Lion Tweaks: Customise What You Don't Like!

So what exactly is meant by the term Lion Tweaks? We all know that the world is a complex place, a mix of cultures, a diversity of views and opinions. It is very unlikely that you will like the same things as me!

Even if we both agreed that Mac OS X is the best operating system in the world. It is still very likely that certain features I would love, but you would hate! Even companies like Apple make mistakes or change things that make people say "What the …".

In a way we are fortunate because computer operating systems are designed to be configurable. If you understand how they work then you can delve under the bonnet and change things. These changes on the Mac are known as Mac OS X Tweaks or Lion Tweaks.

But What Needs Tweaking in Mac OS X?

Mac OS X Lion was released to the world in July 2011. This is Apple's most advanced state-of-the-art operating system ever. What on earth could require tweaking?

Even though we love Mac OS X Lion and overall like what Apple have done. We are not totally convinced by the leather look in the new Address Book and iCal. If we could set them back to the default brushed aluminium look we would.

Lions iCal Leather Look! Some Users Don't Like It!

Throughout Lion you will find fancy graphical effects like animations and snapping windows. These are great but if you find yourself using your desktop remotely then you will find that these effects simply slow down screen refreshes. So you might find yourself wanting to turn them off!

Finally, we have to admit that sometimes effects just don't feel right. Particularly if you are used to a previous version of Mac OS X, such as Snow Leopard. For example, you might simply prefer to have permanent scroll bars - nothing wrong with that!

The good news, as we stated above, is that you can make changes. The bad news is that making the changes normally involves using the terminal program to enter commands. Note that I said 'normally'!

Like many things in the world of computing you can guarantee that some bright developer will simplify a task, particularly if the task is worth doing! So you will be pleased to know that many of these Lion Tweaks can be automated using an App.

This page will take a look at both manual approach for those comfortable with the thoughts of using the Mac OS X Command Line in the Terminal utility. But, first, we will have a look at the Apps that can do the same job because I suspect the normal Mac user will prefer the App!

Apps for Performing Lion Tweaks

There are several Apps available at the moment that can automatically perform tweaks of your system settings, but the most most popular at the moment is called Lion Tweaks. This App is FREE and is extremely easy to use.

The Lion Tweaks App

If you remember at beginning of this article we mentioned the appearance of iCal and the Address Book. So if you look at the Lion Tweaks screen shot above, and the left column, one up from the bottom is the tweak we want. Simply press 'yes' button.

It is worth noting though that the changes required to change the colour scheme in iCal and the Address Book involve opening and changing the package contents for these two applications. Please remember to back-up your Mac before trying anything like this!

Lion Tweaks is NOT available from the Mac App Store so you will need to visit the developers website, or click here for an immediate download direct to your Mac.

Performing Lion Tweaks Using the Mac OS X Command Line

Some users, comfortable with the Terminal utility and the command line, prefer to make changes manually. This approach ensures that you know exactly what is being tweaked in your systems.

So this section will look at each of the tweaks covered by the Lion Tweaks App above, but in more detail. We will show you the exact steps required to make the same changes using the Mac OS X Command Line.

Show the User Library Folder

Every Mac user, even if you auto login to your Mac, gets an home folder named after their username. This folder is normally where all of your data is stored. Music, photos, documents, it's all there.

If you look at a new Finder window you will see that it defaults to your Home folder. The picture below shows the normal look for all of the 'expected' folders.

The Finder Window

In reality your Home folder has several files and folders that are hidden. Generally you don't need to worry about them. One of these hidden folders, called the Library folder, is used by applications and occassionally it is good to have access to it.

So how do you perform this Mac OS X Tweak. Well, open the Terminal and type the following command, followed by hitting the return key.

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

All you will see is a return to the prompt, you will not see a confirmation message. But you will find that the Library folder will now be visible, in the Finder, as shown below.

