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Customizing OS X Part 3 of 5 |
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 This is part three of a five part series. I would suggest you start from the beginning if you haven't already, Here is part one.
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We have got one kickass looking desktop now. Now let's get the Finder up to par. First thing we are going to want to start with is the folder icons. For that we go back to the SNOW.E Aqua, and back to the program CandyBar both of which we downloaded in part 1.
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With CandyBar we can change the icons of all kinds of system folders, even change the icons on new folders, and different drives. So let's go ahead and change all the home folders, along with generic folders and drive icons. Just like with the dock, all you have to do is drag the icon in to the corresponding spot, and you are golden. Here are some pics of the system with the new changes:
Spring loaded folders are nice, and they work real well for dragging files & folders. But every now and then, they just are not enough, and you have to move folders around so you can see the origin and destination. Or you have to put the file(s) you are dragging in a temporary place. Well, there is a killer little app that is worth it's weight in gold in that situation, and it's name is XShelf. What it does is, when you are dragging files, folders, pictures, text, or just about anything else you can drag, you can put it on the "Shelf" as a temporary home, while you get the destination ready, or just leave it up there until you need it again. It doesn't actually move the file, until you take it back out of the shelf, so if you decide you don't want to move it, you can just ctrl-click on the item, and choose "remove item" and it will just take it off the shelf, and save you from having to figure out where it was. To install it, just put the program in your applications folder, and double click on it.
| By default, the shelf is on the right side with a nice aqua look - but default is not what we are looking for. So let's go ahead and change that. In the preferences we can change it to metal window, and change the edge it resides at. By default that is the left side, but the top seems like it will be more out of the way when we don't need it. So we will put it at the top. Also put a check in "Hide drawer when inactive" and "Grow as needed". Then under the advanced tab, go ahead and click "Disable dock icon and menu bar." That will change it so that there is no dock icon, or menu bar selections. |
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After that, relaunch XShelf, and enjoy the new look. Now you can drag to the shelf to your hearts content. Of course to have it start every time we log in, we will need to add it to the login items, as described in part 2.
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Now XShelf is in the grey area of customizing, seeing as how it doesn't actually customize, it just adds function, but to that I say "shut up, it's my article, so I'll do what I want to!" But this next step is a true customization, and not just an application that works well with the Finder. For that, let's go back to TinkerTool (installed in part 1). Under the Finder tab we can enable/disable rectangle effects when opening files, show hidden and system files, and add "Quit" item to finder menu. the first and last are great to have on, but that middle one, although cool, kind of makes the system a little ugly, with all the blank icons showing up all over the place, so we'll leave that one unchecked. Then, under the General tab, we can place scroll arrows together at both ends. Which that alone is worth installing TinkerTool for, in my opinion. We can also change the startup and login language, but unless you are using babble fish to read this article, I am going to assume you don't want to do that.
The last thing we are going to do to customize the finder, is use another APE module called MightyMouse. For that you will need APE Manager, as described in Part 1. With MightyMouse, you can change the mouse pointer. Pretty simple, eh? You can change all the different mouse pointers through MightyMouse via it's System Preference pane. For now we are going to use the included pointer sets, but there are plenty available for download: just click on "Get more cursors" from the MightyMouse preference pane. We are going to use the set by Edward O'Rouke IV called White Wedge, because it fits with the look we have made so far. Just click on "import cursors", and choose the set from the Sample Cursors folder.
| The new mouse cursor |
The wait cursor |
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Well, that is all for today, tomorrow we will take a look at customizing Safari. And, as I have done the past 2 days, here is a pic of the Finder after todays fun, and a link to part 4, just to make the girlies squeal.
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July 16 2003, 5:04 PM EDT, by
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Comments:
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| Comment Guy |
7/17/03, 12:14 PM EDT |
COMMENT!!!!!!
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