Whenever Apple releases a new variation of Mac OS X , two thing are certain . First , it will be good than the premature interpretation . secondly , there will be matter about it people are n’t that well-chosen about .
Leopard is no exception , and among the large former complaints have to do with its port : the new Dock , the partially - transparent menu barroom , lined Finder window — in other words , the things you ’ll be await at whenever you ’re using your Mac .
As I did back when Tiger was first exhaust , today I ’m going to take a face at some of the first tools for tweaking Leopard ’s interface . If you ’re one of the people who is n’t totally thrilled with the new look , it ’s potential to make Leopard ’s visual aspect not only bearable , but perhaps even pleasurable .
Note that some of these product are still in growing , so the usual “ use at your own risk ” caveats utilize ; however , I ’ve try out them all on my own Mac without incident . For the cautious , those plan designated with * * alter system data file to work their thaumaturgy ; the others simply qualify obscure preferences .
The Dock
Perhaps the most controversial esthetical change in Leopard is the raw look of the Dock — a 3 - D , reflective “ ledge ” on which icon appear to sit — when positioned on the bottom of the screen . The Leopard Dock has been criticize for being wretched ; for not adhere to Apple ’s own user - interface guideline ; for being visually difficult to use ; and for being optic - confect - for - the - sake - of - eye - confect . If any of these criticisms constitute your own impression , you in all likelihood saw my article excuse how to apply the 2 - calciferol look of the side - climb Dock to the bottom - of - the - concealment version using a couple simple Terminal commands .
But if you ’re not a devotee of Terminal , there are alreadymanyhandy public utility company for making the change with a click or two . Among my favorites are the freeTigerDock 1.0(donations accept ) , which also has an option to “ dim ” hidden software program — a feature I ’ve been using on my own Dock ( thanks to third - party utilities ) for years . instead , if you ’re a fan of Dashboard , the freeDockDoctorwidget lets you choose the 2 - D or 3 - calciferol look with a couple clicks . And Rob Griffiths was kind enough to ameliorate my own AppleScript utilities ( provided in the former clause ) , combining them into a single utility that toggle the Dock ’s appearance each time it ’s go ; you candownload the newfangled version here .
If you do n’t mind the Dock ’s raw 3 - D feel , but you wish you could tweak its details , there are solution for that , as well . For exercise , Mark Allan’sDock Delight * * ( donations accept ) lets you exchange the weird , glow blobs that signal which course of study are presently run with black triangle similar to those used in Tiger ’s Dock . ( If you ’re not afraid of muck with organisation - level file , Silver Mac hasprovided instructionsfor modifying these indicator manually ; you may finda bit of substitute indicatorsonline . )
Another interesting tweak is provided by Elgebar Studios ’ freeDockColor * * , which let you change the color of the 3 - viosterol Dock ’s broody shelf . You just choose the desire color , penetrate on Apply , and then provide your admin - level username and password ; your Dock will be relaunched with its fresh blusher line . DockColor even backs up the original Dock files ; select file cabinet - > Revert To Default resets the Dock to its default appearance .
( If you ’re especially ambitiousness , LeopardDocks.comexplains how to manually customize the look of the 3 - D Dock and put up user - create Dock designs — some attractive , others not so much — for download . )
The menu bar
If the Dock ’s newfangled appearance is Leopard ’s most controversial aesthetic change , the semi - crystalline fare prevention is n’t far behind . The new tone , designed to make the menu bar less distracting , at times make it less usable — fare titles and menu - bar icon can be hard to study with certain Desktop icon .
Using a strong colour , rather than a complex image , as your Desktop desktop helps , but many mass would rather just revert to the white menu bar they ’ve been using for age . Unfortunately , there ’s presently no easygoing and 100 - percent effective manner to do so . you could manually edit your preferent Desktop image so that the top - most 20 pixels of each , when sized fittingly for your Mac ’s display , are white . But that ’s a scuffle .
Two utilities that endeavor to partially automatize this procedure are Eternal Storms Software’sOpaqueMenuBar(donations accept ) and MD Softworks’LeoColorBar(free ) . The former is a background software that , once launched , create a impermanent transcript of your chosen Desktop background , adds the necessary 20 - pixel blanched bar at the top , and then sets that temporary image as the current Desktop backdrop . ( The operation takes a duo seconds after choose an image . ) As long as you have the Desktop preferences set to a specific image with Fill Screen as the layout option , OpaqueMenuBar works well . However , it does n’t work if you ’ve choose the option ( in Desktop preferences ) to change your Desktop picture at a specific time interval , and it may not work properly if you ’ve coiffure other layout options . ( Since OpaqueMenuBar is a background software , you need to expend Activity Monitor to discontinue it . )
LeoColorBar requires more manual elbow grease but provides more alternative . You drag the desired double into the LeoColorBar window , choose the menu - cake background signal color ( for example , white for the traditional Mac o look or grey for a less - bright bar ) , choose your video display options , and then fall into place on Set Desktop .
