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1. App To Customize Mac Desktop Background
2. Microsoft Remote Desktop App Mac
3. App To Customize Mac Desktop Wallpaper
4. Customize Desktop Icons
5. App To Customize Mac Desktop Free
6. App To Customize Mac Desktop Computer

Make your Mac invincible

Without a doubt, the menu bar is one of Mac’s great features. It’s condensed, easy to tap into on the fly, and displays much-needed information in real time.

But, with every new icon app added, things become a little more cluttered and usability takes another hit. Fortunately, it’s possible to edit the menu bar to rearrange and remove icons so that it’s able to suit your needs at any given moment. Read on for the best ways to make the menu bar on Mac truly yours.

A tool that perfects menu bar

App To Customize Mac Desktop Background

Rethink the menu bar with this app. Bartender customizes one of the main parts of Mac's interface, efficiently.

How to rearrange items in menu bar

How much freedom you have to rearrange items in menu bar depends on which version of macOS you’re running. The users of macOS Sierra and later definitely have more creative license here than others. And if you are not there yet, it’s time to upgrade to the newest macOS anyway.

Rearranging menu items in macOS

To move an icon in the menu bar, hold Command (cmd), then click and hold the icon to drag it across the bar. Simple.

There are no restrictions here — feel free to move icons anywhere you see fit. Don’t like the clock all the way over there on the right-hand side? Drag it to somewhere more suitable. Want to place the Setapp icon over to the area of the bar once reserved for first-party apps? Do it!

The only icon that cannot be tampered with is the Notification Center. Apple has decided this must remain in the far right corner of the menu, which is fair enough — it looks good there.

Rearranging menu items in OS X versions (El Capitan and older)

Movement of icons in old versions of macOS is reserved for selected apps only: Bluetooth, audio, Time Machine, WiFi, battery, clock, and user switching. Spotlight and Notification Center must stay put, as must all third-party apps.

To move icons around within the designated area, once again hold Command, then click and hold the icon to drag it.

How to remove icons from the top bar on Mac

If there are items in the menu bar that you feel don’t belong there, hold Command, click on the icon, and drag it outside of the menu bar.

Note: this only works for first-party icons.

It is possible to remove third-party icons from the top bar on Mac by clicking on them and selecting “Quit” or “Close,” but this will stop the app from working until you reopen it.

Some apps give the option to remove icons from the top bar on Mac in their settings: [chosen app] > Preferences. However, a lot of apps won’t. To fully customize which icons appear in the menu bar, you should use a third-party app like Bartender.

If you’ve removed the first-party app and you’d like it back on the menu, it can be re-enabled in System Preferences.

How to add icons to the top bar on Mac

If you’re missing a specific system icon in the Mac’s menu bar, you can add it through System Preferences. For instance, to enable the Language icon, select Language & Region in the preference pane, click Input Sources, and check the box next to “Show Input menu in menu bar.”

Add menu bar extras

Because the menu options like Clock and Ink can’t be found in System Preferences, you might need to use the System folder as well:

1. Open Finder.
2. Select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
3. Type a path: /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras.
4. Double-click an item and it will instantly appear in your menu bar.

You can easily remove any of the icons by holding Command and dragging it outside of the menu bar as described above.

How to customize and tidy Mac menu bar

It’s possible to change the look of the default menu bar items in System Preferences and third-party apps’ ones in their respective preferences. Most of the time, you’ll be able to at least switch the color to black and white.

Change how the date and time are displayed in the menu bar

In the right corner of your menu bar, click on date and time to Open Date & Time Preferences. Go to the Clock tab and unlock the preferences by entering your administrator password, so that you can make changes. To customize the look of the clock, choose between two different time display options: Digital or Analog. You can also tick the boxes for “Show date” and “Show the day of the week.”

To instantly toggle between different display options, click on date and time in the menu bar and choose “View as Analog” or “View as Digital.”

How to use your battery status on Mac

Keeping track of your battery life from the menu bar takes a few simple actions and yet is vital to Mac’s performance.

Click on the battery icon and tick Show percentage to see how much battery power you have left. In the same drop-down menu, you can check the programs that are using significant power in case your battery is draining too fast. To optimize battery usage, select “Open Energy Saver Preferences” and adjust sleep settings.

