How do I change the position of the top right corner icons?

[TWLreal]

Running a MacBook 2.0 GHz, 1 GB of RAM and 80 GB HDD. Played around with it when I bought it, updated everything and OS X to 10.4.7. I vividly remember having my top right corner icons in the task bar set up this way: Bluetooth, Ethernet, AirPort, Volume, Battery, Keyboard and finally Date and Time. Nevermind Spotlight since it's always in the corner.

I then proceeded to do a clean, customized install once. Again, I clearly remember having my icons in the position I mentioned above.

I reinstalled the system a second time using the same customized options and the icons are now positioned as you see in the screenshot.

As you can see, the order is now: Bluetooh, Ethernet, AirPort, Keyboard, Volume, Date and Time and Battery.

This bothers me a lot. I would much rather have Date and Time at the last position since it makes much more sense, to me anyway.

 

[WildCowboy]

For Apple menu bar items, just hold down the command key and drag them around to move them. Menu items for third-party applications usually can't be moved.

 

[TWLreal]

I am not quite sure if we can swear in this forum.

But you're a ****ing life saver. I was ready to register on the official Apple forums to ask the same question. I was also ready to reinstall the system for the third time because I am that obsessive compulsive about small details.

Much thanks, man.

 

[WildCowboy]

No problem...and yes, the profanity filter catches most things.

Once you set the order of the menu bar items, it should persist through system upgrades and the like (unless of course you do a complete reinstall as you have done). Once in a while they might get reordered a bit during an upgrade, but now that you know how to move them, it's no big deal.

And yes, you've found the best Apple support forums on the Internet right here.

 

[TWLreal]

All is well now. :O

Icons are in place, and a cool 7.9 GB base system to boot. I could probably cut down a good 3 GB by removing languages, printer drivers and some smaller programs, but 8 GB is good enough.

I'll ask you something else while you're here so I don't have to start a new thread.

From within Finder windows, how do i go back and forth like I would in Safari? Or does OS X not provide such a feature?

Also, let's say I minimize any application window to the dock. How would I go about restoring it aside from clicking it with the mouse? I know about the workaround with Safari by pressing CTRL + L, it will restore a minimized browser window but I want to do the same for other programs.

 

[WildCowboy]

From within Finder windows, how do i go back and forth like I would in Safari? Or does OS X not provide such a feature?

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking here...can you provide more detail on what you mean by "back and forth" rather than me misinterpreting your question and giving the wrong answer?

Also, let's say I minimize any application window to the dock. How would I go about restoring it aside from clicking it with the mouse?

I don't think this is possible through the OS directly, though there may be third-party apps that can do something like this. I'm not sure how it would be implemented, since you can minimize numerous windows, and I don't know how you'd bring up the proper one with just a hotkey.

Most Mac users I know don't use minimize very much. We prefer to leave all of our windows open and use Exposé to navigate back and forth. It's faster once you get used to it.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

From within Finder windows, how do i go back and forth like I would in Safari? Or does OS X not provide such a feature?

Do you mean tabbed browsing, then that is not implemented in Finder (yet). You need some sort of third party solution for that.

If you mean back and forth as in history, that is what the arrows are for:



Also, check out the different views in Finder: Icons, Lists and Columns. The last one is very handy for navigating...

Also, let's say I minimize any application window to the dock. How would I go about restoring it aside from clicking it with the mouse? I know about the workaround with Safari by pressing CTRL + L, it will restore a minimized browser window but I want to do the same for other programs.

Don't know the answer, but I still have a solution: Don't minimize the applications, just hide them. (Ususally cmd-H, but some apps that use that for other things might use shift-cmd-H, or similar, to hide.) Then the application, and all its windows is hidden until you click the dock icon or cmd-tab to that app.

 

[TWLreal]

Alright, the CMD + H and CMD + Tab will have to do for now to restore windows.

I was more thinking along the ways of the fashion Microsoft Windows handles minimized applications to the taskbar. ALT + Tab and choosing which one would restore it. I was hoping OS X would be able to do it as well.

I am aware of Exposé and use it pretty well but with a mouse that is. I use the middle buttong to toggle between windows. Very handy but I am on the trackpad right now. :|

The second thing was about going back and forth in Finder windows. Let's say you go in your Home folder, then go in your Pictures folder. The only way to go back to the previous level would be to click the back arrow as you mentioned. I thought there would be a hotkey combination to go back one level. Like in Safari, CMD + left arrow goes back. It's just so I don't have to travel all the way up to the arrow button while I'm browsing folders.

Much thanks guys. But I can live with these small quirks. I am not that insane about details.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

The second thing was about going back and forth in Finder windows. Let's say you go in your Home folder, then go in your Pictures folder. The only way to go back to the previous level would be to click the back arrow as you mentioned. I thought there would be a hotkey combination to go back one level. Like in Safari, CMD + left arrow goes back. It's just so I don't have to travel all the way up to the arrow button while I'm browsing folders.

If you are in column view you can navigate by just the arrow keys.

Also, remember that certain folders have their own short cuts:

 

[WildCowboy]

The second thing was about going back and forth in Finder windows. Let's say you go in your Home folder, then go in your Pictures folder. The only way to go back to the previous level would be to click the back arrow as you mentioned. I thought there would be a hotkey combination to go back one level. Like in Safari, CMD + left arrow goes back. It's just so I don't have to travel all the way up to the arrow button while I'm browsing folders.

If you are using column view, you can navigate using the arrow keys. So in your scenario, a simple tap on the left arrow key would bring you right back out to your Home folder from your Pictures folder.

Otherwise, you're right that things don't work like they do on Windows. Over time, I'll bet you come to find the Mac way easier and more intuitive. It just takes some getting used to.

 

[solvs]

I use a Logitech mouse and assign the CMD-[ and -] to them to go back and forth in Finder and FireFox. You can also rearrange things in the Menubar by going into each setting in the System Prefs and disabling where it says Show In Menubar, then re-enabling them in the order you want (it'll arrange them from right to left). Great for those stubborn ones that don't want to move, but a lot more complicated. Sometimes my icons rearrange themselves after an update and reboot, which is annoying, but not that big of a deal. Happens in Windows too in the system tray.

 

[hayduke]

If you are in column view you can navigate by just the arrow keys.

Also, remember that certain folders have their own short cuts:

The image in your post says it all. I increasingly want to navigate from the keyboard only. I never bothered to learn the command+[/]/{up_arrow} combos. Very slick. Thanks...

 

[whooleytoo]

Also, let's say I minimize any application window to the dock. How would I go about restoring it aside from clicking it with the mouse? I know about the workaround with Safari by pressing CTRL + L, it will restore a minimized browser window but I want to do the same for other programs.

While it's not very convenient, you can do this by pressing Ctrl F3 to highlight the Dock, then use the arrow keys to select the minimised window; and finally press Space or Return to restore that window. (You might need to press Ctrl-F7 to activate full keyboard access before this).