Jaguar UI on Tiger Project (Extras.rsrc download inside)

[retta283]

Download is attached as file.
This is a simple mod to get elements of Mac OS X Jaguar 10.2's UI in Tiger. It should also work in Panther, too. It replaces things like the menu bar, drop-down menu, buttons, traffic lights, inactive window borders and more with their Jaguar versions. It is not 100% perfect, but I think it has turned out pretty good. There are some things that need improvement but I am releasing what I have for now.

This does not include any app icons or Jaguar apps, these can be found in Jaguar update files or elsewhere on the web, if requested I will compile them and add them to the next release. Jaguar-era versions of the iLife apps can be found on Macintosh Garden.

Notable issues:
Apps that use Tiger aesthetic (System Preferences most notably) appear bugged, although they are still 100% usable. This is due to using Panther's Extras.rsrc as the base, which I will fix in the next release.
Inactive window transparency only works in certain applications, I could not figure out the cause of this, as even when I straight ported Jaguar's Extras it was still broken, so another mod will be required.
There are a number of other inconsistencies or elements that are still Tiger/Panther, and if anyone finds them let me know so I can look into changing them.

Original Post:
Hi, I have been working on a project recently to try and get Jaguar's UI functional and stable within Tiger, and I've had mixed success. So far, a lot of Jaguar era apps can be ported over and made to work good, but the UI borrows elements from Tiger. Icon swaps are easy. Background on login screen can be changed too.

Problems come when attempting actual UI modifications. Changing the Extras.rsrc is the best bet, Panther's works quite well with only a few glitches. This gets you a slightly older look for the menubar, however on an Intel Tiger machine it only changes when you are using a PPC app. The Menu items still have the Tiger menubar as their outline, probably because the applets themselves are Universal and use Extras2.rsrc, which I did attempt to replace but it caused fatal issues.



Next try was Jaguar's Extras.rsrc, which is unstable but shows great promise. Other than the Intel issue with the menubar applets, the menubar is perfect. However, a lot of things are broken. Aqua buttons, traffic lights, selected text, background windows, and more are broken. Here I have System Preferences, in and out of focus and you can see that the traffic lights are invisible. Aqua buttons are invisible, and selected items in menus are white-out. You can see that the background window attemtps to be transparent, but doesn't work properly. I replaced the file without screenshotting the other problems, I can do so if it will help.



The next thing to attempt will be trying to find a fix to these issues, if Jaguar's Extras.rsrc could be tweaked to fix these problems it would be quite close. Replacing the Finder with Jaguar's finder would be nice as well, but I'm not sure how to go about that and it would probably be very unstable. On Intel, I tried replacing the Menu Extras applets with ones from Jaguar, but they still appeared as Tiger. Again, the menu bar appears as Tiger's in any Intel apps, which could be fixed by forcing Finder and the apps to run as Rosetta, which I have not found an option for as they are universal.

This is my first time trying something like this, so I'm not sure where to look next to fix/mod these. So far it looks decent but there's still a lot to do. It is an oddball project, but it's been interesting seeing this and if it can be finished I think it would be nice. If anyone has pointers as to what can be done, please let me know.

 

[z970]

I tried doing something like this a couple of years ago, however it never went anywhere. I did find some cool Firefox themes, however.

@swamprock linked an application that allows you to edit Extras.rsrc files, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. Nevertheless, here is a working download I found that should work with Tiger.

Your results look great already, so you're much farther ahead than I ever was. If you ever need an installer script, let me know.

 

[alex_free]

The menu bar appears as Tiger's in any Intel apps, which could be fixed by forcing Finder and the apps to run as Rosetta, which I have not found an option for as they are universal.

Theoretically you could remove the Intel arch from the app binaries and they would become ppc only, and use Rosetta.

ditto --arch ppc some_app.app some_app_ppc.app

 

[Amethyst1]

Theoretically you could remove the Intel arch from the app binaries and they would become ppc only, and use Rosetta.

But what would be the point of running everything through Rosetta and suffering the performance penalty?

On a different note, I'd love to get my hands on the Intel build of Jaguar. I'd totally run that.

 

[retta283]

I tried doing something like this a couple of years ago, however it never went anywhere. I did find some cool Firefox themes, however.

@swamprock linked an application that allows you to edit Extras.rsrc files, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. Nevertheless, here is a working download I found that should work with Tiger.

Your results look great already, so you're much farther ahead than I ever was. If you ever need an installer script, let me know.

The pictures in that thread provide some more detail to the issues with the Jag Extras, it is quite unstable. Thanks for the ThemePark, I will have to learn to use this app and see if I can't fix the Jag Extras or at least port some of the elements to a workable one. Trial and error, and I think it will be possible. Ideally I will create an installer for the theme so it can be easily applied to more systems.

