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Q&A for power users of Apple hardware and software

Latest Questions

0 votes
1 answers
56 views
Unable to remove Passwords from top menu bar in macOS 15.5
I updated my Mac to new MacOS version (*15.6 (24G84)*). During the MacOS new changes overview tour; I was asked whether to add Password in Menu Bar and that time set it to yes, and now I’m unable to remove it from top menu bar. this was the suggestion I found - Open **System Settings**. - Go to **Co...
I updated my Mac to new MacOS version (*15.6 (24G84)*). During the MacOS new changes overview tour; I was asked whether to add Password in Menu Bar and that time set it to yes, and now I’m unable to remove it from top menu bar. this was the suggestion I found - Open **System Settings**. - Go to **Control Center** from the sidebar. - Scroll down to the **Menu Bar Only** section. - Find **Passwords** in the list. - Click the dropdown next to **Passwords** and set it to "Don't Show in Menu Bar". But there is no such item present on **Menu Bar Only** section; someone can help me how to remove item from menu bar ( see the screenshot, passwords icon is visible ) Control Center
xkeshav (247 rep)
Aug 2, 2025, 06:40 PM • Last activity: Aug 3, 2025, 09:57 AM
15 votes
5 answers
16546 views
How to change the sound output device with keyboard
I would like to be able to change the output device sometimes, for example to switch between headphones and speakers, without having to use the mouse. I've figured out how to focus the 'status menu' area (top-right of screen) with a keyboard shortcut (default is Ctrl + Fn + F8 ), and can select the...
I would like to be able to change the output device sometimes, for example to switch between headphones and speakers, without having to use the mouse. I've figured out how to focus the 'status menu' area (top-right of screen) with a keyboard shortcut (default is Ctrl+Fn+F8), and can select the sound menu. But when I try to select items in that menu, pressing the arrow keys will only alter the volume (even with modifiers like Cmd or Alt). Even page up/page down! How can I access the rest of the menu with the keyboard and change the output device?
David Cook (395 rep)
Feb 4, 2022, 02:23 AM • Last activity: Jul 30, 2025, 05:25 PM
0 votes
2 answers
56 views
Identifying a menu bar icon that looks like a sun
It flashes twice on menu bar on startup and then permanently disappeared. I can't find it again on a fresh reboot. It's best described like a sun (see the example symbol attached below, a circle in the middle and a few lines pointing outwards). I suspect it might be some sort of auto update check on...
It flashes twice on menu bar on startup and then permanently disappeared. I can't find it again on a fresh reboot. It's best described like a sun (see the example symbol attached below, a circle in the middle and a few lines pointing outwards). I suspect it might be some sort of auto update check on boot. Has anyone seen it before? I'm on Sequoia 15.5. I've checked the Login Items, and none of them stand out. Sun from SF Symbol
Zixian Cai (111 rep)
Jun 25, 2025, 02:39 AM • Last activity: Jul 16, 2025, 04:09 PM
0 votes
0 answers
13 views
How to fix menu bar display not being matched to MacBook screen?
My MacBook Pro (14"; Nov 2023; MacOS 14.6) has menu bars for all apps displaying incorrectly. The bar is narrower than it used to be, and the gap in the menu bar for the screen notch is misaligned. Compare the photo to the screenshot in the image below: it's as if the OS thinks the notch is over on...
My MacBook Pro (14"; Nov 2023; MacOS 14.6) has menu bars for all apps displaying incorrectly. The bar is narrower than it used to be, and the gap in the menu bar for the screen notch is misaligned. Compare the photo to the screenshot in the image below: it's as if the OS thinks the notch is over on the left side of screen. I've restarted the computer several times; can't find much online about this error. I don't think it corresponded to an OS upgrade. Any idea how I can fix this? image with aligned photo and screenshot
Drew Steen (101 rep)
Jun 29, 2025, 09:22 PM
0 votes
1 answers
170 views
How to open submenu item in a menu bar item (Through Terminal) - Xcode Macbook
So right now I have... osascript \ -e 'tell application "System Events" to ¬' \ -e 'tell process "Xcode" to ¬' \ -e 'click menu bar item "Product" of menu bar 1' I want to be able to open the submenu item in that menu bar item, but I can't figure it out, and I am trying to do it through Ma...
