The "Bring Back Translucent Menus" Thread

[macrem]

SSH is one of those things I think about every once in a while but never get around to setting up. (Which is a little odd, because I've been using VNC and the like to remote control Windows for years.) Whether I would have realized it was the menu hack is another question.

Call me paranoid or a Windows victim, but I would never try a major OS update via VNC. I installed a run-of-the-mill security update once and it borked my system, so I always do a backup immediately before an update.

Paranoid

The primary limit of a unix shell is user knowledge, which can be perfected reading man pages, etc. so that the shell's power becomes practically limitless. ssh is a secure, encrypted way to gain shell access on remote machines. You can run commands so that they will keep running even if the outside connection is closed. Its possible to detach from, then later reattach back to running commands. On many unix distros its possible to perform a complete OS fresh install or upgrade of machine A from machine B...with software packages from machine C.

Its also possible from machine A to tell gui apps to execute on machine B & display the results back to A...or to machines C, D, E given adequate privileges. On Macs, this works with X11 apps only. Apple crippled native apps so you cannot display them remotely without VNC / ARD. Why I dunno, probably for similar reasons why they hard-coded menu transparency.

Apple made a beautiful OS. Occasionally, IMO, they go against the grain, tweaking things that seemingly did not need tweaking, like why would you hardcode transparency? Its one thing to leave some options out of the GUI for simplicity, but why attempt to restrict the entire OS to those options only... end users will just try even more complex workarounds...and may end up contacting Support. Fortunately there are few examples like these on OS X, next to many cool, innovative features.

 

[TheSpaz]

Paranoid

The primary limit of a unix shell is user knowledge, which can be perfected reading man pages, etc. so that the shell's power becomes practically limitless. ssh is a secure, encrypted way to gain shell access on remote machines. You can run commands so that they will keep running even if the outside connection is closed. Its possible to detach from, then later reattach back to running commands. On many unix distros its possible to perform a complete OS fresh install or upgrade of machine A from machine B...with software packages from machine C.

Its also possible from machine A to tell gui apps to execute on machine B & display the results back to A...or to machines C, D, E given adequate privileges. On Macs, this works with X11 apps only. Apple crippled native apps so you cannot display them remotely without VNC / ARD. Why I dunno, probably for similar reasons why they hard-coded menu transparency.

Apple made a beautiful OS. Occasionally, IMO, they go against the grain, tweaking things that seemingly did not need tweaking, like why would you hardcode transparency? Its one thing to leave some options out of the GUI for simplicity, but why attempt to restrict the entire OS to those options only... end users will just try even more complex workarounds...and may end up contacting Support. Fortunately there are few examples like these on OS X, next to many cool, innovative features.

I agree. Apple's Mac OS is far better than Windows and I'm thankful for that. Sometimes I feel that they make the wrong decisions though. I like your signature, it's funny.

 

[Switz213]

Can someone post a zip of the Core UI folder. I replaced the wrong Core UI file and now, it loads, but it won't open safari or dashboard.

Thanks

 

[dsharits]

Could it be that you're using a PPC machine and the files were taken from a MacBook Air (Intel)?

Ah, very likely. I didn't notice that they came from an Intel machine.

 

[Stratus Fear]

Could it be that you're using a PPC machine and the files were taken from a MacBook Air (Intel)?

I'm pretty sure the files are UB, but I could be wrong. They should be, anyway, since Leopard is UB. If they weren't, I couldn't run PPC apps through Rosetta on my MBA, since those are two frameworks that GUI apps rely on.

 

[macrem]

Can someone post a zip of the Core UI folder. I replaced the wrong Core UI file and now, it loads, but it won't open safari or dashboard.

Thanks

It probably bears re-posting the entire process, including how to get the source files, as useful info is fragmented across several posts in this thread:

*** Howto get pre-10.5.2 transparent menus with blur effect back ***

Prerequisite: Intel Mac running 10.5.2+ (actually, we're not sure if the same files are UB and will work with a PPC machine or not. If someone wants to throw caution to the wind and be a guinea pig, please let us know your results.)