So far, I've tried it on a 17" iMac G5, 12" iBook G4 2005, and a 17" MBP. PPC works a bit better with the Panther Extras for the reasons I outlined, but there's not much difference other than that. One thing of note, I attempted replacing some of the core apps with Jaguar ones, also varying success. System Profiler is broken, but will open an empty report and has the old UI. It seems the Tiger one uses a different file format for its reports so it won't open.

 

[z970]

On a different note, I'd love to get my hands on the Intel build of Jaguar. I'd totally run that.

I feel like you're on a Jaguar high.

 

[retta283]

What's that, Intel Jaguar? You're looking at it right now . It's coming along nicely, many thanks to @z970mp for recommending ThemePark as that was quite useful. Menu Bar is perfect to my eyes, pinstripes return to apps, and the traffic lights are fixed. They might be a few pixels off-center, but that's because the asset size changed between the versions.

All of these changes now work in both PPC and Intel apps, as I was also able to apply them to Extras2, which is fantastic.

There are a few things that need done, for some reason the inactive window transparency only works in Finder and nothing else as seen in the screenshot. I think this can be fixed though, I'll have to look into it. The menubar pull-down menus still look like Tiger's, their assets will need replaced. Maybe a few small things in addition but I think it's close to being ready. Getting Jag's Finder up and running would be awesome, but using the non-toolbar Finder makes it look more real.

Only things that are actually broken are a result of using Panther's Extras.rsrc, this could be redone with Tiger's as its base to fix them, but they're minor. Most apps that appear glitched are replaced by Jag's anyways, so it's a nonissue to me. A few third-party apps look strange, including ThemePark itself.

 

[z970]

@retta283 That looks delicious. Excellent work, so far.

I await the final release with great anticipation.

 

[retta283]

Worked on it a bit more last night, fixed a few things with the UI, pinstripes are much more present now as they were in Jag.

There's only 3 major things that need done now, if possible. First will be fixing the issue with transparent background windows, as I showed it works fine with Finder. It also worked fine with iTunes preferences, Office v.x, and a few other small apps. It seems strange to me that it works in a few but not most. I'm trying to find a fix for it, but there are thousands of possible files so it's a matter of trial and error.

Second, I'd like to get the classic tabs like the ones in this screenshot, with the sweeping blue below them. This could be app-based and not in Extras, but again I will attempt to find a solution.

Lastly will be attempting to port or modify Finder to be more like Jaguar's, which I'm not sure how to go about yet. Actually porting Finder might be a tall task. But, it's getting close now and everything other than these three things is minor.

 

[swamprock]

I tried doing something like this a couple of years ago, however it never went anywhere. I did find some cool Firefox themes, however.

@swamprock linked an application that allows you to edit Extras.rsrc files, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore. Nevertheless, here is a working download I found that should work with Tiger.

Your results look great already, so you're much farther ahead than I ever was. If you ever need an installer script, let me know.

Yeah.... I had to clean some files from my server space (admin's dictate), so all of my public stuff had to go. Once a server upgrade is completed, I'll be putting everything back up (Ignore the URL in my signature for now). It's taking some time though...

 

[retta283]

I've been trying still to figure out how to get the window transparency to work in all apps, and I am near a dead-end with it. As my theme is based on a newer Extras.rsrc and has had Jaguar UI back ported into it, it seemed likely that I just needed to swap something out in the file to restore it. However, even when using the raw Jaguar Extras, the transparency does not work. Nor do the classic tabs.

This means one of two things: They have changed the location of the UI elements that determine this, or they changed something that makes it impossible for this to function. I have not found any equivalent to it yet, and it does not seem there is one. It remains bizarre to me that it works in Finder and some other apps but not all. Even some of the apps I pulled straight from Jaguar don't work with it.

Other than this though, it's pretty much complete. I'd like to fix this before I release it, as it's one of the only broken parts but I'm having a hard time finding the issue. Modifying anything beyond the Extras.rsrc will take more time, as they will require modifying core apps and system files. I think this Extras.rsrc is enough to give the Jaguar feel in Tiger, a complete system rebuild may not be as appealing to people versus a file they can swap in and out.

 

[retta283]

Sorry that I haven't updated this is a while, lot of things happened last month so I didn't think to work on it. For now I am releasing what I have so far, and will attempt to fix the issues I pointed out in the last post later. It's nearly complete I think other than this, I'd appreciate it if anyone could point out things I can add/change in this and if anyone has fixes to the issues I ran into.

This is just the extras file and the Intel version, no apps or icons included, although I may make a compilation in the future if anyone wants. This file should also work on Panther.