The Finder Window Displaying Library Folder

Finally, if the Library folder is visible and you decide to hide it again, then simply change the above command to say 'hidden' as shown below.

chflags hidden ~/Library/

Enable the 2D Dock

This tweak is actually a throw back to version 10.5, Mac OS X Leopard, when Apple first introduced the 3D Dock with the glass effect.

I suppose that most Mac users are used to the 3D Dock by now. But if your not then this tweak will change things back to the good old fashioned 2D version!

So, like all of the Lion Tweaks on this page we visit the terminal again. Enter the following command to re-enable the 2D Dock.

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES

Once you have entered the command and hit the return key, you need to stop and restart the Dock, using the following command.

killall Dock

Finally, if you decide that actually the 3D Dock was better then use the command below to reverse things back to the default look. Don't forget to run the Killall command again!

defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO

Remove the System Window Animation

One new feature in OS X Lion is the animated window. It happens in milliseconds, but gives the appearance that the new Window is rushing towards you.

Personally I like it! It's snappy and gives the appearance that everything is happening very fast. But some people don't like it, hence the reason their is a Lion tweak for it.

Once again it can be stopped by simple entering a command into the Terminal.

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool NO

To get the effect back again, simply enter the following command. Note that Applications will need to be restarted for the changes to take effect.

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticWindowAnimationsEnabled -bool YES

Remove Mail Window Animation

You might think that the System Window Animation setting that we just covered above would apply to all windows animations. But this is not the case.

One of the Applications updated for the OS X Lion release is Mail 5, and one of the changes is in the way the send and reply windows operate - they are now animated and slide away.

So, like all animations they can either be a pleasurable effect, enhancing the entire experience, or a bit of a pain on an old Mac computer.

For these animations you enter one command for the sending animations, and one for the reply animations.

To disable the Mail Reply animations enter.

defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableReplyAnimations -bool YES

To disable the Mail Send animations enter.

defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableSendAnimations -bool YES

Like all of these Lion Tweaks they can just as easily be reversed.

To enable the Mail Reply animations enter.

defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableReplyAnimations -bool NO

To enable the Mail Send animations enter.

defaults write com.apple.Mail DisableSendAnimations -bool NO

Remove the Safari Reading List Icon

In OS X Lion the Safari web browser has what is called a reading list. If you look at the screenshot below you can see on the left hand side what looks like a pair of classes. In the screenshot the icon has been clicked revealing a panel where you can add web pages for later reading.

The Safari Reading List

Some users find this icon annoying, it is taking up valuable space that they would love to claim back! Well, you can. Simply enter the command below in the Terminal.

defaults write com.apple.Safari ProxiesInBookmarksBar '("Top Sites")'

All you need to do now is close and restart Safari so that the changes can take effect. You will discover that the reading list icon, and the panel, have disappeared as shown in the screenshot below.

Safari Reading List Icon Disabled

If you suddenly decide that actually you might have fancied using the reading list, then simply enter the command shown below into the Terminal. Close and restart Safari and the icon will return.

defaults write com.apple.Safari ProxiesInBookmarksBar
'("Top Sites","Reading List")'

Disable Spelling Correction

OS X Lion has been given a more vigorous spelling checker compared to its predecessor in Snow Leopard. Some Mac users don't like the auto-correction tools, preferring to do their own editing and correcting.

Like all the Lion Tweaks listed in this section there is off course a command to disable the spelling checker.

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool NO

If you change your mind and suddenly realise just how handy the feature was then to enable spelling correction again enter the following command.

defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSAutomaticSpellingCorrectionEnabled -bool YES

Disable Local Time Machine Backups

Most Mac users will know how useful the Time Machine backups are, particularly if you have experienced a hard disk failure and have had to use your backup.

Time Machine Window Showing Backups

However, in the past if you owned a Mac notebook and used an external drive that wasn't always connected, then you always ran the risk of having no backup.

In OS X Lion a new feature was added that allowed Time Machine to create local backups when the external drive is not available. It sounds like a good idea but it does consume disk space.

So, if you are sure you want the local backups disabling, and are happy that your data is safe, then you can enter the following command in the Terminal to disable them.

sudo tmutil disablelocal

Note that for some Lion tweaks you need to use what are deemed Superuser Admin rights and will be prompted for an admin username and password.

