Siva Kalyan Mar 21
Steve Troughton-Smith

Here's one for the icons-in-menus haters on macOS Tahoe:

defaults write -g NSMenuEnableActionImages -bool NO

It even preserves the couple of instances you do want icons, like for window zoom/resize

/cc @gruber

Mar 20 at 4:20pmIvory for Mac
Show threadMachielMar 20
@stroughtonsmith @gruber so much cleaner love it
Show threadNMDoernerMar 20

@stroughtonsmith @gruber

FINALLY!

Thank you!

That is the only way to use the main menu in #macOS 26 "BrokenGlass"!

What a mess that version is, crazy really.

Show threadCaptain SalemMar 20
@stroughtonsmith @gruber Thank you. Still hate Tahoe though but this helps.
Show threadDmian 🇪🇺Mar 20
@stroughtonsmith Can't thank you enough... 🙇‍♂️
Show threadolof hennigMar 20
@stroughtonsmith @gruber wonderful. If only they could bring back dock pinning.
Show threadQuarterSwedeMar 20
@stroughtonsmith @gruber Much less visually overloaded and just plain easier/quicker to scan.
Show threadJohn GruberMar 21
@stroughtonsmith How in the world did this go undiscovered until now?
Show threadlookmarkMar 21
@gruber @stroughtonsmith Just Finder, though, huh
Show threadbenMar 21
@lookmark Okay, so it is just for Finder? I thought I was doing something wrong.
Show threadhyperjeff5d ago
@luckie_reubs @lookmark It's unevenly supported. Pages, for example, sheds 95% of them. Messages is unaffected.
Show threadhyperjeff5d ago
@luckie_reubs @lookmark and it *really* cleans up xcode!
Show threadPatrick SeemannMar 21

@stroughtonsmith @gruber awesome.

PS: Some applications seem to be unimpressed by this, e.g. iTerm.

Show threadgcanyonMar 21
@stroughtonsmith @gruber Doesn't seem to have an effect on Safari? So far everything else works.
Show threadStefan HechtMar 21
@stroughtonsmith @gruber This is AMAZING. Thank you, thank you, thank you. #dedyefyeverything
Show threadChris MessinaMar 21

@stroughtonsmith @gruber just added a script to Raycast so you can toggle your menu icons at will!

https://github.com/raycast/script-commands/pull/1026

Show threadNorbert Heger2d ago

@chrismessina @stroughtonsmith @gruber Here you can also find a LaunchBar action for toggling menu icons. Have fun!

https://obdev.at/blog/evanesco-iconia/

“Evanesco Iconia!”

There’s a lot not to like about the new “every menu item needs an icon” feature in macOS Tahoe. They add visual noise to the menus. They make menus more inefficient to scan. They often result in an inconsistent alignment of menu item titles.…

Objective Development
Show threadGregory6d ago

@stroughtonsmith @gruber heh, another case of Apple engineer rebellion. I like it. The previous one was where you could bring back the sensible (pre-Big Sur) layout of NSAlerts with a defaults write command. They did remove it eventually.

(I myself am staying on Sonoma for now)

Show threadenMTW6d ago
@stroughtonsmith do you have a collection of 'fix Tahoe' defaults writes (and things like that)?
Show threadtoniwonkanobi26d ago
@stroughtonsmith @gruber Seems like this only works for Finder? 😭
Show threadJohn Gruber6d ago
@toniwonkanobi2 @stroughtonsmith You need to quit and relaunch apps to see it take effect.
Show threadtoniwonkanobi25d ago
@gruber @stroughtonsmith tried it, and it doesn’t work in Safari at least. Will try more when I get back to my Mac
Show threadjasonjahnkefilms3h ago
@stroughtonsmith @gruber for someone who doesn't ever use Terminal, do you just copy and paste that into a terminal window and it should work? a "terminal for dummies" How-To would be appreciated!
Show threadSteve Troughton-Smith3h ago
@jasonjahnkefilms @gruber the quick answer is yes (and then log out or restart your Mac), but the /right/ answer is you should never paste commands into a Terminal unless you know what they're gonna do!
Show threadjasonjahnkefilms3h ago
@stroughtonsmith @gruber haha absolutely. thats why I paused and thought I should ask!
Show threadJohn Gruber1h ago

@jasonjahnkefilms @stroughtonsmith You can read a good intro to the MacOS `defaults` command here:

https://macos-defaults.com

A list of macOS defaults commands with demos ✨

You've already copied `defaults write` commands. Sometimes you don't know what they do and are not sure they still work. This list of macOS defaults commands is here to help.

macOS defaults
Show threadjasonjahnkefilms1h ago
@gruber @stroughtonsmith Thanks John!
Show threadJohn Gruber1h ago
@stroughtonsmith @jasonjahnkefilms With some commands you need to log out/in for them to take effect, but with this one for menu item icons, you just need to quit/relaunch apps for it to take effect.