 

[fourbirds]

Sorry to revive this thread. I'm currently going though a bought of nostalgia. I made the switch from Windows 2000 to Mac OS 10.2 in early in the early 2000s and I'd like to revive a bit of the look and feel of Jaguar. I'm still using my my Powerbook G4 DLSD as my primary computer although I cheat by using VNC to a linux box for my browsing needs.

I recently stumbled upon this thread and the Jaguar theme which brought back a flood a pinstriped memories (thank you retta283). Are there any updates or better themes that fix some of the remaining issues?

Thank you

 

[retta283]

Sorry to revive this thread. I'm currently going though a bought of nostalgia. I made the switch from Windows 2000 to Mac OS 10.2 in early in the early 2000s and I'd like to revive a bit of the look and feel of Jaguar. I'm still using my my Powerbook G4 DLSD as my primary computer although I cheat by using VNC to a linux box for my browsing needs.

I recently stumbled upon this thread and the Jaguar theme which brought back a flood a pinstriped memories (thank you retta283). Are there any updates or better themes that fix some of the remaining issues?

Thank you

No worries in reviving this thread, I am thrilled if anyone can get use or enjoyment out of the thread and theme. I haven't been able to work on this much since the last release, partially due to some hardware problems that rendered my testing machine unusable. I did recently regain some interest in seeking a fix, but I haven't tried anything with my theme yet. I was able to track down some Shapeshifter themes that emulate Jaguar's aesthetic.

They have some advantages and some disadvantages over my theme, namely that Finder windows can be pinstriped instead of brushed metal, and a few assets look cleaner. It is applied on a per-account basis though, so some screens will not reflect change. None of them seem to have working transparency or that 'sweeping' tab effect I was seeking though, so I'm still uncertain whether this can be done within Tiger. If you have any interest in these themes let me know and I can try to get them to you.

 

[dabiohazard]

i’m super interested getting help with this issue as well. i was trying to get some shapeshifter themes to work on 10.4 with no success so far. i was wanting to just run 10.2 on my old imac but a lot of apps are needing 10.4 or 10.5 along with wifi support. 10.2 with the white and pinstripes with blue was always my favorite looking os x version. i remember absolutely hating the brushed aluminum apple added to the next ones. also there’s probably not a way with all the new security around the newer versions but been researching how to change the look on my m1 imac as well if it’s even possible. But for sure reach out to me if you can send me your most recent version I would really appreciate it!!

 

[retta283]

I have returned, with some more fun findings as relates to making things Jaguar and even 10.1 work in Tiger.

Here you can see I've been playing with this old Jaguar copy of System Preferences, and have ported many of the old pref panes. These actually came from a 10.1 install, but they should be about the same as 10.2, just what I had on hand. Login crashes, otherwise they all work. The ones in Other are Tiger-era ones that Jag doesn't know what to do with.


Pretty neat to see the old Desktop selector in Tiger, I always liked this one no matter how impractical...


Running the Classic pref pane on an Intel machine, what fun! For curiosity I did attempt to get Classic to boot here, and it recognizes everything just fine and doesn't complain, though attempting to start Classic just hangs the system. No surprise but I had to be a fool and find out for myself.



I did notice I was on 10.4.9, not sure why it was never updated. This was a tinker install. I did find a major bug in the OS that I hadn't noticed before, when browsing in column view without a toolbar everything runs in together.


Only happens sometimes, and never when browsing with a toolbar. Only due to this theme did I discover this. None of these things are of any importance, but I thought they were amusing and worth sharing for the sake of it. As to the theme itself, I really do fear I've reached the end of what I can do, messing with things off and on over the last 2 and a half years I have found no fix to the aforementioned issues. Still, not a terrible theme overall just for some classic pinstripe flavor. Cheers

 

[AphoticD]

It remains bizarre to me that it works in Finder and some other apps but not all.

To shed a little light on the mystery here; Finder, iTunes (v9 and older), MS Office, Adobe suite, etc were all Carbon apps, which was the case with many legacy and cross-platform apps. Where most OS X exclusive apps were written in Cocoa.

The frameworks are designed to offer the end-user a seamless experience, but have completely different underpinnings, so it is not surprising there are different resource libraries in use here.

I found this 2009 article an interesting read on the subject;

Daring Fireball: iTunes and Cocoa

daringfireball.net

 

[retta283]

To shed a little light on the mystery here; Finder, iTunes (v9 and older), MS Office, Adobe suite, etc were all Carbon apps, which was the case with many legacy and cross-platform apps. Where most OS X exclusive apps were written in Cocoa.

The frameworks are designed to offer the end-user a seamless experience, but have completely different underpinnings, so it is not surprising there are different resource libraries in use here.