Toggle between fast user switching icons

There are three different options on how the Fast User Switching menu can be displayed in your Mac’s top bar – as a full name, account name or icon. Here’s how you do the customization:

1. Click on the icon and open Users & Groups Preferences.
2. Enter your password to unlock.
3. Select Login Options in the bottom left corner of the Users & Groups.
4. Go to “Show fast user switching menu” and pick one of the options.
5. Untick the box if you prefer to remove the icon from the menu bar.

Show Wi-Fi status in the menu bar

To enable the Wi-Fi icon in your Mac’s top bar, go to System Preferences and select Network. Tick the box next to “Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar.”

How to replace menu bar app icons

If you want to have custom icons in your Mac’s menu bar, there’s a way to replace the default ones. To change the icon of a third-party app, find it in Applications, right-click to open a context menu, and choose “Show Package Contents.” Go to Resources folder to find the defaults – these can be used as templates for the new icons. Once you have a custom icon ready, simply copy it into the same Resources folder.

The same works for system icons, except you won’t find all of them in Applications. Here’s the path for you to take: Hard Disk > System > Library > CoreServices > Menu Extras. Once you’ve found the item you need, click on “Show Package Contents” and navigate to the icon via [MENUITEM.menu] > Contents > Resources.

In both cases, it’s a good idea to create backups of the default icons before replacing them – just in case you’ll need them later.

Hide menu bar items

One low-key feature on Mac is the ability to auto-hide menu bar. To do this, open System Preferences > General. Check the option to “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” and the menu bar will immediately disappear.

To get the menu bar to show up again, simply move the cursor to the top of the screen and hold it there for a second. Now you can access the menu whenever you need it and enjoy an extra bit of screen real estate when you don’t.

Customizing the menu bar with Bartender

If you want more control over how the menu bar looks and what it does, you should consider using the Bartender app.

Bartender lets you hide icons without quitting and rearrange icons in a way that better suits how you use the menu bar — something particularly useful if you’re running an older version of macOS.

App icons can be displayed when updating, shown in the Bartender Bar only, or hidden completely and accessed easily using a built-in search function. It’s even possible to toggle through and activate items using keyboard navigation.

If you’re someone that prefers a minimalist look, the app gives you the option to remove the Bartender menu item, leaving you with a crisp, clean menu bar.

Overall, the Mac menu bar is there to help you improve your productivity by giving you quick access to the apps and tools you need. Using the tips above, you can customize the menu bar in a way that works for you. Best of all, you can get full access to Bartender and over 150 more high-quality macOS apps on Setapp, with a 7-day free trial to get you started. So why not get your menu bar organized now?

Over the years, Apple has made several changes to its interface, and all are amazing. Yet, people like to tweak macOS and customize it to their liking.

If you are among them, this post is just for you. Here, we will explain how you can customize your Mac even with System Integrity Protection (SIP) enabled.

What is System Integrity Protection?

System Integrity Protection (SIP) is a security technology introduced by Apple in OS X and higher versions. This security feature prevents malicious software from altering protected files and folders.

Before this feature, the root user was able to access the system folder and any app on Mac. However, with this feature enabled the access has been restricted.

Now, that’s come back to how to customer your MacBook. So, here are some simple tips and tricks for macOS customization.

How to Personalize your Mac and Quickly Change its Appearance?

Customizing macOS, the way you want is exciting and fun. To make it your own, you can use third-party tools or can visit dedicated sites. But we will not talk about them. In this article, we will learn how to use what Apple provides to personalize Mac.

For this tutorial, I’ll be using macOS Catalina 10.15. Using these steps, you can make changes to another version of Mac too. Now, let’s begin customizing the MacBook.

Before, that if you want to know how to clean Mac and keep it optimized. Readout the previous post on boost your mac performance with software

Changing Wallpaper Automatically

When it comes to changing desktop wallpaper, I am always excited. Having a new wallpaper each time I see the desktop or unlock my system is great. To change wallpaper in Mac, follow the steps below:

1. Click the Apple icon > System Preferences, optimize your mac
2. Look for Desktop & Screen Saver option and double click to open.
3. Here, under Dynamic Desktop, select a wallpaper image and checkmark the option Change picture. If you prefer, you can change the default duration and can also get them in random order by selecting the Random order box.
4. To keep things managed, use a specified folder where you save all wallpaper images. This way, you can use the new images also. As a Desktop & Screen Saver pane, always keep them updated.

