Sep 19, 2019 To move icons around within the designated area, once again hold Command, then click and hold the icon to drag it. How to remove icons from the top bar on Mac. If there are items in the menu bar that you feel don’t belong there, hold Command, click on the icon, and drag it outside of the menu bar. Note: this only works for first-party icons. Jan 13, 2020 Use Photos on your Mac. Photos helps you keep your growing library organized and accessible. Powerful and intuitive editing tools help you perfect your images. Memories displays the best images from your photo library in beautiful collections. And with iCloud Photos, you can keep a lifetime’s worth of photos and videos stored in iCloud.
Without a doubt, the menu bar is one of Mac’s great features. It’s condensed, easy to tap into on the fly, and displays much-needed information in real time.
But, with every new icon app added, things become a little more cluttered and usability takes another hit. Fortunately, it’s possible to edit the menu bar to rearrange and remove icons so that it’s able to suit your needs at any given moment. Read on for the best ways to make the menu bar on Mac truly yours.
A tool that perfects menu bar
Rethink the menu bar with this app. Bartender customizes one of the main parts of Mac's interface, efficiently.
When it comes to dining in Bangkok, the question is not what, where, or even when to eat. With so many possibilities across the capital, you might be wondering how to make the most of it all. Whether you’re looking for style, ambience and flavor that defies anything you’ve experienced before, or a brush with world-recognized.
How to rearrange items in menu bar
How much freedom you have to rearrange items in menu bar depends on which version of macOS you’re running. The users of macOS Sierra and later definitely have more creative license here than others. And if you are not there yet, it’s time to upgrade to the newest macOS anyway.
Rearranging menu items in macOS
To move an icon in the menu bar, hold Command (cmd), then click and hold the icon to drag it across the bar. Simple.
There are no restrictions here — feel free to move icons anywhere you see fit. Don’t like the clock all the way over there on the right-hand side? Drag it to somewhere more suitable. Want to place the Setapp icon over to the area of the bar once reserved for first-party apps? Do it!
The only icon that cannot be tampered with is the Notification Center. Apple has decided this must remain in the far right corner of the menu, which is fair enough — it looks good there.
Rearranging menu items in OS X versions (El Capitan and older)
Movement of icons in old versions of macOS is reserved for selected apps only: Bluetooth, audio, Time Machine, WiFi, battery, clock, and user switching. Spotlight and Notification Center must stay put, as must all third-party apps.
To move icons around within the designated area, once again hold Command, then click and hold the icon to drag it.
How to remove icons from the top bar on Mac
If there are items in the menu bar that you feel don’t belong there, hold Command, click on the icon, and drag it outside of the menu bar.
Note: this only works for first-party icons.
It is possible to remove third-party icons from the top bar on Mac by clicking on them and selecting “Quit” or “Close,” but this will stop the app from working until you reopen it.
Some apps give the option to remove icons from the top bar on Mac in their settings: [chosen app] > Preferences. However, a lot of apps won’t. To fully customize which icons appear in the menu bar, you should use a third-party app like Bartender.
If you’ve removed the first-party app and you’d like it back on the menu, it can be re-enabled in System Preferences.
How to add icons to the top bar on Mac
If you’re missing a specific system icon in the Mac’s menu bar, you can add it through System Preferences. For instance, to enable the Language icon, select Language & Region in the preference pane, click Input Sources, and check the box next to “Show Input menu in menu bar.”
Add menu bar extras
Because the menu options like Clock and Ink can’t be found in System Preferences, you might need to use the System folder as well:
- Open Finder.
- Select Go > Go to Folder from the menu bar.
- Type a path: /System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras.
- Double-click an item and it will instantly appear in your menu bar.
You can easily remove any of the icons by holding Command and dragging it outside of the menu bar as described above.
How to customize and tidy Mac menu bar
It’s possible to change the look of the default menu bar items in System Preferences and third-party apps’ ones in their respective preferences. Most of the time, you’ll be able to at least switch the color to black and white.
Change how the date and time are displayed in the menu bar
In the right corner of your menu bar, click on date and time to Open Date & Time Preferences. Go to the Clock tab and unlock the preferences by entering your administrator password, so that you can make changes. To customize the look of the clock, choose between two different time display options: Digital or Analog. You can also tick the boxes for “Show date” and “Show the day of the week.”
To instantly toggle between different display options, click on date and time in the menu bar and choose “View as Analog” or “View as Digital.”
How to use your battery status on Mac
Keeping track of your battery life from the menu bar takes a few simple actions and yet is vital to Mac’s performance.
Click on the battery icon and tick Show percentage to see how much battery power you have left. In the same drop-down menu, you can check the programs that are using significant power in case your battery is draining too fast. To optimize battery usage, select “Open Energy Saver Preferences” and adjust sleep settings.
