Here’s how to customize the menu bar to your liking.
What Is the Menu Bar?
macOS and third-party apps will place icons here for quick access, which can be genuinely useful.
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Unfortunately, that utility can be hampered when there’s too much on screen at once.
There are a few limitations to this.
Some icons can’t be dragged and will need to be disabled from the prefs instead.
Head to System options > Control Center to see a list of all the available options.
you’re able to always add icons back using this menu.
Sometimes, the icon that appears in the menu bar is a background process.
Bartenderis a $16 app with a four-week trial built around this concept.
By default, Bartender places a small ellipsis (…) to the left of your menu bar.
Hold Command then click and drag icons to the left of this icon to hide them.
Reveal and access your hidden icons by simply clicking on the ellipsis.
They’ll disappear again when you take your cursor away.
Hidden Baris a lightweight, free app that performs the same basic task in roughly the same way.
It’s available as adownload from Github.
The app uses a trigger arrow and a spacer to divide apps.
If space is tight, hiding your name is a good idea.
Shortcuts lets you build time-saving workflowsthat can work on both mobile platforms and macOS.
One of the most useful ways to use Shortcuts on your Mac is via the menu bar.
To display the icon, you’ll need tomake sure that Shortcuts can be triggered using the menu bar.
Lastly, some third-party apps live in your menu bar to make life easier.
Head to System prefs > Control Center to customize what’s shown.
Many controls are nested within their respective sections in Control Center.
Removing distractions from the menu bar can help you better focus on the task at hand.
Want to be even more focused on your Mac?
Give themacOS background sounds feature a shot,try out the Pomodoro Technique, andblock distracting websitesaltogether.