That’s it, this way you can change the desktop wallpaper and can customize your macOS.

Activating Screensaver via Hot Corners

Microsoft Remote Desktop App Mac

Using the above steps, you can change the wallpaper, but what about the ScreenSaver that you see when the screen is locked?

There’s a way to customize that too. To do so, under the Desktop and Screen Saver window, click the Screen Saver tab.

Here select the Screen Saver you wish to use and click on Hot Corner.

Hot Corners is a feature in macOS using which you can invoke certain actions from the corners. It can be launching a screen saver, Notification Center, etc.

To activate the desired feature, move the mouse to defined corners.

Neatly Organize Dock

Dock on your Mac can get quickly cluttered. Therefore, if you want to keep it organized, make some space between apps. For these spacers, the following command can be used. With the help of it, you can create an invisible tile and make space on the Dock.

To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Open Terminal from Finder
2. Enter:
   defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add ‘{“tile-type”=”spacer-tile”;}’; killall Dock and press Enter
3. Once the command is executed to bring changes into the Dock will disappear for a moment.

You will now see a neat and organized Dock with space.

If you want to change the theme from light to dark or you want to highlight text in yellow, purple, pink, etc. follow the steps below:

1. Click Apple logo > System Preferences > General.
   
2. Here from Appearance, select the theme, change Accent color, Highlight color, and all.
3. Using these various options, you can change the appearance and can customize your Mac.

Alter Dock Position, Hide It, and Add Dock MagnificationWant a magnified Dock? Yes, follow the steps below:

1. Click Apple Logo > System Preferences > Dock
   
2. Here select the box next to Magnification.
   
3. From this window itself, you get options to change Dock position, appearance, and several other options.

Ways to Customize Menu Bar on Mac

The menu bar is not only for extra information, but you can use it to do some creative things also. Let’s see what you can do with the Menu Bar on Mac.

Add Seconds and Date to Time

Whether you want to display the date along with time or want to change the time from Digital to Analog, you can do it all in seconds. Follow the steps to learn how to do it.

1. Click the current time displayed at the top bar > Open Date & Time Preferences
2. From the Date & Time window, you can change the time if incorrect. To change time, click the lock icon and set date and time formats or use Language and Region Preferences.
   However, if it is accurate, let’s move to the Clock tab.
3. Change the clock from Digital to Analog, use a 24-hour clock, or make any changes you want.

Save Energy, Optimize Battery

App To Customize Mac Desktop Wallpaper

Change the display turn off time when in idle state.

Put the hard disk to sleep and make other changes via the Energy Saver Menu.

To open it head to Apple Logo > System Preferences > Energy Saver.

Setting Personal Preferences

Set your presets to change app icons, adjust spotlight, and much more.

Adjust Spotlight Searches

Want to hide private files from being searched follow the steps below:

1. System Preferences > Spotlight
2. Privacy tab
   
3. Hit + button to add a folder or entire disc you don’t want to hide.

Moreover, adjust the way Spotlight displays results.

Changing App Icons

For this, you will need to download an icon.

Once you have it follow the steps below:

1. Select the download .jpeg or .png and open it with Preview
2. Hit Edit menu > Select All.
3. Copy the selected region. Make sure you are using a .png with a transparent background
4. Look for the app your wish to modify
5. Right-click > Get Info
6. Choose the small app icon in the top left and press Command + V

This way, you can change the app icon.

Customize Desktop Icons

To remove the custom icon, right-click the app icon > Get Info > select the small icon and hit Delete.

App To Customize Mac Desktop Free

That’s it using these simple steps you can easily customer your macOS and have all the fun. This way, you can even impress your friends and boast new ways to customize macOS.

We hope you enjoyed these customization tips and will use them. If you have some different tips, please share it in the comments box. To stay informed about such information, connect with us on our social network, and subscribe to blog updates.

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App To Customize Mac Desktop Computer