-by Dusty Fields, Mariner Software Graphic Designer
Being a designer, I like to customize my Mac in any way possible to create my own experience. There are many hidden tweaks in Mac OS that can be done using the Terminal App found in Applications – Utilities. Please be careful using Terminal, as misuse could lead to data loss, so please use at your own risk. Here are some of my favorite tweaks easily done in Terminal:
1. Show Library Folder
In Mac OS 10.7 Lion, the Library folder is hidden by default. It is easy to show the Library by default. Launch Terminal and type this:
chflags nohidden ~/Library
Hit enter and your Library folder will now appear in your home directory.
2. Change default PNG format for screenshots
I take a lot of screenshots, and sometimes I want to save them in a different format. Launch Terminal and type the following:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type -string “png”
You can use the following formats in the quotation marks: png, bmp, gif, jpg, pdf, tiff.
Hit enter, then type the following:
killall SystemUIServer
This will reset the Screen Capture process. Now your screenshots will be saved in one of the formats you chose.
3. Save screenshots to another folder
My desktop is already messy, so I like to save them in another folder, like my Pictures folder. Launch Terminal and insert this:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location -string “$HOME/Pictures”
You can replace Pictures with any folder in your home directory. Hit enter and type:
killall SystemUIServer
Now your screenshots will be saved in the folder of your choosing instead of your desktop.
4. Disable drop shadows in screenshots
When taking screenshots of individual windows, there is a nice drop shadow added by default. Even though it looks nice, I don’t always want the shadow there. To turn it off, type the following in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.screencapture disable-shadow -bool true
Hit enter and type:
killall SystemUIServer
Now those shadows are gone for every new screenshot you take.
5. Show iTunes song notifications:
Finally, I always have iTunes running but I want to know what song just started without switching applications. This Terminal tip will display a notification, in the dock, every time a new song begins. Input the following in Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.dock itunes-notifications -bool true
Hit enter and then type:
killall Dock
Now you have iTunes song notifications!
Please note that all these tips have only been tested in Mac OS 10.7 Lion, so please use at your own risk.