So right now I have... osascript \ -e 'tell application "System Events" to ¬' \ -e 'tell process "Xcode" to ¬' \ -e 'click menu bar item "Product" of menu bar 1' I want to be able to open the submenu item in that menu bar item, but I can't figure it out, and I am trying to do it through Macbook Terminal. The specififc submenu item is "Run" which is under product on xcode project:
Micah McDuffie (1 rep)
Jan 21, 2023, 07:37 AM • Last activity: Jun 13, 2025, 04:02 PM
7 votes
2 answers
12568 views
How can I hide an app from the dock while keeping it in the menu bar?
There's a messaging app I often use that includes both a menu bar icon (to hide/show the window, as well as indicate how many unread messages there are) as well as the app itself which resides in the dock/launchpad. I want to know if there's a way to hide the app from my dock when the app is running...
There's a messaging app I often use that includes both a menu bar icon (to hide/show the window, as well as indicate how many unread messages there are) as well as the app itself which resides in the dock/launchpad. I want to know if there's a way to hide the app from my dock when the app is running so that I can simply use the menu bar to see if I have any new messages and thus save dock space. I know that this is possible as some of my other apps already do this (e.g. LastPass for Mac ), but is there a way to do this manually, e.g. through the Terminal? I am currently on MacOS Catalina Beta (although I assume the solution should also work for earlier versions too).
Young (188 rep)
Jul 29, 2019, 06:18 AM • Last activity: Jun 2, 2025, 04:50 PM
2 votes
1 answers
546 views
How do I get the "percentage completed" to work on Automator apps?
When I create apps with Automator, they run with the little cog that appears in the top right. When I click the cog it says "0% completed (Run Shell Script)". [This feature is documented sparsely by Apple][1] and I can’t locate a third party example of this and wondered if I can incorporate progress...
When I create apps with Automator, they run with the little cog that appears in the top right. When I click the cog it says "0% completed (Run Shell Script)". This feature is documented sparsely by Apple and I can’t locate a third party example of this and wondered if I can incorporate progress in the menu bar for my scripts. For example, I run a rsync daemon to backup data every week. I have an automator app to run this zsh script.
#!/bin/zsh

echo "Starting. $(date)" >> /Users/admin/Scripts/Automation/rsync/rsync.log
open /Users/admin/Scripts/Automation/rsync/notify_starting.app

rsync -r --delete --exclude 'Data 1' --exclude 'Data 2' /Users/admin/Documents /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --delete /Users/admin/2022 /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --max-size=100m --delete /Users/admin/Desktop /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --delete /Users/admin/out_data /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --delete /Users/admin/WESTERFIELD /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --delete /Users/admin/images/2022 /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --delete /Users/admin/Scripts /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync
rsync -r --max-size=100m --delete /Users/admin /Volumes/TOSHIBA/Backups/rsync

echo "Completed. $(date)" >> /Users/admin/Scripts/Automation/rsync/rsync.log
echo "\n\n" >>  /Users/admin/Scripts/Automation/rsync/rsync.log
open /Users/admin/Scripts/Automation/rsync/notify_completed.app
It takes a while to run, and slows the computer down a little. It would be really nice to see how far it's progressed. I get it might not be possible to know exactly, but if I could even know which line of the rsync commands it's reached that would be a start. Is it possible to change my script to allow for the progess of the programs to change the percentage other than running and done?
Alfie Stoppani (355 rep)
Aug 16, 2022, 03:34 PM • Last activity: May 25, 2025, 08:03 AM
2 votes
3 answers
1640 views
Change how many 'recent' files are shown in Preview's "Open Recent..." menu
I cannot find anything in the preferences to do this, but I would like to be able to lengthen the list that Preview offers in the "Open Recent" menu. Right now it displays the 9 most recent files. I would like it to show at least 20 or so. Is there some secret way to hack this from the command line,...
I cannot find anything in the preferences to do this, but I would like to be able to lengthen the list that Preview offers in the "Open Recent" menu. Right now it displays the 9 most recent files. I would like it to show at least 20 or so. Is there some secret way to hack this from the command line, or is there a setting somewhere that I just haven't been able to find?
reynoldsnlp (135 rep)
Sep 8, 2015, 01:32 PM • Last activity: May 9, 2025, 03:47 PM
3 votes
1 answers
947 views
How to make Menubar visible in full screen but hide in full screen video?
New to Mac, got 14" MacBook Pro 2021 (with notch). macOS 12.5. Want to have Menu bar visible in fullscreen mode (so that notch screenspace would be in use rather than just left out black) BUT at the same time I want menubar gone in fullscreen YouTube videos (for a more immersive experience). I use C...