I found this 2009 article an interesting read on the subject;

Daring Fireball: iTunes and Cocoa

daringfireball.net

That must be it. As I had mentioned, when I ported the Jaguar extras file straight over with no mods it still was broken. I do think there is a slight change in the Cocoa framework somewhere as Jaguar-ported apps also suffer this issue, but Carbon apps pass through without issue. Looks like that part is resolved then, now I just wonder immensely where the 'sweeping' tab thing is sourced from as it's a mystery to me.

As an aside unrelated to the quoted post, just for fun I decided to look into what makes the dock in 10.0 and 10.1 have pinstripes, and it seems like the whole dock graphic is composed of PDF files that cannot be ported into later versions. I found no other resources linked to the Dock app, unless it is hooked up into the app from the Extras file, which seems unlikely to me.

 

[Amethyst1]

Here you can see I've been playing with this old Jaguar copy of System Preferences, and have ported many of the old pref panes. These actually came from a 10.1 install, but they should be about the same as 10.2, just what I had on hand.

So they’re running in Rosetta since you’re on Intel, hmm…

 

[retta283]

So they’re running in Rosetta since you’re on Intel, hmm…

Yeah, so far I have found next to nothing from 10.1-10.2 that runs on PPC but not on Intel. Only Classic, for obvious reasons. I have really downsized my PPC collection in the last few years, so I don’t have much of an option… PowerMac is sitting with a dud hard drive while I review options for getting a SATA drive in as cheaply as possible.

 

[bobesch]

I have returned, [...]

Unsettled times ...
Good to hear from you again.

 

[swamprock]

That must be it. As I had mentioned, when I ported the Jaguar extras file straight over with no mods it still was broken. I do think there is a slight change in the Cocoa framework somewhere as Jaguar-ported apps also suffer this issue, but Carbon apps pass through without issue. Looks like that part is resolved then, now I just wonder immensely where the 'sweeping' tab thing is sourced from as it's a mystery to me.

As an aside unrelated to the quoted post, just for fun I decided to look into what makes the dock in 10.0 and 10.1 have pinstripes, and it seems like the whole dock graphic is composed of PDF files that cannot be ported into later versions. I found no other resources linked to the Dock app, unless it is hooked up into the app from the Extras file, which seems unlikely to me.

I wish I could remember what I used, or what criteria there was, to modify PDFs in OS X while experimenting with theming Leopard many years ago. If I recall, Tiger didn't use any...? Or was it that I chose to use ClearDock instead, since it was easier to color the Dock? I can't remember, since it's been over five years (?) since I worked on the Tiger Sierra theme (and I'm nearing my mid-50s), and I don't recall having to modify any PDFs. I do vaguely remember doing so in Leopard, though, but the amazing Leopard Rebirth came along and ended that journey

 

[swamprock]

i’m super interested getting help with this issue as well. i was trying to get some shapeshifter themes to work on 10.4 with no success so far. i was wanting to just run 10.2 on my old imac but a lot of apps are needing 10.4 or 10.5 along with wifi support. 10.2 with the white and pinstripes with blue was always my favorite looking os x version. i remember absolutely hating the brushed aluminum apple added to the next ones. also there’s probably not a way with all the new security around the newer versions but been researching how to change the look on my m1 imac as well if it’s even possible. But for sure reach out to me if you can send me your most recent version I would really appreciate it!!

Does Shapeshifter seem to crash when you try to apply themes? If so, you have to block the app from trying to call home, as it's wont to do when applying themes. It'll just lock up, as the server is loooong gone.

Here's a neat Shapeshifter trick that I discovered while working on the Tiger Sierra theme: apply a Shapeshifter theme, then copy the Extras.rsrc and Finder.rsrc files while the theme is applied. Revert back to Aqua, then replace your Aqua Extras and Finder rsrc files with those you copied. Voila... no need for Shapeshifter to run your theme anymore!

 

[retta283]

I wish I could remember what I used, or what criteria there was, to modify PDFs in OS X while experimenting with theming Leopard many years ago. If I recall, Tiger didn't use any...? Or was it that I chose to use ClearDock instead, since it was easier to color the Dock? I can't remember, since it's been over five years (?) since I worked on the Tiger Sierra theme (and I'm nearing my mid-50s), and I don't recall having to modify any PDFs. I do vaguely remember doing so in Leopard, though, but the amazing Leopard Rebirth came along and ended that journey

The trouble is, you would likely have to rewire the Dock app to use the PDFs from 10.1. They moved completely to PNG files for the dock with 10.2 and onwards, but there is no file that corresponds to the actual transparent dock background which needs changed. It's really a funky thing the way they had it set up before 10.2, I've never seen another app do this.

Leopard PDFs, now that's something I haven't encountered. I'll have to look at that for curiosity's sake. I have ported SL dock assets into newer versions of OS X and it likewise was PNG files.