Be advised that the option to turn off the translucent menu bar will no longer work if you do this. This is a hack. Do it at your own risk. Enabling SSH is recommended so that you can access your machine and fix the problem in case something goes wrong. At the time of writing, this hack is known to work on 10.5.2 & 10.5.3 releases only.

1. its recommended that you back up your system (e.g., run TimeMachine),

2. be sure to back up the files you will overwrite (#4 below) and document a process to retrieve the files & to undo this hack. This will be necessary BEFORE upgrading to the next 10.5.X release, make a note of it!

3. download the files (HIToolbox, CoreUI & SArtFile.bin),

4. replace the following three system files with files from #3:

/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/HIToolbox

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/CoreUI

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin

5. run this command in Terminal to ensure permissions are correct:

sudo chmod 755 /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/HIToolbox /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/CoreUI && sudo chmod 644 /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin

The above command ensures the HIToolbox and CoreUI files are chmod 755 (rwxr-xr-x) and SArtFile.bin is chmod 644 (rw-r--r--) or your OS might not boot properly when you restart.

6. Ensure proper file ownership. It should look like this for all three files:

• owner = root
• group = wheel

Most likely this step will require no action.

7. reboot & enjoy the pre-10.5.2 release transparent menus with blur effect

Note: others have posted scripts for the entire process in this thread.

 

[macrem]

I agree. Apple's Mac OS is far better than Windows and I'm thankful for that. Sometimes I feel that they make the wrong decisions though. I like your signature, it's funny.

Anyone who wants to use this or similar signature too, please go right ahead Of course I just quoted the survey in this thread.

There seems to be consensus that we would like Apple to do one of the following, in order of preference:

1. add a slider in prefs for menu transparency,

2. add a separate button for menu transparency, like the menubar transparency button added at 10.5.2 (when menu transparency with the blur effect was effectively brashly taken away),

3. make the existing button from #2 control BOTH menubar & menus consistently, not just the menubar,

non-GUI / unsupported:

4. externalize menu transparency setting outside of the binary (e.g., in an XML file) so that users can tweak it without hacks,

5. make it so that there is a CLI command (& let it be known) that will modify transparency,

OR:

6. revert back to pre-10.5.2 transparent menus, the way most of us (see sig) liked Leopard when we bought it & tell the minority of whiners to stop being dullards (go back to Windows). J/k

Its seems like any of options 1-5 would make 99% of users happy.

 

[macrem]

I'm pretty sure the files are UB, but I could be wrong. They should be, anyway, since Leopard is UB. If they weren't, I couldn't run PPC apps through Rosetta on my MBA, since those are two frameworks that GUI apps rely on.

That would be my guess too. I actually have a spare PB at the moment . When I get time, I'll test it if someone else does not confirm it works on a PPC machine in the meantime.

 

[macrem]

Btw, perhaps we should start an online petition? My guess is that Apple will do nothing about it if we just whine about it here. Obviously the people who whined to get rid of transparency and practically destroyed the entire effect had better strings to pull than us. Apple already ignored us at 10.5.3, after many of us plead Apple to give us back transparency as soon as 10.5.2 released.

 

[TheSpaz]

It still blows my mind that people are willing to risk system stability to perform a hack to re-enable something that Apple just took away from us without warning. Don't you think that tells them something? Do you see people asking about a way to make them more opaque... or even hacking their system to make their menus opaque?

I can certainly say, I don't know what those complainers were talking about because I NEVER ran into a situation where I couldn't read something in a menu because of the transparent effect. If anything, it makes it easier to read because it's dulled down and not so freakin' bright.

 

[Switz213]

I knew what I was doing, but there are two Core UI files, one a few folders after another. I replaced the wrong one.

