15 Ways to Customize the macOS Interface

Standard Settings

1. Wallpaper

The easiest way to customize is to change the boring wallpaper. If you have multiple desktops, you can install different ones for each.

Open System Preferences, then "Desktop and Screen Saver" or simply right-click on the desktop and select "Change Desktop Background". Select the desired category of images in the sidebar, then click on one of the images.

2. Screensaver

Screensaver that will turn on when idle Mac, is also quite easy to install and change to your liking.

Open Settings → Desktop & Screensaver, switch to the Screensaver tab. Check the box "Show splash screen" and set the required interval. Below you can turn on the display of the clock, and by clicking on the preview, you can immediately check how the screensaver will look in full screen mode.

3. Memoji on lock screen

If you have macOS Monterey or later, in addition to static profile pictures, you can install your own animated Memoji sticker that will respond to your password.

To do this, go to "Settings" → "Users and groups", click on the avatar and select the desired option.

4. Lock screen message

You can place text on the lockscreen. This will be useful if you are away from your work computer and want to leave a message to your colleagues. And also useful in case of loss or theft of a laptop, if you add contact information.

Go to Settings → Security & Privacy and on the General tab, enable the option "Show a message when the screen is locked". Here, click "Set blocking message" and enter the desired text.

5. Appearance Dock

The default settings for the Dock are not too extensive, but still allow you to set the appearance and behavior.

Go to Settings → Menu Bar & Dock. Choose the size, zoom and effect of the Dock, set the position of the panel, if desired, activate automatic hiding and showing the last running applications.

6. Color accents and window tinting

Highlight colors, buttons, and other standard macOS interface elements are designed in the same style. But these accents are easy to change and at least slightly transform the system. The same goes for window tinting when they are tinted to match the color of the wallpaper.

Open Settings → General and find the color you want. Separately, you can select a shade for highlighting and enable the "Allow wallpaper tinting in windows" option.

7. Sound scheme

macOS has different themes of sound effects that accompany various actions on the system. If you periodically change the scheme, this will also bring variety to the work.

Go to "Settings" → "Sound" and in the "Sound Effects" tab, select the theme you want.

Applications and utilities

1. Unsplash

If standard desktop backgrounds are not enough, then the free Unsplash application will provide you with a bottomless source of excellent wallpapers from the same name. resource.

After installation, you just need to select a collection and the frequency of change, and then just watch the magic.

2. Vanilla or Bartender

The menu bar accumulates a lot of app icons over time, ruining the look and making it hard to find the right ones. They, of course, can be removed by holding Cmd and dragging them outside the line. But you can still use utilities that hide unnecessary elements.

Free Vanilla will allow you to break all the icons into two categories: the first ones are always displayed, the second ones - only by clicking on the "Expand" button. The paid program Bartender has many more options for appearance and behavior, but essentially does the same thing.

Download Vanilla →

Buy Bartender →

3. Obersicht

Übersicht helps you add widgets directly to your desktop.

To do this, just install the application and download your favorite options from the gallery. A lot of different information panels are available there: from calendars and clocks to weather and system information.

Download Ubersicht →

And this application is useful for owners of overloaded desktops. With the help of HiddenMe, you can hide all files, folders and icons in one click so as not to be distracted by them or, for example, make a beautiful screenshot. Also, by clicking, the content is easy to return to its place.

Hidden settings and tricks

1. Number of Launchpad icons

By default, app icons in the Launchpad menu are quite large, if not gigantic. Because of this, very few of them fit on the screen. Luckily, the number of icons is easy to customize with special commands.

Open "Terminalfrom the Applications folder → Utilities or through a Spotlight search, and then use the following commands, changing the numbers to what you want:

1. To change the number of columns:

defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-columns -int 12; killall Dock

2. To change the number of lines:

defaults write com.apple.dock springboard-rows -int 7; killall Dock

3. To return to default values:

defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-rows; defaults delete com.apple.dock springboard-columns; defaults write com.apple.dock ResetLaunchPad -bool TRUE; killall Dock

2. Dock Acceleration

To save screen space, some users enable auto-hide the Dock in Settings or by pressing Option + Cmd + D. This is quite convenient, the panel does not take up space and appears only when you hover over the bottom border of the screen. There is only one minus here - Dock leaves slowly, making you wait.

To fix this, just open the "Terminal" from the "Programs" → "Utilities" folder and paste the following command:

defaults write com.apple.dock autohide-time-modifier -float 0.1; killall Dock

The numbers are the time in seconds. If you want to return the standard value, set 0.7.

3. Adding Separators to the Dock

With a large number of icons in the Dock, it is difficult to navigate. The situation would be corrected by separators, but regular means are not provided for this. You can get out of the situation with a special command that will add space the size of one icon.

Launch the "Terminal" from the "Programs" → "Utilities" folder and paste the following command:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-apps -array-add '{tile-type="spacer-tile";}';killall Dock

Repeat input as many times as you want to create separators. To remove "dummies" it is enough to throw them out of the panel like a normal application.

4. Change icons of any applications

Some apps have a built-in icon replacement feature to freshen up the look. However, this can be done in any program - even if there is no such option.

To do this, open the icon or picture in the standard Preview application. Select everything by pressing Cmd + A, and copy the contents by pressing Cmd + C.

Right-click on the app in the Dock and select Show in Finder.

Once again, right-click on the icon in the opened folder and find "Properties".

Select the icon by clicking on it and press Cmd + V to replace it with the image you copied earlier.

Restart the application and the Dock icon will also update.