Filed under: Mac 101
Mac 101: The Menu Bar
Welcome back to Mac 101, our series of tips for new and novice Mac users.In the Mac operating system, the term "menu bar" refers to the the horizontal bar at the top of the screen that generally has a little picture of an apple on the left end, the time of day on the right and words like "File", "Edit", "Format" and so on in-between. Found it? Good, because understanding how this bar works is essential to getting the best out of your Mac.
In this bar, there are two constants: one is the apple, on the far left, and the other is Spotlight on the far right. Clicking the Apple logo on the left gives you access to all the vital functions of your computer, like Sleep, Restart, and Shut Down, as well as the "About This Mac" window and the option to check for software updates.
Save for the apple, the left side of this bar will change depending on which application you have selected. For you switchers, it's similar to the bar that is found at the top of each window in Windows, but cuts down on the space each window occupies by having all applications use the same menu bar. The drop down menus perform the same functions as Windows' menus, but like Windows, will be different depending on which application you currently have selected.
You can tell which application you're in by looking at the space to the right of the menu bar apple, where it will say your current program's name (Safari, Mail, Firefox, or iPhoto depending on what window you've most recently clicked). The Preferences settings for the application, where you can set the time for Safari to clear cookies, the default font for TextEdit, and so on, are in this drop down menu.
The right side of the menu bar is less mutable, but much more easily cluttered. For switchers, this part is a sort of cross between Windows' Quick Launch bar and the notification bar. The second constant in the menu bar is found on the far right: a little magnifying glass. Clicking it pops up a search field, giving you access to Spotlight, the program that allows you to search your whole computer.
The rest of the space on this side is where you will find little icons, or "menu extras", such as the system clock. The menu extras can vary, but usually you'll you'll find icons for the volume, wireless internet access, Bluetooth setup and the like. A few of the icons will change depending on their status; for example, the volume icon will have sound waves next to it when sound is on, and the Wi-Fi icon will gray out some of its bars when reception is bad. These native menu extras can be rearranged by clicking and dragging while holding down the Command key, or you can drag them off the bar to make them disappear completely in a puff of smoke (to make them reappear, you'll have to go into the relevant section of System Preferences and recheck "Show [menu extra] in menu bar").
Sometimes you might install applications that will add more menu extras to the fray. You cannot rearrange or delete these with the Command key, but if you want them off, the "Show [menu extra] in menu bar" check box can usually be found in each application's Preferences menu.
That's all for the menu bar! I hope this was helpful.
The right side of the menu bar is less mutable, but much more easily cluttered. For switchers, this part is a sort of cross between Windows' Quick Launch bar and the notification bar. The second constant in the menu bar is found on the far right: a little magnifying glass. Clicking it pops up a search field, giving you access to Spotlight, the program that allows you to search your whole computer.
The rest of the space on this side is where you will find little icons, or "menu extras", such as the system clock. The menu extras can vary, but usually you'll you'll find icons for the volume, wireless internet access, Bluetooth setup and the like. A few of the icons will change depending on their status; for example, the volume icon will have sound waves next to it when sound is on, and the Wi-Fi icon will gray out some of its bars when reception is bad. These native menu extras can be rearranged by clicking and dragging while holding down the Command key, or you can drag them off the bar to make them disappear completely in a puff of smoke (to make them reappear, you'll have to go into the relevant section of System Preferences and recheck "Show [menu extra] in menu bar").
Sometimes you might install applications that will add more menu extras to the fray. You cannot rearrange or delete these with the Command key, but if you want them off, the "Show [menu extra] in menu bar" check box can usually be found in each application's Preferences menu.
That's all for the menu bar! I hope this was helpful.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Khalid said 6:59PM on 8-13-2009
Is there a way to access the menu bar by key board? I am a new switcher and I am used to pressing Alt then navigating with the arrows.
Reply
Jordan said 7:05PM on 8-13-2009
Your best bet would be to switch from a Mac to Windows 7.
Casey Johnston said 7:12PM on 8-13-2009
Khalid, if your keyboard uses standard function keys (and not the special functions Apple sometimes assigns to them, like up/down brightness, volume, etc.) pressing Ctrl + F2 will put you in the menu bar, and then you can use the arrow keys to move around.
