Secrets

[eyoungren]

In my travels to optimizing things on OS X for PowerPC Mac I often run across things that don't get a lot of attention. One of those is the Secrets System Preference Pane.

I tracked this down at one point and I use it on all my Macs. Essentially it allows you to set just about every single option that Apple has put into OS X and many of the major Apple apps.

I've only used it on Leopard so I have no idea if it works on Tiger or not. But I never hear any talk about it around here so I thought I'd share it.

Please be careful. There are some options in here that can really screw up your system. I've had it freeze on me before. I take no responsibility for any damage you may cause.

But check it out though, you may find it interesting.

Dropbox

 

[Intell]

It does not work on Tiger, but it does work on 10.6+. The only sad thing about it is that it got forgotten after the release of Lion and it doesn't get very many new things in it.

 

[gavinstubbs09]

Cool to see some of these tweaks! Maybe I can make my iMac G4 with Leopard run like iOS7.1 on a iPhone 4

 

[harrymatic]

I just tested this with OS X 10.5.8, it's really useful - it pretty much does the same as TinkerTool / OnyX, but it's much more convenient as it's permanently installed in the System Preferences app and can tweak the hidden settings of many more applications.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[eyoungren]

I just tested this with OS X 10.5.8, it's really useful - it pretty much does the same as TinkerTool / OnyX, but it's much more convenient as it's permanently installed in the System Preferences app and can tweak the hidden settings of many more applications.

Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, it's really useful. Quick access to a lot of hidden things and stuff buried in menus in other apps (like the ones you mentioned).

I just thought it odd it was never really mentioned around here. I've been using it for quite some time (on Leopard) so that's why I decided to post it up.

Glad people are getting some use out of it.

 

[128keaton]

I've just thought about updating to Leopard just for the pane.

 

[jrsx]

In my travels to optimizing things on OS X for PowerPC Mac I often run across things that don't get a lot of attention. One of those is the Secrets System Preference Pane.

I tracked this down at one point and I use it on all my Macs. Essentially it allows you to set just about every single option that Apple has put into OS X and many of the major Apple apps.

I've only used it on Leopard so I have no idea if it works on Tiger or not. But I never hear any talk about it around here so I thought I'd share it.

Please be careful. There are some options in here that can really screw up your system. I've had it freeze on me before. I take no responsibility for any damage you may cause.

But check it out though, you may find it interesting.

Dropbox

Alright, this is the COOLEST prefpane I have ever seen.

 

[eyoungren]

Alright, this is the COOLEST prefpane I have ever seen.

Yeah, I was pretty amazed when I found it. I had to hunt for this thing hard. It was mentioned in some tip for something else I was looking for at the time and I didn't realize then it was a preference pane. Once I got that figured out it was easier to find.

Here is the website if anyone is interested. You can still download it from them, but I put it up here in case they ever disappear.

 

[vlark]

FYI, it doesn't work in 10.4.11. Works great in 10.5.8 on my G4!

 

[Intelligent]

In my travels to optimizing things on OS X for PowerPC Mac I often run across things that don't get a lot of attention. One of those is the Secrets System Preference Pane.

I tracked this down at one point and I use it on all my Macs. Essentially it allows you to set just about every single option that Apple has put into OS X and many of the major Apple apps.

I've only used it on Leopard so I have no idea if it works on Tiger or not. But I never hear any talk about it around here so I thought I'd share it.

Please be careful. There are some options in here that can really screw up your system. I've had it freeze on me before. I take no responsibility for any damage you may cause.

But check it out though, you may find it interesting.

Dropbox

Wow this is crazy, and useful, but is it really apples thing? how did you find it, it didn't seem like an apple thing with the warning etc.

 

[Intell]

Wow this is crazy, and useful, but is it really apples thing? how did you find it, it didn't seem like an apple thing with the warning etc.

The pref pane is a third party pane the aggregates and displays the hidden and advanced settings that Apple has built into Mac OS X.

 

[Intelligent]

The pref pane is a third party pane the aggregates and displays the hidden and advanced settings that Apple has built into Mac OS X.

Ah, didnt perceive is like that, anyways it was really useful.

 

[MrPilot]

Yeah, I've had secrets for a long time. Although I use it heavily to optimize my 1ghz PBG4, I only use it for saving screenshots as jpg on the 1,67HR PBook

 

[Mr Rabbit]

Worth noting is the wonderful website that it originates from, http://secrets.blacktree.com

The site itself is a great reference tool for anyone who likes to (or needs to) tinker with the settings in the Mac OS. It's similar in nature to this great list of settings that are altered via the defaults write command.