Toggle between fast user switching icons
There are three different options on how the Fast User Switching menu can be displayed in your Mac’s top bar – as a full name, account name or icon. Here’s how you do the customization:
- Click on the icon and open Users & Groups Preferences.
- Enter your password to unlock.
- Select Login Options in the bottom left corner of the Users & Groups.
- Go to “Show fast user switching menu” and pick one of the options.
- Untick the box if you prefer to remove the icon from the menu bar.
Show Wi-Fi status in the menu bar
To enable the Wi-Fi icon in your Mac’s top bar, go to System Preferences and select Network. Tick the box next to “Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar.”
How to replace menu bar app icons
If you want to have custom icons in your Mac’s menu bar, there’s a way to replace the default ones. To change the icon of a third-party app, find it in Applications, right-click to open a context menu, and choose “Show Package Contents.” Go to Resources folder to find the defaults – these can be used as templates for the new icons. Once you have a custom icon ready, simply copy it into the same Resources folder.
The same works for system icons, except you won’t find all of them in Applications. Here’s the path for you to take: Hard Disk > System > Library > CoreServices > Menu Extras. Once you’ve found the item you need, click on “Show Package Contents” and navigate to the icon via [MENUITEM.menu] > Contents > Resources.
In both cases, it’s a good idea to create backups of the default icons before replacing them – just in case you’ll need them later.
Hide menu bar items
One low-key feature on Mac is the ability to auto-hide menu bar. To do this, open System Preferences > General. Check the option to “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” and the menu bar will immediately disappear.
To get the menu bar to show up again, simply move the cursor to the top of the screen and hold it there for a second. Now you can access the menu whenever you need it and enjoy an extra bit of screen real estate when you don’t.
Customizing the menu bar with Bartender
If you want more control over how the menu bar looks and what it does, you should consider using the Bartender app.
Bartender lets you hide icons without quitting and rearrange icons in a way that better suits how you use the menu bar — something particularly useful if you’re running an older version of macOS.
App icons can be displayed when updating, shown in the Bartender Bar only, or hidden completely and accessed easily using a built-in search function. It’s even possible to toggle through and activate items using keyboard navigation.
If you’re someone that prefers a minimalist look, the app gives you the option to remove the Bartender menu item, leaving you with a crisp, clean menu bar.
Overall, the Mac menu bar is there to help you improve your productivity by giving you quick access to the apps and tools you need. Using the tips above, you can customize the menu bar in a way that works for you. Best of all, you can get full access to Bartender and over 150 more high-quality macOS apps on Setapp, with a 7-day free trial to get you started. So why not get your menu bar organized now?
Cloud status icons
If you see a cloud status icon next to a song, find it below to learn what it means.
Available for download
The song isn't downloaded to your device and can only be played when your device is connected to the Internet. To listen to the song offline, tap or click to download it to your device.
Duplicate
You have duplicate versions of the same song in your music library on your computer. Duplicate songs aren't uploaded and synced across your devices.
Removed
You have multiple computers that have Sync Library turned on and a song was deleted from one of those computers. Songs that you delete from your music library are immediately removed from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, but stay on other associated computers until they're manually deleted.
Ineligible
Apple Music might not be able to upload the song because the song wasn't purchased from the iTunes Store, was purchased using a different Apple ID, or is too large of a file.
In the Finder, go to the Safari menu on the top bar, and choose Go to Folder option from the list. Mac os x make library folder visible.
Error
The song file is corrupt or there was an error uploading the song. Choose File > Library > Update Cloud Music Library to resolve this. If updating doesn't resolve the issue, try importing a new copy of the song into your music library.
A dotted-line cloud
If you see a dotted-line cloud next to a song, then it might mean one of the following:
- Waiting: The song is in the process of being matched and hasn't been uploaded. Choose File > Library > Update Cloud Music Library to resolve this.
- Not Uploaded: The song was added from another device and can't be matched. To upload the song, turn on Sync Library on the computer where the original audio file is stored.
- No longer available: The song is either not available in the Apple Music catalog, or hasn't been released yet.
Check the upload status of each song in your music library
When you turn on Sync Library in the Music app on your Mac or iTunes for Windows on your PC, Apple Music uploads and matches every song in your music library.
Mac Library Folder
As Apple Music uploads your music, you can check the status for each song.
Mac Folder Icon Library
- On your Mac, open the Music app. On your PC, open iTunes for Windows, choose Music from the pop-up menu, then click Library.
- In the sidebar, select Songs.
- In the menu bar, choose View > Show View Options.
- Select Cloud Download and Cloud Status.
Access Library On Mac
Learn more
Find Photo Library On Mac
- To sync your music library across all of your devices, subscribe to Apple Music.
- Learn how to turn on Sync Library on all of your devices.
- Learn how to delete music from your library.
- See which devices are signed in with your Apple ID.
- Learn what to do if songs are missing in your music library after you turn on Sync Library.
- Learn what to do if your songs in your music library are grayed out.