The annoying thing about their changing it is the fact that something like this takes five minutes to code an option switch for. They could easily have given the user the option to switch transparency, much as they did for the menu bar itself. Oh well. Maybe it'll be back in 10.5.3.
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The "Bring Back Translucent Menus" Thread
- Thread starter kuwisdelu
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IT WORKED!!!!!
I'm going to make a tutorial on exactly what I did.
1. I downloaded the files that Stratus Fear posted (thanks dude!)
2. I enabled the root user by opening /Applications/Utilities/Directory Utility and clicking Edit>Enable Root User
3. I logged out of my normal user and logged into root
4. I went to /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/HIToolbox and backed up the existing HIToolbox and dragged the new one into it's place.
5. I launched /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
6. Type this command in the Terminal:
7. I went to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/CoreUI once again making sure I backed up and copied the new CoreUI file and set permissions in the Terminal to 755 using the same method as step 6.
8. I went to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin and replaced it with the new one... only this time setting the permissions to 644 instead.
9. Logged out and logged back in. My System is now nice and transparent again!!! Woohoo!
I hope this all works for you! It worked for me and I can confirm 100% that Stratus Fear was not lying.
I'm going to make a tutorial on exactly what I did.
1. I downloaded the files that Stratus Fear posted (thanks dude!)
2. I enabled the root user by opening /Applications/Utilities/Directory Utility and clicking Edit>Enable Root User
3. I logged out of my normal user and logged into root
4. I went to /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/HIToolbox and backed up the existing HIToolbox and dragged the new one into it's place.
5. I launched /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
6. Type this command in the Terminal:
Code:
chmod 755 /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/HIToolbox8. I went to /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/SArtFile.bin and replaced it with the new one... only this time setting the permissions to 644 instead.
9. Logged out and logged back in. My System is now nice and transparent again!!! Woohoo!
I hope this all works for you! It worked for me and I can confirm 100% that Stratus Fear was not lying.
Attachments
Yay! Glad to see it finally worked for someone. Glad I could be of help. Now I suppose the real trick is to see what happens with the next update -- whether Apple gives us the option, or whether they don't but possibly change something in the frameworks again necessitating us to replace the files once again to get the look we want.
Anyway, everyone post back here if you have any issues with this solution. I've been using it about a couple of weeks and haven't had any issues so far, so I think we're good for now!
Anyway, everyone post back here if you have any issues with this solution. I've been using it about a couple of weeks and haven't had any issues so far, so I think we're good for now!
Woohoo! Thanks TheSpaz and Stratus Fear. Works great now. Now if I could only figure out why my MBP shows so much more translucency than my iMac. It was the same way in 10.5 and 10.5.1. Maybe a contrast thing?
Great solution, guys! Too bad Apple didn't make it a little easier... Just in case I have any troubles, I'm waiting for my Time Capsule arrives so I can finally get a Time Machine backup going before I try this. But once I have a backup just in case something goes awry (as this is my only machine, and I need it for schoolwork) I'll try this out, too. 
It worked, phew! Finally a solution to have the latest updates and translucent menus.
This will rest in my memory as one of the most idiotic OS situations. The funky, obfuscated coding + the feeling
could care less left a bad taste.
I used Stratus Fear's HIToolbox file and my 10.5.1 backups for the other two files. Thank you again Stratus Fear, you rock!!
Finally a solution to have the latest updates and translucent menus. This will rest in my memory as one of the most idiotic OS situations. The funky, obfuscated coding + the feeling
could care less left a bad taste.I used Stratus Fear's HIToolbox file and my 10.5.1 backups for the other two files. Thank you again Stratus Fear, you rock!!
WOO! i got it working now! the HIToolbox file did the trick thanks Stratus Fear! i think it needs to be from a 10.5.1 install or the file is different on a MBA im not sure.
hopefully Apple wont make any more adjustments to these files and add them to a system update. ill keep a backup of these 3 files along with my originals just in case.
here is how i did it. almost the same as The Spaz so use our methods as a guide. note: i already had a OS X install on my external drive.
1. downloaded the files
2. booted into my external drive.
3. opened /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/ and backed up HIToolbox, then deleted it and replaced it with Stratus Fear's one.
4. did the same for CoreUI in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/ and SArtFile.bin in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/
5. entered this command into the Terminal
[macrem's command which sets the permissions for all 3 files]
6. booted into my main hard drive and enjoyed the view!
i too can confirm that this is 100% working. lets just hope that Apple doesn't replace these files in a software update.
one thing to note though is although the "Translucent menu bar" tickbox is still in the desktop picture preferences it doesnt work so you cant have an opaque menu bar which doesnt bother me.
hopefully Apple wont make any more adjustments to these files and add them to a system update. ill keep a backup of these 3 files along with my originals just in case.
here is how i did it. almost the same as The Spaz so use our methods as a guide. note: i already had a OS X install on my external drive.
1. downloaded the files
2. booted into my external drive.
3. opened /System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/ and backed up HIToolbox, then deleted it and replaced it with Stratus Fear's one.