When you decide that you want to enter them again, enter.

sudo tmutil enablelocal

Enable Repeating Keys

As I have said previously, OS X Lion is all about feeding the new features found in iOS on the iPhone and iPad back into the desktop operating system. By default the repeating keys has been disabled in favour off displaying options for the pressed character as shown in the screenshot below.

TextEdit with Character Options

But if you want to go back to the automatic repeating keys then enter the command shown below, into the Terminal and press 'Enter'.

defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool false

If you then close and restart the application that you were using, such as TextEdit, then pressing and holding a key will result in that character being repeated across the page. The screenshot below shows the new behaviour.

TextEdit with Repeatable Characters

All of these commands can be reversed if you decide to change back. Again simply enter the command shown below into the Terminal. Notice that the final part of the command has changed from false to true.

defaults write -g ApplePressAndHoldEnabled -bool true

Enable Permanent Scroll Bars

Another iOS feature that has found its way into OS X Lion is the new scroll bar look, known as overlay scrollbars. It is more a case of the disappearing scroll bars, only appearing when you use a gesture or an action that results in the scrolling of a web page or document.

OS X Lion Overlay Scrollbars

Many Mac users dislike this way of working on the desktop, and really do prefer the permanent scroll bars that existed in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, which are shown in the screenshot below.

OS X Lion Permanent Scrollbars

So if you want to revert your installation of OS X Lion back to using the permanent scroll bars, then enter the command shown below, into the Terminal and press 'Enter'.

defaults write -g AppleShowScrollBars Always

After a while you might decide to embrace the changes, so to return back to the new scroll bars use the command below.

defaults write -g AppleShowScrollBars WhenScrolling

There is also a third option that you can you called 'Automatic', which sets the scroll bar behaviour dependent on the type of input device being used. This option would take the form;

defaults write -g AppleShowScrollBars Automatic

Show Hidden Files

Being able to see hidden files is not important unless you know what the hidden files do. Your Home directory has a lot of hidden files that contain settings for individual applications. The screenshot below shows the standard Finder window, with no hidden files displayed.

The Standard Finder Window

If this would be useful to you then the command below will display hidden files in the Finder. Note the second command shown below, the killall command is used to restart the Finder for the changes to take effect.

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true

killall Finder

The screenshot below shows the new Finder window with hidden directories displayed. You will notice that the hidden files are slightly dimmer than the normal files.

Finder Showing Hidden Files

If you want to hide the hidden files again, then the command shown below will set things back to default.

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles false

killall Finder

Disable the Crash Dialog Pop-up

Just occasionally an application in OS X Lion might decide to unexpectedly quit. If this occurs you will no doubt see the Crash Dialog Pop-up appear, which will contain a lot of useful diagnostic information for Apple.

If you don't like the thoughts of this happening, or have it occurring just too frequently for your liking, then chose to disable it. Enter the command shown below into the Terminal and press 'Enter'.

defaults write com.apple.CrashReporter DialogType none

All of these commands can be reversed if you decide to change back. Again simply enter the command shown below into the Terminal. Notice that the final part of the command has changed from false to true.

defaults write com.apple.CrashReporter DialogType crashreport

Enable AirDrop on Old Hardware

OS X Lion includes a handy new feature called AirDrop, which uses your wireless (WiFi) network connection to detect othe Mac computers in the vicinity with AirDrop enabled. If you confirm the connection you can then exchange files between the two Macs simply by dragging and dropping files.

There are however two drawbacks. The first is that AirDrop only works over a wireless connection and, secondly, it is disabled on what is classed as old hardware.

Of course the good news is that the following command corrects both problems. It enables AirDrop on your old Mac and allows it to work on both wired and wireless networks.

defaults write -g com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 1

Enter the command shown below to return your AirDrop to normal, wireless only, behaviour.

defaults write -g com.apple.NetworkBrowser BrowseAllInterfaces 0