New to Mac, got 14" MacBook Pro 2021 (with notch). macOS 12.5. Want to have Menu bar visible in fullscreen mode (so that notch screenspace would be in use rather than just left out black) BUT at the same time I want menubar gone in fullscreen YouTube videos (for a more immersive experience). I use Chrome. Is there a setting allowing for that? Thank you!
bige (31 rep)
Jul 23, 2022, 11:49 AM • Last activity: May 3, 2025, 05:10 AM
2 votes
1 answers
102 views
Keyboard shortcut to toggle between analog and digital clock, date, and day of the week
Is there a way to create a shortcut so that I can display the clock differently? I would like to have the option for the menu bar to show only the analog clock without the date or the day of the week: > System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Clock Menu Bar > Time Options: > Digital And I would like...
Is there a way to create a shortcut so that I can display the clock differently? I would like to have the option for the menu bar to show only the analog clock without the date or the day of the week: > System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Clock Menu Bar > Time Options: > Digital And I would like to be able to switch to: System Preferences > Dock & Menu Bar > Clock Menu Bar > Date Options: Show the day of the week Show the date Time Options: Digital I tried to create a shortcut by going to > System Preferences > Keyboard > Shortcuts However, I was not successful with figuring out what I need to change. For an App, I chose System Preferences, but choosing a shortcut for "Show the day of the week" did not work. I tried other ideas, but so far no luck. Any suggestions?
Anna77 (31 rep)
Jan 25, 2022, 12:52 AM • Last activity: Apr 26, 2025, 06:07 AM
2 votes
2 answers
1868 views
Moving macOS Mail App Icon From Dock to the Menu Bar
The Mail app built into macOS isn't the nicest thing in the world, the UI looks dated and Outlook is a much better alternative (for me at least). The problem that I am facing is that I need the macOS Mail app to start at login and be running in the background due to the way [AltStore][1] works. With...
The Mail app built into macOS isn't the nicest thing in the world, the UI looks dated and Outlook is a much better alternative (for me at least). The problem that I am facing is that I need the macOS Mail app to start at login and be running in the background due to the way AltStore works. With Outlook also open, I have two Mail apps open, thus crowding my dock. Is there a way to move the macOS Mail app away from the dock to the menu bar? Or in general, is there a way to move any app from the dock to the menu bar? I use an app called Hidden Bar to collapse and hide some of the menu bar icons, with that, I will be able to completely remove the macOS mail app from my sights, even though it's still running in the background.
SidS (261 rep)
Feb 22, 2021, 05:40 PM • Last activity: Apr 25, 2025, 02:06 AM
1 votes
1 answers
227 views
Display a Mic Volume control setting in the menu bar (on MacOS 15.4.1 / in 2025)
I'm looking for something that allows me to adjust the microphone volume (including but not just mute/unmute and showing the current status) similarly to how MacOS does it for the speakers within the menu bar. This is basically the same question as in https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/365441...
I'm looking for something that allows me to adjust the microphone volume (including but not just mute/unmute and showing the current status) similarly to how MacOS does it for the speakers within the menu bar. This is basically the same question as in https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/365441/display-mic-volume-in-the-menu-bar but by now none of the solutions provided in there don't work/exist anymore. Does anyone have a solution that still works in 2025 aka on MacOS 15.4.1?
K. Frank (113 rep)
Apr 22, 2025, 08:18 AM • Last activity: Apr 22, 2025, 11:24 AM
63 votes
7 answers
24170 views
Can the spacing of menu bar apps be modified in macOS Big Sur and later?
It's much too wide, which is a problem if you use a lot of menu bar apps.
It's much too wide, which is a problem if you use a lot of menu bar apps.
Hobbsworth (1629 rep)
Nov 13, 2020, 05:13 PM • Last activity: Apr 16, 2025, 05:50 PM
1 votes
2 answers
6872 views
How to Disable Chrome File menu bar from auto-hiding
Is there a way to preserve the bar at the top of Chrome that has File, Edit, View, History etc, without it auto-hiding? I find this extremely annoying that my window size changes with this auto-hide. I'd like to keep those menu items visible at all times. "Automatically hide & show the menu bar" is...
Is there a way to preserve the bar at the top of Chrome that has File, Edit, View, History etc, without it auto-hiding? I find this extremely annoying that my window size changes with this auto-hide. I'd like to keep those menu items visible at all times. "Automatically hide & show the menu bar" is not enabled in System Preferences. running OSX 10.13.6 with Chrome build 96.0.4664.110
Kalamalka Kid (1428 rep)
Jan 9, 2022, 12:40 AM • Last activity: Apr 11, 2025, 09:57 PM
1 votes
1 answers
258 views
Display Selected Audio Input/Output device name in menu bar
Is there a method of displaying which audio input/output device is selected, without needing to click the sound icon in the menu-bar? I'd like to have it displayed permanently in the menu-bar and have it display whatever is actively selected.