For those who just want to tap a release to get the elderly Mac OS X menu bar back , I ’m convinced that we ’ll see a simple , one - cluck method acting before too long . Given that Mac OS X automatically disables the menu barroom ’s transparence on sr. Macs that do n’t support CoreImage , it seems there must be a manner to invalid this , um , feature on newer Macs , as well .
Stacks
Likely the most - criticizedfunctionalchange in Leopard is Stacks , the feature film that lets you put a pamphlet in the Dock and then see a graphic display of that folder ’s contents by clicking on the brochure in the Dock . Although Stacks has some benefit , it also has a number of issues that affect its usability . ( I ’ll cover both in my in - profoundness take on Stacks , which should seem later this calendar week on Macworld.com . ) well the biggest stride rearwards , compared to Tiger , is that you’re able to no longer voyage a leaflet ’s content , including the content of subfolders , via the Dock .
Unfortunately , no one has yet get wind a hack or pinch to get this functionality from Leopard ’s Dock . Until someone does — or until Apple regenerate the characteristic — the best you’re able to do is find another mode to access your files . gratefully , there are a number of type O go attention deficit disorder - ons out there that provide similar functionality .
My favorite is Turly’sFinderPop(donations have ) , which lets you navigate , and work with , the contents of a brochure by right - clicking on the folder ’s icon . you’re able to also drop folders into the FinderPop Items pamphlet , which lets you navigate their contents by click in any empty area of the menu ginmill — a fairly close approximation to pop - up Dock menus . ( See the screenshot to the right . ) Unfortunately , the current vent variation of FinderPop does n’t work with Leopard , but a compatible version should be released soon . ( A similar option is Yellow Lemon Software’sFolderGlance . )
Two options that are somewhat like in their basic functionality areOverflowandDragThing . Each give you a pop music - up , pallet - looking window for fast access to data file , folders , and applications . For exemplar , select Overflow ’s Dock icon to get at any folders you ’ve lend to Overflow ; mighty - tick on a pamphlet to sail its content . ( DragThing works likewise and has more feature article than Overflow . ) This want two click instead of the Tiger Dock ’s undivided clink , but it ’s still quicker — and more convenient — than Stacks for those of us who often assume reward of hierarchical Dock menu .
There are also dozens of other utility available for Mac OS X , many of them now compatible with Leopard , that provide hierarchical menus for accessing files and folders . Still , I ’m sure I ’m not alone in bid that this feature was still available directly from the Dock .
The login window
Another minor charge I ’ve heard is with Leopard ’s login window : What ’s with the Time - Machine - inspired space theme ? If you ’d rather have something a bit less , well , spacey , you need to replace the fileDefaultDesktop.jpg , regain in /System / Library / CoreServices , with a likewise - named image of your choosing . alas , as a system - level Indian file , it ’s a flake of a hassle to replace . ( Under older versions of Mac OS X , the login image was n’t a system - level file . ) The easiest root , although not a free one , is Sanity Software ’s $ 5Visage Login * * , which lets you exchange the login background , picture , championship , and substance text ; you may return to the default appearance at any meter .
Icons
Another small pinch in Leopard that some people have n’t embraced is the look of brochure in the Finder . leaflet in general have misplace their 3 - D appearance , and , perhaps more controversially , exceptional folders — those inside your user leaflet , as well as the Applications and Utilities folders — no longer sport coloured , custom ikon for easy recognition ; or else , you get subtle , “ embossed ” recording label .
Miscellaneous tweaks
in conclusion , two other minor change to OS X ’s show have generated complaints : the alternate - dark - and - white - stripe expression of Finder windows in list view and the squared - off corners of the screen . ( Did n’t notice the latter modification ? Neither did I until someone point it out . ) If you ’d rather your inclination views take care like they did in Tiger — solid white — Doug Adams ofDoug ’s AppleScripts for iTunesfame offer a ready to hand AppleScriptover on Mac OS ten Hints . I ’ve turned that into a simple AppleScript utility you candownload here . launch the program and you ’ll be asked if you want to show band in listing view ; tap Yes or No , and the Finder will restart sporting the chosen aspect .
If you ’re not a devotee of Leopard ’s novel square - off screen corners , and would favour the traditional Mac - similar rounded corner , Many Tricks’Displaperturecan restore them ; in fact , you’re able to choose precisely which corners employ which look — rounded or squared — and even adjust the radius of roundedness , make your Mac look like an sometime TV . Unfortunately , your corner stay rounded only while Displaperture is actually running , and if you ’re using Leopard ’s Spaces feature , the alteration move only the current workspace .
