Filed under: Hacks, Internet Tools, Terminal Tips
Safari 4 hidden preferences
There's quite a debate going on in the Mac web over Safari 4's new user interface. Personally, I think the new tab implementation is hideous, so I was glad to see that Caius Durling has discovered a bevy of hidden preferences for Safari 4.With a few quick Terminal commands you can restore sanity to your tabs, bring back the old URL completion behavior, remove CoverFlow from the Bookmarks view, and few other neat tricks. On the other hand, if crazy tabs float your boat, they're easy enough to restore in the same way.
[via Download Squad]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
randyharris said 6:07PM on 2-25-2009
Right now I prefer Safari 3 tabs, however, because the Safari 4 tabs give more viewing space for the webpage I'm going to give them a shot.
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Jesse said 6:14PM on 2-25-2009
So basically, you can make Safari 4 just like Safari 3. Yay.
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Rick said 9:00AM on 2-27-2009
And I thought I was the only cranky person who didn't like change thrust upon them...
Funny how much we love Apple and evangelize how they can do no wrong, but boy can we figure out how to undo their upgrade features in a flash!
I haven't tried Safari 4 yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to appreciate quite a few of these tips.
There are more than a few OS X features I have disabled or modified with a plug-in or hack to make it more like OS 9, and continue to do so. In fact, I waited two years to switch to OS X because initially it seemed was crippled. Only a dying Wall Street PowerBook forced me into a TiBook and OS X. Don't use Dashboard, Widgets, Expose, Spaces, Cover Flow in iTunes, or Column View in the Finder to this day. To me, some of these are solutions without problems, and they haven't proven themselves to be useful, necessary or even quicker.
I'm a firm believer that an upgrade (or update) is not always better. But change is inevitable and eventually you gotta get onboard, like it or not. And we're all different, so maybe a lot of people like the new stuff.
Guess that makes me a reluctant Luddite....
Andrei said 7:18PM on 2-25-2009
Am I the only one that doesn't hate having the tabs on the top?
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Andre said 7:39PM on 2-25-2009
I liked the look of the tabs on top, and the extra screen real-estate, but I didn't like having to move my mouse all the way to the top right to create a new tab - a double-click in the blank tab area works for me. Plus to switch between them, the old way is less mouse-travel.
Fuzzmanmatt said 6:16PM on 2-25-2009
You can make the interface just like Safari 3, the underlying code is different, and a load better.
I see the new tabs sticking on Windows, but on the Mac they're counterintuitive.
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Austen said 6:16PM on 2-25-2009
The new tabs are different, and they'll take some getting used to. But they definitely do free up some space and they make more sense.
Maybe we'll see this tab style come to the finder someday?
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Raul Riera said 7:34PM on 2-25-2009
That would be nice
MarkA said 6:19PM on 2-25-2009
I'm guessing someone's not going to like Google Chrome when it comes to Mac :)
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Jesse said 11:48AM on 2-26-2009
I love the new safari. I think the new tabs are great, they use a lot less space than the old way. I only use the bookmarks bar, so cover-flow hasn't bothered me (but I don't like it). I like the new "top sites", but I do NOT like that I can't specify what sites appear.
Overall, I'm very happy with the new Safari.
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Luigi193 said 6:24PM on 2-25-2009
iHated the look of the tabs when I first saw them, but after using it for a few days I love the increased view, and can actually stand the look!!!! I really like them now... weird...
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boisro said 6:34PM on 2-25-2009
Wow, hideous? Really? I think the new tabs are a fantastic idea. It is one of my favorite features of Chrome.
Having the tabs on the top makes more sense (everything below the tab is changed by the tab, instead of having a changing location bar that does not seem associated with the tab) and it provides more real estate for actual web page viewing. Far be it for me to dictate what your preferences should be, but I for one am really glad for this feature.
I would like to see the Safari 3 progress bar return however.
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Risto T said 12:35AM on 2-26-2009
the missing blue progress bar is a bug
the progress bar inside the address bar is listed as a feature for safari 4 on the apple website, and therefore having it missing IS a bug.
a UI consists of actions and feedback
there really is not much more to it
the blue progress bar is the primary piece of feedback for a browser UI
and apple got it right by placing it IN the url bar
it is one of the best things about safari
everything else is bells and whistles
and i believe leaving it out was an oversight on someone's part
imagine a gas station where they had a spinner instead of a display that showed you how many gallons you have put in as you're gassing up
the added the spinner is nice
for example the iphone safari has both a spinner and a progress bar
but it does not replace a progress bar
PS
where the heck has "snap back" gone?
it is also still listed as a feature on the apple site but i don't see it in the browser..
Is there an official list of known issues?
of course not.. this is apple after all
Gary Sarff said 6:43PM on 2-25-2009
I'm glad the hidden preferences site details all the options. Maybe I'm just old, "Hey you kids! Get off of my lawn!" but all the screenshots and videos of safari 4 and having it now, I pretty much hate all the changes, topsites, coverflow for history, tabs at the top, completion, etc. I've never used coverflow in iTunes and don't like it much on my iPhone either. Must be old-fashioned. I hope these Safari4Debug preferences or their equivalents remain when Safari 4 is finalized. The zooming thing is cool though.
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Dano said 6:43PM on 2-25-2009
I've become more accustomed to the tabs already too, and honestly prefer them I think at this point. I've changed the setting to allow the old progress bar behavior though because I did prefer that to the swirling circle (useless - I know its loading...I want to know page progress!). The only complaint is the lack of a common "x" to close tabs - since the tabs adjust in size with the closure of each tab, there's no one place I can park my cursor and just click them all gone (I know Cmd-W will still work though).
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Kirk said 7:41PM on 2-25-2009
You can still use the close window widget to close all of the tabs at once.
Meridimus said 6:48PM on 2-25-2009
I think what you're meant to do is remove your bookmark toolbar, this way it looks a lot nicer and less cluttered. Google Chrome is great on Windows, I cannot wait for it on Mac. S
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Dan said 6:49PM on 2-25-2009
The tabs are great, I am all for more browser space which is a huge benefit. I have had no problems at all adapting. Change is good
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Johnny Thrash said 10:46PM on 2-25-2009
I LOVE the new location of the tabs. It reduces the UI and gives me more of the web.
1 thing everyone must understand is that every 5 or 6 years a dramatic change comes to the way our applications work.
That's just the way it is and this is truly a welcome change.
WTFrank said 6:52PM on 2-25-2009
I like the new interface. I didn't like Tabs until Safari 4, they were cumberome and in the way on my limited laptop real estate. I really love the cover flow and having my preferred 12 sites pinned to it. The blue star when there is an update is great. My productivity has increased.
It took 30 seconds to figure it all out, very intuitive, no issues in the two days I've used it. I'm required to use several platforms so I'm not stuck to one mindset like most Windows folks are.
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