Is there a method of displaying which audio input/output device is selected, without needing to click the sound icon in the menu-bar? I'd like to have it displayed permanently in the menu-bar and have it display whatever is actively selected.
alan (19 rep)
Mar 5, 2024, 12:17 AM • Last activity: Apr 8, 2025, 07:08 PM
4 votes
1 answers
1800 views
Can macOS Monterey alter the text input menu to show only flag icon?
In pre-Monterey versions, the text input menu item, if enabled, only showed a representative flag icon. As of macOS Monterey, it shows the flag icon _and_ a textual description. This unnecessarily crowds the menu bar, and issue further compounded by the reduced space available on the MacBook Pro M1...
In pre-Monterey versions, the text input menu item, if enabled, only showed a representative flag icon. As of macOS Monterey, it shows the flag icon _and_ a textual description. This unnecessarily crowds the menu bar, and issue further compounded by the reduced space available on the MacBook Pro M1 with the notch. Screenshot attached. _Please note, I'm not making any kind of political statement. I'm a linguist specializing in Slavic languages._ Language input menu I can solve the crowding issue with Bartender - that's fine. Is there a hidden preference to revert to the flag-only display, or some other workaround to omit the long text in the menu bar?
FluffulousChimp (143 rep)
Mar 1, 2022, 12:04 PM • Last activity: Mar 7, 2025, 09:16 AM
1 votes
3 answers
1647 views
My Menu bar has got very thin in Sonoma and I can't change it
[![Menu bar that's too thin][1]][1] [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/bZB729WU.png I've upgraded to Sonoma and since then, my menu bar is too thin for the content - as per the above. I've tried changing the menu bar size in Accessibility/Display but this had no effect. I can't find anyone who seems to have...
Menu bar that's too thin I've upgraded to Sonoma and since then, my menu bar is too thin for the content - as per the above. I've tried changing the menu bar size in Accessibility/Display but this had no effect. I can't find anyone who seems to have had the same problem and whilst it doesn't _really_ matter it's very annoying as I can't see things in the bar properly. Any ideas? Thanks!
Pete Storey (111 rep)
Sep 10, 2024, 12:38 PM • Last activity: Feb 22, 2025, 11:08 AM
0 votes
1 answers
49 views
A solution for 1-click toggle of 3 settings for showing/hiding things like dock and menu bar on screen
I need a solution to change settings in this screenshot with 1 click; [![settings to change][1]][1] Basically those 3 settings make your desktop screen empty on macOS but I don't need it empty always so a 1-click toggle would be better for me. Solution can be command line script or an app. Thank you...
I need a solution to change settings in this screenshot with 1 click; settings to change Basically those 3 settings make your desktop screen empty on macOS but I don't need it empty always so a 1-click toggle would be better for me. Solution can be command line script or an app. Thank you.
Ünsal Korkmaz (121 rep)
Feb 15, 2025, 06:51 PM • Last activity: Feb 15, 2025, 10:30 PM
7 votes
2 answers
3973 views
How to disable Viber icon in top menu bar on Mac OS
Viber 12.8.1 on Mac OS has no option to turn off the icon in the top menu. How this icon can be disabled using the terminal? I got rid of the Skype icon in the top menu with the following command: LC_ALL=C sed -i '' -e "s/this._tray =/\\/\\/is._tray =/" -e "s/this._trayBaseToolTip =/return;\\/\\/yBa...
Viber 12.8.1 on Mac OS has no option to turn off the icon in the top menu. How this icon can be disabled using the terminal? I got rid of the Skype icon in the top menu with the following command: LC_ALL=C sed -i '' -e "s/this._tray =/\\/\\/is._tray =/" -e "s/this._trayBaseToolTip =/return;\\/\\/yBaseToolTip =/" /Applications/Skype.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar There may be a way for Viber to do that.
Yuri (71 rep)
May 18, 2020, 11:58 AM • Last activity: Feb 15, 2025, 10:17 AM
5 votes
3 answers
3775 views
Show current calendar week in menu bar?
Is there a way to get macOS to display the current calendar week in the menu bar, maybe as part of the date or as an additional information elsewhere in the menu bar?
Is there a way to get macOS to display the current calendar week in the menu bar, maybe as part of the date or as an additional information elsewhere in the menu bar?
greenforest (848 rep)
Oct 5, 2018, 08:57 AM • Last activity: Feb 6, 2025, 03:51 PM
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