is just about the best path to diagnose bad RAM , surmount even Apple ’s Hardware Test .
NetRestore 3.2 (; free;Bombich Software ) has won the inwardness of connection administrator for its power to restore a sea captain disk ikon to point Macs , whether over a local connection or the Internet . Pseudo 1.2.3 (; $ 15;Brian Hill ) has n’t been updated since 2002 , but do n’t worry — this tool still work great with newer versions of type O X. For the times you need to launch applications as the solution exploiter to edit out restricted file , Pseudo is the way to go . SMARTReporter 2.1.5 (; free;Julian Mayer ) monitors the SMART ( for Self - Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology ) condition — swear , unknown , or failing — of all bear drive connected to your Mac and alert you if there ’s a problem . A like utility to GrandPerspective , WhatSize 10.3.9 (; free;ID - Design ) scans the selected ride and provides a sizing - grouped , hierarchical video display of its files and folders .