Thanks

 

[Mr Lizard]

Quicktime update 7.5 - still working?

Anyone know if the QT upgrade to 7.5 plays nicely with this hack?

 

[Fuzzy-Wan]

Paranoid

Told you I was.

The primary limit of a unix shell is user knowledge, which can be perfected reading man pages, etc. so that the shell's power becomes practically limitless.

I am doing my best to stretch my UNIX knowledge. Not quite ready to do remote OS installs (unless it's a bare-metal job -- what the heck). But I'll get there someday.

Right now my biggest limitation is that I have only one Mac in service, and I take it with me everywhere ... hence no hurry to set up SSH.

It still blows my mind that people are willing to risk system stability to perform a hack to re-enable something that Apple just took away from us without warning. Don't you think that tells them something?

It should.

I'm pretty conservative when it comes to hacking the OS. The most I ever did with WinXP was to tone down the eye-bulging blue GUI with a custom .msstyles file. (To me, WindowBlinds was an unutterably stupid hack.) All I ask for is an invisible dock, translucent menus and Windows-style Home/End keys.

Oh, and half a million menu bar apps.

Yeah, I definitely hope Apple gets the idea. There could be a point where 10.5.1 files just won't work on a newer patch.

If it's true that they're fast-tracking 10.5.4 because of the Adobe thing, we may find out sooner than we'd like.

 

[macrem]

Anyone know if the QT upgrade to 7.5 plays nicely with this hack?

No problem. The same goes for yesterday's iDVD and iMovie updates. I would not expect any conflicts from app updates.

 

[macrem]

If it's true that they're fast-tracking 10.5.4 because of the Adobe thing, we may find out sooner than we'd like.

Makes sense, good to know.

 

[macrem]

It still blows my mind that people are willing to risk system stability to perform a hack to re-enable something that Apple just took away from us without warning. Don't you think that tells them something? Do you see people asking about a way to make them more opaque... or even hacking their system to make their menus opaque?

I can certainly say, I don't know what those complainers were talking about because I NEVER ran into a situation where I couldn't read something in a menu because of the transparent effect. If anything, it makes it easier to read because it's dulled down and not so freakin' bright.

All good points. I'm guessing someone with influence complained. I've heard Apple refuses to be extra cooperative with big IT types and focusses its attention on us end users, but just looking at this survey results, feedback on the net and common sense vs. Apple's decision indicates otherwise this time, thusfar...

Regarding brightness, I've noticed the same thing: as transparency blends with the background, the menus are not so bright and contrast less. Since menus pop up in your face on a regular basis, its a good usability feature to mute the contrast. Also the blur effect allows transparency to be relatively higher without negatively impacting legibility. It was an excellent example of Apple blending something that looks cool while overall improving the user experience. I'm surprised Apple budged on this one, other than to give complainers and option to change it, but NOT to take it away from users who liked it the way it was.

 

[Fuzzy-Wan]

Regarding brightness, I've noticed the same thing: as transparency blends with the background, the menus are not so bright and contrast less. Since menus pop up in your face on a regular basis, its a good usability feature to mute the contrast. Also the blur effect allows transparency to be relatively higher without negatively impacting legibility. It was an excellent example of Apple blending something that looks cool while overall improving the user experience.

I think it also makes sense because the menus are an overlay element. When the windows and the menus both have drop shadows, translucency creates a distinction between the two: menus (and dialog sheets) aren't as "solid" or "substantial" as a window.

It even inspired me to do this with a web site redesign I just finished yesterday. Any resemblance to Vista's hideous title bars is just your imagination.

Apple knows (or used to know) how to use transparency intelligently. Microsoft ... not so much.

 

[flyingswordfish]

Hey guys, I messed up and I really need some help. I started to try that stuff with the HIToolbox, Core UI and SArtFile.bin, but I gave up and deleted the files that I downloaded. Now, my menu bar just shows a greyish white instead of transparency (I don't know if it messed up anything else). The normal menu bar works fine, though. What can I do to fix this? I re-downloaded those files that I tried already.