Gene C said 2:08PM on 8-14-2009
If you go to the Universal Access Preferences panel, there are options for full keyboard access to all menu items.
eggman said 2:27AM on 8-15-2009
if 'show help menu' under the keyboard shortcuts menu in the keyboard pref pane is enabled, cmd+shift+? will be helpful
Nate said 12:25PM on 9-14-2009
System Preferences->Keyboard->Keyboard Shortcuts->Keyboard & Text Input-> check "Move focus to menu bar"
daan.de.vries said 7:20PM on 8-13-2009
And if your keyboard does use the apple function keys the shortcut will be fn+ctrl+f2.
Reply
Casey Johnston said 7:22PM on 8-13-2009
That doesn't work for me, weirdly, but it makes sense that it should.
Jason said 11:03PM on 8-13-2009
Does anyone know a way to condense the extra items, ala Windows XP? I have quite a few and a program that would help hide those that are inactive would kick major butt.
Thanks!
Reply
Jordan said 8:02PM on 8-13-2009
Stacks?
or again, Windows 7
JKT said 9:56PM on 8-13-2009
You really like that Windows menu condense feature? I absolutely hate it. The items I want are always the condensed ones and Windows won't learn that maybe if I keep going to the >> icon, perhaps it should either move my oft-used items to the top or stop condensing.
Just which Mac menus are too long for you? Have you considered using keyboard shortcuts instead of navigating menus? It will save you lots of time I think.
Kimberly said 8:00PM on 8-13-2009
As a recent MAC convert after decades of PC use I really appreciate your blog!
Reply
Nate said 9:05PM on 8-13-2009
I agree, I am sure this "Mac 101" series will be very helpful once my first Macbook Pro comes (taking forever..).
Reply
Rafe H. said 10:36PM on 8-13-2009
Jordan's suggestions so far are great: if you switched from Windows to get away from all the suckiness, but miss all the features you loved, well then...maybe you should wait for a version of Windows without all the suckiness.
Reply
Mentok the Mindtaker said 10:52PM on 8-13-2009
I disagree. I found Jordan's comments a little on the condescending side. Two people asked questions about how one does a particular function that can be/is common between operating systems (not just Windows and OS X - I've navigated using a keyboard in Linux and Solaris) and Jordan basically said "@#$% off."
Jordan said 10:12AM on 8-14-2009
I'll agree the first time I said it was more to annoy people on here, but it is true - if you want the features, well Windows 7 definitely does not suck so your best bet would be to go to it.
The second comment I misunderstood, Stacks definitely would not work for what he was trying to do - but then again, Windows 7 does do it so...
Jason said 11:21PM on 8-13-2009
I expected this to be a confusing question, so I'll elaborate a bit. I want to hide the menu extras: (http://item-9.com/uploads/Skitch-20090813-220338.jpg ) occasionally with an arrow button, ala Windows XP. I have too many for my monitor's resolution (1280px) and I would really like them minimized in some way.
More importantly, though, when I expand the menu extras, I expect to see them all. Right now, applications with numerous program menu items overrule the extras. To see the extras all the way to the left, I need to switch to another program with less items. Sometimes I go through several programs to find one with a short enough list.
Please do not question why I have so many menu extras--that's not the point. The point is, whether I have three or 30, I should be able to see them all when I need them. Otherwise, I have a usability issue, which in the world of Mac, probably calls for a smart, cheap solution that in this case, happens to borrow an idea from Microsoft's OS.
Check out the program RightZoom: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/30591 if you disagree with me. It corrects the green maximize ball on Mac program windows, an issue that Mac switchers often complain about.
I've been wondering about this issue for months and I would really, really appreciate any constructive comments on how I might go about correcting it--preferably with a sweet little program or system preference panel. In other words, I want a RightZoom for my menu extras.
Thank you in advance.
P.S. Jordan--you're an idiot. Enough said.
Reply
mech said 3:49AM on 8-14-2009
try this. it's a start.
http://www.hutsby.net/2009/03/osx-too-many-menu-bar-icons-and-items.html
Fre said 3:44AM on 8-14-2009
I'm not sure if there exists a menulet hiding app. I haven't seen one at least. Maybe you just have to bite the bullet and manage the space you've got. Adjust your clock settings maybe, and uncheck the gmail "Display unread message count..".
daan.de.vries said 5:44AM on 8-14-2009
I think it wouldn't even be to hard to program some sort of script that unloads and reloads all menulets, would it?