Yes, you can customize your Mac and make it your own. Although you cannot completely change and transform the settings and functionalities of the system, you can tinker with some of it to make the system work for you.
Want to know some of the ways to customize your Mac? Continue scrolling.
Show Only Active Apps on the Dock
You can organize the Dock and personalize it to show running applications.
How to see open apps on Mac? First, remove all the unused apps from the Dock. Right-click on the applications you want to remove > click Options > Remove from Dock.
Alternatively, you can drag and drop the application from the Dock.
Personalize The Login Screen
Your Mac’s login screen can be customized according to your preferred style.
You can change the user picture for your account by going to System Preferences > Users & Groups > choose the user account > click the existing user picture next to the username and swap it out using pictures from your Photos library. The image can also be replaced with an Animoji or Memoji. Then, click Save.
You can also set an entertaining lock screen message. You can do this by going to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > clicking the box next to Show a message when the screen is locked. If the option is grayed out, click the Lock icon and enter the system password if prompted.
Click on the Set Lock Message option > type what you want the lock screen to say > click OK. You will see the message when you restart your Mac.
Hide or Show the Dock and/or Menu bar
Hiding or showing the Dock or Menu bar can transform the way your Mac’s screen appears. You can set it to automatically hide or show the Menu or Dock bar so you can simply hover the cursor at the screen’s bottom.
When the Dock or Menu bar is hidden, you will get more screen real estate to work on your applications.
Use a Bespoke Color Scheme
You can mix and match different color presets for system highlights and accents to create fresh color schemes. Navigate to System Preferences > General > pick new colors under Highlight color and Accent color.
The updated color scheme will reflect across boxes, buttons, selections, menus, boxes, and other system elements.
You can also switch to Dark mode in the same preference pane
Automate the Corners of the Display
The corners of your Mac’s display can be activated to perform specific tasks. For example, you can turn them into Hot Corner by going to System Preferences. This will automate certain tasks and streamline your workflow.
Change the Wallpaper
You can make your desktop feel new again by swapping out the wallpaper. This tiny change can be made from the System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver.
Go to the Desktop tab, and choose a fresh picture from the default Mac desktop themes. You can also choose photos from your Photos library.
When you are in the Desktop tab, remember the Dynamic Desktop section. This will automatically change the wallpaper to match the time of the day.
Use Custom Icons
Icons can be scaled up or down in Finder by choosing View > Show View Options > Icon Size from the menu bar. You can also change how the icons look by using custom icons.
If browsing the web for icons, check for the ICNS extension. JPGs and PNGs also work as the source for icons, but it is best to use ICNS pictures.
You can change the icon for a file or folder by copying the new icon file and choosing the folder whose icon you wish to replace. Then, click on File > Get Info >, choose the icon at the top in the inspector window, and click Edit. Finally, paste the icon.
If you are not happy with the changed icon, you can delete it and replace it with something else.
macOS lets users swap out the default icons of the applications in the Applications folder and use custom icons. You can do this for all the apps, except those bundled with macOS.
However, you will not face any trouble using the icons of system applications as sources for third-party applications.
Furthermore, you can add a new background to Finder in Icon View. To do this, choose View > Show View Options > between Picture and Color options under the Background section.
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The Bottom Line
These are some ways to customize your Mac so you can work smarter and save precious time. This will help to make the Mac yours truly. It will look how you want it and function how you want it to.
Once you have made these simple tweaks, it will make it easier for you to carry out everyday tasks. Therefore, you must get started right away.
