System Settings is infinitely resizable in macOS 27

[pdfu]

Hidden behind a feature flag, the System Settings app can now be resized in any direction.

You can make the window narrower than the default too, or adjust the sidebar to get even more space. Some more dynamically built pages already take advantage of the extra space.

To enable the FeatureFlags override, run the following command in the Terminal:

sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && \
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Settings AllowsHorizontalResizing -dict Enabled -bool true

and restart your Mac.

To disable:

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Settings AllowsHorizontalResizing

 

[Luftkopf]

Oooh, I hope that arrives as a feature soon!

 

[captainjohnsmith]

Long, long, long overdue. System Settings is still a terrible app in my opinion

 

[tomtattoo]

Nice, but doesn´t solve the main problem: app is vertical, my StudioDisplay is horizontal.
Still have to scroll in the sidebar.
Nevertheless thanks for the info.

 

[benholt]

Turned this on last night on my Studio Display and it's a noticeable improvement for the pages that actually reflow — Network, Displays, Sharing all breathe when you give them the width. Keyboard and Trackpad still cap at their original width, which suggests the individual pages have to opt in per-view rather than the change being purely at the window level.

@tomtattoo — you can drag the sidebar divider all the way to the left until it's basically a strip of icons, then the content pane fills the rest of the width. Not full landscape mode but it eats a lot less horizontal real estate that way. And if you also make the window narrow vertically, System Settings starts to feel like a proper HUD-y utility rather than a phone app on a 27" panel.

 

[benwiggy]

To enable the FeatureFlags override, run the following command in the Terminal:

As the command doesn't reference the System Settings app, does it enable Horizontal Resizing in every window, everywhere?

 

[pdfu]

As the command doesn't reference the System Settings app, does it enable Horizontal Resizing in every window, everywhere?

Good question. You do reference Settings in the second defaults write command. You'll find the preference is written at:

/Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/Settings.plist

The first command doesn't reference Settings, but only creates the /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/ directory if it doesn't exist. I always add it because folks need to run it the first time they ever try to create a feature flag override.

 

[Populus]

@tomtattoo — you can drag the sidebar divider all the way to the left until it's basically a strip of icons, then the content pane fills the rest of the width. Not full landscape mode but it eats a lot less horizontal real estate that way. And if you also make the window narrow vertically, System Settings starts to feel like a proper HUD-y utility rather than a phone app on a 27" panel.

Does this sidebar trick work on Tahoe or is it new on GG?

Honestly, coming directly from Monterey, and using now the new vertical Settings app, I think the previos one was better suited for the Mac, although I appreciate the consistency across different systems…