4. did the same for CoreUI in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/ and SArtFile.bin in /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/
5. entered this command into the Terminal
Code:
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[macrem's command which sets the permissions for all 3 files]
6. booted into my main hard drive and enjoyed the view!
i too can confirm that this is 100% working. lets just hope that Apple doesn't replace these files in a software update.
one thing to note though is although the "Translucent menu bar" tickbox is still in the desktop picture preferences it doesnt work so you cant have an opaque menu bar which doesnt bother me.
Awesome awesome awesome! Glad to see that solution is working! Having to replace files isn't the most ideal situation, so hopefully Apple will give us a choice in the future...
problem with safari after applying changes
hi, after i replaced the file, I noticed that my safari icons is changed in the toolbar. and almost all the icon is different. anyone face the same problem or can anyone help me?
thanks
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EDIT: I fixed it. The reason is I didn't log on into root user to do the changes. XD Thanks anyway
hi, after i replaced the file, I noticed that my safari icons is changed in the toolbar. and almost all the icon is different. anyone face the same problem or can anyone help me?
thanks
EDIT: I fixed it. The reason is I didn't log on into root user to do the changes. XD Thanks anyway
Interesting, I wish I had the courage to do this. How does the "About This Mac" dialog box say, "Mac OS X Leopard" with a black apple? It usually just says Mac OS X with the silver apple. Is this a haxie as well?
yeh i made that myself... the apple icon was looking a bit dated... its cool huh? i cant remember where i got the black apple but the "Mac OS X Leopard" writing i got from Mitthrawnuruodo. i can post the files and install instructions if you would like? you will have to replace some more system files so i wouldnt do it unless you feel comfortable doing the instructions above... system folder madness!
Oh man that's a shame. I thought they were gorgeous and one of the few things I actually liked about the leopard UI.
If Apple were to created a user changeable slider for transparency,
like in Linux. I think it'll please just about everyone... Personally I never notice it changed back...
lol Shortcuts are so much more useful.
I like, it looks very cool. I'm pretty tech savvy so I would try your idea but I already changed the aqua scroll bars to match the iLife ones and I started getting errors when repairing permissions so I reformatted and decided not to modify my Mac. I do wish Apple gave us more customization and I too am pissed they took away the very cool translucent menus and left us with no option to change it back.
Update: I can no longer log into my machine remotely with SSH... it says permission denied even though I've got the correct user name and password.... a restart didn't help. I think this is one of those security features that if you mess with the System Files, it locks you out in case someone is doing things maliciously. That sucks.... anyone else not able to SSH anymore after this edit?
I just did this last night as well. I have to admit that for some reason I was hesitant to do it. When I was running XP Pro I never hesitated to do stuff like this. I guess since I had used it for years, a format/reinstall was never a worry. I could have my system back to where it was in about an hour or two. As I'm a new convert to Mac, I wasn't looking forward to how long it would take to get a fresh install of OSX back to where I have it now.
But...
It went perfectly! I followed the steps richthomas posted (minus booting to an external, just made sure to login as root) and I now have the translucent menus back. It's not a big change, and legibility is fine, but it's just enough to make the UI look a bit more cool and not so sterile like it was previously. Many thanks to everyone who was involved in making the needed files available and the steps laid out in full for how to do it.
But...
It went perfectly! I followed the steps richthomas posted (minus booting to an external, just made sure to login as root) and I now have the translucent menus back.
It's not a big change, and legibility is fine, but it's just enough to make the UI look a bit more cool and not so sterile like it was previously. Many thanks to everyone who was involved in making the needed files available and the steps laid out in full for how to do it.
I done that kind of stuff all the time with my iBook G3... Loved it! I changed my "About this Mac" window a lot and made it say I had a 900GHz CPU and 384GB RAM
lots of other stuff, too!I don't know if I've been having this issue or not. Having only my MBA right now, I obviously don't SSH into the machine much since I always have it with me (waiting on an iMac I ordered -- both my previous Macs got stolen when someone broke the window to my apt
) I did notice, though, that after the most recent security update, some 3rd party software caused the SSH client to die. Might be the same thing with the SSH server. In my case, it was a component of AirFoil that caused the issue. You might want to check on that, unless everything was working before you made the change. I'll test the SSH server on mine and get back to you on that.Edit: Remote Login/SSH working here. Definitely check to see if you applied that security update recently and that could be causing the issue. Or maybe something else is going on.
Any kind of software update always breaks my Cisco VPN client I use to SSH into my school's computers. May be similar to this, as I always have to reinstall it after an update. Gets kind of annoying. Even worse is that the same happens w/ UT2004
I did install a security update recently... how do I get SSH working again? FTP is also broken however, I can still use VNC and AFC and Web Sharing... it's just SSH and FTP that are screwed up.
How do I find out if my SSH service is crashing?
They are still translucent, it's just barely noticeable.
I would like a slider or toggle to have it the old way too.
The slider is a great idea. Also the option to turn it on and off would be ideal. That way everybody's happy.
Taking a look at the logs in /var/log could shed some light on the problem. Be forewarned, they're not the most fun thing to read. Look for stuff referencing sshd.