Mac OS settings

Some settings can only be changed with the GUI. There are already some sites which are listing a lot of them. Here is another collection from useful commands that I’ve collected

Mac OS X

# Enable full keyboard access for all controls (e.g. enable Tab in modal dialogs)
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleKeyboardUIMode -int 3

# Disable Automatic Termination in Mac OS X
defaults write -g NSDisableAutomaticTermination -bool yes

# Disable window animations and Get Info animations in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder DisableAllAnimations -bool true

# Expand save panel by default
defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -bool true

# Avoid creating .DS_Store files on network volumes
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores -bool true

# Speed Up Mission Control Animations
defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.17 killall Dock

# change the default location to local instead of iCloud defaults write NSGlobalDomain NSDocumentSaveNewDocumentsToCloud -bool false

Dock

# Dock autohide delay
defaults write com.apple.Dock autohide-delay -float 0 && killall Dock

# 2D Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean YES; killall Dock

# Make Dock icons of hidden applications translucent
defaults write com.apple.dock showhidden -bool true

Finder

# show hidden files
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE

# Show the ~/Library folder
chflags nohidden ~/Library

# Display full POSIX path as Finder window title
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowPosixPathInTitle -bool true

# Show status bar in Finder
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowStatusBar -bool true

# Show all filename extensions in Finder
defaults write NSGlobalDomain AppleShowAllExtensions -bool true

# Automatically open a new Finder window when a volume is mounted
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages auto-open-ro-root -bool true
defaults write com.apple.frameworks.diskimages auto-open-rw-root -bool true
defaults write com.apple.finder OpenWindowForNewRemovableDisk -bool true

Mail

# Copy email addresses as `foo@example.com` instead of `Foo Bar` in Mail.app
defaults write com.apple.mail AddressesIncludeNameOnPasteboard -bool false

iCal

# Enable the debug menu in iCal
defaults write com.apple.iCal IncludeDebugMenu -bool true

Safari

#Return Safari 6 Delete Key Functionality to Go Back a Page
defaults write com.apple.Safari com.apple.Safari.ContentPageGroupIdentifier.WebKit2BackspaceKeyNavigationEnabled -bool YES

Screenshots

# change screenshot file format (jpg, jpeg, png, gif)
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg

# Path for the screenshots
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location /Users/foo/Desktop/Screenshots

Dashboard

#This allows you to drag widgets out of Dashboard onto the desktop. Now, if you click and hold onto a widget in the dashboard and press F12 to return to the desktop, the widget won’t disappear with the rest.
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES && killall Dock

iTunes

#Normally the arrows next to artists and albums in your iTunes library search the iTunes store when you click them. This command changes them so that clicking will search your iTunes library instead.
defaults write com.apple.iTunes invertStoreLinks -bool YES

# Enable iTunes track notifications in the Dock
defaults write com.apple.dock itunes-notifications -bool true

Timemachine

#Manually Changing Time Machine Backup Schedule (4 hours)
sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto StartInterval -int 14400

Tools

#airport util
sudo ln -s /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport /usr/sbin/airport

#Turn Off Resume on a Per App Basis
defaults write com.apple.Preview NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false
defaults write com.apple.QuickTimePlayerX NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false

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