HOWTO | The best ways to use onyx

1 Re-instate Dashboard

Remember Dashboard and its widgets? It’s still there, but it’s switched off by default. To switch it back on, click Parameters, then the Mission Control tab. Now click on the box next to Dashboard. You’ll see a warning telling you OnyX needs to restart the Dock. Click Continue.

2 Allow text selection

We use Quick Look all the time to preview files, but having to open the file to select text from it is a bore. To change that in OnyX, go to Parameters, then Finder and look down the list for ‘Misc. Options.’ Check the ‘Turn on Text Selection in Quick Look’ box.

3 Hide any folder or file

If you share your Mac, you may want to hide a file or folder from view. Go to Utilities and click the Visibility tab. Now click on Hide File or Hide Folder, then Continue, then select the file or folder. Repeat the process, selecting ‘Show Folder’ or ‘Show File’ to make it visible again.

4

Delete Mail downloads

The Mail Downloads folder can fill up with attachments and take up disk space. To empty it, click on Cleaning then the Misc tab. Check the box next to Items in the Mail Downloads folder. Uncheck any items you don’t want to delete. Click Execute.

5 Stop icons bouncing

Do you hate the way icons bounce up and down in the dock when you launch an application? Stop their needy dances by going to Parameters, then Dock. Uncheck the box in the Graphic Effects section, next to ‘Opening applications.’ No more bouncing!

6 Custom screen captures

Taking a screengrab results in a PNG file, named ‘Screen Shot…’ appended with the date and time. And window grabs display a shadow. You can change all of that in Parameters. Go to the General tab, then the Screen Capture section and choose the options you want.

7 Find elusive utilities

OS X has lots of Mac maintenance tools, but they’re tucked out of view. Click Utilities and Applications to show them. The diagnostic tools and Screen Sharing are harmless, but only use Directory Utility and System Image Utility if you know what you’re doing.

8 Show login message

For a dose of motivation in the morning, or to remind other users of something, set a message to display when you log in to your Mac. In Parameters click the Login tab. Check the ‘Show message in the login window’ box and write your message in the box. Click Apply.