Someone please help me!

 

[Stratus Fear]

I plan to investigate whether the 10.5.4 update replaces any of the files we've changed and then test to make sure the transparency still works. I'll let you guys know later tonight hopefully

Edit: So after taking a look at the 10.5.4 pkg file, it looks like our files aren't modified at all, so it should be possible to do a straight upgrade without having to undo anything first. Those of you impatient to upgrade but wary of what might happen, it's probably better for you to undo the patch first for peace of mind, but I'm pretty sure nothing will go wrong. I'll take one for the team and test it out myself sometime in the next few hours.

Edit #2: To clarify, I'm talking about the delta update, not the combo. If you install the combo for whatever reason, it's at your own risk!

Edit #3: Updating straight to 10.5.4 works without replacing the files with originals first!

 

[TheSpaz]

Yay! I just updated and all is well!

 

[richard.mac]

thanks for the clarification Status Fear and TheSpaz. i just updated and all is well in Transparent Menus Land!

 

[macrem]

Kewl that was so simple, thanks for the info Status Fear and TheSpaz! I just upgraded my MBP to 10.5.4 without any worries

Also, I upgraded my PowerBook to 10.5.4, then used SF's files to test if they work on a PPC machine.... yes, it works.

I mentioned awhile ago that I would do this, but I had Ubuntu installed on that machine so had to reinstall OS X first.

 

[macrem]

While my favorite machine is still my MBP, it was time to retire my old desktop machine so I was faced with the decision between buying a Mac Pro or a PC.

Note: when I say PC, it means Linux PC (just the thought of Windows gives me hives).

At the computer store I hesitated, then I thought about the way Apple decides for us down to just about every last detail including menu transparency, goes out of the way to make it difficult to modify, and has stonewalled us with our reasonable and popular request.

...so this time I bought a PC instead of a Mac desktop machine and installed Ubuntu on it.

 

[Fuzzy-Wan]

...so this time I bought a PC instead of a Mac desktop machine and installed Ubuntu on it.

I don't know if transluscent menus (or lack thereof) would influence my purchasing decisions. But for a desktop machine, I'd probably go the same route that you did, only because a Mac Pro is more than I'd need, and an iMac is just a big, really heavy laptop. (And since I've consolidated my entire computing life into my MacBook Pro, another OS X machine would simply be redundant.)

But Apple should make note that they lost a sale over this stupid, silly issue.

 

[macrem]

Its more than just a sale. I have been an avid Mac user and promoter of OS X and Macs for many years and own many Apple products. Just laptops alone I am on my third generation Apple computer. But this matter has put a bad taste in my mouth. I have already lost interest in being such an enthusiast and advocate because I found out that no one at Apple really listens nor values our opinions.

In all these years, before this particular change I have never really put it to the challenge because I never disliked a decision Apple made enough to call them, to write an issue, to hack my system at every update, to spend time writing about it, etc. I discovered firsthand that even when you have a legitimate, reasonable and popular request that would be easy to implement and you follow up on it diligently, Apple just does not care. You will just be ignored.

Never once has anyone from Apple even acknowledged that they are giving consideration to the idea of giving back a feature that was there when we purchased Leopard, but they just took away with no way out besides a hack which can break your system if you don't follow proper procedures.

If Apple cannot listen to us, for something so basic, "silly and stupid", I feel like part of what made it cool is gone. Even if you are right about something, you will probably just get stonewalled.

Not only does the survey in this thread speak volumes about popular opinion, the few people who debated for opaque menus lost the debate. But anyway that does not matter, we don't want to force translucent menus on them just as we did not want opaque menus forced on us. We just want an option out, even if its hidden, to be able to change the menus without a hack. Its really so little to ask and a no brainer to fix if only someone were listening...